Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Along with Beowulf and The Canterbury Tales, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is one of the earliest surviving examples of English literature.  Written in the late 1300s, it's also one of the first to mention King Arthur (it's after de Troyes, but precedes Malory's famous account).  At the heart, it centers on a test- to see if a man's righteousness will break in the face of certain death.

The basic plot is straightforward.  Every year at Christmas, King Arthur and his knights feast around the Round Table at Camelot.  One year, a giant green knight strides into the castle, and issues a challenge- he offers any man in the hall one strike on the knight's body, with the condition that next year, that man travel to the green knight's location and receive one strike himself.  Sir Gawain accepts; he gives the knight a mighty blow with an axe, and the chops off the knight's head.  The knight, shockingly, then picks up his head and, still alive, says that he'll return the favor next year.  The court is aghast.  Gawain resigns himself to death- for how can anyone withstand such a blow- and the next year, sets out to find the green knight.  His initial inquiries get him nowhere, but eventually, he happens upon a castle with a very gracious host.  He lodges there for a time, and the host says the green knight is close, so Gawain can stay for a few nights before heading out.

During Gawain's stay, the host presents Gawain with a simple contest- Gawain is to stay in the castle all day, and will give whatever he wins to the host; the host will hunt all day, and give whatever he wins to Gawain.  It's simple enough, and goes on for three days.  Each day, the host hunts and comes back with game; Gawain, during that time, is visited and tempted by the host's wife.  Gawain resists her advances on the first two days, allowing her only a kiss- one the first day, two the second.  Each night, Gawain gives those kisses to the host, as the host gives Gawain the day's winnings.  On the third day, Gawain again resists the wife, gives her three kisses, but does accept one minor token from the wife- she gives him a green belt that will, she says, allow him to withstand any blow and live.  Gawain hides the trinket and, when the host returns, gives him three kisses, but does not give him the belt.  The knight then goes his way, finds the giant green knight, and awaits the death blow.

The green knight nicks Gawain, but doesn't kill him.  Then, the knight reveals all- he was really the host of the castle, and deliberately tempted Gawain those three nights.  The knight admired Gawain for resisting his wife's advances, but nicked him because he wasn't fully truthful- he didn't give the belt to the host, as he promised.  Gawain, thankful to be alive but ashamed of his failure, vows to wear the belt forever as a sign of his failure, and humility.  He returns to Camelot and shares his tale.

The heart of the story is a test.  Gawain believes he will die- and when death is imminent, people show who they really are.  Gawain shows he is a man of honor by denying a married woman's advances, but shows he is a fallen human by accepting a token that might save him, and failing to give that up when asked.  He does both good and selfish things.  In a way, his account reminds me of the apostle Peter, who was zealously righteous at times, but fallen as well. 

I haven't come to a definite conclusion regarding the wearing of the belt as a sign of failure.  On the one hand, it's good to show humility- we all need it- but on the other, our righteousness is in Christ, so wearing a sign of one particular failure could be a very subtle pride token- it implies that Gawain only ever failed that one time, where in reality, we all fail every day, in many ways.  I'm not sure, therefore, if remembering one sin more than the others is a valuable thing, because it may imply that we think our other sins are okay- it's just that one that's an issue.  This attitude is often seen in addicts- be it gambling, drugs, alcohol, sex, whatever- addicts can think that as long as they're not doing _______, they're okay.  They may feel better, but it's not true- even if we're "clean" in the eyes of society, we're filthy in the eyes of God.

Overall, it's a good story, and worth more contemplation.  It's short, too, and can be easily read in a day, so there's no reason not to do so.

Rating: A-