Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
 The Green Knight about to chop Sir Gawian's head off, by Arthur Elgort | |
| Central Theme: | What, if anything, does a noble knight prize above honour? |
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| Synopsis: | Sir Gawain accepts a foolish challenge, then shows he is willing to abide by it. |
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a late 14th-century Middle English alliterative romance. One of the earliest stories in the King Arthur mythos, this tale revolves around the eponymous Gawain accepting and completing a challenge presented by the Green Knight, who mysteriously appeared in Arthur's court during Camelot's New Year's Day feast.
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Silence fell in hall |
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In the tale, the knight challenges Arthur's court to a game: any of the knights there at the Round Table could strike the Green Knight one blow with an axe. In return, the knight would have to allow the Green Knight a similar blow in one year's time. Arthur's knights, being somewhat Genre Savvy, are hesitant to agree to such an obvious trap. In response, The Green Knight casts aspersions on their manhood and chivalry, which then prompts Gawain to accept the challenge.
Gawain's axe blow strikes the Green Knight's head clean from his shoulders. Surprisingly, the Knight's body remains standing. It retrieves the head, which informs Gawain that he has an appointment at the Green Chapel in one year's time, and exits.
Fast forward to late next year, and Gawain is off on a long and arduous search for the Green Knight's castle. After a long time wandering, and with New Year's fast approaching, Gawain comes to the castle of Lord Bertilak, who cheerfully informs Gawain that the Green Chapel is less than two miles away. Relieved, Gawain accepts Bertilak's offer of hospitality.
Bertilak plans to go on several hunting trips during the week to come, but Gawain is still exhausted from his journey, so they strike a bargain: Bertilak will hand over whatever he catches during the day to Gawain, and Gawain will share "whatever fortune he achieves" in return.
The next day, Bertilak goes hunting. Gawain, sleeping late, finds the beautiful Lady Bertilak climbing into bed with him. Gawain thinks she is beautiful but only talks with her, nothing more. In the end, Lady Bertilak demands a kiss from him. Gawain heartily agrees, and the two kiss.
At the end of the day, Bertilak offers the deer he killed to Gawain, who repays his host with a kiss. Bertilak asks where he won it, but Gawain declines to say.
The next day Lady Bertilak again comes to Gawain, and more directly attempts to seduce him. She plays on his attraction to her, his reputation as a bit of a ladies' man, and his chivalric obligations to his hostess. He resists on all fronts except for two kisses, which he and the lady exchange.
The first evening's events are repeated, with Bertilak giving Gawain a boar and Gawain returning two kisses, much to the amusement of Lord Bertilak, who exclaims that Gawain is making an excellent profit off their arrangement.
The third day, New Year's Eve, is like the first two. The Lady has become direct about her intent towards Gawain, who refuses to sleep with her despite his desire for her. The Lady offers to give him a gold ring; Gawain refuses, saying that he has nothing to give in return. Then she offers him her girdle of green silk, which bears a strong enchantment: none who wear it can be killed. This appeals not only to Gawain's romantic feelings toward the Lady, but also to his sense of self-preservation; he accepts that gift.
That evening, Gawain exchanges three kisses for the fox that Bertilak, has caught but keeps the girdle a secret, hoping that it will save his life, since he will meet the Green Knight the next day.
On New Year's, Gawain rides to the Green Chapel, refusing to back out of his duty even if it kills him. The Green Knight is happy to see Gawain, and they get down to the axe-hewing.
The Green Knight strikes at Gawain's neck, but pulls the axe away at the last moment when Gawain flinches. He mocks Gawain for his fear. Gawain angrily declares that he will not move an inch. The Green Knight lifts the axe a second time, but he deliberately misses again, much to the frustration of Gawain, who would rather have all of this beheading business over with.
The third strike misses Gawain again, except for a slight scratch on the side of Gawain's neck. The Green Knight then reveals that he is Lord Bertilak, and that the first two misses were in honor of the first two nights of their arrangement, which Gawain met honorably and in full. The third stroke, scratch and all, was for the third day--and the belt which Gawain is wearing, which he tried to keep secret from Bertilak.
The entire arrangement, Lady Bertilak's attempted seduction and all, was part of Morgan le Fay's Evil Plan to embarrass Arthur's court. But Gawain had instead proven himself almost entirely perfect, much to the enchantress's dismay. Gawain keeps the green girdle as a reminder of his cowardice in trying to escape his duty through magic. Bertilak himself is well pleased with Gawain's performance; his only fault was the desire not to die.
Both this work and its source material are Older Than Print: The story itself apparently originates in an Irish myth called Briciu's feast. It was later recounted by Thomas Mallory and translated by J. R. R. Tolkien.
- Knight Errant: The oldest recorded use of it is in this work.
- 24-Hour Armor : Gawain sleeps in it while searching the green chapel.
- An Axe to Grind: Seems to be preferred by the Green Knight.
- Chaste Hero: Lady Bertilak tries to seduce Gawain and he refuses... up to a point.
- Genre Blindness: Despite it being the middle of winter, wandering through a desolate forest, Gawain when greeted by a beautiful castle in unseasonable green bloom immediately thanks Jesus.
- Grail Quest: Or, rather, a variant thereof. The Green Knight asks to be beheaded, and so he complies. Turns out the knight survives this, and says Gawain must come in a year and receive the same. Despite this being an obvious Suicide Mission, Gawain agrees. He has to spend three nights in a castle where the knight's wife is the hostess, and resist all that she offers.
- Honor Before Reason: The only thing binding Gawain to the agreement is his sense of honor.
- Impossible Task: The same vein of story, but the task is less physically impossible than it is emotionally - every human fears death, even if just a little bit.
- I Don't Want to Die: Gawain flinches when the Green Knight is about to execute him, which causes the knight to not kill him.
- King Arthur: The person ridiculed by the Green Knight in order to arouse the passions of the knights, including Gawain.
- Knight Errant: The Ur Example, to the point of being the Trope Namer.
- Losing Your Head: The severing of his own head doesn't trouble the Green Knight all that much.
- Magic Knight: The Green Knight is one. How else would he still be up with his head cut down?
- His magic abilities probably stem from Morgan le Fay's sorcery,[please verify] but he is magic nonetheless.
- Meaningful Name: The Green Knight, who is arguably a Color Character, though the meaning is debated.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: King Arthur at the start, and Gawain near the end.
- Rule of Three: Three kisses and three animals that are hunted (the deer, the boar and the fox).
- Secret Test of Character: The feast tests the knighthood and the three days at Bertilak's castle test Gawain. Indeed, the entire story is this trope in regards to Gawain's chastity and honor.
- Spoof Aesop: What have we learned, Gawain? "Never trust women?" Wrong, try again!
- The Vamp: Lady Bertilak keeps trying to tempt Gawain and is the one who gives him the girdle that makes him ultimate fail his test. Gawain claims he has learned never to trust women, that they only lead you to sin, etc. etc. The Green Knight tells him this is ridiculous and that he has to take responsibility for his own failure.
- Xanatos Gambit: The Green Knight's challenge in Camelot: if they refuse, he can call them cowards, and if they accept he can humiliate (and possibly kill) one of them. The Secret Test of Character interpretation also works here: no matter their response, they will have shown him the nature of their honor.
- A Year and a Day: The amount of time between the two beheadings.