ipl-logo

Examples Of Chivalry In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

909 Words4 Pages

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a story that portrays acts of courtly love and chivalry. This Medieval Romance was written in the late fourteenth century in Middle English and written in stanzas of alliteration. These stories often included adventurous knights, idealized love, exotic settings, hidden identities, and supernatural events. The idealized love came from the code of chivalry and the concept of courtly love. Chivalry was a very important code to live by during this time period, the knights of the castle had to respect the lord of the castle. In a courtly love relationship the knight is required to love and respect the lady just as he loves and respects the lord The Lady is in complete control of the love relationship, while he owes her obedience. In the story, Sir Gawain was very cautious because he wanted to please both the lady and the lord. In order to please one more than the other then he would have to disappoint one of them. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the relationship between Lady of the Castle and Sir Gawain is a prime example of chivalry and courtly love. …show more content…

The Green Knight decides to test Sir Gawain because he wanted to see if he really had respect, honor, valor, and loyalty to his lord and/or king. The lord of the castle tested the chivalrous values of Sir Gawain throughout the story, using a game that he created. The game involved the Lord hunting and Sir Gawain remaining at the castle for three days, each night the two had exchange their winnings of the day without having to say where or how they got the prize. The Green knight presents Sir Gawain with the game with the circumstance of his wife, acting as the host, which supplied Gawain’s winnings. The game in the story acts as a concept for the overall theme of

Show More
Related

  • The Chivalric Code In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

    757 Words  | 4 Pages

    Many other knights would run but Gawain understands that he has to have courage and must be honest about going to meet the green knight and fulfill his deal. One other virtue of chivalry that Gawain presents is courtesy. Gawain shows courtesy to the ladies of the castle. The pearl poet creates this scene: “His acquaintance they requested, and

    Read More

  • Sir Gawain And The Green Knight Only Human Quotes

    1255 Words  | 6 Pages

    Sir Gawain’s knighthood to the core is tested, going through a multitude of tests to see just how chivalrous he truly is. In the fantastical medieval romance poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the main character, Sir Gawain embarks on a journey which helps him grow and improve

    Read More

  • Women In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

    1211 Words  | 5 Pages

    Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a late fourteenth century Arthurian Romance Poem. During the time of Sir Gawain, society was dominated by males with women receiving little power. Women were treated with chivalry, but not respected as beings of their own rights. Knights were prided in having the code of chivalry yet were under the assumption woman could not attain much for themselves.

    Read More

  • Maturity In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

    85 Words  | 1 Pages

    The main theme of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is the journey to maturity of Gawain, the hero. During the passage, Gawain goes through three tests on his development. First, Gawain shows courage and resourcefulness when he volunteers to take the Green Knight’s challenge instead of Arthur doing so. Second, Gawain shows authority, self-restraint, and integrity when he denies the sexual endeavours of the lady of the house. Lastly, Gawain shows bravery when he faces death by keeping his meeting with the Green

    Read More

  • Character Analysis Of Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

    1005 Words  | 5 Pages

    Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a medieval romance written in the late fourteenth century by an unknown author. It is part of the Arthurian legend and takes place in England during the winter. The knights of the Round Table have virtues tested when a mysterious Green Knight appears with a suspicious challenge, that leads Sir Gawain on an epic journey of self-discovery. Even though Sir Gawain is considered to be the perfect knight, his character is put to the test through a series of unbeknownst challenges that ultimately prove his true colors.

    Read More

  • All Women In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

    1290 Words  | 6 Pages

    Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, composed by an unknown artist, is a medieval story that follows the tale of a knight who embarks on a journey after being issued a challenge from a mysterious green stranger. During his quest, Sir Gawain, the knight, stays at a castle in the wilderness and is housed by Lord and Lady Bertilak, both of whom test his chivalric code and his Christian ideals. Lady Bertilak is a seductress and tempts Sir Gawain, though he refuses all her advances, with the exception of her kisses. Lord Bertilak is the mysterious green stranger, known as the Green Knight. Once Sir Gawain completed his task, he discovers that Morgan le Faye, a witch scorned by King Arthur, orchestrated the entire challenge in the hopes of causing King

    Read More

  • Christian Symbolism In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

    605 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, whose author is unknown, is an Arthurian Romance/Epic that holds a degree of Christian symbolism. These Christian symbols are intermixed with Britannic Pagan traditions and themes in order to appeal more to the common British people at the time of the early Christianization of Britain. This can be supported by the stories of kings being created in the earlier centuries throughout history. In this particular story, this symbolism is important since all the knights of King Arthur’s Court were supposed to follow a certain chivalrous code of conduct, whether present in the courts or away on some other venture. The chivalric code being the embodiment of Christian virtue and valor, which was expected to be personified

    Read More

  • Sir Gawain And The Green Knight Research Paper

    545 Words  | 3 Pages

    Despite the human flaws that each knight bears, all three knights represent knighthood and the chivalric code because of its importance in medieval society.                                                                          The author of  “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” describes Sir Gawain as the “most courteous knight” (215) in Arthur’s court  because he models chivalry ideally. Gawain’s chivalric traits

    Read More

  • Honor In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

    775 Words  | 4 Pages

    Sir Gawain and the Green Knight In the Pearl Poet’s Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, an epic story emerges to reveal a man’s journey of honor, honesty, valor, and loyalty. Throughout Gawain’s adventures in the poem, he discovers and demonstrates his own chivalric qualities. Although he makes a few mistakes along the way he strives to be an honorable man.

    Read More

  • Sir Gawain And The Green Knightly Virtue Analysis

    998 Words  | 4 Pages

    NAME INSTRUCTOR COURSE DATE The Five Knightly Virtues of Sir Gawain Sir Gawain and The Green Knight is the most known 14th century poem that depicts the Arthurian legend. It has been translated from a Middle English dialect by Simon Armitage; unfortunately, very little is known about the original author. Sir Gawain is the protagonist as he is the major source of conflict when he struggles to decide whether his “knightly virtues” are more important than his own life.

    Read More

  • Chivalry In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

    1052 Words  | 5 Pages

    During the Medieval times chivalry was one of the most important characteristics a knight could display. Chivalry was viewed as a moral obligation that involved bravery, honor, respect, and gallantry. Knights were expected to uphold this code or face social consequences for any infractions, with punishments ranging from humiliation to termination of their knighthood. “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” presents the struggles knights faced with honoring the chivalrous code at all times. Sir Gawain, while imperfect, exhibits qualities expected of knights and embodies the internal struggle between honoring the chivalrous code and giving into selfish desires.

    Read More

  • Chivalry In The Green Knight And Morte D Arthur

    899 Words  | 4 Pages

    The ideas of Chivalry was expressed through out all sorts of different literary works, such as songs, poems, and more. The Two stories of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and Morte D’Arthur express some of the ideas of Chivalry. The first Chivalry idea that is seen in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is the loyalty of Sir Gawain. Gawain on his way to fight the green knight, stays the night with a lord and his lady.

    Read More

  • Loyalty In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

    718 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sir Gawain takes knighthood to a deeper level and continues to see his knightly duties and responsibilities as they blatantly are verses getting hot-headed, dramatizing a situation, and uprooting his

    Read More

  • Chastity In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

    573 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gawain is courteous to no end, even asking for permission to “abandon [his] bench and stand by [Arthur]” (Pearl Poet l. 344) so he may risk his own life instead of his kings to abide by the Green Knights game. He even humbly states that he “[is] the weakest” (l. 354) and that it would be the least lost of he was to parish which is untrue. Gawain is also extremely courteous when he is denying the wife’s attempts to seduce him saying he is “a knight unworthy” (l.1245). He plays a game of wits as he must not offend her advances but at the same time must not let the wife win the “game” because then he would have to lay with her and that would be uncourteous to his host, Lord Bertilak. The only time Gawain faults in his courteousness is when he refuses to acknowledge the agreement he made with Lord Bertilak which was “whatever [Lord Bertilak] win[s] in the wood shall at once be [Gawain’s] and whatever gain [Gawain] may get [he] shall give in exchange” (ll. 1107-08).

    Read More

  • The Paradox Of Failure In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

    686 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gawain’s values as a knight are in conflict, because he needs to be polite to the Lady, but he is also loyal to the Lord. Gawain ultimately fails

    Read More

More about Examples Of Chivalry In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

Open Document