Medieval and Renaissance Studies: Proceedings of the Southeastern Institute of Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Vol. 8 (1979)
Summary: The article argues that the central theme of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is trawþe or lewté, meaning loyalty or faithfulness to the many obligations of a Christian knight. Gawain’s courage is tested through the beheading game, while the bedroom encounters test his wisdom as he attempts to balance chastity, courtesy and loyalty to his host. His acceptance of the green girdle represents a minor failure caused by fear and poor judgement, revealing the human imperfection beneath his chivalric ideals. The hunted deer, boar and fox symbolise the dangers he faces, while the poem’s references to Troy warn that pride and failures of wisdom and courage can destroy even a celebrated court. The pentangle on Gawain’s shield brings together his natural, Christian and chivalric virtues, while the Green Knight can be understood as a figure of Nature and the two women as the favourable and hostile faces of Fortune. Gawain’s ordeal therefore becomes both a personal moral test and a broader examination of humanity’s limitations before Nature and Fortune.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
By Robert E. Kaske
Medieval and Renaissance Studies: Proceedings of the Southeastern Institute of Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Vol. 8 (1979)
Summary: The article argues that the central theme of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is trawþe or lewté, meaning loyalty or faithfulness to the many obligations of a Christian knight. Gawain’s courage is tested through the beheading game, while the bedroom encounters test his wisdom as he attempts to balance chastity, courtesy and loyalty to his host. His acceptance of the green girdle represents a minor failure caused by fear and poor judgement, revealing the human imperfection beneath his chivalric ideals. The hunted deer, boar and fox symbolise the dangers he faces, while the poem’s references to Troy warn that pride and failures of wisdom and courage can destroy even a celebrated court. The pentangle on Gawain’s shield brings together his natural, Christian and chivalric virtues, while the Green Knight can be understood as a figure of Nature and the two women as the favourable and hostile faces of Fortune. Gawain’s ordeal therefore becomes both a personal moral test and a broader examination of humanity’s limitations before Nature and Fortune.
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Top Image: British Library, Cotton MS Nero A X/2
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