Sir Gawain and the Green Knight An Arthurian Romance

Arthurian Romance  Legend of King Arthur  Romance Poetry  Knights  Idealized behavior  EX: courtly love (The love within the King’s court or assemblage)  Fantasy  Supernatural creatures  Challenge/Test -> Test  Heroism  Moral Lesson

Other Medieval Genres  Religious prose  Narrative Prose  Romance  In the High Middle Ages, the transition towards Renaissance (Shakespeare’s time) began.  After Shakespeare’s time we see the emergence of the novel.

Feudal Social Institutions  Chivalry- knightly code of behavior  Truth  Honesty  Respect for women  Courage  Obedience to the King  Humility

Chivalry  Replaces the Anglo-Saxon comitatus (commitment)  Knight obeys the King because he’s the King  One-way relationship

Kholberg’s Stages of Moral Development Level 1: Pre- conventional Obedience: Punishment Avoidance Self –Interest Orientation How can I avoid punishment? What’s in it for me? Level 2: Conventional Conformity to Societal Norms Following Authority What is good behavior? What does the law say? Level 3: Post- conventional Democratic Expectations Martyrdom: Do the greatest good How will it affect the world?

Challenge/Test  Sir Gawain is a Chivalrous Knight, so he must live up to the standards of Chivalry. The test ensures that Gawain sticks to his morals and convictions as a Knight.  Through the beheading game, the Green Knight aims to reveal the true nature of knighthood and that there is corruption in the Knightly Code.

Why read this today?  Moral Lesson  14 th Century- Knights had to make choices; these choices reflect the acceptance or denial of the Chivalric Code.  Modern Day- we have to make choices in life based upon our belief system.  Beliefs are the way in which we measure our actions; our believes are the way in which we decide if our actions are good or bad.

Courtly Love in Romance Poetry  Audience- most likely women  In Romance, we see that women play a larger role than they did in Anglo-Saxon or Ancient Greek Literature  The courtly love consisted of a relationship between a knight and the liege lady. (It was not always inappropriate)

Who is the author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight?  WE don’t know!  He is called the Gawain poet or the Pearl Poet because he gives his readers “pearls of knowledge” about good behavior.  Pearl Poet’s special technique: The eyewitness technique  Tale is told in the 3 rd person except when the narrator describes events from his own perspective.

As we read…  Pay attention to the numbers 3 and 5  Pay attention to Sir Gawain’s challenges/tests and how he overcomes/succumbs to them  Pay attention to Chivalrous Actions and Courtly Love

Calendar of Events… Reading Check 21 Hw: “Chivalric Oaths” Article 22 “Chivalry” Article 23 HW: Part One Study Guide No Class 27 No Class 28 No Class 29 Part One Notes 30 Quarter Two Ends HW: Part Two Study Guide 31

Calendar of Events…February 12 Part Two Notes 3 “Chivalry and Courtly Love” Article 4 Part Three Study Guide 5 Part Three Study Guide 6 Part Four Study Guide HW: Understandi ng Medieval Romances Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Essential Themes 11 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Essential Themes 12 Test 13 Critical Essay # Meet in Room 109 to type essays Hw: Dante’s Inferno Cantos Critical Essay #2 Due 28