King Arthur, Sir Gawain and Superman Essay

Literature of the Middle Ages can not be discussed without acknowledging the undeniable importance of chivalry. Chivalry in relation to the middle ages is defined as “the code of conduct adhered to by Medieval knights with gallant knightly values including honor, bravery, courteousness and honesty.” This key characteristic is essential in defining an ideal knight as well as his expectations. A knight must live by a chivalric code in which he becomes indebted to the people, his fellow knights, and most importantly, his lord. No other knight displayed more of a devotion to upholding the code then Lanval of Marie de France’s lai “Lanval.” Lanval demonstrates his chivalric nature in essential every action from maintaining comitatus amongst the

Arthur’s knights were his most trusted friends and family, but ironically, he is betrayed by the best of them. The most reputed of Arthur’s knights are Sir Lancelot and Sir Tristram. Sir Lancelot was the leader of the Knights of the Round Table and Arthur’s most trusted friend, but he was involved in an illicit love affair. This affair was with Arthur’s

Gawain is willing to put his welfare on the line to save his king and friend. He says that he would be a coward and without honor if he lets King Arthur die knowing that all he must do to save him is to marry a woman, although she is quite disgusting.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is different from other pieces written because it starts out mentioning the historic events that happened before it. This is to give you an idea of where in the timeline Arthur and Camelot are. In the story of Sir Gawain our champion experiences different trials and each one is a test to see if he is a true knight. The major theme of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is the passage to maturity for our hero, Sir Gawain.

Two conflicting disciplines are prevalent throughout Arthurian Legend; that of chivalry and that of courtly love. The ideal of each clash throughout the medieval tales, and it is impossible to interfuse the two models for society. Chivalry is a masculine code, an aggressive discipline, whereas courtly love is based upon women - their needs, wants, and desires. The consistent problem if Lancelot and Guinevere’s adulterous relationship in different tellings of the affair relates back to the differences presented in chivalric code and courtly love ideals.

Not only does this outburst cause Lanval to lose his lover, but now, he must also prove to King Arthur that he did not insult his honor by demeaning the Queen during his fit of rage. If Lanval had not acted this way, he still could have been a successful knight, yet the

Lanval stays loyal to his promise until Queen Guinevere confesses her interest in him, offering herself to him in which he then he delicately rejects her. Speaking his loyalty to King Arthur. Angry, she blames him of being homosexual, Lanval, because of Queen Guinevere’s accusation says, “The poorest girl of all, is better than you, my lady queen, in body, face, and beauty.” The queen asking to be involved in an adulterous relationship is not seen as ideal behavior for modern women or for twelfth century women. During this time men were commonly known for being dishonest and unfaithful, therefore, to have this woman do this, definitely was a different direction than expected. Hurt by the rejection and statement of Lanval, Queen Guinevere tells King Arthur that Lanval came onto her. Arthur upset at the situation orders that Lanval be sent to court where if he could not prove that such a woman existed more beautiful than his beloved queen, he shall be

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.

(Day 135) She deceived King Arthur with his most trusted knight. (Senior 84) Arthur’s queen, reputedly the most beautiful women in Britain, and the love of Lancelot, Arthurs best knight. (Guinevere) After the last battle in which Arthur and many others are killed, Lancelot comes to find her in Amesbury. (Guinevere)

Part of the essence of drama is conflict. A man cannot be considered a hero unless he has overcome some form of opposition. In many cases, this opposition comes in the form of another character. Typically, the conflict is simplified as a malignant character with wicked intentions committing acts which would be characterized as evil; the protagonist opposes this villain and usually overcomes that character, winning the day and the admiration of all. Sometimes, the main character becomes a hero by overcoming some force within his or her own self. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, this is ultimately what Gawain must do in order to be considered a hero.

In Arthurian romances, the knight Gawain fulfills a central role as a member of the legendary Round Table. Alone or accompanied by other chivalrous knights, Gawain traverses the land of Logres, searching for adventures and achieving great feats of heroism. To those he encounters on his quests, Gawain often represents the epitome of chivalry and knightly valor. However, Gawain’s actual characterization is not constant in every tale where he is present. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Chretien de Troye’s Perceval, and Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte D’Arthur, Gawain’s character vacillates from being the paragon of chivalry to the antithesis of heroism, and these characterizations serve as a foil to the figures of

The stories of Lancelot (The Knight of the Cart) and Perceval (The Story of the Grail) within Chrétien de Troyes’ Arthurian Romances depict a world of Medieval Romance that is somewhat different from one that was depicted in earlier epics. These romances are more focused on the battle between love and honor rather than on war and valor, which were depicted in earlier epics of de Troyes’ time. The tale of Lancelot follows a star-struck knight who undergoes an inner conflict between both the lover and hero inside him. His intense commitment to rescuing the queen causes him to make rash decisions which inevitably restrain him from controlling his own fate. Perceval’s story exhibits a different purpose for love in a knight’s life. Unlike Lancelot, he accepts love only when he believes it can further advance him in becoming the perfect knight. The two heroes’ actions showcase an inner conflict between maintaining their honor as knights and the love for another. Through these two tales, Chrétien de Troyes shows that that idealistic love and conscious chivalry cannot necessarily successfully coexist, yet it is the unachievable idealistic view that these two ideals do coexist.

Obedience is another factor that constitutes courtly behavior in the story. Lancelot battles arduous combats and suffers severe wounds for the love of Guinevere. However, once throughout his voyage he falters in his obedience to her love, when he comes across a dwarf, driver of a cart, the dwarf tells Lancelot to ride in the cart in exchange for information on Guinevere’s whereabouts; Lancelot hesitates momentarily before leaping into the cart. Lancelot regrets this moment of hesitation and scolds himself, he argues “…Reason, who does not follow love’s command, told him to beware of getting in and admonished him…Love ordered and wished [he would ride in the cart]…; since love ruled his action, the disgrace should not have mattered.” 2 Lancelot is deeply ashamed and never falters

Garwain was the nephew and a knight of the Round Table in Arthurian. He is also the son of

If the name of King Arthur is mentioned, I suppose what comes to mind is not so much one person as a whole array of characters and themes, a montage so to speak. Of course we do think first of the King, the magnificent monarch of a glorified or idealized medieval realm. But we think also of his Queen, of the fair and wayward Guinevere, we think of his enchanter, Merlin, who presided over his birth, who set him on the throne, who established him there in the early and traveled days of his reign. There were the knights of the Round Table, vowed to the highest ideals of chivalry, and the greatest of them, Sir Lancelot, who, of course, has a tragic love affair with the Queen. There is another great love story, that of Tristan