What Is Your Quest? -To Seek the Holy Grail It s great to have clear purpose in life. It tends to provide peace of

Transcription

1 English Literature Chapter 12 Morte d Arthur and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight What Is Your Quest? -To Seek the Holy Grail It s great to have clear purpose in life. It tends to provide peace of mind and in many cases, success. The chivalric code provided just that kind of direction to knights in the Middle Ages. The twofold purpose of the chivalric code was to fuse the religious and fighting spirits and to bring the fighting man in accord with Christian theory. The Catholic Church encouraged a code for knights because there was a need for the Church to find a way to tolerate knights in good conscience and for the knights to pursue their livelihood in spiritual comfort. Such a code would put a knight in the service of the Church. Apart from the Church, however, some of the principles chivalry developed on its own were prowess (courage, strength, skill), the tradition of courtly love, and largesse (generosity). No Guts, No Glory Knights were under a lot of pressure to uphold this chivalric code, facing all the hardships that came with the territory. They had to endure heavy armor, danger in battle (lances, axes, arrows, etc.), fear, bad food, bad water, hard beds, poor shelter, and horrible wounds. Some ancient myths and Medieval stories contained beheading rituals the 1

2 beheading was intended to ensure the return of spring and growth of new crops. It was symbolic of the supreme test of courage. Knights were not allowed to break their word to their overlord (if he did, he was charged with treason for betraying the order of knighthood) but were allowed to deceive others to whom they had sworn no loyalty. You Can t Please All of the People All of the Time Yet along with the hardship was entertainment. They fought in tournaments, listened to the recital of epics, hunted, played chess and other games, danced, sang, and engaged themselves in battle. Unfortunately, popes and kings wanted to banish tournaments because they objected to the extravagance, violence, and vainglory that it represented. Participating in them compromised the knight s abilities to be a true soldier because the skills needed in a tournament weren t necessarily the same as those required to be a successful soldier. Today there is still some evidence left of the chivalric code. Some countries continue the tradition of knighthood in a formalized way. England and Japan are modern examples of this. Socially, many of the ideals of chivalry still influence us and are considered to be a mark of character truth, honor, loyalty, generosity, politeness, etc. Discretion - the Better Part of Valor Much of the popularity of the chivalric code and the subject matter for most surviving Medieval romances came from the stories of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Contrary to popular belief, 2

3 Arthur was not an Anglo-Saxon king, but Celtic. Legends about him and his knights were known throughout France and England. The central theme in Morte d Arthur involves principles of chivalry--one example occurs when Sir Lucan demonstrates his undying loyalty to King Arthur. Though wounded, he carries Arthur to safety and then dies from the strain. After confronting Sir Lancelot in France regarding his relationship with Queen Guinevere, King Arthur returns to England to do battle with his nephew, Sir Mordred, who tries to usurp his throne while the king is in France. Sir Gawain suggests King Arthur sign a month-long treaty with Sir Mordred as Gawain strongly believes that Arthur and his men are overmatched. Eventually, the two sides fought all the long day, and never stinted till the noble knights were laid to the cold earth. Walt Disney said that a movie is not complete without both laughter and tears. The tears--in The Lion King as well as in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, in theatre as well as in life--are what give our experiences character and depth. Before his death, Arthur asks Sir Bedivere to throw away his noble sword, Excalibur, yet Bedivere cannot bring himself to do so. He tries to deceive Arthur by pretending that he has performed the king s request. According to chivalric code, Sir Bedivere s refusal to throw away the sword is an undesirable act. He later performs a redeeming and admirable chivalric gesture to make up for it by living the rest of his life fasting and praying for Arthur. After the king s death, ladies in black hoods accompany King Arthur on a barge. Their hoods symbolize death. 3

4 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Another book that demonstrates the chivalric code is Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, written at the same time as The Canterbury Tales. One similarity between Chaucer and the unknown author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is that both were: 1) familiar with life at court; 2) probably connected to aristocratic families; and 3) widely read in various languages. The dissimilarity is that they spoke and wrote in different dialects of Middle English. Although written as a Medieval romance, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight differs from most of them in that it is filled with more realism and the hero is not completely idealized. The Christmas Game The Green Knight in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight came to King Arthur s court to play his Christmas Game because King Arthur s court was very much praised. It was known to have the best armor, horses, courteousness, and chivalry. When the Green Knight asked who was the captain of the crowd, no one answered him. They were too amazed at the knight s appearance and they were also being courteous by letting King Author speak first. The Christmas Game that the Green Knight proposed to Arthur s court was a challenge to any of Arthur s knights to strike him with an ax and then passively receive a blow in return a year and one day later. 4

5 Sir Gawain Takes The Green Knight Challenge Gawain then persuades King Arthur to let him take up this challenge instead of the king because: 1) he is the weakest of all the knights and his death would be the least of any ; 2) this type of game is not worthy of a king; 3) all knights are sworn to protect their king; and 4) he simply asked for the king's permission. The Green Knight asks Sir Gawain to repeat the terms of the agreement. The fact that the knight will be sought out in one year s time to receive a return blow was omitted by Gawain and emphasized by the Green Knight. His parting words were: Look to it, Gawain, that you do as you have sworn, and seek faithfully until you find me. All men know me as the knight of the Green Chapel. To the Green Chapel you must come, I charge you, to receive such a blow as you have dealt here to me today. You will find me if you try. If you fail to come, coward shall you be called by the whole world. Arthur congratulated Sir Gawain, had him hang an ax on the wall, and commenced eating after the Green Knight left. Ominously, the barbarous din Sir Gawain hears is the sound of an ax being sharpened. His spirits sink - much like being invited to dinner and finding out that you are the dinner. You Can Pay Me Now Or Pay Me Later Exactly one year and a day later Gawain seeks out the Green Knight to finish the game. His reaction to each of the three swings was telling. With the first swing, he flinched just before it hit his neck. On the second swing, he paid no heed to the ax and remained unflinching as the blow came down. 5

6 The third time, the ax just barely nicked Gawain s neck. When he saw his blood on the snow, Sir Gawain leaps back, yanks down on his helmet, pulls his shield around, and draws his sword to defend himself. Truthfulness Rewarded The identity of the Green Knight is Gawain s host. Each of the Green Knight s blows corresponds to the events that occurred at the castle. The first two blows don t touch Gawain because the first two nights Gawain kept his bargain, but the third blow nicks his neck because he lied about the green silken girdle (scarf) on the third night. A blot on his honor earned him the cut. Chivalric virtues of purity and honesty glimmer from Gawain s encounter with the Green Knight. Supernatural And Super Generous Details from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight that demonstrate a sense of the supernatural are the Green Knight himself, his size, color and ability to disguise himself, the fact that a severed head could speak, and perhaps the green girdle. An inference about chivalric ideals can be drawn from the following quotation (Green Knight to Gawain). Such harm as I have had, I hold It quite healed. / You are so fully confessed, you failings made known, / I hold you polished as a pearl Knights were to be generous and fair to their enemies. Here the Green Knight also illustrates the quality of courteousness. The love your enemy motif (theme) appears here. 6

7 Is There Anything New Under the Sun? Jousting tournaments, the loud clashing of swords, courtly love, cavalry attacking in full, shining armor all the flash of Medieval times aside, the essence of chivalry was keeping your word. Also, the next time you watch a Star Wars movie (with Jedi Knights), look for the following qualities of a Medieval romance: 1) a chivalric code is a central element of the story; 2) a hero is on an adventure; 3) a pervading sense of the supernatural; 4) protagonists (or main characters) are members of the higher social classes; 5) love is a major plot element; and 6) spontaneous unmotivated fighting abounds. Main characters in Medieval romances are usually knights, kings, and damsels in distress. (Sound familiar?) It s funny how things change but still remain the same understanding the oldest scripts helps you to understand the newest. See you in Lesson 15! 7