An Essay by Renee D Mattila

March 15, 2004

Works of literature often provide insight into the culture that created them. By examining the literature of the middle ages, such as the alliterative poem “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” or Geoffrey Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales”, the reader can gain insight into the ideals of that time. The poem “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” promotes the ideals of the chivalric code and shows how men who are undeniably imperfect and destined to sin can achieve them. The chivalric code of the fourteenth century combines values of the court such as loyalty to the King, obedience to God’s law and the practice of courtly love. Some of these values contradict each other so that a virtuous Knight is always struggling to balance the demands of the chivalric code. In “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” the audience is introduced to a flawed human character that follows the chivalric code and earns a heroic reputation. Sir Gawain is a heroic character because he displays courage, he proves his skill in battle with dragons, he remains chaste, he shows religious devotion in prayer, he expertly courts a fine Lady and he humbly acknowledges his flaws. Sir Gawain is a hero, not because he is faultless or fearless, but because he pursues a virtuous life and triumphs over his fears and faults.

The Chivalric code is a dizzying array of rules that contradict each other and challenge natural human behaviour. The rules of feudal chivalry are primarily concerned with courage, which plays an integral role in loyalty and obligation to the King, recognition of a Knight’s battle prowess and the maintenance of a good reputation. Courage can be defined as the virtuous mean between the vice of fear and its opposite vice recklessness. Courage can not exist in the absolute absence of fear because it would then be recklessness. Sir Gawain endeavours to achieve this balance. Throughout the poem Sir Gawain waivers around the centre point that is courage, only occasionally showing either fear or recklessness. The challenge from the Green Knight during King Arthur’s Christmas feast is the first opportunity for Sir Gawain to display his courage. Sir Gawain does not recklessly rush forward to meet the Green Knight’s challenge but he does eventually step forward to protect the King’s honour. During his quest to find the Green Chapel, Sir Gawain shows his bravery through battles with dragons and monsters. He is neither fearless nor reckless when he faces the Green Knight to fulfil his obligation to receive a blow from the Green Knight’s gigantic axe. The reader can see that Sir Gawain is not fearless because he flinches when he glances at the menacing blade that is poised to slice his head from his shoulders. Like nearly all men, Sir Gawain ultimately fears death. Despite his fear, he faces death courageously and with honour. Sir Gawain is courageous because he is neither cowardly nor fearless and that makes him heroic.

Just as Sir Gawain struggles to maintain a balance between fear and recklessness he also struggles to find a balance between the demands of religious chastity and the demands of courtly love. The heroic Knight is bound by the ideals of religion and courtly love in the same way he is bound by the rules of feudal chivalry. Where these rules contradict each other Sir Gawain struggles to find the virtuous mean. The challenges of chastity and courtly love are clearly laid out in Sir Gawain’s encounters with Lady Burdilac. In each encounter Sir Gawain is tempted towards an adulterous affair with the beautiful woman. Such an affair would breach more than one of the rules after which Knights are supposed to model their lives. Feudal chivalry calls for the respectful treatment of hosts but the religious damnation of adulterers serves as a much stronger deterrent to sexual immorality. The Christian faith demands celibacy before marriage and encourages it as a worthy lifestyle choice. Contrary to these religious rules that demand modesty are the rules of courtly love. The practices of courtly love encourage Knights to become experts in the adoration and seduction of women; they are expected to be courteous and sociable. While some of these seductions result in adulterous affairs, ideally the Knight would be honourable according to God’s law and would refrain from such transgressions. Sir Gawain expertly balances between seduction and sin during his meetings with Lady Burdilac. Each kiss he receives from the Lady is returned to the master of the house as the honourable Sir Gawain promised. Although Lady Burdilac wounds Sir Gawain’s pride when she challenges his reputation he does not give in to her seduction. He maintains his celibacy but he is not entirely virtuous. In their last meeting Sir Gawain accepts Lady Burdilac’s girdle as an object with the powers to protect him. The way that he wraps the girdle around his loins is very suggestive of the illicit love affair in which he was tempted to indulge. Although he returned all the kisses he had received, Sir Gawain did not return the Lady’s girdle to Lord Burdilac. These scenes with Lady Burdilac reveal Sir Gawain as an imperfect man who overcomes a great deal of temptation. It is his imperfection that makes his triumphs so heroic.

Clearly Sir Gawain is flawed like all other men and yet he heroically triumphs over adversity by obeying the chivalric code. It is his adherence to the chivalric code and his ability to find the virtuous mean that lead to his reputation as a heroic knight. Sir Gawain achieves the status of a hero when people recognize his acts as courageous and virtuous. The Green Knight spares Sir Gawain’s life because he has decided that Sir Gawain passed all the trials and tests that were put before him. The Green Knight does point out Sir Gawain’s weaknesses: first his fear and then his acceptance of the girdle. When the Green Knight mocks his fear of death Sir Gawain quickly regains his composure and braces himself for the final blow from the great axe. After some complaining and blaming, Sir Gawain also confesses, humbly, to his dalliance with the Lady and repents. The girdle that Lady Burdilac so lovingly bestowed upon him becomes a symbol of his cowardice and covetousness. When Sir Gawain returns to King Arthur’s court he tells those assembled about his quest and includes his shortcomings in his tale. Since the chivalric code demands that Knights be humble this only strengthens his heroic reputation. The court decides to honour Sir Gawain by transforming his symbol of shame, the girdle, into a symbol of rank among the Knights of the Round Table. They are able to appreciate Sir Gawain’s triumph because his struggle is the struggle of the common man; Fear, weakness and lust often challenge men. Sir Gawain shows himself to be a heroic individual because he overcomes his human flaws by living within the rules of chivalry. Sir Gawain courageously protects his King’s honour and he expertly balances the demands of his religion with the demands of courtly love. For these reasons the people of King Arthur’s court recognize Sir Gawain as a hero.

In the poem “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” Sir Gawain is a hero because he continually struggles against his human flaws to act in a heroic manner and because his contemporaries accept him as a hero. Sir Gawain is not an impossibly perfect hero who is without fear or doubt. Sir Gawain is recognised as a hero by others because he is a courageous man who perseveres through adversity and faces both fear and temptation. Although he occasionally wavers in his strong convictions he ultimately succeeds in his quest. He proves his courage during his journey, he bravely faces his fear of death and he resists the temptation of Lady Burdilac. Sir Gawain is an example to other men of the Middle Ages who desire an honourable and heroic lifestyle.