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Evolution of the Epic-750BC, Homer’s IliadSelfish hero/strongly oral/strongly “religious”
-750AD, Beowulf“serviam”/strongly oral/strongly Christian
-1300AD, Sir Gawain and the Green Knightno longer oral/strongly Christian/Arthurian, romantic, courtly
What elements of character do the epic heroes in each of these poems share?
Why does the epic poem grow away from the oral
tradition?• By the middle ages, society is no longer insular
and tribal.• The arrival of Christianity in Europe creates a
permanent literate class (i.e. the clergy) and the rise of a separate privileged class allows for the printing/ownership/enjoyment of texts.
• French influence on Germanic Anglo-Saxon language and culture makes written text more accessible (i.e. Latinate) and more “poetic.”
Review: England
Sociologically/Linguistically, 50BC-1066AD,
#1The Roman Period (“Britannia”), around 410AD.
Note the tribal areas that exist despite the Roman colonization. What does
this tell us about the Roman commitment to
“own” Britannia?
(Click on the map to view a larger version.)
Review: England Sociologically/Linguistically, 50BC-1066AD,
#2The Anglo-Saxon period, circa 800AD (click on the map to view it larger). Note the many tribal (and therefore ling- uistic/religious/cultural borderlines).
Review: England Sociologically/Linguistically, 50BC-1066AD, #3England, 1065AD.
Though essentially unified linguistically, England is still politically divided.
Click the map for credits and to visit website.
Sir Gawain the Green Knight
• Based in Arthurian legend, but strongly reflects the French ideal of chivalrie and courtesie.
• Despite the deep-rooted establishment of Catholic Christianity, still calls-back pagan characters, traditions, and legends (the Green Man, mid-winter’s night, Morgan le Fay)
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
• author is anonymous• written c. 1400 in Middle English• important in literature because it
represents all of the following significant poetic genres:
–Arthurian romance poetry/courtly love poetry
–medieval alliterative poetry–epic poetry
Wel gay watz þis gome gered in grene,And þe here of his hed of his hors swete.Fayre fannand fax vmbefoldes his schulderes;A much berd as a busk ouer his brest henges,Þat wyth his hi3lich here þat of his hed rechesWatz euesed al vmbetorne abof his elbowes,Þat half his armes þer-vnder were halched in þe wyseOf a kyngez capados þat closes his swyre;Þe mane of þat mayn hors much to hit lyke,Wel cresped and cemmed, wyth knottes ful monyFolden in wyth fildore aboute þe fayre grene,Ay a herle of þe here, an oþer of golde;Þe tayl and his toppyng twynnen of a sute,And bounden boþe wyth a bande of a bry3t grene,Dubbed wyth ful dere stonez, as þe dok lasted,Syþen þrawen wyth a þwong a þwarle knot alofte,Þer mony bellez ful bry3t of brende golde rungen.Such a fole vpon folde, ne freke þat hym rydes,Watz neuer sene in þat sale wyth sy3t er þat tyme,with y3e.He loked as layt so ly3t,So sayd al þat hym sy3e;Hit semed as no mon my3tVnder his dynttez dry3e.
Sir Gawain and the
Green Knight
in Middle English
• There is no solid evidence for/against the reign of a historic “King Arthur.”
• Some historians suggest Arthur was a Roman military leader who held power anywhere from 3rd to 7th century A.D. (Artorius = “plowman”)
• Arthur is more important for the legends that developed around him and his “Knights of the Round Table”
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight as Arthurian romance/courtly
love poetry
A statue of King Arthur from around 1400 ADimage from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Arthur3487.jpg
• Arthur traditionally credited with uniting all England (i.e. uniting the pagan tribes) and therefore creating the potential for the development of a unique British character after (and in spite of) the Norman invasion of England.
• Arthurian legends reach height in/around 12th century A.D.
(from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Arthur#The_Arthurian_romance)
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight as Arthurian romance/courtly love
poetry, cont.
• Even more importantly, it is around the legendary King Arthur that the chivalric tradition of the middle ages developed.
• Chivalry – from the French word cheval or “horse” – refers to the code of behavior that was expected of knights (all noblemen). This tradition was also called courtesie (also French), meaning “the behavior of the court.”
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight as Arthurian romance/courtly love
poetry, cont.
CHIVALRY• “Chivalry” comes from the
French cheval, or horse (n.b. Norman influence in language).
• Only the wealthiest people in medieval society could keep horses and afford to use them in combat. (Why?)
• “Chivalry” became associated, therefore, with the qualities of “horsemen”, or knights.
• related words: cavalier (Fr., L.), cavalry (from L. caval), caballero (Sp.)
• In Arthurian tradition, the “Knights of the Round Table” (Lancelot, Galahad, Bedivere, Agravain, Perceval, Tristan, Gawain, et.al.*) embodied – both individually and en masse, the characteristics of courtesie or “courtly love.”
*see a complete list at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_of_the_Round_Table
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight as Arthurian romance/courtly love
poetry, cont.
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• Faith in God/Piety
• Loyalty to the King
• Bravery
• Respect for women
• Chastity (see “piety” and “respect for women”)
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight as Arthurian romance/courtly love
poetry, cont.Characteristics of Courtly
Behavior
• Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (from now on SGGK) is cited as a seminal example of Arthurian romance poetry or “courtly love” poetry.
• Assignment: As we read SGGK, identify all behavior on the part of any character in the poem that conforms to the medieval regard for courtesie.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight as Arthurian romance/Courtly love
poetry, cont.
He was a fine fellow fitted in green --And the hair on his head and his horse's matched.It fanned out freely enfolding his shoulders,and his beard hung below as big as a bush,all mixed with the marvelous mane on his head,which was cut off in curls cascading to his elbows,wrapping round the rest of himlike a king's cape clasped to his neck.And the mane of his mount was much the same,but curled up and combed in crisp knots,in braids of bright gold thread and brilliant greencriss-crossed hair by hair.And the tossing tail was twin to the mane,for both were bound with bright green ribbons,strung to the end with long strands of precious stones,and turned back tight in a twisted knotbright with tinkling bells of burnished gold.No such horse on hoof had been seen in that hall,nor horseman half so strange as their eyes now heldin sight. He looked a lightning flash, they say: he seemed so bright; and who would dare to clash in melee with such might?
Why is it called
alliterative verse?
VERSE FORM: the "Gawain stanza"--a varying number of
alliterative long lines terminated by
a "bob & wheel," five short rhyming
lines (ababa). from: http://faculty.uca.edu/~jona/
second/ggknotes.htm
B
BA
A
A
Review: Characteristics of the Epic Hero
1. He is a model of faith, loyalty, or bravery…
2. who makes a long, difficult journey…
3. to do battle on behalf of another…
4. perhaps using his own supernatural talents…
5. against an enemy who may himself have or be guarded by supernatural powers.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight as epic poetry
Review: Characteristics of the Epic Poem
1. An epic poem is a long, highly-stylized narrative poem…
2. that recounts the exploits of its main character – the epic hero.
3. Because most epic poetry originated as sung or spoken verse, it is rigidly metered and rhymed.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight as epic poetry, cont.
Journey = Quest
• In medieval poetry, the epic hero’s journey to battle (like Achilles’ voyage to Troy or Beowulf’s to Dane-land) becomes a quest.
• A quest is “an adventurous expedition in search of something spiritually fulfilling or self-enhancing.”
Gold spurs? Immediately upon
reading/hearing these lines about the Green Knight
who has burst into Arthur’s Christmas
festivities, the audience would
know that he was a guy not to be messed with:
He was got up in green from head to heel:a tunic worn tight, tucked to his ribs;and a rich cloak cast over it, covered insidewith a fine fur lining, fitted and sewnwith ermine trim that stood out in contrastfrom his hair where his hood lay folded flat;and handsome hose of the same green huewhich clung to his calves, with clustered
spursof bright gold; (ll. 151-55)
What’s so hardcore – so OD – about gold spurs?
Why theGreen Knight?
• In medieval England, the “Green Man” was a pagan representation of nature. The “Green Man” was not Satanic, but did symbolize the nature worship that characterized pre-Christian tribal paganism.
• The “Green Man” is not evil, but is also not Christian a battle between any of Arthur’s knights and any creature reminiscent of Britain’s pagan past is, by extension, a battle between “good” and “evil” – or between the Christian piety of Arthur’s knights and their tribal, non-Christian predecessors.
Gawain’s ShieldIn the poem, Gawain’s shield is very clearly described as having a golden pentangle on a field of red. The pentangle, the poem goes on to tell us, represents Gawain’s Five Fifths.The pentangle is also called the “endless knot.”
In medieval symbology, red signifies humility as
the blood of Christ
Gold signifies perfection.
from: http://faculty.uca.edu/~jona/second/ggknotes.htm#id008
Gawain was said to possess five qualities – one for each of the pentangle’s points – wherein he farexcelled all other knights.The first of these “Five Fifths” was
his faultlessness in his five senses.from: http://faculty.uca.edu/~jona/second/ggknotes.htm#id008
1
Gawain was said to possess five qualities wherein he far excelled all other knights, cont.
The next (second) of these “Five Fifths” was his faultlessness in his five fingers.
from: http://faculty.uca.edu/~jona/second/ggknotes.htm#id008
2
Gawain was said to possess five qualities wherein he far excelled all other knights, cont.
The next (third) of these “Five Fifths” was the strength Gawain drew from his devotion to the “five wounds of Christ.”
from: http://faculty.uca.edu/~jona/second/ggknotes.htm#id008
3
The Jerusalem Cross
1. The wounds in the hands.
2. The wounds in the feet.
3. The wound in the side of Christ
Gawain was said to possess five qualities wherein he far excelled all other knights, cont.
The next (fourth) of these “Five Fifths” was the strength Gawain drew from his devotion to the “five joys of Mary.”
from: http://faculty.uca.edu/~jona/second/ggknotes.htm#id008
4
1. the Annunciation2. the Nativity3. the Resurrection4. the Ascension5. the Assumption
The five joys of Mary are also known as The Five Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary. They are:
Gawain was said to possess five qualities wherein he far excelled all other knights, cont.
The last of these “Five Fifths” was Gawain’s well-known practice of the “five social graces.”
from: http://faculty.uca.edu/~jona/second/ggknotes.htm#id008
5
The five social graces which Gawain
exemplifies above all others are:
1. free-giving (generosity)
2. brotherly love
3. chastity
4. pure manners (courtesie)
5. piety
from: http://faculty.uca.edu/~jona/second/ggknotes.htm#id008
Gawain faced 5 challenges
from: http://faculty.uca.edu/~jona/second/ggknotes.htm#id008
1. to voluntarily confront the Green Knight
2. to strike his blow properly
3. to keep his vow to meet the Green Knight in a year and a day.
4. to survive journey to the green chapel
5. to resist the lady’s temptations
The FIFTH TEST is the temptations and the three gifts; it tests especially the fifth point of the pentangle, the social virtues. Gawain falls: his acceptance of the girdle is not a fault; his hiding of it is a potential fault; his actual withholding of it from Bertilak is his fall. Had he given it back to the lady, he would have erased his potential fault. The real fault, from Gawain's point of view, is that the reality of his own mortality induces him to break the endless knot. Thus two effects of original sin are reasserted: cowardice (bodily mortality) and covetousness (willful cupidity). His nature as a man is asserting itself against his nature as a knight.
More on
Gawain’s
fifth challe
ngefrom: http://faculty.uca.edu/~jona/second/ggknotes.htm#id008
The Garter
• Honi soit qui mal y pense
• “Shame be upon him who thinks evil of this.”
Chastity? Piety?
Respect for the King?
Q: Gawain knows that he is facing certain death – and SOON – when he finally confronts the Green Knight and accepts his half of the bargain. Why would he still adhere to courtesie and resist the Lady’s temptation?
For more info about the Norman invasion and Medieval England:
• http://www.essentialnormanconquest.com/index.htm
