Sir Gawain and the

Green Knight
 So what kind of story is
this?
 It’s a ROMANCE (but not like
the movie The Notebook or
Sweet Home Alabama).
 ROMANCE:
 a narrative set in a world of pure
wish fulfillment
 superhuman heroes fight and
almost always conquer the
forces of evil
 the hero undertakes a hard
journey in search of something
valuable (a quest…remember
that?)
The 2,530 lines and 101 stanzas that make up Sir
Gawain and the Green Knight are written in what
linguists call the "Alliterative Revival" style typical of the
14th century
Main Characters…
 King Arthur (ever heard
of him?):
 Legendary king of Britain
 Husband of Guinevere
 Uncle of Gawain
 Over the famous Knights
of the Round Table at
Camelot
 Brave, courageous,
chivalrous
Main Characters…
 Sir Gawain:
 Arthur’s nephew and one
of the most loyal, brave
knights
 Follows the chivalrous
code (humility, piety,
integrity, loyalty, honesty)
 Courtly lover
 One flaw: loves his life so
much that he will lie to
protect it (obviously
breaking the code)
 Main Characters…
 The Green Knight:
 Yes…he is a green man.
 Huge guy with big
muscles/carries a huge
axe
 Says he comes in
friendship but proposes
that someone step forward
to play the “beheading
game.”
 Expects the knights to be
courageous and step
forward to play.
Other Characters…

 Lord and Lady of the castle where Gawain stays for

Christmas (The lady tries to seduce Gawain every day
he is there.) --Bertilak de Hautdesert,  Lady Bertilak
 Queen Guinevere: Arthur’s wife and queen
  Morgan le Fay, Arthur's sister
Major theme…
 Chivalry:
 The world of Sir Gawain
and the Green Knight is
governed by well-defined
codes of behavior. The
code of chivalry, in
particular, shapes the
values and actions of Sir
Gawain and other
characters in the poem.
The ideals of chivalry
come from the Christian
concept of morality.
Major Theme…
 Arthur's court depends heavily on the code of chivalry,
and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight gently criticizes
the fact that chivalry values appearance and symbols
over truth. Arthur is introduced to us as the “most
courteous of all,” indicating that people are ranked in
this court according to their mastery of a certain code
of behavior and good manners. When the Green
Knight challenges the court, he mocks them for being
so afraid of mere words, suggesting that words and
appearances hold too much power over the company.
The members of the court never reveal their true
feelings, instead choosing to seem beautiful,
courteous, and fair-spoken.
Major Theme…
 The lesson Gawain learns as a result of the
Green Knight's challenge is that, at a basic
level, he is just a physical being who is
concerned above all else with his own life.
Chivalry provides a valuable set of ideals
toward which to strive, but a person must
above all remain conscious of his or her own
mortality and weakness. Gawain's faults
throughout this story teach him that though he
may be the most chivalrous knight in the land,
he is nevertheless human and capable of error.
Setting up the story…
 During a New Year's Eve feast at King Arthur's
court, a strange figure, referred to only as the
Green Knight, pays the court an unexpected
visit. He challenges the group's leader or any
other brave representative to a game. The
Green Knight says that he will allow whomever
accepts the challenge to strike him with his
own axe, on the condition that the challenger
find him in exactly one year to receive a blow in
return.
Setting up the story…
 Stunned, Arthur hesitates to respond, but when the
Green Knight mocks Arthur's silence, the king steps
forward to take the challenge. As soon as Arthur grips
the Green Knight's axe, Sir Gawain leaps up and asks
to take the challenge himself. He takes hold of the axe
and, in one deadly blow, cuts off the knight's head. To
the amazement of the court, the now-headless Green
Knight picks up his severed head. Before riding away,
the head reiterates the terms of the pact, reminding the
young Gawain to seek him in a year and a day at the
Green Chapel. After the Green Knight leaves, the
company goes back to its festival, but Gawain is
uneasy……..
 As the date approaches Sir Gawain sets off to find the Green
Chapel and keep his bargain. Many adventures and battles are
alluded to (but not described) until Gawain, on the brink of
starvation, comes across a splendid castle where he meets
Bertilak de Hautdesert, the lord of the castle, and his beautiful
wife, who are pleased to have such a renowned guest. Also
present is an old and ugly lady, unnamed but treated with great
honour by all. Gawain tells them of his New Year's appointment
at the Green Chapel and that he only has a few days remaining.
Bertilak laughs, explains that the Green Chapel is less than two
miles away and proposes that Gawain rest at the castle till then.
Relieved and grateful, Gawain agrees.
 Before going hunting the next day
Bertilak proposes a playful bargain: he
will give Gawain whatever he catches on
condition that Gawain give him whatever
he might gain during the day.
 Lady Bertilak visits Gawain's bedroom
and behaves seductively but despite her
best efforts he yields nothing but a single
kiss in his unwillingness to offend her.
When Bertilak returns and gives Gawain
the deer he has killed, his guest gives a
kiss to Bertilak without divulging its
source.
 The next day the lady comes again,
Gawain again courteously foils her
advances and there is a similar exchange
of a hunted boar for two kisses
 . She comes once more on the third morning,
this time offering Gawain a gold ring as a
keepsake.
 A girdle of green and gold silk which, the lady
assures him, is charmed and will keep him
from all physical harm.
 That evening, Bertilak returns with a fox, which
he exchanges with Gawain for the three kisses
– but Gawain says nothing of the girdle.
 The next day Gawain leaves for the
Green Chapel with the girdle wound
twice round his waist. He finds the Green
Knight sharpening an axe and, as
promised, Gawain bends his bared neck
to receive his blow. 
 . At the first swing Gawain flinches slightly and the
Green Knight belittles him for it. Ashamed of
himself, at the Green Knight's next swing Gawain
does not flinch; but again the full force of the blow is
withheld. 

 The knight explains he was testing Gawain's nerve.

Angrily Gawain tells him to deliver his blow at once
and so the knight does, but striking softly and
causing only a slight wound on Gawain's neck.
 The game is over: Gawain is now free to
defend himself from further harm. He
seizes his sword, helmet and shield, but
the Green Knight, laughing, reveals
himself
  lord of the castle,

Bertilak de Hautdesert
  the entire adventure was a trick of the
'elderly lady‘ , Morgan le Fay, Arthur's
sister, who intended to test Arthur's
knights and terrify Guinevere.
 Gawain is ashamed to have behaved deceitfully
and cowardly but the Green Knight laughs at his
scruples and the two part on cordial terms.
Gawain returns to Camelot wearing the girdle in
shame as a token of his failure to keep his
promise and follow the rules of the game. The
Knights of the Round Table, having heard his
story, absolve him of blame and decide that
henceforth all will wear a green sash in
recognition of Gawain's adventure.
Gawain’s Shield
In the poem, Gawain’s
shield is very clearly
described as a golden
pentangle on a field of
red. The pentangle, the
poem goes on to tell us,
represents Gawain’s
Five Fifths.
The pentangle is also
called the “endless
knot.”
In medieval symbology,
red signifies humility as
the blood of Christ

Gold signifies
perfection.

from: http://faculty.uca.edu/~jona/second/ggknotes.htm#id008
 Gawain was said
to possess five
1 qualities – one
for each of the
pentangle’s
points –
wherein he far
excelled all
other knights.
The first of these “Five Fifths”
was his faultlessness in his five
senses.
from: http://faculty.uca.edu/~jona/second/ggknotes.htm#id008
 said to possess
five qualities
wherein he far
excelled all
2 other knights,
cont.

The next (second)

of these “Five
Fifths” was his
from: http://faculty.uca.edu/~jona/second/ggknotes.htm#id008
 to possess five
qualities wherein
he far excelled all
other knights,
cont.

3 The next (third) of

these “Five Fifths” was
the strength Gawain
drew from his devotion
to the “five wounds of
from: http://faculty.uca.edu/~jona/second/ggknotes.htm#id008
The Jerusalem Cross
1. The
wounds in
the hands.
2. The
wounds in
the feet.
3. The wound
in the side
 to possess five
qualities
wherein he far
excelled all
other knights,
cont.

4 The next (fourth) of

these “Five Fifths”
was the strength
Gawain drew from
from: http://faculty.uca.edu/~jona/second/ggknotes.htm#id008
 The five joys of Mary
are also known as The
Five Joyful Mysteries of
the Rosary. They are:
1. the Annunciation
2. the Nativity
3. the Resurrection
4. the Ascension
5. the Assumption
 said to possess
five qualities
wherein he far
excelled all
other knights,
5 cont.

The last of these

“Five Fifths” was
Gawain’s well-
known practice of
from: http://faculty.uca.edu/~jona/second/ggknotes.htm#id008
The five social graces
which Gawain
exemplifies above all
others are:
1. free-giving (generosity)
2. brotherly love
3. chastity
4. pure manners (courtesie)
5. piety
from: http://faculty.uca.edu/~jona/second/ggknotes.htm#id008
 Gawain faced 5
challenges
1. to voluntarily confront the Green
Knight
2. to strike his blow properly
3. to keep his vow to meet the Green
Knight in a year and a day.
4. to survive journey to the green
chapel
5. to resist the lady’s temptations
from: http://faculty.uca.edu/~jona/second/ggknotes.htm#id008
The Girdle
 Honi soit qui
mal y pense
 “Shame be
upon him
who thinks
evil of this.”
Interpretations & Symbolisms
Temptation and testing

At the heart of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is the test
of Gawain's adherence to the code of chivalry.

Gawain must accept the girdle from the Lady, but he must
also keep the promise he has made to his host that he will
give whatever he gains that day. Gawain chooses to keep
the girdle out of fear of death, thus breaking his promise to
the host but honouring the lady. Upon learning that the
Green Knight is actually his host (Bertilak), he realises that
although he has completed his quest, he has failed to be
virtuous. This test demonstrates the conflict between
honour and knightly duties. In breaking his promise,
Gawain believes he has lost his honour and failed in his
duties.
Girdle
 Faltering faith in
God