Study Guide: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
I. Background Notes:
A. Poem intertwines three traditional medieval plots:
The beheading contest
The temptation of the hero
The exchange game
The beheading and the temptation are ancient Celtic themes. The purpose of all three is to test the worth of the Christian knight.
The poem is comic and satirical, a medieval comedy of manners, from a distinctly Christian viewpoint.
B. SGGK is the product of three medieval institutions:
Feudalism
Courtly Love
The Medieval Church
Side note: In French
cheval=horse
heval=horse & chevalier=knight
chevalier=knight,
=knight, thus chivalry
chivalry
derives from a knight’s
knight’s skill on horseback.
1. Feudalism: Medieval political structure based on “links of loyalty” – God, King, Lord, Knight, and Vassal. If the
“chain” is broken, then hope is broken, which ultimately leads to disorder, decay, and destruction. The poem looks back
to the golden age of chivalry, now in a state of decay. Sir Gawain exemplifies both the physical and non-physical ideals
of knighthood:
Physical Ideals of Knighthood (Prowess)
NonNon-Physical Ideas of Knighthood
Strength
Courage
Skill at Arms
Humility
Horsemanship
Horsemanship
Courtesy
2. Courtly Love: Courtly Love developed partly out of the medieval cult of Mary, which elevated women. The object of
love was to be worshipped from afar as an ideal; love was supposed to be an ennobling influence, and only noble people
were worthy of love. Several influences built up to acceptance of courtly love:
Marriages of convenience in the 8th-16th centuries made adultery a way of life
Men had shorter life spans then women. Women could inherit and thus gain control of wealth
Men went away, leaving women in control, as they went to the Crusades to clear the holy land of infidels,
starting in 1095
The belief that the lady should be treated as infinitely desirable was fostered by women and by poets. The way
of life portrayed in metrical romances influences real expectations and behavior.
C. “The Pearl” Poet: Composed in the late fourteenth century (ca. 1375), the poet’s name remains unknown, but scholars refer
to him as “The Pearl Poet,” since he wrote also “The Pearl,” “Patience” and “Purity.” The poet was more than likely a member a
member of a court given his familiarity of court life, costumes, and entertainments. Additionally, the poet was a contemporary of
Chaucer, and he wrote in a Northwest Midland's dialect much less modern than the London dialect of Chaucer. Only one
manuscript copy of the poem exists. Like the Beowulf epic, the illustrated manuscript is on display in the British Museum in the
Bloomsbury section of London. In fact, they are on display in the same showcase. The two works share a common history in that it
was also in the antique collection of the 17th century collector Sir Robert Cotton, under the bust of Nero. Its designation is Cotton
Nero AX.
D. Alliterative Revival: The general increase or surge in alliterative poetry composed in the second half
of the 14th century in England. Alliteration had been the formalistic focus in Old English poetry, but
after 1066 it was supplanted by the new convention of rhyme, which southern courtly poets were using
due to the influence of continental traditions in the Romance languages like Latin and French. Between
1066 and 1300, few, if any, poetic manuscripts using the alliterative form survive. There are two theories
to explain this absence. Theory number one argues this absence is a quirk of textual history, and that
individuals were still writing alliterative verse, but by coincidence none of the manuscripts survive to the
modern period, or that the tradition survived in oral form only and was never written down. The second
theory suggests that, after being mostly abandoned, a surge of regionalism or nationalism encouraged
northern poets to return to the older alliterative type of poetry during the mid- and late-1300s. In either
case, during this time, Piers Plowman, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and other important medieval poems
were written using alliterative techniques.
E. Bob and Wheel: A metrical device in some alliterative-verse poetry, especially that of the Pearl Poet. The first short line of a
group of rhyming lines is known as the “bob” and the subsequent four are a quatrain called the “wheel.” The bob contains one
stress preceded by either one or occasionally two unstressed syllables (i.e., the bob is only two or three syllables long in all). Each
line of the wheel contains three stresses. Together, the bob-and-wheel constitutes five lines rhyming in an ABABA pattern. The
“bob,” since it matches the alliterative pattern of the first part of the stanza, but also fits the rhyme scheme of the last five lines,
serves as a structural bridge between the alliterative sections and the rhyming sections of the poem.
Example: From the first stanza of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The bob appears in red, and the wheel appears in blue.
Alliterative components are in bold print, and rhyming components are in italic print.
Sithen the sege and the assut was sesed at Troye,
The borgh brittened and brent to brondes and askes,
The tulk that the trammes of tresoun ther wroght
Was tried for his tricherie, the trewest on erthe-Hit was Ennias the athel and highe kynde,
That sithen depreced provinces and patrounes bicome
Welneghe of al the wele in the west iles.
Fro riche Romulus to Rome ricchis hym swythe,
With gret bobbaunce that burghe he biges upon fyrst,
And nevenes hit his aune nome, as hit now hat.
Ticius to Tuskan and teldes bigynnes,
Langaberde in Lumbardie lyftes up homes,
And fer over the French flod Felix Brutus
On mony bonkkes ful brode Bretayn he settes with wynne,
Where werre and wrake and wonder
Bi sythes has wont therinne,
And oft bothe blysse and blunder
Ful skete has skyfted synne.
The final five rhymes--wynne, wonder, therinne, blunder, synne--have an ABABA rhyme pattern. The phrase with wynne is the bob; it
bridges the alliterative section and moves the poem into the final rhyming section in each stanza. The bob-and-wheel structure is
not common in the poetry of Chaucer, though even he uses it for parody in Sir Thopas.
F. Genre:
1. Medieval Romance: A tale of high adventure that can be a religious crusade, a conquest for the knight’s liege and lord or
the rescue of a captive lady or any combination of God, a goodly king and a pretty girl. Name “romance” derives from Old
French (the language in which narrative was written), which is a “Romance” language, which descended from Latin, the
language of the ancient Romans.
2. Characterized By:
Medieval romance usually idealizes chivalry
Medieval romance Idealizes the hero-knight and his noble deeds
An important element of the medieval romance is the knight's love for his lady
The settings of medieval romance tend to be imaginary and vague
Medieval romance derives mystery and suspense from supernatural elements
Medieval romance uses concealed or disguised identity
Repetition of the mystical number "3." (Repetitions of the number or multiples of 3)
3. Characteristics of the Hero-Knight
Birth of a great hero is shrouded in mystery
He is reared away from his true home in ignorance of his real parents
For a time his true identity is unknown
After meeting an extraordinary challenge, he claims his right
His triumph benefits his nation or group
G. For Fun: Sir Gawain & the Green Knight a Paper Doll Set
Sir Gawain Paper Dolls http://www.gallimauphry.com/PD/gawain/gawain.html
III. Reading Questions:
Part 1
1. Theorize why does the poem begin with the Trojan War, not with King Arthur or Sir Gawain?
2. What season of the year is it as the actual story begins? Why is that significant? What night is it when the main events of Part 1
take place?
3. How old (more or less) are Arthur and his knights when the story takes place? How do you know? Cite text.
4. Why won’t Arthur eat his dinner yet? What does this say about the values in play at Arthur’s court?
5. What is the most unusual thing about the man who rides into the hall? Describe in detail his dress and weaponry.
6. What does the Green Knight challenge one of the knights to do?
7. How many knights initially offer to undertake the Green Knight’s challenge? What arguments does Gawain finally use in asking
to be given the challenge?
8. What happens when Gawain complies with the Green Knight’s request? Hmm, what do you make of this?
9. What is Arthur’s response once the Green Knight has left?
10. What must the knight who participates in the Green Knight's challenge do in one year and a day?
Part 2
1. When does Gawain leave Arthur's court?
What color is Gawain's armor? (See lines 603, 619.)
2. Gawain’s shield, with its pentangle on the outside and image on the inside, symbolizes the values and
qualities that Gawain is expected to uphold. What does Gawain’s shield tell us in terms of Gawain as a hero?
What values and qualities of Gawain’s, suggested by the shield, are tested in the poem? How well does Gawain
deal with the various challenges that he faces?
(In the original, the five are fraunchyse, felawschyp, clannes, cortaysye, and pité.) The author stresses that all
of the fives are linked (lines 656-661). What happens in such a structure if any one of the elements gives
way?
3. What route does Gawain follow? What are some of the challenges/adventures that Gawain faces on his
journey?
4. The "Christmas Eve" of line 734 is actually the evening of December 23. What does Gawain fear he will
miss on December 24 (lines 750-762)? What happens after Gawain's prayer?
5. How is Gawain received in the castle? How does the lord of the castle respond? How would you describe the lord of the castle?
6. How well does Gawain maintain his Christmas Eve fast?
7. What do the castle residents expect once they know it is Gawain? In other words, for what is Gawain well known?
8. What two women does Gawain meet after evensong? How are they described? How does Gawain behave with the women?
Dates Help: The dates get confusing at line 1020, since one day seems to be omitted. "That day and all the next" of line 1020 refer to Christmas day
and December 26 (St. Stephen's Day). "St. John's Day" of line 1022 is December 27. What appears to be missing, according to the poem's most recent
editors, is a line or two after line 1022 referring to December 28, Holy Innocents' Day, the last of the three major feasts following Christmas. Thus "the
last of their like for those lords and ladies" (line 1023) would refer to the "joys" of December 28, and the guests would "go in the gray morning" (line
1024) of December 29 (which in England is the Feast of St. Thomas à Becket, murdered in Canterbury Cathedral by associates of King Henry II on
Christmas Day 1170). The three days described in Part 3 are thus December 29, 30, and 31, and at the beginning of Part 4 Gawain leaves for the
Green Chapel on January 1.
9. Why does Gawain tell the lord he has to leave? What surprising news does the lord have for him? What does Gawain then
decide to do?
10. What arrangements does the lord propose for Gawain and himself for the next day? How does Gawain respond?
Part 3
Complete the “Hunt & Temptation” sections on the “Hunt & Genre Analysis” handout.
Part 4
1. Gawain puts on the girdle. Does the combination of colors remind you of anything (even though it may be anachronistic)?
2. What does the guide say about the Green Knight? What does he tell Gawain to do? What is Gawain's response?
3. Is the Green Chapel what Gawain expected it to be? What is it?
4. What tone does the Green Knight maintain throughout Gawain’s encounter with him?
5. What happens the first time the Green Knight raises the ax? What does he tell Gawain? Have we heard that before?
6. What happens the second time the Green Knight raises the ax? What is Gawain’s response?
7. What happens the third time the Green Knight raises the ax? What is Gawain’s response?
8. What surprises do Gawain and we get in the Green Knight’s explanation of the three tries? What additional surprise appears in
lines (hint: naughty girl!)?
9. How does the Green Knight judge Gawain’s performance during his tests? How does Gawain judge his own performance?
Whom does Gawain blame instead of himself?
10. Who is the Green Knight? Who is the old woman at the castle? Why is she so much more important to the poem than she
appeared to be? What did she want to do to Arthur's knights? What did she want to do to Arthur's queen?
11. What is Gawain's attitude when he returns to court? What is the court's attitude? What happens to the girdle? What does the
court do about it?
12. Whose response should we see as the more appropriate, Gawain's or that of both the Green Knight and the court?
13. What is the effect/purpose of repeating the first line of the poem here?
14. What additional understanding do we get of the poem by noting that until this century January 1 was primarily celebrated as
“The Circumcision of Our Lord”‘? The circumcision is mentioned in Luke 2:21. Some sense of the significance of the circumcision
can be seen in the collect [prayer] for the feast:
Almighty God, who madest thy blessed Son to be circumcised, and obedient to the law for man: grant us the true circumcision of the
Spirit; that our hearts, and all our members, being mortified from all worldly and carnal lusts, we may in all things obey thy blessed
will. Through the same Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord. Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Holy Ghost, ever
one God, world without end. Amen.
More of the significance of the circumcision as foreshadowing the crucifixion and resurrection can be seen in the hymn provided
for Matins of the feast:
O blessed day, when first was poured
The precious blood of Christ our Lord!
O blessed day, when so began
His travail in redeeming man!
Scarce entered on our life of woe,
His infant blood for us doth flow!
Whilst yet he suckles at the breast,
Atoning love he thus confessed!
From heaven come, and willingly,
Man's sacrificial Lamb is he!
The Son of God, quick to fulfil
Each mandate of his Father's will!
Beneath the knife see Mary's Child,
God's Innocent! man's Undefiled!
For sinners he would ransom pay,
For lawless man the Law obey!
Grant circumcision, Lord, within;
Cut from our hearts the love of sin!
That we thy likeness true may bear,
Carve deep thy Name and image there! Amen.
Of course, Gawain is not a Christ-figure, merely a human (even if one of the best). But certainly the "little blood" (line 2314) of
Gawain's that is shed on January 1 for his "sins" would remind at least some in the audience listening to Sir Gawain and the Green
Knight of the feast celebrated on the same day.
IV. Post Reading Discussion Questions (Prepare for final wrap up discussion day!):
1. At least three different “spiritual” systems operate in SGGK:
The Celtic system includes fate, games, nature, and fairy/magic.
The Christian system focuses on mortality, meditation on Christ and Mary, confession, recognition of sin, and
repentance.
The Arthurian system emphasizes ethics, truth, loyalty, the feudal relationship, the heroic ideal, courtly love, chivalry,
and the challenge/quest.
How do these different systems govern morality in SGGK? Do they seem in competition, or do they overlap? Do they reinforce or
reflect each other? Which system appears to dominate by the end of the tale, based on the way the ethical chips fall? What wins
out: God or magic? truth or disguise? the hero or the trickster? the court or nature? courtly love or Amor Dei? social contracts or
moral ones? the individual, fate, or society?
2. In SGGK, the Pearl poet levies many criticisms about Arthur and his court. Why mock or satirize Arthur’s court in this way?
What purposes might this mocking serve? What does this mocking suggest about the medieval understanding of King Arthur and
his legends?
How are King Arthur, his knights, and Camelot depicted? Find specific references to prove your assertions. Cite specific
examples as evidence.
3. Critics differ on how to interpret the Green Knight. Some see him as a daemon; others see him as a god.
Still others have different interpretations. The Green Knight is, to say the least, an odd figure. What do you
make of this green man? How do you interpret him? What might he symbolize? Be sure to explain your
answer, and give supporting evidence (quotes and examples) from the poem.
4. What roles do women play in SGGK (Guenevere, Lady Bercilak, Morgan le Fay)? What’s up with
Gawain’s anti-feminist diatribe, in which the falls of heroes (Adam, Samson, and David) are blamed on
women (Eve, Delilah, and Bathsheba)? Do the examples seem to back up or undermine the Knight’s claims?
Ultimately, are we meant to take the “it’s all HER fault” seriously or question it, and therefore, question the
entire anti-feminist tradition?
Women and magic/trickery are linked in SGGK, but why? What is communicated by linking women with magic or deceit?
What does this tell us about women in this text? What does it suggest about women during this time? Compare the women in
SGGK to that of the Wife of Bath – her prologue and tale. Any similarities? Cite specific examples as evidence both parts of
this question.
5. Beowulf is an epic, written in Old English. SGGK is a medieval romance, written in Middle English. Thus, they represent two
different types of hero, the epic hero and the chivalric hero. Create a list in which you note the similarities and differences between
the characteristics of each of our heroes, their missions, their deeds, their purposes, and the cultural values each embodies.
The Code of Chivalry
I.
Thou shalt believe all that the church teaches, and shalt observe all its directions.
II.
Thou shalt defend the church.
III.
Thou shalt respect all weaknesses and shalt constitute thyself the defender of them.
IV.
Thou shalt love the country in which thou wast born.
V.
Thou shalt not recoil before thine enemy.
VI.
Thou shalt make war against the Infidel without cessation and without mercy.
VII.
Thou shalt perform scrupulously thy feudal duties, if they be not contrary to the laws of God.
VIII.
Thou shalt never lie and shalt remain faithful to thy pledged word.
IX.
Thou shalt be generous and give largess to everyone.
X.
Thou shalt be everywhere and always the champion of the right and the good against injustice and evil.
The Rules of Courtly Love
Courtly love or fin amor = the emphasis on graceful and idealized relations between the sexes.
Note: Courtly love is an almost entirely literary phenomenon.
1. The state of marriage does not prevent anyone from loving.
2. He who does not feel jealousy is not capable of loving.
3. No one can love two people at the same time.
4. It is well known that love is always either growing or declining.
5. Whatever a lover takes against his lover's will has no savor.
6. A male does not fall in love until he has reached full manhood.
7. A mourning period of two years for a deceased lover is required of the surviving partner.
8. No one should be prevented from loving except by reason of his own death.
9. No one can love unless he is compelled by the eloquence of love.
10. Love is accustomed to be an exile from the house of avarice.
11. It is unseemly to love anyone whom you would be ashamed to marry.
12. A true lover does not desire the passionate embraces of anyone else but his beloved.
13. Love that is made public rarely lasts.
14. Love easily obtained is of little value; difficulty in obtaining it makes it precious.
15. Every lover regularly turns pale in the presence of his beloved.
16. On suddenly catching sight of his beloved, the heart of the lover begins to
palpitate.
17. A new love drives out the old.
18. A good character alone makes someone worthy of love.
19. If love lessens, it soon fails and rarely recovers.
20. A man in love is always fearful.
21. The feeling of love is always increased by true jealousy.
22. When a lover feels suspicious of his beloved, jealousy, and with it the sensation of love, are increased.
23. A man tormented by the thought of his love eats and sleeps little.
24. Everything a lover does ends in the thought of his beloved.
25. A true lover considers nothing good but what he thinks will please his beloved.
26. Love can deny nothing to love.
27. A lover cannot have too much of his beloved's consolations.
28. A small supposition compels a lover to suspect his beloved of doing wrong.
29. A man who is troubled by excessive lust does not usually love.
30. A true lover is continually and without interruption obsessed by the image of his beloved.
31. Nothing forbids one woman being loved by two men, or one man by two women.
(Capellanus, Andreas. Book II De artes Honesti Amandi)