Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Arthurian Romance

 Legend of King Arthur  Many tales  Told since the Anglo-Saxon period  Many countries: England, France, Germany, etc.  Sir Gawain = 14 th C.

Romance poetry - genre  Kings/knights  Idealized courtly love (i.e. love within the king’s court, or assemblage)  Fantasy  Supernatural creatures  Challenge/Test  Quest

Feudal social institutions  Chivalry – knightly code of behavior  Truth  Honesty  Respect for women  Courage  Obedience to the king  Humility/humble

Chivalry  Replaces the Anglo-Saxon comitatus  Knight obeys the king because he’s the king  One-way relationship

Challenge / Test  Purpose of the Test:  Ensure that Sir Gawain must stick by his morals and convictions

Challenge / Test  Chivalry guides his actions  the moral structure by which he bases his choices

Challenge / Test  Gawain is tested and stands by his convictions  he upholds his belief in chivalry

Why read this today?  Moral lesson  14 th century—Knights had to make choices  choices should reflect acceptance of the chivalric code

Why read this today?  Moral lesson  Modern Day – We have to make choices in life based on our belief system.  1 st : we must explicitly know and understand what we believe in  2 nd : judge our actions based on those beliefs

Why read this today?  Conclusion:  beliefs, then, become the way in which we measure our actions  way in which we decide what we have done as either good or bad

Courtly Love in romance poetry  audience = mostly women  Interest in stories where women play larger role  Focus: contained alternates to combat ( although combat is present)

Courtly Love in romance poetry  The courtly love consisted of a relationship between a knight and the liege lady