What roles are played by the passages of description in Sir Gawain and the Green

Knight?

The descriptions within ‘Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’ are rich and full of detail and

consequently help highlight the overall messages of the poem. The poem explores the

concept of chivalry and chivalric values seen in perfect, idealised societies such as the

Arthurian court and suggests it is a flawed concept through the descriptions. Chivalry can be

defined as a kind of ethical code in which knights followed in order to remain moral but also

arguably is a way to justify the hedonistic life that these warriors led. As well as this the

descriptions help exemplify the futility of human constructions both physical and

metaphysical and hence there is an overall questioning of human society within the poem.

As W.A. Davenport suggests ‘Sir Gawain occupies a world which is simultaneously real and

unreal, where the high ideals and exemplary forms of chivalry are continually being

undercut by naturalistic details, sympathetic human feelings and the complexity of

experience’ (W.A. Davenport 143). It appears that the poet wants to place an emphasis on

forces outside of human control such as nature and strip back the confining constructs of

human life in order to become less materialistic and more connected to our spiritual self.

The descriptions help exemplify this through highlighting the power of nature by creating a

contrast to humanity and the insignificance of human constructs in the face of powerful

forces outside of their control. The descriptions also help establish the poem as an Arthurian

romance while also breaking the traditional conventions of one and reimagining it.

Immediately from the opening of the poem we are thrown into a great tale, which

would be expected of an Arthurian romance, as the city of Troy is “brittened and brent to

brondeȝ and askez,” (Gawain poet, 2). This description of the destruction and fall of Troy

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establishes a link with historical settings of previous legends and heroes such as Aeneas in

order to legitimise the story that is about to be told and emphasise the greatness of this

tales’ own hero- Gawain. As Laura Ashe states we are ‘Plugged into the foundation history

of the greatness of the country in which we sit’ (00:01:25-00:01:30). As she suggests we are

given context of the greatness of the country in order to instil high expectations and

highlight the perfection of Gawain. This conforms to our expectations of an Arthurian

romance containing a chivalrous knight who will go on a great adventure. However, the

description also hints to a kind of downfall and dismantling of something, which is

emphasised by the use of plosives in the city being burnt and charred to pieces. Therefore,

creating a sense of a sudden ending which is harsh and hence foreshadows the downfall of

Gawain and his sense of morality. Throughout the poem we will see this dismantling of

chivalric values, the romance genre and ideals in human society at the time. The poet takes

on a questioning role throughout in order to highlight the faults within human behaviours,

societies and constructs.

In order to break them down and subvert them the Gawain poet sets up the image

of the perfect Arthurian court with the “most kyd knyȝtez vnder Krystes seluen” (51),

“louelokkest ladies” (52) and “comlokest kyng” (53). The use of superlatives creates an

image of luxury and vibrance to the court and the alliteration creates a breathless quality

which highlights the free-flowing nature of the court, hence creating an image of paradise.

As Laura Ashe states it becomes a ‘centre of celebration and beauty and perfect knights’

(00:01:47-00:01:51). It presents the idealised society that people look up to and hope to

attain. It suggests hope for a prosperous and thriving society led by the notorious leader

Arthur and his chivalrous knights. The image of a beautiful courtly setting also establishes

this as an Arthurian romance and hence the poet is beginning to fulfil our expectations of a

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fine tale of knighthood and bravery. Arthur also represents this hope and image of the

perfect society because he is young and in his prime as “He watz so joly oh his joyfnes and

sumquat childgered” (Gawain poet 86). This presents him as young and full of life as seen in

the adjectives “joly” (Gawain poet 86) and “childgered” (Gawain poet 86) and suggests that

he can bring about greatness. However, it also suggests that he is somewhat childish and

immature and hence does not have the ability to lead his people to prominence. This is

reflected when he demands to see great wonders of entertainment without thinking about

the consequences. It is then ironic that immediately after the Green Knight shows up to

challenge him and almost question his power and authority as a leader and knight. Both

Arthur and the knights of the round table appear content and comfortable and the

appearance of the Green Knight challenges their way of life and honour.

The Green Knight is described as beautiful and awe striking, essentially the perfect

noblemen as he has spurs of “bryȝt golde, vpon silk bordes” (Gawain Poet 159) as well as an

embroidered saddle, all of which suggests wealth and nobility. His saddle is ‘enbrauded

abof, with bryddes and flyȝes” (Gawain poet 166) asserting a relation to nature and the

natural world, which is further emphasised by the fact that he is “oueral enker grene”

(Gawain poet 150). However, it also adds an ambiguous element to him due to green

representing a multitude of things. Green can represent, nature, life and vitality but on the

other hand can also suggest death, evil and the devil and hence the purpose of the Knight

becomes contradictory. There are even contradictions in the things he holds. In one hand

there is a holly bush and in the other an axe which directly opposes war and peace, as the

axe is a symbol of violence and weapon of war whereas a holly bush is a symbol of peace.

Therefore, it is unclear if the green knight is there to start chaos and a war or extend

gratitude and favour to the court of Arthur. As Laura Ashe suggests ‘He is threatening

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because we don’t know what he means’ (00:47:02-00:47:04). It is therefore his ambiguity as

a character that leads us to fear to him and his purpose and this remains unclear throughout

the poem and hence, we do not know if his questioning of chivalry, Christian values and

humanity is done with malicious intent or hidden agendas.

Furthermore, the Green Knight’s obscurity is further heightened by the time in which

the poem begins. The time between Christmas and New Year’s Eve was seen as a liminal

period in which supernatural occurrences were believed to be more likely to happen. Hence

it is likely that a medieval audience would view the Knight as an unworldly and supernatural

figure, which is to be feared and may interpret him as devilish with malignant intentions of

destroying the noble Arthur and his court. This becomes somewhat clearer towards the end

where Gawain’s moral compass is shattered and the Green Chapel in which the Knight

resides is portrayed as being a devilish place, suggesting the Green Knight is not completely

good.

Despite not knowing whether the Green knights’ intention are true, Gawain heads

on a journey and within it, we see the descriptions of nature play a central role in moving

the plot along and helping us understand the vanity of human constructs such as behaviour

and societal expectations. The intricate descriptions of the seasons changing as “blossumez

bolne to blowe” (Gawain Poet 512) Shows how nature is everchanging and continuous in its

cycle despite the human world. Laura Ashe suggests that the ‘astonishing description of the

seasons is utterly beautiful, poetically beautiful and it allows us to imagine for a moment

that we’re in a cyclical world…[and it’s] enforced upon us again and again that we’re not in a

cyclical world we’re in a linear world. Time is passing for Gawain and he is now approaching

his death’ (00:22:18-00:22:58). The rich description almost acts as rest bite for the audience

before the dangerous journey Gawain is about to embark on, as it takes us away from the

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impending doom momentarily. This also adheres to the genre of an Arthurian romance with

its focus on the beauty of nature. Moreover, despite seeming cyclical, the changing of

seasons highlights the linear narrative of Gawain getting closer to his inevitable meeting

with the Green Knight. Thus, highlighting the insignificance of human emotion and action as

no matter what Gawain does, he cannot stop the inevitable. Henceforth this casts a light

upon the superior essence of nature and the natural world as well as fate. This is then

further shown later in the poem where the vicious beasts, rain and forests that Gawain

encounters belittle him even further. Nature is both beautiful and destructive and it is

Gawain’s faith in God that saves him highlighting the powers of things beyond human

capability.

There is also a focus of externalities and sensuality of items and places within the

poem that create a distance from the spiritual and religious self and in doing so questions

the romance genre and its purpose. The romance genre is arguably a product of human

society that separates us from our spiritual self and the natural world. We become

superficial like Arthur’s court which is ridden with showing off materialistic luxuries. The

detailed extracts of Gawain’s armour create a sense of artificiality within the human realm

as they are excessive and extremely technical. The Gawain poet describes how he gets

dressed from placing his steel shoes “vpon þe segge foteȝ’ (574) to the “wel bornyst brace

vpon his boþe armes” (582). It stands as a stark contrast to the primal and altering world of

nature. These human constructions such as armour and architecture impose structure onto

the natural world in order for humans to exert control and establish a sense of order. By the

poet listing and describing these technicalities of human creations they oppose society,

artifice and craftsmanship against the wildness of nature. It is only when we begin to

distance ourselves from worldly possession that we can become closer to the natural world

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as well as God, which is what the poet may be trying to suggest through this poem. The poet

is questioning the society they live in and this is reflected in Gawain who appears to be

closer to God when in the forest, away from the court and it is his faith in God that appears

to save him due to the sudden appearance of the castle.

Furthermore, within Fitt 2 Gawain is presented as the idealised, perfect knight who

embodies chivalric values which are central to medieval romance. He “watz for gode

knawen, and as golde pured” (Gawain poet 633). The metaphor of gold alludes to the

medieval practice of alchemy where gold was produced and gold was viewed as the last,

perfect product, becoming a symbol of transcendence and perfection of mind, spirit and

soul. Thus, presenting Gawain as faultless but he is also seen to be ignorant in his idealism

like Adam and eve in their ignorance of paradise. Gawain’s paradise of the Bertilak’s castle

will teach him lesson and be his fall from moral perfection just as the Garden of Eden was

the fall of Adam and Eve. The castle appears to have the features of a supposed paradise

and the descriptions highlight its strength and impregnability as it “Þe walle3 were wel

arrayed, Hit dut no wynde3 blaste.” (Gawain Poet 783-784). The personification of the castle

not fearing the wind is both a sign of safety within but also danger of being trapped

foreshadowing his fall from moral perfection as there is more to the castle than a simple

appearance of being an oasis and safe haven.

As we move into Fitt 3 we are pulled between two parallel narratives of the

masculine avocation of hunting animals against the lady’s sexual hunt of a knightly, chivalric

hero. In comparing the delicate and well-crafted nature of pursuing Gawain to the primal

hunting of the animals, the poet has reduced the peak of chivalric behaviour to basics and

suggests that the societal code is essentially a pretence which cannot always be upfolded.

The descriptions in which the lady tries to seduce Gawain use complex flirtations as well as

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calling upon societal conventions to evoke Gawain’s duty to a noble lady. She states that

“Bot hit ar ladyes in-noȝe, þat leur wer nowþe, Haf þe hende in hor holde, as I þe habbe

here” (Gawain poet 1252-1253), thus appealing to him as a great knight, who is beloved by

many. Despite this, she is relying on the natural human instinct of lust and like with the

descriptions of clothes there is a sense of falseness. The almost diplomatic dialogue

between the lady and Gawain is seemingly complex but is ultimately used as a way to mask

the basic human instinct of lust, hence providing an example of societal artificiality imposing

itself upon nature. However, it is the gallantry that Gawain uses to reject the dangers of lust

but in doing so is torn between chivalrous duties to a noble lady and to Bertilak and his

Christian duty. Once again, his religious faith saves him as “Gret perile bi-twene hem stod,

Nif mare of hir knyȝt mynne” (Gawain poet 1768-1769) and we are left questioning whether

chivalry is a as important as it first seems and if its values present a virtuous way of living.

As we come to the end of the poem the role of the Green Knight becomes somewhat

more ambiguous and devilish and this seen through the descriptions of the green chapel.

The name itself along with it being “ouer-growen with gresse” (Gawain Poet 2181) creates a

pardoy like image of a clean and welcoming atmosphere of a typical Christian church,

suggesting evil intentions and the opposite of religious piety. Gawain himself even

comments on it being a place for devilish acts as “Wel bisemeȝ þe wyȝe wruxled in grene,

Dele here his deuocioun, on þe deueleȝ wyse;” (Gawain poet 2191-2192). Despite this, the

Knight still has an inherent link to nature and the natural world which poses as

contradictory. When he is Bertilak his prowess and naturalness during the hunts takes

centre and we see the primal aspect of humanity in its truest form. In this whole conflict

between nature and humanity, nature appears to win throughout as Gawain is ultimately

guided by his natural impulses to survive. However, the revelation that all the events are as

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a result of Morgan le Fay is not natural and hence not a journey which teaches Gawain a

lesson but is instead a game. Although arguably this revelation may just be a tool to give

into typical conventions of an Arthurian romance, it nonetheless still plays a role in breaking

down his moral belief in the world. This is then further dismantled by Arthur’s court who do

not see his moral failure and hence one of the greatest human structures of morality has

been seen to crumble under the natural, primal threat of death which caused Gawain to

destroy his morals.

Overall, the Gawain poet creates a beautiful medieval romance full of rich

description, which adhere to the genre and create a great tale of adventure of a chivalric

knight. Through this they also highlight the imperfectness of humanity and how perfection is

essentially a flawed and tainted concept which is unachievable. They highlight the futility of

human constructs and favour natural forces of nature and religion to bring focus to them

and critique humanities obsession with superficiality. They are a Christian poet who writes a

great romance which slowly disassembles the values of chivalry through the character of

Gawain the perfect Knight. Gawain, according to Simon Armitage essentially ‘learns to be

mortal’ (00:38:38-00:38:40) and what it means to be human, which is embracing the fact

that we are imperfect creatures.

Bibliography:

Gawain poet. “Sir Gawain and The Green Knight,” transcribed from Oxford: Clarendon Press
1967, Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse, 1993 , Name.umdl.umich.edu/Gawain.

Simon Tillotson. “BBC Radio 4 In Our Time: Sir Gawain and The Green Knight,” featuring
Laura Ashe, Ad Putter and Simon Armitage, BBC Radio 4, 13 Dec. 2018,
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0001kr8

W.A. Davenport. “The art of the ‘Gawain’-poet,” Athlone press, 1978, pp.143

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