Arthurian Romance II:

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

[page numbers in NA refer to 8th ed., 2006]
enera!:
Review the online readings Courtly Love and Translatio. Read through two new online
readings, one on the Middle English notions of trouthe and gentilesse, the other on the
Alliterative Revival (be sure to print them out and bring them with you to class!
Read carefully the bac"ground information #A $%&$' (on the fourteenth century!, $(&)$
(on alliterative verse and the Middle English alliterative line! and $*%&*) (on Sir Gawain
and the Green Knight!. +e aware that ,--. is thought to be by the same author as a
dream vision called The Pearl (which you can read if you choose to ta"e E#-L ''%!/
the un"nown author is therefore referred to as both the 0Pearl 1oet0 (the name we will
use for him in this class!, and, less fre2uently, the 0Gawain 1oet.0 .now the period when
this poet was active (see headnote to ,--., #A $*%!. #ote how Middle English
alliterative verse both resembled and differed from its Old English models (#A )$! and
be able to identify the parts of the Middle English alliterative line in the opening lines of
the poem (#A $*$&) in Middle English/ #A $*)&' in modern translation!.
.now the meaning of the following terms3 Alliterative Revival, bob and wheel (see #A
$*$!, 2uatrain, courtly love, romance (both the original meaning of the term and the
characteristics of the literary genre now "nown by that name!, translatio studii et imperii.
+e able to describe fully the poetic form of ,--. and to identify its component parts
(Middle English alliterative lines, bob and wheel!.
#45E3 6or the midterm, you will need to "now the significance of the following
names7wor"s in the development of vernacular romance, and be able to date primary
readings7authors and place other events7wor"s in proper chronological order. 6rom the
Translatio online reading3 8illiam the Con2ueror/ -eoffrey of Monmouth (and his
History of the Kings of Britain!/ Eleanor of A2uitaine, her grandfather 8illiam 9:, her
husbands Louis ;99 of 6rance and <enry 99 of England, and her daughter Marie of
Champagne/ 8ace (and his Roman de Brut or 0Romance of +rutus0!/ the Romance of
Eneas/ Chr=tien de 5royes (and his Knight of the art!/ Layamon (Brut!/ the 0;ulgate
Cycle.0 6rom ,--.3 the 1earl 1oet, the -awain 1oet, +rutus, Arthur, -uenevere,
-awain, +ercila" de <autdesert, Lady +ercila", Morgan le 6aye, the 1entangle, the
notion of trouthe.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
>#umber references below correspond to L9#E #?M+ER, (not pages! in the #A@
8hile medieval romances are fre2uently episodic && that is, they relate a series of
adventures undergone by a person or persons see"ing to fulfill a specific 2uest && the best
romances are carefully constructed3 adventures are not randomly chosen, and details tend
to 0count,0 adding to the meaning of the wor" as a whole. ,--., for eAample, combines
two distinct sorts of adventure (the beheading contest and the temptation to commit
adultery! with repeated tests of a"ain#s trouthe (the two parallel sets of eAchanges &&
eAchange of blows and eAchange of winnings! as well as repeated tests of -Bs loyalty3 to
Arthur/ to the chivalric code/ to his host in the scenes at ,ir +ercila"Bs castle/ and to his
spiritual 0lady.0 All of these disparate elements are fused into a unified wor" designed to
illustrate the physical and moral perfection of ,ir -awain. 5o borrow a phrase from
Chr=tien de 5royes (in the 1rologue to Erec and Enide!, the 1earl 1oet has succeeded in
combining seemingly random stories of adventure into a !ele con"ointure, a beautifully
ordered composition, through his poetic artistry and craft.
As you read, pay attention to descripti$e and narrati$e detai!s. 8hy are they includedC
8hat do they signifyC 8hat is the relationship between the scenery and ,ir -awainBs
mental stateC 8hat is the symbolism of the three beasts hunted by +ercila"C 8hich is
most dangerousC 9s there a relationship between the hunting eAploits of +ercila" and the
different sort of 0hunt0 going on in the bedroomC 5o what eAtent are the bedroom scenes
a 0duel of Courtesy0C
Arthur is said to be the 0most courteous of all0 +ritish .ings (,--. )*!. 8hat are the
characteristics of his courtC <is "nightsC <is DueenC 1ay attention to the introduction of
the "night -awain. <ow does he distinguish himself in the opening scenesC <ow is he
different from the other "nightsC Eoes he fulfill a chivalric duty that the other "nights
neglectC 8hat is his relationship to the ideal of 0courtesy0C 5his concept is similar to the
Chaucerian virtue of 0gentilesse,0 and may be represented by other terms such as
0courtly,0 0courtliness0 or 0courteous.0 1ay attention to these terms when they come up in
the poem. Eoes the -reen .night play by the rules of courtesyC 9s he ultimately a
negative or a positive figureC At the end of the poem, the -reen .night declares that
-awain is the best of all Arthurian "nights/ this opinion is shared by the Arthurian court
but not by -awain. 8hy does he thin" soC 8hy does -awain disagreeC 8hat is the
significance of the green girdle in the final linesC
8hat is the significance of the %entang!eC 8hy is it described in such detail (,--.
*$(&**F!C 8hat does it symboliGe when ta"en as a wholeC (see ,--. *)*!. 8hat is the
significance of the series of five fives associated with the 1entangleC 5a"en collecti#ely,
what might they representC Can the 1entangle be seen as a symbol of the chivalric
virtuesC 5he 1entangle is displayed on only one side of -awainBs shield/ who is depicted
on the otherC 8hat is implied about her role relative to -awainC 8hat is implied about
-awainBs relationship to the 0courtly love0 traditionC
5he pentangle is called a 0to"en of truth0 (original spelling 0trouthe,0 ,--. *)*!, the
virtue that is tested by the -reen .night (see #A $*$/ also follow lin" for more
information on the Middle English notions of &trouthe& and 0gentillesse,0 i.e. what we
might call personal integrity and nobility of character rather than of birth!. 8hat promises
are made by -awainC 8hich does he "eepC 8hat lesson(s! does -awain learn from his
ordealC Can these lessons be applied to the rest of Arthurian societyC 8hat is the
significance of the green girdle at the endC 8hy do the other "nights decide to wear green
beltsC Eoes their decision transform the significance of the girdleC 9s -awain a savior
figure for the Arthurian courtC
8hat is the attitude toward 0court!' !o$e0C 8hich characters represent that traditionC 9n
traditional 0courtly love,0 a "night performs feats of valor for a lady he loves who is
generally not his wife. <e aspires to win her love by proving his worthiness, chivalric
merit, etc. through 0love service0 && doing her will and trying to help her and be worthy of
her regardless of her treatment of him. Eoes -awain serve a lady in the poemC 9f so,
whom does he serveC 9s there a more 0traditional0 depiction of the courtly ladyC 8hat is
the poetBs (and -awainBs! attitude toward Lady +ercila"C 8hat does that imply about the
1earl 1oetBs attitude toward 0courtly love0C
9nterestingly, there is no reflection in ,--. of the well "nown love affair between
(ance!ot and uene$ere. 9n the thirteenth&century prose romances of the ;ulgate Cycle
(later to be translated by Malory as the Morte $arthur!, the love between Lancelot and
-uenevere seems almost inevitable3 -uenevere is the most beautiful and noble lady in
the world, so it is only natural that she be loved by the best of ArthurBs "nights && a status
which Lancelot in fact owes directly to -uenevere, since his acts of prowess are inspired
by his love for her. 8hy might the 1earl 1oet have ignored or transformed this part of
Arthurian traditionC Eoes Lancelot appear in ,--.C Consider that -awain, ArthurBs
nephew, is a distinctly E#-L9,< hero/ Lancelot du Lac is a 6RE#C< "night. 9s there a
lin" between this displacement of Lancelot as hero and the 1earl 1oetBs preferential use of
alliterati#e #erse over rhyme, the typical form used in 6RE#C< courtly literatureC
8ho are the "omen in ,--.C (Eepending upon interpretation, there are three && or
arguably four.! 5o what eAtent do they play similar rolesC <ow do they differC 8hat is
the function of eachC 8hat can you conclude (if anything! about the depiction of women
in the poemC (9s it essentially positive, negative, neutral, miAedC Are they idealiGed,
realistically portrayed, caricaturesC! Are the women in ,--. similar to those portrayed
by other authors read this termC
,--. is thought to be the wor" of the same poet who produced the beautiful and moving
dream vision The Pearl. 9f you have read (or choose to read! this wor"3 do you see
similarities between the twoC Consider e.g. theme/ poetic form/ underlying values in or
message of each poem. 8hat is the genre of each poemC Can some of the differences
between them be eAplained by the different purposes)audiences for which these genres
were typically writtenC