ir Gawain and the Green Knight is one of the first stories written of the Arthurian legend. It uses the court of a young King Arthur to show the weakness of the chivalric society. Sir Gawain's chivalric honor is almost his downfall when he is forced to choose between his life and his title as the most chivalric knight of Arthur's court.
ith sex, violence, and magic abound, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight has many elements that are still exciting to today's culture. The story opens up with a party in the young King Arthur's court where Sir Gawain beheads the Green Knight as part of a pact between them. The Green Knight magically remains alive after losing his head. Gawain then dreads the upcoming year when he must fulfill his end of the pact with the Green Knight.
long Gawain's journey to find the Green Knight, he came across the castle of a knight and his lady. The knight offered him hospitality in exchange for anything that Gawain receives while at his castle. For two days Gawain is able to stay true to his word with the knight, giving him all that he has won while staying in the castle. Unfortunately, on the third day the lady cunningly talks Gawain into taker her girdle by questioning his title as the most chivalric knight of Arthur's court. The girdle makes Gawain invincible.
awain keeps the magic girdle instead of giving it to the knight. However, when Gawain travels on to meet the Green Knight, he discovers that the hospitable knight and the Green Knight are one in the same. The Green Knight discovers the girdle when Gawain remains unharmed after receiving a blow from a battle axe. The Green Knight forgives Gawain and allows him to return to Arthur's court.
awain returns reluctantly to Arthur's court because he feels guilt and remorse for deceiving the Green Knight. Luckily, the court decides that Gawain is a hero and adopts the green girdle as the symbol of the court.
ith the faults of the court so apparent, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight shows how the imperfection of the chivalric society allows people today, seven hundred years after it was written, to empathize with the characters.
ir Gawain and the Green Knight is one of the first stories written of the Arthurian legend. It uses the court of a young King Arthur to show the weakness of the chivalric society. Sir Gawain's chivalric honor is almost his downfall when he is forced to choose between his life and his title as the most chivalric knight of Arthur's court.
ith sex, violence, and magic abound, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight has many elements that are still exciting to today's culture. The story opens up with a party in the young King Arthur's court where Sir Gawain beheads the Green Knight as part of a pact between them. The Green Knight magically remains alive after losing his head. Gawain then dreads the upcoming year when he must fulfill his end of the pact with the Green Knight.
long Gawain's journey to find the Green Knight, he came across the castle of a knight and his lady. The knight offered him hospitality in exchange for anything that Gawain receives while at his castle. For two days Gawain is able to stay true to his word with the knight, giving him all that he has won while staying in the castle. Unfortunately, on the third day the lady cunningly talks Gawain into taker her girdle by questioning his title as the most chivalric knight of Arthur's court. The girdle makes Gawain invincible.
awain keeps the magic girdle instead of giving it to the knight. However, when Gawain travels on to meet the Green Knight, he discovers that the hospitable knight and the Green Knight are one in the same. The Green Knight discovers the girdle when Gawain remains unharmed after receiving a blow from a battle axe. The Green Knight forgives Gawain and allows him to return to Arthur's court.