Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Chivalry

Chivalry includes bravery, courtesy, courage, humility, and virtue. The knights' codes that shapes Sir Gawain with bravery and courtesy Sir Gawain follows the codes of chivalry more than other Knights of the Round Table.

Hunted Animals

Deer- noble prey Good hearing to prevent danger Speed of foot (like being quick on your feet) Cautious and Careful- knows what to avoid and when to avoid it Boar- noble prey Bold, warlike, would rather die fighting than give in Fox- vermin (useless animals), cunning, & duplicity (trickery) sly and wily "False" - dishonest and deceitful

Hunt vs Temptation

Deer- noble prey Good hearing to prevent danger Speed of foot (like being quick on your feet) Cautious and Careful- knows what to avoid and when to avoid it vs Gawain stays noble and honest Cautious, careful, tactful Proper thing do/say at the proper time Pretends to sleep (when deer listening for danger) Boar- noble prey Bold, warlike, would rather die fighting than give in vs Remains Noble and Honest He is more direct (doesn't pretend to sleep & Not surprised that she is coming) Says she is foolish to do what she wants and would break chivalry and disrespect host Fox- vermin (useless animals), cunning, & duplicity (trickery) sly and wily "False" - dishonest and deceitful vs

The fantastic/magic

Everything planned by Morgana le Faye has something to do with magic. She transforms Bercilak to the Green Knight who does not die even though his head gets chopped off. Gawain's journey through the forest (fighting dragons, etc.) Magic is part of Romance genre

Gawain's Shield

Pentangle star on the outside showing the endless connection of the five 5's Gawain keeps the image of Mary inside his shield to keep his courage whenever he sees it.

Romance hero

a larger-than-life figure, usually of mysterious origins, who performs extraordinary deeds with the aid of magic "A Romance hero is a man who goes on a quest in search of an ideal. Gawain is searching for the ideal of being a perfect knight, and to do that he must follow the code of chivalry. Part of that is accepting challenges and fulfilling them" -Heck the hero who is filled with bravery, loyalty, humility, courage, honesty, and virtue also follows codes of chivalry. Sir Gawain is an example of Romance hero. look at the Gawain as You Read Activity Worksheet 1. loyal to King Arthur 2. takes the challenge from the Green Knight 3. does not dishonor the Lord and the Lady of the House 4. does not flinch when the Green Knight is about to swing his axe for the second time However, Gawain destroys his chance to be the perfect knight by making dishonest/deceitful decision of keeping the green girdle for himself; he breaks the code of chivalry by not upholding the promise with the Lord of the House.

Romance

a verse narrative that traces the adventures of a brave knight or other hero who has to overcome danger for the love of a noble lady or some other high ideal

King Arthur

king of Camelot; uncle of Sir Gawain During the Christmas party, he refuses to eat until he is entertained by a story He is challenged by the Green Knight for the game in which someone will strike him with his own axe, on the condition that he gets to return the blow in exactly a year and a day He becomes sad for accepting the game because he thought that he was going to lose Sir Gawain for it.

5 knightly virtues

love, friendship, freedom from sin, courtesy, and pity (compassion)

The color green

represents nature; the Green knight's connection to the natural world Emphasizes that the green knight is part of nature (every parts of his body is green)

Duality

symbol of nature (axe vs. holly branch) symmetry (those that are balanced)

Bercilak / Bertilak

the Lord of the House who welcomes Sir Gawain generously and cherishes him provides the information about the location of the Green Chapel plays a game with Sir Gawain: While Gawain stays in the castle, Bercilak goes hunting. At the end of the day, they will meet and exchange what they've won over the course of the day

Green belt/girdle

the belt given by the Lady of the House to Sir Gawain Sir Gawain accepts the belt because he wants to save his life from the Green Knight. He does not give it the Bercilak when he is supposed to do based on the rule of the game. It marks the fall of Gawain as the perfect knight; it shatters his perfection by making him dishonest decision; it breaks the codes of chivalry by not upholding the promise with Bercilak. It symbolizes humanity (reality of being human that we do fail) and personal growth (learning from his mistake). To Gawain, it is the symbol of his cowardice and an excessive love of mortal life All the Knights of the Round Table wear the green belt It symbolizes that perfection is unattainable. humanity and humility

Le Morte D'Arthur

the knights' codes that shapes Sir Gawain with bravery and courtesy Sir Gawain follows the codes of chivalry more than other Knights of the Round Table. Chivalry includes bravery, courtesy, courage, humility, and virtue. the title of the work that Sir Thomas Malory wrote the collection of Arthurian legends The story of King Arthur and his knights is part of the stories in the work Go-to Arthurian legends book.

Gawain

the main character of the story; King Arthur's nephew and one of his most loyal knights has the reputation of being a great knight and courtly lover takes the Green Knight's challenge from King Arthur because he thinks that it is unfit for the king to take

Green Knight

the mysterious knight who comes to the Camelot to test if the fame of King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table is true does not die when Sir Gawain chops his head off symbolizes both good and bad sides of the nature; like nature, he balances himself between positive qualities and negative ones. elegant vs. grim, bold; graceful vs. brute; holly branch (peace) vs. axe (violence) <duality of nature>

The five 5's

the perfection of his 5 senses, the dexterity of his 5 fingers, his devotion to the 5 wounds of Christ, 5 knightly virtues, and his reflection on the 5 joys of Mary in Christ (all brought together in Pentangle) found on Gawain's shield the ideal of a knight that Gawain hopes to become; his goal to be the perfect knight

Pentangle

the star-shape painted on Gawain's shield that represents the of his 5 senses, the dexterity of his 5 fingers, his devotion to the 5 wounds of Christ, 5 knightly virtues, and his reflection on the 5 joys of Mary in Christ 5 senses: sound, sight, taste, touch, and smell 5 wounds of Christ: his head, his two hands, his side, and his feet 5 knightly virtues: love, friendship, freedom from sin, courtesy, and pity (compassion) 5 joys of Mary: annunciation, nativity, resurrection, ascension, and assumption endless knot that connects everything; all the qualities on the Pentangle represent what kind of knight Gawain is/ hopes to be (Gawain's ideal for the perfect knight)

Guenevere

the wife of the King Arthur whom Morgana le Faye wants to scare to death by showing her the Green Knight picking up his head that was chopped off

Challenges / Deal (Beheading Game)

1st Flinches (dodges the axe) He is afraid (lack of courage) of death vs 1st Temptation 1 Kiss (Gawain gave back the kisses) 2nd No flinch Redeems himself Shows courage vs 2nd Temptation 2 Kisses (Gawain gave back the kisses) 3rd Gawain gets nicked on his neck vs 3rd Temptation Green belt, he got nicked because he keeps the belt Only a nick because Gawain could have done much worse (he did not keep the belt out of lust, or the materialistic reasons, but he keeps it to save his life)

Numbers - 3's/5's

3's cross three times and then the castle three hunts/ three kisses/ three temptations/ three axe swings 5's pentangle star the five verges of pentangle star come together in endless knot, and they are brought up as a cohesive group of virtues. This perfect virtue of the fives is what Gawain strives for.

Camelot

King Arthur's castle where he and the knights of the Round Table dwell They are having Christmas party there when the Green Knight comes into the hall. setting of the story

Morgana le Faye

King Arthur's half sister and Sir Gawain's aunt who learned magic from Merlin after having sex with him the old woman at the castle She sent Bercilak as the Green Knight to the Camelot in order to test the reputation of the Knights of the Round Table and to scare Lady Guinevere to death with the Green Knight picking up his head after getting it chopped off.

Knights of the Round Table

King Arthur's knights who are very loyal to him known to be the best, the strongest men to ever mount the saddle, and the worthiest knights ever known to the world, both in competition and true combat The Green Knight sent by Morgana le Faye comes to the Camelot to test them if their known reputation is really true.

Nature

Nature is symbolized in the Green Knight's positive and negative qualities. Nature needs to be balanced to work. ex) If there is storm all the time, there won't be any trees in the world. civilized world vs. nature Gawain faces both sides of nature: negative and positive

Moral of the Story

Nobody is perfect , Humans are bound to make mistakes but they can grow