Comparing The Code Of 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, nephew to the well-known King Arthur of the Round Table, is regarded as the most elite and noble of all the knights in the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Yet, like anyone else in the world, Sir Gawain is far from perfect. Gawain, a courteous knight living a life dedicated to honor, courage, and self-preservation, is tested on his chivalrous code throughout his journey; a search for the Green Knight. Throughout the tests, Gawain’s actions reveal that even the best of men can be selfish and are subject to guilt and sin.

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.

In two stories there is a code that knights follow. Chivalry is the code that they follow. The code says that a knight should be a brave warrior, a good christian, and selflessly fighting for justice. The knights are supposed to fight for their king and queen. In the stories Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and from Morte d’Arthur they show the idea about chivalry.

Essay with Outline  Loyalty, courage, honor, purity, and courtesy are all attributes of a knight that displays chivalry. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is truly a story of the test of these attributes. In order to have a true test of these attributes, there must first be a knight worthy of being tested, meaning that the knight must possess chivalric attributes to begin with. Sir Gawain is self admittedly not the best knight around. He says "I am the weakest, well I know, and of wit feeblest; / and the loss of my life [will] be least of any" (Sir Gawain, l. 354-355). To continue on testing a knight that does not seem worthy certainly will not result in much of a story, or in

Moral ambiguity—and the idea of morally ambiguous people—results from dilemmas whose ethical choice is unclear. One may be considered evil for making a decision that contradicts the principles or systems of ethicality that some may have, while on the other hand they may be treated as perfectly good because of a conflicting perspective or ethical system which believes otherwise. Sir Gawain, from the Pearl Poet’s Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, is a suitable example of a morally ambiguous character whose decisions may be considered pure by some and wicked by others. Gawain’s first choice to chop off Bertilak’s head—instead of being honourable by only giving him a nick and trusting that he would in favour return the same—can be thought of as an act which runs contrary to chivalry. His later decision to accept and keep the girdle is another example of his unchivalrous behaviour by not trusting in God to save him and by keeping the girdle (essentially stealing it) from his host, Bertilak. On the contrary, Gawain can be thought of as a force of good for accepting Bertilak’s challenge in the place of Arthur and agreeing to the terms which he fulfills later in the book. His decision to decapitate the Green Knight can be seen as an attempt to rid society of a form of evil which threatens it and can, therefore, be considered a commendable act. The Pearl Poet uses the morally ambiguous character, Gawain, to show that people who may seem good in one way may be seen as evil in another.

     An act of chivalry is described as the qualifications or character of the ideal knight. Knights were expected to uphold this code of conduct. In the English literature Le Morte d?Arthur, French for ?The Death of Arthur?, by Sir Thomas Malory, the characters display acts of chivalry from beginning to end. Though the code of chivalry contains many qualities or acts, nevertheless bravery, loyalty, and courtly love are demonstrated more throughout this literature.

In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a knight’s bravery correlates with their ethical code of honor. After the mockery of King Arthur’s court when the Green Knight notes, “Where is now your arrogance and your awesome deeds, your valor and your victories and your vaunting words,” (lines 311-312) one of the many knights in attendance is obligated to come forward to keep their pride and to save the name of King Arthur’s court. Following this encounter, Sir Gawain steps up to fight the Green Knight, which allowed King Arthur to not have to fight the Green Knight. The code of chivalry helps explain that one of the knights has to step up to keep his honor and protect the King and his court. “And the loss of my life would be least of any; and it is I that have asked it, it ought to be mine, and if my claim be not comely let all this court judge. And all councel all unite to give Gawain the game and release the king outright” (lines 355-365). The bravery to come forward and risk one’s life is another of the traits in the code of chivalry of the knights.

    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.

In Geoffrey Chaucer’s poem, The Knight’s Tale, the author encapsulates chivalrous characteristics in his telling of a battle for love. In its fundamental form, chivalry idealizes a knight’s conduct, both on and off the battlefield (Gregory-Abbott). Chaucer employs this “heroic code [of] bravery, loyalty, and service to one's lord” to illustrate the idillic knight throughout the narrative (Rossignol). Chaucer’s poem, The Knight’s Tale, exhibits the ideals of chivalry in the form of two knights, desperately in love with the same woman, and a wise Duke who embodies the voice of reason. Each knight upholds honor through compassion, troths, and heroism on the battlefield, despite their afflictions with each other.

A common belief is that a big part in the code of chivalry is courtly love. This is false. The documentary says the code of chivalry bound the aristocratic fighting class and protected the aristocracy families. This doesn’t have and didn’t have much to do with romance. Courtly love is more of the term to use for the code the knights followed in regards to romance. Chivalry was mostly a knights’ duties, roles, and behaviors he was to follow in order to remain honorable. It relates to the knights’ relationship with one another. Courtly love focused on how a knight treated his women. In The Knight’s Tale these two codes are at war with one another.

The legends and tales of the knights of King Arthur’s Round Table have resounded for ages—vivid stories of courageous and gallant knights usurping evil while simultaneously maintaining an upstanding reputation. Through the Arthurian tales, one has the opportunity to experience heroic narratives of exemplary models of knights who clearly illustrate the chivalry and honorability one should aspire to possess. No more evidently is this theme displayed than in the 14th century epic poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight—a narrative of Sir Gawain, nephew of the legendary King Arthur, and his heroic journey against a mysterious green knight. In this heroic journey, the inherent charisma Gawain possesses and is continually praised for affirms the

Humans are not perfect! Sir Gawain the great knight had flaws and showed many human qualities. Even King Arthur had his flaws and made bad decisions. Guinevere is also not perfect as she gets tempted by Lancelot. Humans also love, hate, and can be evil or good.

Upon first Reading Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, I noticed that it comes off as a romantic normative poem about chivalric ideals and traditions of the ruling class with covertly Christian Images. The protagonist character Sir Gawain stands out as the role model of the chivalric ideals of the 14th century while displaying Christian images on his armor. The combination of Gawain’s armor and actions throughout the poem exemplify his characteristics of Christian perfection and chivalric ideals. The very first scene with Bertilak of Hautdesert known as the Green Knight begins to mold your perception of how chivalrous Sir Gawain is by portraying him as valiant, humble, and virtuous knight to Arthur. I felt that the interruption of Arthur

In the opening lines of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the Gawain-poet predicates the numerous dualities—which lead the reader through questions of moral seriousness—that exist in the poem. The opening historical recounting, according to Richard Hamilton Green, reminds the reader that “the greatness of the past is marred by reminders of failure” (179). The paradox of triumph and greatness arising out of failure foreshadows Sir Gawain following the same pattern of fate as his predecessors. While the completion of Gawain’s quest reaffirms the historical paradox of greatness, his journey to renown is fraught with situations and symbols that develop the poem’s main concern of moral seriousness. The Gawain-poet skillfully reveals his