ARTHURIAN ROMANCE AND THE

DECLINE OF CHIVALRY
SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN
KNIGHT
Students: Vicol Alexandra-Melania
Spoial Alina Naomi
Iftode Andreia
Artenie Tudor
Sectiune engleza-germana an I

History
King Arthurs Legend
Arturian Romance
The story of Queen
Guenevere and Sir
Lancelot
Summary
Characters
Themes & motifs
Symbols
Bibliography

Conte
nts

King Arthuris a
legendaryBritishleader of the
late 5th and early 6th centuries,
who, according to medieval
histories andromances, led the
defence of Britain
againstSaxoninvaders in the
early 6th century. The details of
Arthur's story are mainly
composed offolkloreand literary
invention, and his historical
existence is debated and disputed
by modern historians.The sparse
historical background of Arthur is
gleaned from various sources,
including theAnnales Cambriae,
theHistoria Brittonum, and the
writings ofGildas. Arthur's name
also occurs in early poetic sources
such asY Gododdin.

History

King Arthur has been an

important figure in English
literature since singers and storytellers first described his great
exploits in the 6th-century. Of
course, the legend of King Arthur
has been appropriated by many
story-tellers and poets, who have
embellished upon the first, most
modest tales. Part of the intrigue of
the stories, which became part of
Arthurian romance, though, is the
mixture of myth, adventure, love,
enchantment, and tragedy. The
magic and intrigue of these stories
invites even more far-fetched and
elaborate interpretations.

The Legend

Although there are

innumerable variations of
theArthurian legend, the
basic story has remained the
same. Arthur was the
illegitimate son ofUther
Pendragon, king of Britain,
andIgraine, the wife
ofGorlois of Cornwall. After
the death of Uther, Arthur,
who had been reared in
secrecy, won acknowledgment
as king of Britain by
successfully withdrawing a
sword from a stone.

Merlin, the court magician, then revealed the

new king's parentage. Arthur, reigning in his
court atCamelot, proved to be a noble king and
a mighty warrior. He was the possessor of the
miraculous swordExcalibur, given to him by the
mysteriousLady of the Lake. At Arthur's
deathSir Bediverethrew Excalibur into the
lake; a hand rose from the water, caught the
sword, and disappeared. Another sword,
sometimes mistakenly identified with Excalibur,
was drawn from a stone by Arthur to prove his
royalty.

Of Arthur's several enemies, the

most treacherous were his
sisterMorgan le Fayand his
nephewMordred. Morgan le Fay
was usually represented as an
evil sorceress, scheming to win
Arthur's throne for herself and
her lover. Mordred (or Modred)
was variously Arthur's nephew or
his son by his sisterMorgause.
He seized Arthur's throne during
the king's absence. Later he was
slain in battle by Arthur, but not
before he had fatally wounded the
king. Arthur was borne away to
the isle ofAvalon, where it was
expected that he would be healed
of his wounds and that he would
someday return to his people.

Two of the most invincible knights

in Arthur's realm were Sir
Tristram andSir Launcelotof the
Lake. Both of them, however, were
involved in illicit and tragic love
unions -Tristram with Isolde, the
queen of Tristram's uncle, King
Mark;Sir Launcelot with
Guinevere, the queen of his
sovereign, King Arthur. Other
knights of importance include the
naiveSir Pelleas, who fell
helplessly in love with the
heartlessEttarre (or
Ettard)andSir Gawain, Arthur's
nephew, who appeared variously
as the ideal of knightly courtesy
and as the bitter enemy of
Launcelot.

Arthurian romance

Using Celtic sources,Chrtien de Troyesin

the late 12th century made Arthur the ruler
of a realm of marvels in five romances of
adventure. He also introduced the themes of
theGrailand the love of Lancelot and
Guinevereinto Arthurian legend. Prose
romances of the 13th century explored these
major themes further. An early
proseromancecentring on Lancelot seems to
have become the kernel of a cyclic work known
as the ProseLancelot,orVulgate cycle.

The story of Queen Guenevere and

The story of Queen Guenevere and
Sir Lancelot
Sir Lancelot

One of the greatest knights of the round table of King Arthur

was Lancelot. He was loyal, wise, strong, and kind. But
unfortunately, he fell in love withQueen Guinevere. They tried
to keep their love a secret from the king, but eventually,it
became known and was a catalyst for the Round Table to fall.
Like most romances, their love bloomed slowly. At first,
Guinevere ignored Lancelot. But not for long and she soon
succumbed to his charms and they became lovers.
Another knight, Sir Meliagaunt grew suspicious and e
confronted Sir Lancelot in the presence of the King and Queen.
This led Lancelot to issue a challenge to Meliagaunt to dispute
the charge.But in such a contest, Sir Lancelot became the
victor when he cleaved his oponent's head in half.Sir Lancelot
and Queen Guinevere's honour were restored.

But rumours continued to abound and several other

knights became suspicious of Lancelot and Guinevere's
romantic trysts.Sir Agravain and Sir Modred, King
Arthur's nephew gathered12 knightsand stormed
Guinevere's chamber, catching her with Lancelot in bed.
Sir Lancelot tried toescape and fought hius way out of the
castle, butguards seized Guinevere who was tried and
later condemned to burn to death for herinfedility.
Upon hearing the news of his beloved's imminent
execution,Sir Lancelot attempted to rescue her. He
killedseveral of King Arthur's knights in the process.
Angered, King Arthur gathered a troop of men
andattacked Lancelot's castle, but they failed.
Lancelot ended his days as a hermit and Guinevere
became a nun at Amesbury where she died.

The decline of chivalry

Some desperate attempts to resurect the chivalry were made in the

fifteenth century to revive the old codes of chivalry, but as the years
progressed only traces of this lost institution remained. Religion no
longer regulated the military spirit of men; knights
had forfeited their ancient splendor and had become mere soldiers,
while the art of gallantry had deteriorated into
licentiousness.
Chivalry, in its maturity, teased out the virtues and vices of humanity.
Yet the qualities of valor, steadfastness and
justice, of courtesy, loyalty and obedience, although no longer publicly
embraced, were never entirely forgotten.
The noble aims of chivalry left an enduring mark on society, and it
would be difficult for anyone to deny that modern
courtesy is descended from the ideal of medieval chivalry, and ideal
which proved as susceptible as any other to the
perilous pitfalls of practice.

While these stories and bits of poetry

depict a utopian society of long ago,
though, they also reflect the society
from which they were (and are being)
created. By comparing Sir Gawain and
the Green Knight and Morte d'Arthur
with Tennyson's "Idylls of the King,"
we see the evolution of the Arthurian
myth.

Sir Gwain and the Green

Knight

Defined as "narrative, written in prose or verse and

concerned with adventure, courtly love and chivalry,"
Arthurian romance derived the narrative verse form
from 12th-century France. The anonymous 14th-century
English romance "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" is
the most widely recognized example of Arthurian
romance. Although little is known about this poet, who
we may refer to as the Gawain or Pearl-Poet, the poem
seems fairly typical of Arthurian Romance. Here, a
magical creature (the Green Knight) has challenged a
noble knight to a seemingly impossible task, in the
pursuit of which he meets fierce beasts and the
temptation of a beautiful woman. Of course, the young
knight, in this case Gawain, displays courage, skill and
chivalric courtesy in overcoming his foe. And, of course,
it seems fairly cut-and-dried.

Beneath the surface, though, we seem some very different

features. Framed by the treachery of Troy, the poem links two
main plot motifs: the beheading game, in which the two parties
agree to an exchange of blows with an ax, and the exchange of
winnings, in this case involving temptation that tests Sir
Gawain's courtesy, courage and loyalty. The Gawain-Poet
appropriates these themes from other folklore and romance to
accomplish a moral agenda, as each of these motifs are linked to
the quest and ultimate failure of Gawain.
In the context of the society in which he lives, Gawain faces not
only the complexity of obeying God, King, and Queen and
following all of the overlapping contradictions which his position
as knight entails, but he becomes a sort of mouse in a much
bigger game of heads, sex, and violence. Of course, his honor is
constantly at stake as well, which makes him feel as though he
has no choice but to play the game, listening and trying to obey
as many of the rules as he can along the way. In the end, his
attempt fails.

Summary

Its Christmas time at King Arthurs court, and all the knights and
ladies have gathered to celebrate. Arthur, however, refuses to eat
until he has witnessed something marvelous or heard a great
adventure story. Luckily, just when everyones sitting down to eat, a
mysterious, gigantic stranger with emerald-green skin and clothing
bursts into the hall.
The Green Knight announces that hes come to test the honor of the
legendary knights of the round table, and proposes a game: he will
withstand a single axe-blow from the hands of one knight, as long as
that knight agrees to meet him in a year and a day to receive an axeblow in return,no one volunteers.
The Green Knight mocks them cruelly, calling out Arthur himself to
take up the challenge. But before Arthur can strike a blow, his
nephew, Sir Gawain, declares that its shameful for the king to have
to participate in such a silly game. So Sir Gawain volunteers himself.

Gawain brings the axe down on the Green Knight, chopping his head off.
Instead of dying, the Green Knight picks up his own head, turns it to face the
court, and tells Gawain to meet him at the Green Chapel in a year and a day.
He gallops out.
The seasons pass, and soon its the holiday season again. Gawain rides
through enchanted lands teeming with marvels, battling monsters, and
withstanding extreme cold and snow as he travels. As Christmas approaches,
Gawain is relieved to see a huge, well-protected castle in the middle of an
enchanted forest. When he arrives there he is warmly welcomed.
After the Christmas, Gawain gets ready to leave, but the lord persuades him
to stay by saying that he can guide Gawain to the Green Chapel. The lord
proposes a game, moreover: as Gawain lounges inside by the fire all day, the
lord will ride out to hunt. At the end of the day, the two will exchange
whatever theyve won. Gawain happily agrees to the game.
The next morning, as the lord rides out in pursuit of deer, Gawain sleeps in
late. Hes awoken by the lady of the castle. She says she's come to enjoy the
company of a knight with such a wonderful reputation.Before she goes, she
surprises Gawain by doubting that hes really the Gawain shes heard so much
about. When Gawain asks why, she replies that a man with a reputation for
being a ladies' man would never depart from a lady without kissing her.
Especially when her flirtatious behavior has indicated shes willing. Taking
the hint, Gawain kisses the lady, who then departs.

When the lord returns to the castle that night, he presents Gawain
with a multitude of well-dressed deer, for which Gawain exchanges the
kiss hes received from the lord's wife. Gawain and the lord continue
the same game for the next two days. The lord hunts a boar and a fox
while Gawain flirts with the lady of the castle. Gawain then exchanges
the kisses he receives for the animals the lord has killed.
On the last day of the game, however, the lady convinces Gawain to
accept something else as a green girdle, or belt, which she claims will
make the unable to be killed. Gawain realizes that this is just the
thing to save his life during his impending meeting with the Green
Knight. When the lord of the castles comes home at the end of the day,
Gawain breaks the rules of the game and doesn't exchange the green
girdle.
The next morning, Gawain rides out of the castle with a guide, who
points him to the Green Chapel. The guide begs Gawain to reconsider,
because the man who guards it is so dangerous. When Gawain reaches
the clearing, all he sees is a small mound with patches of grass on it.
He assumes this must be the chapel. He hears a noise like someone
sharpening a blade. He calls out to the sharpener to come meet him.

The Green Knight emerges with his huge axe, and commends
Gawain for keeping the terms of the agreement. He moves to strike
the first blow, but stops his hand when Gawain flinches. He chews
Gawain out for being a sissy. After Gawain promises to flinch no
more, the knight moves to strike a second blow, but again stops his
hand. This time he claims he was testing to see if Gawain was ready.
Finally, the Green Knight strikes a third blow. This time, the axe
breaks the skin but doesn't decapitate Gawain. Gawain leaps up and
arms himself, telling the Green Knight that he has met the terms of
the agreement and will now defend himself if threatened.
Laughing, the Green Knight explains to Gawain that he is actually
the same lord of the castle where Gawain spent his holidays. The
first two blows, he claims, were in return for the way Gawain
returned the kisses of his wife, following the rules of their game as
an honest man should. The third blow, he says, was for Gawains
failure to return the green girdle to him on the last day. But because
Gawains failing was only because he wanted to save his life, and not
because he's just dishonorable, the Green Knight forgives him.

Sir Gawain, however, is totally mortified. He

asks the mans name and learns that he is Lord
Bertilak. His powers come from Morgan le Fay,
who is King Arthurs aunt and a powerful
sorceress. She enchanted Bertilak and sent him
to King Arthurs court to test the honor of the
knights there and to frighten Queen Guinevere.
Gawain returns to Arthurs court. He tells the
story of his adventure, and declares that he will
wear the girdle for the rest of his life as a
reminder of his failure.This tradition is carried
down through generations and becomes a
symbol of honor.

Characters

Sir Gawain- The storys

protagonist, Arthurs nephew and
one of his most loyal knights.
Although he modestly disclaims it,
Gawain has the reputation of
being a great knight and courtly
lover. He prides himself on his
observance of the five points of
chivalry in every aspect of his life.
Gawain is a pinnacle of humility,
piety, integrity, loyalty, and
honesty. His only flaw proves to be
that he loves his own life so much
that he will lie in order to protect
himself. Gawain leaves the Green
Chapel penitent and changed.

Green Knight- A mysterious visitor to Camelot. The

Green Knights huge stature, wild appearance, and green
complexion set him apart from the beardless knights and
beautiful ladies of Arthurs Camelot. He is an ambiguous
figure: he says that he comes in friendship, not wanting to
fight, but the friendly game he proposes is quite deadly.
He attaches great importance to verbal
contracts, expecting Sir Gawain to go to great
lengths to hold up his end of their bargain.
The Green Knight shows himself to be a
supernatural being when he picks up his own
severed head and rides out of Arthurs court,
still speaking. At the same time, he seems to
symbolize the natural world, in that he is
killed and reborn as part of a cycle. At the
poems end, we discover that the Green
Knight is also Bertilak, Gawains host, and
one of Morgan le Fayes minions.

Morgan le Faye- The

Arthurian tradition typically
portrays Morgan as a powerful
sorceress, trained by Merlin, as
well as the half sister of King
Arthur. Not until the last one
hundred lines do we discover
that the old woman at the castle
is Morgan le Faye and that she
has controlled the poems entire
action from beginning to end.
As she often does in Arthurian
literature, Morgan appears as
an enemy of Camelot, one who
aims to cause as much trouble
for her half brother and his
followers as she can.

King Arthur- The king of

Camelot. InSir Gawain and the
Green Knight, Arthur is young
and beardless, and his court is in
its golden age. Arthurs refusal
to eat until he hears a fantastic
tale shows the petulance of
youth, as does Arthurs initial
stunned response to the Green
Knights challenge. However, like
a good king, Arthur soon steps
forward to take on the challenge.
At the storys end, Arthur joins
his nephew in wearing a green
girdle on his arm, showing that
Gawains trial has taught him
about his own fallibility.

Queen Guinevere- Arthurs wife. The beautiful young Guinevere ofSir

Gawain and the Green Knightseems to have little in common with the one of
later Arthurian legend. She sits next to Gawain at the New Years feast and
remains a silent, objectified presence in the midst of the knights of the Round
Table.

Themes

Chivalry
Nature
The Supernatural
Christianity and Faith in God
Respect and Reputation Theme
Tradition and Customs
Awe and Amazement Theme
Hunting and seduction

The ideals of chivalry derive from the

Christian concept of morality, and the
proponents of chivalry seek to
promote spiritual ideals in a
spiritually fallen world.
King Arthurs court at Camelot is
defined by a chivalrous code, in which
fighting spirit, bravery and courtesy
are vital to a mans character and
standing, and cowardice is looked
down upon as a severe defect. The
Green Knight's challenge is thus a
challenge not just to each individual
knight but to the entire Arthurian
chivalric code, and that code is shown
to be hollow when none of the knights
accept the challenge until Gawain,
who identifies himself as the weakest
of the knights, finally does.

Chivalry

Nature

The green horse and rider are iconic representations of

nature's disturbance.Nature is presented throughout the
poem as rough and indifferent, constantly threatening the
order of men and courtly life. Nature invades and disrupts
order in the major events of the narrative, both
symbolically and through the inner nature of humanity.
This element appears first with the disruption caused by
the Green Knight (He is forced to confront the forces of
Nature both external and internal n the form of the
Green Knight, the winter landscape), later when Gawain
must fight off his natural lust for Bertilaks wife( his own
sexual desire, and again, and ultimately, when Gawain
breaks his vow to Bertilak by choosing to keep the green
girdle, valuing survival over virtue (his own fear of death)
.

The Supernatural Theme

When the Green Knight appears in King Arthurs court,

the people there think he may be some sort of magical
creature when he picks up his own severed head and
speaks with it.Appears: a sorceress named Morgan le Fay
has enchanted the otherwise normal Sir Bertilak into the
Green Knight in order to frighten Arthurs queen and test
his knights. It turns out magic is never far off in the
Arthurian legend - Arthurs own birth was the result of a
shape-shifting deception of his father by his mother. In Sir
Gawain and the Green Knight, though, magic is a
specifically female enterprise, with Morgan le Fay
wielding and abusing power. But even treacherous
sorceresses and magical, shape-shifting creatures are no
excuse for a knight to behave badly; instead, the
supernatural world becomes yet one more proving ground
for his bravery and honor.

Christianity and Faith in God

In contrast to the questionable nature of the chivalric code, the

poet upholds Christian faith as the ultimate, saving grace for
humanity. Ever pious, Gawain continuously finds guidance in God:
from the image of the Virgin Mary on the inside of his shield to
his prayers while journeying alone, to his narrow escape from the
adulterous temptations of Lady Bertilak. It is, in a sense, faith
in God which enables mankind to negotiate between the dangers
of human society and the dangers of the natural world. To
affirm this, the poem concludes with a supplication to Jesus
Christ, the Savior.
Celtic Pagan Sources and Christian overlay
Despite its Christian message, the poem has strong roots in
Celtic pagan myth. There are many elements common to preChristian Celtic mythology, such as the waiting period of twelve
months and a day, the Beheading Game, and the Temptation
Game. The Green Knight himself is a strongly pagan character,
similar to the Green Man or Wild Man of the Woods who
symbolizes fertility in folklore.

Respect and Reputation Theme

The Green Knight comes to Arthurs court, he claims, because hes heard of the
reputation for bravery of its men, the Knights of the Round Table. He uses the
threat of damage to this reputation to force the court to join in his beheading
game. Similarly, Lady Bertilak convinces Gawain to kiss her by touting his
reputation for courtesy, yet takes the tactic one step further by implying that
Gawain is not Gawain if he refuses. This strategy relies upon a definition of
identity as composed of your reputation - of what "everyone says" about you. Yet
this definition of identity can be dangerous, since it gives other people a great
deal of power over who you are. This precarious situation is demonstrated by
Gawains attempt to avoid Lady Bertilaks seduction without appearing
discourteous. On the other hand, the narrative strategy of Sir Gawain and the
Green Knight relies upon collective opinion to back up its claims. For example,
comments about Arthurs nobility or Gawains virtue are backed up by "what
everyone says."

Tradition and Customs

The world of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is one in which
every aspect of life is bound up with rules and customs. The
rituals of celebration and hunting are no exception. The
narrators focus on the way Arthurs court does what is
"proper" at Christmas time reveals a values system in which
what is customary is right. We see this in the exchanging of
gifts, saying "Nowel!," and in the way the characters sit in a
strict hierarchical order at the feast. We also see attention
paid to custom in the hunting scenes. The butcher must cut
the animal up in a specific order and reserve various parts of
the animal for the hunts participants. In the case of the
boar, the butcher must cut the animal so as to construct a
perfect trophy for display. To deviate from these customs
would be to reveal oneself as ill-educated in hunting, which
was considered an art at this time period.

The opening passages of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight frame the
tale as a "marvellous event," a "prodigious happening among tales
about Arthur" . As we read the poem, we begin to understand more
fully what comprises the wondrous or marvelous in its world. As
Arthurs court contends with the wonder of the entirely green man
who picks up his own severed head and speaks with it, they are
rendered entirely passive and speechless. They are unable to
proceed when faced with such an unfamiliar situation. When the
Green Knight leaves the court, Arthur is relieved, but also aware
that he has gotten what he desired - to witness a wonder.
Arthur's reaction captures the feelings of joy and turmoil that
wonder brings in its wake. Characters are simultaneously elated and
shocked by whats new and unfamiliar.This feeling of wonder might
also describe our encounter with the poem. We share in characters
awe at the marvelous happenings while simultaneously experiencing
their discomfort and sorrow.

Awe and Amazement Theme

Hunting and seduction

We can note the

parallels between the
three hunting scenes and
the three seduction
scenes in Gawain: the
fox chase has significant
parallels to the third
seduction scene, in which
Gawain accepts the
girdle from Bertilak's
wife,the deer hunts of
the time,and the boar

Motifs
The Seasons and time
At the beginning of Parts 2 and 4, the poet describes the
changing of the seasons. The seasonal imagery in Part 2
precedes Gawains departure from Camelot, and in Part 4 his
departure from the hosts castle. In both cases, the changing
seasons correspond to Gawains changing psychological state,
from cheerfulness (pleasant weather) to bleakness (the winter).
But the five changing seasons also correspond to the five ages
of man (birth/infancy, youth, adulthood, middle age, and old
age/death), as well as to the cycles of fertility and decay that
govern all creatures in the natural world. The emphasis on the
cyclical nature of the seasons contrasts with and provides a
different understanding of the passage of time from the more
linear narrative of history that frames the poem.

Games

The word gomen (game) is found 18 times in Gawain. Its

similarity to the word gome (man), which appears 21 times, has
led some scholars to see men and games as centrally linked.
Games at this time were seen as tests of worthiness, as when
the Green Knight challenges the court's right to its good
name in a "Christmas game".The "game" of exchanging gifts
was common in Germanic cultures. If a man received a gift, he
was obliged to provide the giver with a better gift or risk
losing his honour, almost like an exchange of blows in a fight
(or in a "beheading game").The poem revolves around two
games: an exchange of beheading and an exchange of winnings.
These appear at first to be unconnected. However, a victory
in the first game will lead to a victory in the second. Elements
of both games appear in other stories; however, the linkage of
outcomes is unique to Gawain

Symbols

The Pentangle

The pentangle symbolizes the

virtues to which Gawain aspires:
to be faultless in his five senses;
never to fail in his five fingers; to
be faithful to the five wounds
that Christ received on the cross;
to be strengthened by the five
joys that the Virgin Mary had in
Jesus (the Annunciation,
Nativity, Resurrection,
Ascension, and Assumption); and
to possess brotherly love,
courtesy, piety, and chastity. The
side of the shield facing Gawain
contains an image of the Virgin
Mary to make sure that Gawain
never loses heart.

The Green Girdle

The meaning of the hosts wifes

girdle changes over the course of
the narrative. It is made out of
green silk and embroidered with
gold thread, colors that link it to
the Green Knight. She claims it
possesses the power to keep its
wearer from harm, but we find
out in Part4that the girdle has
no magical properties. After the
Green Knight reveals his identity
as the host, Gawain curses the
girdle as representing cowardice
and an excessive love of mortal
life. He wears it from then on as
a badge of his sinfulness. To
show their support, Arthur and
his followers wear green silk
baldrics that look just like
Gawains girdle.

Bibliography

http://www.gradesaver.com/sir-gawain-and-the-green-k
night/study-guide/themes
http://www.shmoop.com/sir-gawain-green-knight/super
natural-theme.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Gawain_and_the_Gre
en_Knight
http://www.litcharts.com/lit/sir-gawain-and-the-greenknight/themes
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/gawain/themes.html

http://members.tripod.com/~aaron_neilson/decline.html

http://classiclit.about.com/od/kingarthur/a/aa_arthuri
an.htm
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/37033/Arth