Chivalry In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

When you think of a knight what do you picture? Do you picture a fragile, cowardly, dishonorable man? Of course not, you picture a strong man who is willing to give up his life for the kingdom. In “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” retold by Susan Thompson, a legend is told of, Sir Gawain on his quest to protect his king and fellow knights’ honor. After the Green Knight had challenged them and embarrassed King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, Sir Gawain took up the challenge in an act of true chivalry. In this legend about a battle of knighthood between Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Sir Gawain is the better knight. He is a true romantic hero and follows the Knight’s Code of Chivalry, by serving the liege lord, King Arthur, in valor

Sir Gawain was a great knight in Arthur’s court; in many cases, he showed examples of being heroic. This allows people who read Sir Gawain and The Green Knight to remember him because of the ways he portrayed heroism. One example of Gawain being heroic is when he takes on the task by the green knight: “I am the weakest, well I know, and of wit feeblest; and the loss of my life would be least of any; That I have you for uncle is my only praise; My body, but for your blood, is barren of worth” (Borroff, 12). Sir Gawain shows that he is heroic and someone to be remembered because of how he took on the task presented by The Green Knight instead of letting Arthur go. His heroism is also explained in The Hero and His Adventure: “ He is presented in traditional heroic situations such as being equipped in armour and

​In the beginning of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain is introduced as a courtly knight with a sense of perfection. The author does this to compare it to his failures, which are later displayed through Gawain’s acts at Morgan le Fay’s castle. Gawain is portrayed to be a chivalrous knight with honor and courage. Gawain is presented with a challenge: accept the game to cut off the Green Knight’s head, and in a test of courage and honor, set out to allow the Green Knight to return the favor to him in a year and a day. This initially shows the knightly characteristics of Gawain which presents him as noble and honorable, which allows the author to shock the audience when Gawain falls under pressure to actions that contradict the chivalrous code. The first of these actions taken by Gawain in opposition to his morals is the temptation

Throughout the Arthurian legends, Sir Gawain seems to be the epitome of a noble knight. He is always putting his king before himself, repeatedly sacrificing his own life in some way for King Arthur. He is an honorable knight that lives up to his word. This is evident in both Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and "The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell." In these stories, Gawain lives up to the expectations of a knight belonging to the legendary Round Table.

Sir Gawain is a heroic knight who refuses to fight against Sir Lancelot as he sees him a friend and a true knight. “Whereas the Heroic Knight defines honor as a family matter, the Worshipful Knight defines it rather as a matter between individuals” (Kennedy 66). Sir Gawain’s honor comes from his individualize relationships with others. When accosted to join Sir Agravain and Sir Mordred he refuses because Lancelot is his friend, and consider him to a brother to him. “I will never be against Sir Launcelot for one day 's deed, when he rescued me from King Carados of the Dolorous Tower, and slew him, and saved my life” (Mallory 440). Sir Gawain refuses to fight against Lancelot and “expose” him. He doesn’t believe that he will ever be against Sir Lancelot. However, this does change when Sir Gawain’s sons are slain and he harbors anger towards Lancelot. This harbored anger displays how Sir Gawain although honored Sir Lancelot before the loss of his sons, over powers the previous

    Gawain’s loyalty to King Arthur is unquestionable. To begin this story, there is a Green knight who proposes a game to a room full of Arthur’s knights. When no man volunteers to play with the Green Knight, Gawain steps in to save his king’s life and reputation. Before accepting the Green Knight's challenge, Gawain asks Arthur to “...command me to step from the dias and stand with you there, / That I might without bad manners make down from my place…” (From Sir Gawain…, ln. 121-122). By doing so, not only does Gawain step up to the green knight for his king, but he also goes about it in a very chivalrous, respectful way to his king above all of us. By respecting his king and being the only man to step up to the challenge and risk his life for his king, Gawain shows loyalty, which in turn follows chivalry, putting his honor above his life.

King Arthur loved Sir Gawain because his loyalty of commitment to his superior shows a great deal of respect, exhibiting his nobility once more. As I have previously stated, “Arthur loved this knight, always the first to come forward, ever ready to put his courage to the test; and his heart sank” (Hastings 2). In addition, Sir Gawain’s commitment allows King Arthur to know that his loyal knight is dedicated to serving him and that he will support him no matter what the cause may be, just as a true noble knight should be. Because Sir Gawain is ready to volunteer to save the honour of his king and his title, shows loyalty once more as he is the one eager to represent the king with whatever quest he may have. Another example would be when Sir Gawain displays his strong desire to represent the king as he enthusiastically shouts “Sire, I beg you, let me defend you! Grant me the quest that I may be the one to save the honour of my King!” (Hastings 2). Of course, Sir Gawain desired to be the king’s representative as he would die to portray his loyalty. That is to say he would literally die to portray his loyalty as his courage has no limits so for this; he is truly a noble knight. For these reasons, Sir Gawain is a favourite for his courage and loyalty demonstrates his nobility through his unique character, begging the king for quests and giving King Arthur a sense

In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, by an unknown author referred to as the “Pearl Poet,” we are introduced to Sir Gawain. Gawain is a knight of the Round Table and he is also the nephew of King Arthur. As a knight, Gawain is expected to possess and abide by many chivalrous facets. Throughout the poem he portrays many of the qualities a knight should possess, such as bravery, courtesy, and honor among others. Because of his ability to possess these virtues even when tempted to stray away from them, Sir Gawain is a true knight.

As one can observe in Part One of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Sir Gawain demonstrates traits of the Code of Chivalry. In a moment of confusion, Sir Gawain rises up to show he is a loyal, pious, and self deprecating Knight of the Round Table. To began, the reader is introduced to Sir Gawain and recognizes his loyalty when he says, “Would you grant me the grace… to begone from this bench and stand by you there” (Borroff l. 118). Furthermore, Sir Gawain takes King Arthur’s life out of harm’s way by replacing him in the deadly dare that is presented in front of Camelot because he values King Arthur’s life over his own. Furthermore, not only is Sir Gawain loyal to King Arthur, but he is also loyal to God. In the same fashion, Sir Gawain reveals he is pious before he pursues the dare. Immediately

In the story, it is evident that Gawain thinks he is the least of King Arthur’s knights although he his is nephew along with one of Camelot’s most famous knights. This character trait of Gawain being modest is most revealed when the Green Knight shows up for the first time wanting King Arthur to behead him, and Gawain states, “I am the weakest of your warriors and the feeblest of wit; loss of my life would be at least lamented” (354-355). When Gawain finishes this speech in these lines, all of the rest of the knights agree that Gawain should do it in case something goes awry.

Sir Gawain is reluctant to accept the Green Knight’s challenge. He fears for his life. In the end he only accepts the challenge to protect King Arthur’s life and honor. He knows it is his duty to protect King Arthur, but only volunteers to do so at the last second. Sir Gawain also breaks his oath to the Lord of the castle he is staying in. He broke their vow to trade whatever they had earned during the day when he keeps a sash the Lady of the castle gives him because he believes it will protect him during his battle with the Green Knight.

This approval that Green Knight expresses towards Gawain’s person only furthers the reflection of Gawain likeability, for even his potential adversary possesses a certain amount of praise for him due to his acceptance of a challenge only the king would undertake. Through his display of courage in sacrificing himself for his king, in the eyes of all, he is deemed a worthy and honorable knight. Moreover, Gawain’s charming first impression is yet again seen when the lord of the castle he finds when searching for the Green Chapel welcomes and greets him saying, “For I know well, my knight, that your name is Sir Gawain, / Whom all the world worships, wherever he ride…” (Fit III, 68). In this declaration, the lord emphasizes Gawain’s overall popularity amongst the people of the land who have heard of his greatness and highlights the charismatic qualities Gawain possesses when he responds in kind replying, “In good truth… that is a gain indeed / Though I am hardly the hero of whom you speak / To be held in such honour… I am altogether unworthy (Fit III, 68). This response, in which Gawain humbly accepts the praise given to him, his likeability is brought to a forefront, emphasizing the charm of a self-deprecating response instead of one that basks in praise—overall a true lesson in knightly morality

The code of chivalry is a complex moral code followed by men and women in the medieval period. The first major element in the code is loyalty to your God and king. Loyalty to God plays a monumental role in the medieval period. The first knights were known as crusaders who fought in religious wars to protect the christian kingdom. Your king is the person closest to God and you must show him loyalty to prove yourself within his kingdom. Gawain did not fail this aspect but also did not exemplify it. Gawain was loyal to King Arthur. In Fit 1, he says “This fight to me. May it be mine” (Stone 33). Gawain offers himself up to battle the Green Knight instead of King Arthur. He offers himself as a sign of loyalty to Arthurs. Sir Gawain knows that he has nothing to lose since he is only a meesly knight but if King Arthur took the challenage and died, Camelot would be without and king and left in chaos.

Even though Gawain describes himself as the weakest knight in terms of physical and mental ability. In my opinion, he is one of the humble and ambitious knight in the Round table. He knowns reputation is something extremely hard to build. In order to, protect the honor and image of the Arthurian court, he accepts the challenge without knowing the supernatural abilities of the green knight. Even after knowing the fact, he keeps his and the court's honor by setting off for the search of the green chapel.

Gawain, a knight of the famed King Arthur, is depicted as the most noble of knights in the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Nonetheless, he is not without fault or punishment, and is certainly susceptible to conflict. Gawain, bound to chivalry, is torn between his knightly edicts, his courtly obligations, and his mortal thoughts of self-preservation. This conflict is most evident in his failure of the tests presented to him. With devious tests of temptation and courage, Morgan le Fay is able to create a mockery of Gawain’s courtly and knightly ideals. Through the knight Gawain, the poem is able to reveal that even knights are human too with less than romantic traits.