Comparing Lanval And Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

Medieval scholars continually inspect the particularities of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (SGGK) within the context of the preexisting Gawain literary tradition, and the issue of Gawain’s sudden antifeminist diatribe repeatedly comes to the forefront of these textual investigations. Often, literary critics claim that Gawain’s antifeminist outburst is common for the fourteenth century and that his acceptance to wear the girdle as a sign of shame still epitomizes him as a model of knighthood. Other scholars hesitate to dismiss Gawain’s misogyny as commonplace, they note that this moment is inconsistent with his reputation as an ideal knight. Gawain’s hasty compulsion to blame women suggests ruptures within the essentiality of his chivalric identity and a closer examination of the text reveals that this moment is not isolated. Despite scholars repeated attempts to identify the essential knight within Gawain, there are several examples of Gawain’s unstable identity throughout the text. I will argue Sir Gawain’s knightly identity is performative rather than essential, and his diatribe is the culmination of his failure to perform his own expected social identity.

gender role. The Lady’s role questions traditional presumptions of the roles of women in medieval literature. Women of the Middle Ages were generally dependent, inferior, and many female portraits in medieval texts did not fare better. While men of the Middle Ages were generally chivalry, valiance, noble and honest. Throughout the poem I began to see gender roles being reversed between Lady Bertilak and Sir Gawain.

Marie De France’s Lanval is a remarkable short narrative that engages the reader into a world filled with unrealistic elements, but enhances on the true meaning of romance, chivalry and nature during the years that King Arthur reigned. “Sir Gawain and The Green Knight” unfortunately does not have an author that can be recognized but this epic poem demonstrates the ghastly adventure of a knight who decides to defend the honor of young King Arthur against a supernatural being in this malicious game of cat and mouse. Both of these pieces of literature have enchanting characteristics that define them as a masterpiece of their era and that’s why they both are easily compared and contrasted. In addition, both Lanval and “Sir Gawain and The

A close reading of the Sir Gawain and the Green Knight reveals a very antifeminist view. The poem, told in four parts, tells of common medieval folklore. The stories seem to be of different plotlines, but start to intersect in interesting ways – that is, the character of Morgan Le Fay begins to frame the stories together. The half-sister of King Arthur, she holds intense hatred for her half-brother and his court. It is her thirst for the downfall of Camelot that makes this character infamous, and, surprisingly, her success and the strength of her ability that give a bad name to women. Through the examination of Morgan Le Fay’s character, it is clear that a successful woman is always an illusion.

 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is one of the most intriguing Middle English chivalric romances known today. The poem is a delicately written balancing act between two cultures, clashing in a time of unease between the religion of tradition, (paganism) and the new religion, (Christianity). The poem is also one of the best known Arthurian tales, with its plot combining two types of folklore patterns, the beheading game and the exchange of winnings. The Green Knight is interpreted by many as a representation of the Green Man of folklore and by others as an allusion to Christ. The story is told in stanzas of alliterative verse, ending in a bob and wheel. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is an important poem in the Middle English romance genre, because it involves all the typical plot progression of a hero who goes on a quest to prove himself. Yet what sets Sir Gawain apart from heroes of lore is his inability to finish his quest. The aspect which makes Sir Gawain and the Green Knight different is Sir Gawain’s failure. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a perfect example of the struggle between enduring Paganism and newfound Christianity.

The concept of physical war is universally understood while many do not recognize internal struggles as a war within. The wife of bath, Beowulf, Lanval, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight all share a common theme of internal struggle. From a mental war over the kingdoms precedent, to an altering decision on whether knightly virtues are more important than his own life, these characters are battling the ideology of their roles during their time periods, as well as themselves.

“Lanval” by Marie de France and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” by Geoffrey Chaucer are both medieval romances that put a knight on trial by a queen’s court for his treatment of a lady. Throughout the course of this paper, readers will get the opportunity to travel back in time to the Middle Ages and that during the twelfth-century women were superior to men, specifically in their relationships and marriages; however, today men dominant individuals, especially in working world.

Heroes come in many forms. The construction of "the heroic" has taken many forms, yet traits such as: courage, honor, and loyalty, reappear as themes throughout the "hero" personality. The characters of Beowulf and Sir Gawain each represent a version of a hero, yet each comes across quite differently in their story. A hero can be said to truly win if he remains constant to his noble values when put in any situation that crosses his way. When measured by that criterion, Sir Gawain stands out above Beowulf as a true hero, due to his command of both personal and spiritual power through the use of thought, as well as valiant deeds.

Marie De France’s Lanval is a remarkable short narrative that engages the reader into a world filled with unrealistic elements, but enhances on the true meaning of romance, chivalry and nature during the years that King Arthur reigned. “Sir Gawain and The Green Knight” unfortunately does not have an author that can be recognized but this epic poem demonstrates the ghastly adventure of a knight who decides to defend the honor of young King Arthur against a supernatural being in this malicious game of cat and mouse. Both of these pieces of literature have enchanting characteristics that define them as a masterpiece of their era and that’s why they both are easily compared and contrasted. In addition, both Lanval and “Sir Gawain and The Green Knight” can be classified as similar through their themes, style and plots, although they are different through their language and diction. Even though both of these literatures can be viewed as similar as well as contrasting, in the end, each of these tales have illuminated the realm of fantasy throughout the court of King Arthur.

Marie de France, Geoffrey Chaucer, and the Pearl Poet share one important personal commonality—they all are products of the Medieval Period. During this time, men hold the power and dominate all aspects of everyday life. Women are suppressed and are expected to support men by learning and performing wifely duties, and attending to the needs of the men close to them. There is no opportunity for women to place themselves in positions of authority or influence without a man dictating their function. Although Marie de France is a woman, it is apparent in “Lanval” that she cannot escape the stereotypical characterizations that plague women in her era. She portrays Queen Guenevere as a villainous and vengeful woman whom is conniving and unfaithful, which is how strong women are perceived during this time period. Chaucer uses the Wife of Bath character to show how outspoken women can claim that they want sovereignty; however, through their contradictive behavior and ridiculous reasoning’s they are not capable of true independence or governance. The Pearl Poet confirms that women in positions of power, ultimately have evil intentions. For example, Morgan Le Fay is a sorcerer who creates the Green Knight’s condition in order to test the Knights of the Round Table, and potentially frighten Guenevere to death. All three of these authors use female characters with mystical powers to show that woman who hold any sort of power are not real, and ultimately

“Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” is an excellent work to reference when examining different relationships within Arthurian legends. The author of “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” is unknown, but he is sometimes referred to as the “Gawain Poet” or “Pearl Poet” because of his additional works: “Pearl,” “Purity,” and “Patience.” All four poems were part of the Alliterative Revival of the Middle Ages of Northern England, containing mostly religious content. This may be the origin of Gawain’s exaggeratedly religious portrayal in “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.” “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” is organized in a stanza arrangement. Each stanza ends with one short line and four longer lines, called the bob and wheel, which “knits” the story together. It may important to note that the work was most likely written in the fourteenth century. The work is set in sixth-seventh centuries, but includes modern advances in armory, dress, and décor from the time the poem was written. “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” exhibits many different types of love and relationships in which they are demonstrated. Familial love, spiritual love, erotic love, and courtly love are demonstrated within families, friendships, marriages, and Godly relationships.

A hero, what is a hero? Close your eyes and imagine what a hero is. Is it a man or a woman? Are they tall or short? Do they have dark or light hair? Are they young or old? Now take this hero you have imagined and give him or her traits. What would they be? Is he or she courageous or adventurous? Are they physically strong or mentally strong, or both? A hero is defined in 3 ways; selflessness, humbleness, and bravery.

Feminism is defined as the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. In both poems, The Canterbury Tales by G. Chaucer, and Sir Gawain and The Green Knight by anonymous, Feminism is something that is not supported. When looking back in these times it was known to be normal for woman to be of less worth than men. Men were the ones that had to fight and support the woman at all times. All of these stories take place in a time when it was knights, and kings, and queens.

Each sex comprises fifty percent of the world’s population, yet they remain unequal. Women discrimination, or “misogyny”, has been prominent since the beginning of time through art, society, and literature. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight contains misogynistic ideologies and traditions. In the poem, Sir Gawain, one of King Arthur’s best men, needs to prove his knighthood by going on a journey to find the Green Knight. Sir Gawain is successful in his journey that was eventually revealed to have been planned by a woman. Regardless of his newfound respect following his successful journey, Sir Gawain and the other men continue to blame and degrade women; in reality, the men should be thanking the poem’s female figures. The role of women is prominent, powerful, and positive in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, yet the anonymous poet has managed to weave misogyny into every line.

There are an abundance of stories about fairytales and a knightly men sweeping women off their feet and rescuing them. This has become a stereotype for the new world as before in earlier times. The male handles the financial circumstances; they are the ones that save the day when things are going horrible for the female. The knight in shining armor, for example, always saves the lady. This is shown in fairytales like Cinderella, written in the 17th century and Rapunzel, written in the 19th century. No matter what the problem is, the man has to save the day or else he is not a man. In Marie de France’s Lanval, written in the twelfth century, the witty lai satirically challenges the stereotypical roles of women. Evidently, every story does not contend male dominance. Also the other characters do not live up to their expectations either; falling short of their glory. The women in the story are given important roles, and gender roles and position roles are interchanged.