SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT
The fourteenth-century poem "The Green Knight" is one of the most brilliant examples of medieval verse. The Gawain poet, combines realism with elements of the Christian ideal world. This poem has a basic aim and that is to illustrate how man could and should act in the most difficult of situations. How to keep your head and to have the courage to remain truthful to yourself and to your beliefs ... even in the most difficult situation.
Gawain is the only knight in King Arthur's court who has the courage to step forward to accept the challenge from the Green Knight. When permission is granted the Green Giant leaves clear instructions that Gawain will find him at the Green Chapel the next New Year's day, to take on the challenge set before him.
This poem deals with the annual pattern in the beheading (death) and life of the Green Giant with Gawain racing towards death to save others at Arthur's court. Gawain is taking on the challenge to safe others from certain death. It is easy to see in Gawain the image of the sacrificial lamb as he willingly takes upon himself the quest which any of Arthur's court could have accepted ... but did not. The poem takes place during winter, the death season, and also during Christmas which represent the time of birth and salvation.
Gawain is the embodiment of all that man should be. Gawain is the ideal Christian knight who not only represents the very highest reaches of human behavior but he also epitomises those qualities in a man which is admired most. In addition to his physical qualities Gawain also demonstrated, courage, fortitude, and the knightly virtues of humility, courtesy, and loyalty.
Of all these attributes of Gawain, loyalty is perhaps the strongest, most powerful. It is loyalty, after all, which motivates the action of the poem. It is Gawain's loyalty to Arthur which moves him to accept the Green Knight's challenge. It is loyalty which forces him to keep the appointment, an appointment which indicates certain death.
The poet creates a world which allows the hero to face any situation and to demonstrate Gawain's finest qualities as a human being. Like the pentangle, the perfect, endless knot, Gawain is without flaw. He comes closest to the realization of perfection, and that is why the pentangle becomes a fitting emblem for him to wear around his neck.
The five pointed star or pentangle that Gawain is allowed to wear around his neck, is connected with the ancient rites of the Greek Christians, the Jews, and with King Solomon. The letters S A L U S were often written at each point of the pentangle to represent health, completeness, soundness of body and mind and truth. The number five, being composed of both odd and even numbers, contained both good and bad properties. However, five could also stand for the five wounds of Christ and the five joys of the Virgin Mary the Mother of God. Five, because of its holy implications, was often invoked to ward off beasts and unknown evils. The pentangle with its numerous implications thus becomes a symbol of perfection, the goal to which all knights should strive. The pentangle as a holy device serves to protect Gawain from the evils which he must face. It should be remembered that when Gawain is so armed he is infallible.
Gawain's shield has a great significance because of the hero's emblem, the pentangle, portrayed on it. In fourteenth-century England, the pentangle (or the five-pointed star) is also called the endless knot because it could be drawn without taking the pen from the paper. King Solomon devised this sign to be "a token of truth" (Norton, p.215, l. 626). Truth remains the chief concern of the hero throughout the entire poem. Therefore, the emblem is an essential part of Sir Gawain's apparel as truthfulness is an essence of his character.
Because Gawain is a man, he is human and therefore subject to temptation, to weakness. He realizes his own inadequacy even if others do not. Therefore, he does rely on the protection of the Holy Virgin Mary the Mother of God. As Gawain prepares to leave Arthur's court he attends the Holy Mass in Church. After each temptation by Bercilak's wife, Gawain goes to Church to hear the Holy Mass. Gawain seeks the protection and solace which the Church affords.
As he lies in bed, stripped of his armor, stripped of the shield bearing the pentangle and the likeness of the Virgin Mary, he becomes most vulnerable. It is then that he is most open to temptation; it ls then that he succumbs to temptation and accepts the girdle of Bercilak's wife.
Although, Gawain feels that he has survived the tests of chastity, he fails to realize-immediately that he has failed the more important test of loyalty towards his host. Gawain also failed because he placed his trust on an earthly thing ... a girdle, instead of in a higher power.
In summary, the Gawain-poet is seeking to illustrate and to emphasize the fact that life is rarely as it appears and that success is elusive. The poet shows that the only life, the only society which can obtain some semblance of greatness is that - life, that - society, which harkens towards the chivalric code of conduct ... humility, loyalty, courage, fortitude and the pursuit of truth!
The Miriam-Webster Dictionary says fortitude 💥 means the strength of mind that enables a person to encounter danger or bear pain or adversity with courage! This for me is the greatest lesson that I have had the privilege, through advanced University studies, to learn. I have tried to keep the image of "Gawain and The Green Knight" with the five pointed star in the foremost parts of my brain. I want to remember that chivalric code of conduct ... humility, loyalty, courage, fortitude and the pursuit of truth always! In addition, I always want to place my trust in a higher power and not in people or in an earthly thing!
