Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a Middle-English alliterative romance that outlines the adventures of Sir Gawain. He and other characters are being guided by the code of chivalry which shapes the values described in the poem. All of the most important human virtues are depicted in the poem, such as friendship, courtesy, piety, generosity, and chastity. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight represents how humans who happen to be imperfect and destined to sin can reach the ideals of the chivalric code.
So, among many compelling scenes of the poem is the New Year’s Eve scene when the Green Knight offers a bargain to Sir Gawain and as a result, he agrees to it. This is also a true devotion to the king. ‘…think of your bold knights, Bursting to fight, as ready and willing As men can be: defer to their needs. And I am the slightest, the dullest of them all; My life the least, my death no loss – My only worth is you, my royal Uncle, all my virtue is through you.’ (Tolkien, Part 1, lines 351-358).
Sir Gawain also struggles to find a balance between religious chastity and courtly love. Several attempts to seduce him failed. The Lady Burdilac was trying to ‘play’ with him, but the temptation of adultery was successfully denied by Sir Gawain. The following quotation expresses it all: ‘That beautiful princess pressed him so hard, urged him so near the limit, he needed either to take her love or boorishly turn her away. To offend like a boor was bad enough; to fall into sin would be worse, betraying the lord of the house. ‘God willing,’ he thought, ‘it will not happen!’ (Tolkien, Part 3, lines 1760-1776).
The third quotation will be about the courage that a man held inside. It is hard to talk about fear at this point because every man has a right to a mistake. Of course, lying under the ax it is hard not to flinch, so did Sir Gawain. But, still, he came to the meeting and fulfilled his duty. ‘I flinched,’ said Gawain, ‘I won’t again. And this much is plain: my head, if it falls, won’t talk in my hands.’ (Tolkien, Part 4, lines 2270-2283).
Another virtue of chivalry is being completely honest. You kept it faithfully, performed like an honest: ‘Man, gave me everything you got. Except that you kissed my wife: I swung for that reason – but you gave me back her kisses. So all you got, for that, was a puff of air. An honest man need never fear.’ (Weston, 34). I am sure here it is explicitly shown how Sir Gawain gained trust by refusing a love affair with the wife of the Green Knight.
Being a medieval knight meant strictly following the chivalry codes, namely saving the self-respect and honor: ‘My lord,’ said Gawain, lifting the belt, ‘This band and the nick on my neck are one and the same, the blame and the loss I suffered for the cowardice, the greed, that came to my soul. This sign of bad faith is the mark of my sin: I’ll wear it on my waist as long as I live….’ (Tolkien,Part 4, lines 2505-2511) Even after the failure the protagonist was able to show his readiness to atone his weakness by public disgrace.
“HONY SOYT QUI MAL PENCE [shame to him who finds evil here]” (Tolkien, Part 4, Inscription). The entire poem constantly draws parallel lines with the Old Testament. The actual century presupposed this poem to be so important for Christianity. Therefore, the cited above quote represents clearly the beliefs the medieval knights held, namely considering God as the prior and the most important creature of all.
So, after unearthing the chivalry codes: courage, friendship, valor, chastity, piety, and honesty I have to admit that Sir Gawain truly embodied all of the above perfectly.
Works Cited
Tolkien J.R.R. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, Sir Orfeo. The Random House Publishing Group, 1975. Print.
Weston, Jessie L. The Legend of Sir Gawain: Studies upon Its Original Scope and Significance. London: David Nutt, 1897.