Sir Gawain's Loyalty

Even though the green knight turns out to be good at the end of the story, he still presents Gawain with a variety of difficult challenges throughout the poem that make him seem evil. The green knight is first perceived as evil when he barges into king Arthur’s castle and insults the knights of camelot for hesitating to cut off his head. The moment that Sir Gawain volunteers to cut off the green knights instead of allowing Arthur to do so he is crossing the threshold from the ordinary world into the world of adventure. When Gawain departs on his journey to have his head cut off he is putting the greater good of camelot before his preference of not being decapitated by giant green knights. This choice that Gawain makes marks his first step towards becoming a better knight. Even

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.

The moral of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is the test of Gawain’s honesty that occurs midway through the text. “Two virtues above all were held to mark the good knight and bring him honor. They were prowess and loyalty,” (Mathew 68). It is Gawain’s loyalty that is put to the test over the course of the poem. Loyalty has a broader definition during the medieval period than it does now; “it implied fidelity to the pledged word,” (69). Sir Gawain spends three nights in a lord’s castle during his quest to fulfill the promise he made to the Green Knight. At the beginning of his stay, the lord requests, “Let us make an agreement: / Whatever I catch in the wood shall become yours, / And whatever mishap comes our way give me in exchange,” (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight 1105-1107). Sir Gawain agrees to this request and thus gives his word that he will not keep anything he is given from the lord. The first two days pass without incident, with Gawain dutifully giving the

Loyalty is perhaps the most important characteristic a person can possess. Loyalty is defined by Google as “giving or showing firm and constant support or allegiance to a person or institution.” In the books Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Stone , this definition is exploited both in a positive and negative way. In Romeo and Juliet loyalty is a characteristic that both characters acquire along their journey and it has an ennobling effect on them. While in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight , Sir Gawain is displayed as being a loyal man, but then he becomes perfidious because of his selfish way and it cost him his respect and nobleness.

Sir Gawain is described to be the weakest knight of Arthur’s, but what makes up for his disadvantage is his enduring sense of chivalry and faithfulness. Sir Gawain is portrayed with a purpose of guiding the readers to understand humanity’ instinctive traits and flaws that constructively formulate a proper individual. The following quote will indicates how Sir Gawain is being faithful to King Arthur, as he accepts the Green Knight’s challenge. He states, “But as faithful as you are, if I failed to find him/ and were to flee in fear in the fashion you urge,/ I’d be christened a coward, and could not be excused./…whether fairness or foulness follows, however fate behaves” (“Sir Gawain and The Green Knight” 2129-2135). When Sir Gawain accepts the Green Knight’s challenge, he unconsciously establishes a vow of not to deviate from his perspective of chivalry by stating, “… were to flee in fear in the fashion you urge, / I’d be christened a coward, and could not be excused.” Furthermore, he develops a belief that his fate cannot be changed, and he accepts to face the “fairness or foulness” in his journey.

     Sir Gawain was known as a noble and honest man who was willing to stare death in the face to protect King Arthur. However, the courtly Sir Gawain is submitted to the unexpected—not to the test he expects, but to one he does not expect (qtd. in Spearing). The underlying theme throughout the entire poem is temptation, which, is Sir Gawain’s greatest challenge because he is not aware of it.      

Namely, bravery and honesty. The action in the story could not even take place if the main character was not brave and steadfast in his word. Sir Gawain could easily have chickened out of their fight, pretended to have never made the deal with the Green Knight, not shown up for their battle a year later, and brought shame on himself and King Arthur’s court. Instead, however, he showed up with the intent to face his doom in that Green Chapel. By showing up, the Green Knight gave him the gift of keeping his life. This stands as an example of the fact that bravery and honesty can almost always guarantee that a scenario might work out to a person’s advantage. In the story, however, Gawain does not remain entirely honest with the Green Knight by keeping a “magical” sash gifted to him by the Knight’s wife. Due to this, Gawain must receive a reminder of the fact that he is indeed human and cannot always behave perfectly and make everyone happy. This final lesson reminds people both of the importance of honesty and of the fact that human failings do not necessarily make them a bad

Among Arthur’s knights Gawain is reputed to be the best; in fact, he is recognized by his brother knights as the greatest among them. Since the greatest warrior is he others strive to measure themselves against, Gawain has likely jousted against those of the Round Table as well as newcomers to the court; therefore, when the Green Knight comes to challenge a member of Arthur’s court, Gawain is the likely target. Yet, his history of ease in victory has only contributed to Gawain’s complacency. If he is to fight the Green Knight, he could trust in his skill, but the unexpected trial is that Gawain is not to fight the evil giant; he is to deliver a blow against a passive opponent. This scenario has never occurred in

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 did what no other Knight had the courage to do. He said “I am the weakest in knowledge and in strength, so I won’t be missed.” As a result, Sir Gawain masters maturity by showing nobility, loyalty, leader character traits, and proves to everyone how honorable he is by following through with the challenge set in stone. Sir Gawain shows nobility and loyalty when he stood up for King Arthur and accepts the Green Knights challenge.

Sir Gawain leaves for the Green Chapel and finds The Green Knight and surrenders himself as the deal was made. But The Green Knight scares Gawain twice by not slashing his head and Gawain was shaking in fear. However the third time he is barely touched and just a little blood was coming down. The Green Knight goes on to explain that the third swing and the only cut is for Gawain's acceptance of the green and golden girdle, which he did not share with his host “You failed at number three which you got cut for” (2356-57). The Green Knight explains that Gawain lacked loyalty to his lord (the host) by not handing over the girdle at the end of the third day and he was supposed to loyal to Lord, God, and lady. Gawain is ashamed of his wrong choosing and admits that he, and is embarrassed of his weakness (fear of death). The Green Knight's challenge teaches Sir Gawain that he's just a human who fears death. Because he accepted the Lady’s golden griddle, this teaches him that even he, the best and chivalrous knight, is human and able to make mistakes.

Sir Gawain in this version is well known throughout many Arthurian stories for his loyalty, humility, and chivalrousness. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, these qualities are clearly manifested as Gawain undergoes many trials which put his character to the test, for he is knightly, to a fault. During this time period it isn’t easy to disobey this code. The medieval period the Lord of the land is supreme rule. The Lord are their providers, so you cannot bite the hand that feeds you. Gawain is a knight who values loyalty above all. Sir Gawain’s tale begins with

In “Gawain’s First Failure” Victoria L. Weiss claims that, “A closer look at the terms of the challenge reveals that Sir Gawain’s temptation begins before he ever leaves Arthur’s court, and that his first failure comes when he chops off the head of the Green Knight” (Source C). Victoria L. Weiss mentions that the temptations Sir Gawain faced started before he left the court, providing evidence that supports the idea that Gawain is young and inexperienced. Due to his lack of experience and his eagerness to prove himself, he easily falls for the temptations of the challenge presented by the Green Knight. Victoria’s examination of the idea that Sir Gawain was tempted before he left the court provides evidence that he failed his quest when he accepted the challenge. By accepting the challenge and striking the Green Knight so aggressively, Sir Gawain breaks pentangle code, which is a major part of his identity. By doing so, Sir Gawain diminishes his well-known trait of chivalry. This act of disgrace towards one of his most profound characteristic is repeated when fails to uphold his agreement with Lord Bertilak.

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.

To begin with the Green Knight conveys a very daunting character, barging into Camelot and challenging Gawain from the moment he first approaches the Round Table. Gawain hesitantly accepts the challenge, but not before this Green Knight ridicules the Knights of the Round Table for stalling so long to accept the challenge: “Where are now your pride and conquests, your wrath and anger and mighty words?” (Weston 6). Gawain, being hesitant to accept the challenge, refuses the call, a refusal whose “summons converts the adventure into its negative” (Campbell 60). Which would be more important to Gawain--putting his life on the line or the honor of Camelot? Gawain reflects on this question throughout his quest. Gawain also questions life over Camelot's honor in the final moment of his quest when he is about to receive the axe blow: “But Gawain swerved aside as the axe came gliding down to slay him as he stood..” (Weston 38). He flinches as the ax comes down on the first stroke prior to what might have been a brutal death. Gawain shows human qualities, despite the fact that he has slayed dragons