Historical Analysis of “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is one of the most well-known examples of the classic Medieval Arthurian romances. While the poem’s author is unknown, historians and literary scholars have speculated that it was written by the same Gawain-poet who wrote other narrative poems, including Pearl, Cleanness, and Patience, because the dialect in all four lyrics is similar. The poem narrates the story of Sir Gawain in his quest to find and behead the alien Green Knight. Although the poem sheds light on some of the social, political, and religious aspects of Medieval European society, its credibility is limited since it reflects the life of the elite community from a prescriptive rather than a descriptive point.

The Purpose of the Poem

Since the author is unknown, it is hard to discern the purpose of the poem. Nevertheless, readers can imply from the story’s content that the author attempted to reinstate the Christian ideals of morality and honesty, among other deeds. Namely, similar to other Arthurian romances, the poem emphasizes the importance of chivalry, Christian values, sin, courtesy, and truth. While this theme can be found throughout the poem, the lines “And blessed him in Christ’s Name, and bade him in good part to be of courage still, hardy of hand and heart.” imply such motive¹.

Another line saying, “…From treachery and untruth is sorrow born alway,” indicates that the author aspires to demonize the wrong deeds such as lying and glorify moral values such as honesty². Thus, one of the author’s purposes in writing this poem is to remind his audience of the Christian ideals of honesty and loyalty, among other deeds.

Chivalric Heroism and Medieval Knighthood

One of the significant aspects of society that the poem reveals is the glorification of chivalric heroism and medieval knighthood. Firstly, the story plots the test of the protagonist’s honesty, loyalty, and purity as he eventually fails to dedicate himself. Namely, the narrative depicts how Sir Gawain was punished for not telling the truth about the gift he received from the lady in the castle. The poems illustrated heroic ideals whereby knights excel at the battlefield, which is found in the line when Sir Gawain beheads the Green Knight while playing a beheading game. Hunt et al. explain this glorification of knightly ideals by referring to the current public sentiment, which was threatened by “newly emerging merchants in the cities on the one hand and newly powerful kings on the other”³. In other words, the poem glorifies the chivalric heroism to cater to the audience, who were primarily knights, desire to mirror themselves in such romances.

Religion

The poem also significantly emphasizes Christian morality and institutions. The ultimate purpose of the poem, as mentioned above, is to reinstate the Christian ideals of honesty and loyalty. The Christian ideal is symbolized in the pentangle depicted onto Sir Gawain’s shield, with the face of Mary in its center. Such intense religiosity and deep spirituality can be explained by the religious and political context of Middle Ages and Medieval Europe, which were threatened by the growing Islamic rise in the East and continuous crusades.

Credibility

The author’s credibility is limited based on two primary reasons. Firstly, throughout the poem, the author pays limited attention to the life of ordinary citizens. Instead, it mainly focuses on the lives and experiences of the aristocratic society made up of nobles and knights. Hence, it provides little insight into the life of ordinary people of Medieval Europe. Secondly, the source might be more of an authoritarian nature rather than a descriptive one since the author overly emphasizes chivalry and Christian ideals. Hence, their overemphasis on these aspects might reflect their nostalgia for them, which disappeared in contemporary society.

Bibliography

Hunt, Lynn, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, and Bonnie G. Smith. The Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures. 5th ed. Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2016.

Weston, Jessie L. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Garden City, NY: Dover Publications, 2021.

Footnotes

1. Weston, Jessie L. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. (Garden City, NY: Dover Publications, 2021), 14.
2. Ibid.
3. Hunt, Lynn et al. The Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures, 5th ed. (Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2016), 367.