Dec 14, 2018

A knight until the end

In Christopher Dean's Sir Gawain in the Alliterative Morte Arthure he goes into detail of the knightly and chivalrous identity of Sir Gawain. Comparing & contrasting Gawain to king Arthur the reader learns that where Arthur is weak Gawain is strong and vice versa. Both are strong leaders but in different aspects Arthur is strong in leadership in the sense of diplomacy as he seeks counsel before declaring war. Whereas Gawain is a strong leader in the sense of action and combat this can be seen when he charges towards the Romans leading his men to victory, and again when he assumes command over Florente's forces and once again wins in combat. This contrast of knight and king is quite apparent in the piece and it makes sense that Arthur is the stronger leader as a king should be regal and have a certain type of finesse when leading. Whereas Gawain, while an heir apparent is no regal leader, and has no sense of duty to be leading in this manner but as a knight he should be able to inspire Arthur's forces especially in battle. Dean puts it quite nicely when he says "Both Arthur and Gawain are acting worthily according to their different lights, and both are upholding principles highly valued by medieval society" Gawain consistently proves his knightly worth to his king by winning battle after battle all the while feeling that he is protected by the lord in doing so. Ultimately Gawain meets his demise to Mordred further reinforcing the fact that there is a hierarchy to be followed since he cannot be the one to take down Mordred and that it must be Arthur to fell the usurper. In his death Gawain receives further honor from both Arthur and Mordred. Arthur claims that without Gawain he would have no success(124) and Mordred, having killed Gawain himself, calls him a knight of many good deeds and gives Gawain quite the eulogy.

This emphasis on Gawain's knightly deeds throughout the piece I feel is quite important as it gives Gawain a standing position as a knight and nothing more. Gawain being related to Arthur would give him right to rule should Arthur fall. Gawain even has the qualities of a strong leader about himself, but ultimately Gawain dies and it his value as a knight that is constantly mentioned. He has a destiny of knighthood he cannot escape but I think it fitting of him as all of his aspirations are that of someone who follows the code of chivalry.

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PROFESSOR of ENGLISH and MEDIEVAL STUDIES

UNIVERSITY of NEW MEXICO

Anita Obermeier

A knight until the end

Marie de France's Bisclavret

Margery Kempe and Female Authorship

Joseph’s Troubles about Mary - Corpus Christi Play