1. A 12th Century Epic Romance

2. Is Honor Worth Dying for?
This would have been an easy question for a medieval knight to answer. Knights were sworn to follow a code of behavior known as chivalry. The code required knights to defend their church, their king, and their country courageously. Today, however many people have doubts about whether an abstract concept such as honor is worth dying for.

3. Knight’s Code of Chivalry
A knight was expected to have not only the strength and skills to face combat in the violent Middle Ages but was also expected to temper this aggressive side of a knight with a chivalrous side to his nature.

4. The Knights Code of Chivalry and the vows of Knighthood
To serve and fear
To protect the weak
To refrain from the unjustified giving of offence
To live by honor and for glory
To despise pecuniary reward
To fight for the welfare of all
To obey those placed in authority
To guard the honor of fellow knights
To speak the truth
To respect the honor of women
Never to refuse a challenge from an equal
Never to turn the back upon a foe

5. Fidelity
Loyalty, devotion, faithfulness
Honor, truth

6. Medieval Romance Larger-than-life characters
A medieval romance can be a dramatic verse or a prose narrative. It typically includes the following elements:
Larger-than-life characters
An adventurous hero who faces a severe challenge
Idealized love involving a noble lady
Exotic settings
Supernatural elements
Hidden or mistaken identity

7. Characters
Arthur : The legendary king of Britain, husband of Guinevere and uncle of Gawain,
-presides over the famed Knights of the Round Table at Camelot.
Guinevere—Arthur’s wife
- struggles with “fidelity”

8. Morgan Le Faye: Arthur’s half sister
-jealous of Arthur’s inheritance (Camelot from his father Uther Pendragon)
-schemes to defame knights

9. Bertilak: manor lord of Hautdesert
Lady Bertilak: temptress
-desires to seduce Gawain

10. The Green Knight:
a green man who comes to Arthur’s court in “friendship”
-seeks someone in Arthur’s court who can play the “beheading game”

12. Symbolism Symbolism: Green
In English folklore and literature, Green has traditionally been used to symbolize nature and its embodied attributes, namely those of fertility and rebirth.

13. Plot A: The Beheading game
The Green Knight arrives in Camelot, challenges Arthur to a game of exchanging a “Blow for a Blow.”
Arthur accepts, but Gawain steps in to defend King Arthur.
Following the event, Gawain has one year and a day to go to receive his beheading.

14. Applying the Cycle of the hero
Where are we:
Departure
The Call to Adventure
Refusal of the Call
Summarizer:
Identify the “refusal of the call” as it pertains to Gawain.

15. The Gawain (Pearl) poet is famous for this device
Bob and Wheel
The Gawain (Pearl) poet is famous for this device
The "bob" is a very short line, sometimes of only two syllables, followed by the "wheel," longer lines with internal rhyme.
*Some internal rhyme is lost in translation.
Ex. Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,

16. Strophe
"stanza-" signifies regular, recurrent, and typically rhymed sections of poems "strophe-" signifies irregular, unrhymed subdivisions Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was written in a series of strophes followed by "bob-and-wheel" stanzas.

17. Plot B: The Quest
Almost one year later, Gawain leaves Arthur’s court to find the Green knight
In classic Romance fashion, Gawain is given three chances to deny himself the misery of his quest

18. Five points of perfection
Gawain’s armorial symbol is the Pentangle symbolizing the requirements of Arthur’s knights-
Strength (5 fingers)
Keenness (5 senses)
Spirituality (5 wounds)
Beliefs (5 vows)
Integrity (5 virtues)
Inside his shield is a painting of the Mary
Symbols of his outer nature
*We’ll discuss the pentangle in more detail in Fitt 2.

19. Visit to Hautdesert
Gawain searches for a place to celebrate Christmas and discovers a heavenly place called Hautdesert.
He spends time with Lord and Lady Bertilak.
Each day as the Lord goes out to hunt, while Lady Bertilak “hunts” at home.

20. Summarizer Identify elements of Medieval Romance found in “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight?” Cite the text to support each element.

21. Larger than life characters
Hero who faces a severe challenge
Idealized love involving a noble lady
Exotic setting
Supernatural elements
Hidden or mistaken Identity