Sir Gawain: The Ideal Knight Essay

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

​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

    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.

Sir Gawain shows a lot of honor by staying true to his word and following through with his deal with the Green Knight. He mentally prepares himself for the year leading up to his journey to seek out the Green Knight, braves through the forest, is met with the temptations of the lady of the castle, and holds true to his deal with the

Because King Arthur offers Gawain's hand in marriage in exchange for the correct answer, Gawain is forced to marry the "loathly" lady. After Arthur explains the promise that he has made to the woman, Gawain answers

The first chivalric expression of Sir Gawain in Arthur’s court is his loyalty. It was Christmas at Camelot-King Arthur’s court, where all the Round Table knights had gathered. An uninvited guest appeared-entirely emerald green, called Green Knight. For a knight, the most important is to remain loyal to God, King, and Lady Guinevere. When Green Knight challenge the court, Arthur initially was going to accept his challenge, but Sir Gawain stepped forth and said:

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 the Green Knight barges in the court of the round table, no one stands up to his challenge. Initially, King Arthur is the only person brave enough to take on this challenge, until Gawain raises himself up. Gawain, who "[was] the weakest ... [and] ... in wit feeblest," urged to protect his king, Arthur (Tolkien 36). Gawain demonstrates the love and respect that he has for Arthur when he asks permission to take on the challenge. "Would you, my worthy lord...bid me abandon this bench and stand by you there, so that I without discourtesy might be excused from the table...?” (Tolkien 36). Sir Gawain also admits that Arthur is a near relative, "Only because you are my uncle is honour given me..."(36). At this moment in the story Gawain is willing to protect his King's life. Gawain is tested of his knightly vow as it says, “Knightly conduct was that of a commander … loyal even to death” (Stroud 327). Gawain was ready to risk his life for his king.

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.

From Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the hero of the story, Sir Gawain, represents a lot of the characteristics of a chivalric knight/hero, among them: modesty for himself, honesty to everyone around, as well as commitment and courage to complete his agreement made. He also engages in the activities that define heroes: starting out with a journey and completing challenges along the way, all trying to prove his worthiness to not only himself, but to King Arthur and his people back home. The most chivalric thing about Sir Gawain was probably when he knew he had the option to let King Arthur chop off the Green Knight’s head, but instead, he volunteered himself to do what he thought was the smartest thing. He also had the choice to stay in his home when he should have been out and going to find the Green Knight, but he owned what he had done and completed his journey all the way to what he was thinking was his death. His only downfall was when he lied about his magical girdle, which was given to him by a lady, but did not return to the host after they had made a deal. The Green Knight

On the contrary, this type of modesty would invoke feelings of pity.Regardless of what others were thinking at the time, Gawain is determined to bare the cross of his deed in order to gain high renown among his peers and the devotion of the king. King Arthur's demonstrates his appreciation through his words of praise and the feast celebrating Gawain's courage.This is because he is expected, as a knight, to excel at humility and modesty due to the importance of the Christian state of mind in this epic poem. Gawain is a humble knight with a brave heart and many human flaws. Along with humility, the many traits of a good Christian Knight, such as chastity, are shown through Gawain’s encounter with Lady Bertilak. When speaking to lady Bertilak, Gawain admires her in a respectful and sacred approach. “As myself ever can, however long I may live/ would be absolute folly, noble lady, on my word/ I will carry out your desires with all my power/ as I am in all duty bound, and always will be/ the servant of your wishes” (Fitt 3.1544-1548). He assures her that for as long as he shall live, he will remain her noble servant attending to her every wish. Interestingly, although he has promised her to do as she pleases; he rejects her desire of a sexual encounter. He shows humility towards her for he is “completely unworthy” (Fitt 3.1244) of her seduction. He wants to remain true to his word, but cannot come to terms of allowing himself to

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.

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 challenge of maintaining virtues becomes a psychological game as Gawain is separated from his peers. He battles foul enemies including “dragons/ ...wolves, and satyrs, / And forest trolls, / And bulls, and bears, and ivory-tusked boars, / And giant ogres” (lines 719-723), but his physical monsters are glossed over in comparison to the mental turmoil that Gawain faces during this segment of his journey. In his “friendless” (line 714) time “nowhere near home” (line 714), Gawain lacks the support system of his compassionate friends of the court. The only backbone he has is in his faith, leading to his prayers to Mary “To end his grief, / To guide his weary / Steps to relief” (lines 737-739) in an act of piety, another knightly virtue that Gawain embodies. Coincidentally, the pious act that grants him the salvation of discovering the castle and brings the joys of having human companionship again also leads him to his greatest challenge: the seduction of the Lady Bercilak.