The societies and the ethical values in Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

In the year 410, the Anglo-Saxons were tribes and populated the regions of northern Germany

and southern Denmark. They were among other persons who had conquered the Roman Empire

from three directions at the time. They were dubbed 'Saxons' by their neighbours in general. But

until the eighth century, when people on the continent began using it to differentiate between the

inhabitants of Britain and the Saxons who lived in northern Germany, the word 'Anglo-Saxon'

did not become popular.

Most of the invaders had settled by 500 AD. Much of the region was populated by the Angles,

Saxons, and another community of people called the Jutes. Most of the Anglo-Saxons have been

discovered, mostly because of archeology. Via their graves, they have figured out a lot about

them. Arms and other personal belongings were deposited in their graves. We will see core

essentials of Anglo-Saxon society, such as courage, affection, kindness, and devotion, in the epic

poem Beowulf. Loyalty is perhaps the most significant characteristic for them. The political

structure of the Anglo-Saxons was based on the basis of fidelity. The very tribal society they

lived in was influenced by it. In the book, this can be seen. The fidelity of Beowulf to the Danes

carried him to Hrothgar to fight Grendel.Beowulf was obedient to an alliance made with

Hrothgar by his uncle. When we crossed the sea, my comrades and I, I already knew that all my

intention was to do this: win the good will of your people to die in war, pressed in the fierce

hands of Grendel. Loyalty is so strong that it's still seen on the side of Grendel.Grendel, the

villain of this novel, and his mother, as a family, were faithful to each other. After her son was

killed, Grendel's mother unleashed her vengeance on the people of Hrothgar by murdering

Aeschere.
Another characteristic of Anglo-Saxon culture is generosity, as expressed in Beowulf, when

Hrothgar pledged Beowulf great wealth to save the Danes. Generosity also displayed honor

among warriors, such as how Beowulf was honoured by Hrothgar only for coming to see

him.Beowulf speaks of his courage in the tale by boasting of his previous wars and successes. In

his bare hands, he went against demons. Until the end, he was courageous. This represents the

values of the Anglo-Saxon way of life. It's fair to conclude that the courage of Beowulf was

better illustrated by his actions.

Storytellers shared tales of heroes and society from their times throughout the 6th century. By the

time stories started to be published in the 8th century, Beowulf, which portrayed the warrior

society of medieval England and Scandinavia, was the only remaining epic poem. The poem

traces the story of a warrior called Beowulf, from childhood to death, and simultaneously

represents society's ideals during this time period.Many of the ideals of the warrior community

are drawn to attention in the poem, but the most important thing to repeat throughout this poem

is compassion. Generosity is the single most significant virtue that the warrior community

promotes, since it is utterly important for the stability of civilization.There is a single scene in the

poem that depicts how important generosity is to the warrior culture. This particular scene is

when Hrothgar learns that Beowulf will one day be king and he warns him about King

Heremod's errors in order to highlight the importance of charity, especially gift giving. Hrothgar

lived during the reign of Heremod and after listening to his lecture, expects Beowulf to

experience and appreciate the real beliefs of the society.

Each community has its own collection of beliefs and customs of belief. Throughout a childhood,

cultural views, ideals, and assumptions are specifically and implicitly gained. A culture is the

sum of the way of life of a group, and the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture is no different from
this.Typically, societies have distinct figures that represent their entire society. The meaning of

religion, ideals, and heroes is expressed in Beowulf's epic poem, which adequately demonstrates

Anglo-Saxon society as a whole. The Anglo-Saxon culture was dominated by men and the

people cherished a great hero like Beowulf.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, as they all play an important part in the novel, is a story that

involves the concepts of Christianity and sorcery. This tale is full of metaphors that offer a

Christian viewpoint and the inherent vulnerability of human beings. Some of the symbols used

by the author are among others the tap, number three, and the green belt.A mythical beast, the

Green Knight, requires a valiant knight to do something that is almost impossible. The knight

meets the temptations of a beautiful lady in an effort to do as the magical creature wants.The

Knight called Gawain, however is professional, brave and depicts the courtesy of a chivalry to

negotiate with the woman. This article explores how the characters' actions in the plot are

influenced by Christianity and sorcery.The tale symbolically uses the tapping of Gawain to

symbolize the penalty levied on him for failure to forfeit the profits. The Green Knight

understands that Gawain is hesitant to send the lovely lady the green belt, even though Gawain is

afraid of penance. This narrative is a reflection of the divine acts of forgiveness and

confession.The conduct of Gawain acknowledging that the cut made him a coward after the

Green Knight reveals that he was tapped is clarified in this part of Christianity. The religious

definition of forgiveness is also seen and guides the actions of the Green Knight. The green

Knight forgives him after Gawain confesses his sins.Ultimately, the Green Knight gave Gawain

the belt so that he would not forget that they had met at some point. All this time the name of the

Green Knight was never revealed to Gawain, and that's when he wanted to ask him his name.

The ingestion of the fruit they had been told not to eat in Christianity was what opened up their
nakedness to Adam and Eve.This caused them to experience a great deal of guilt, leading them to

wonder why they were nude. In this novel, this Christian idea is obvious for it is only after

Gawain feels the humiliation of being tapped that he asks his name for The Green Knight.To

symbolize the immoral existence of human beings that led Jesus to die to save humanity,

Christianity uses the cross. It tells Christians that for them, Jesus died. After reading the tale of

Gawain, this notion affects King Arthur's conduct. All the women served in the court are

required by the king to wear green belts as symbols of their sin.This tale is full of many instances

of magic. For eg, when he makes his appearance there the individuals at the court of King Arthur

assume that the Green Knight is a mysterious being. He is completely green. He picks his cut off

head to show the illusion and talks with it, letting others believe the magic.Another indication of

sorcery is apparent when Morgan le Fay, who is a sorceress, enchants Bertilak who is human and

turns him into the Green Knight in order to fear Arthur's queen and test the knights. Magic is also

clear when we are told that King Arthur's birth was due to his father being tricked by his

mother.The magical phenomena apparent in this plot impact the actions of the characters to a

significant degree. The idea that magic is mainly performed by women in the story, for example

allows them the potential to have control. Since they have the strength, they are often motivated

to misuse the power by sorcery. In the novel, another influence of magic is that it allows the

knight to act in a way that wins him honor for being considered courageous.Christianity and

magic are successfully used by Sir Gawain and the Green Knight to carry out the unfinished

problems in the plot. The author makes allusions to biblical ideals that motivate much of the

characters' actions. Symbols such as the green belt are used in the portrayal of the religious

principles that symbolize the Christian cross that reminds Christians of their sins.The author has

used magic in the plot, which affects the characters greatly. Women who are more inspired to
perform magic in the plot, for instance, have a lot of control. Unquestionably, Christianity and

sorcery affect the characters in the plot and drive their actions.

Both eponymous heroes experience three influential trials within the epic poetry, Beowulf and

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, which characterize their characters and eventually form the

rest of their lives. The noble ideal of loyalty, courage, chivalry, and morality is an emphatic topic

that pervades Medieval literature. The warrior ideal in Old English involved gaining great

honour and status by victories in arduous wars.In Old English verse, Beowulf is probably the

most heroic hero, encapsulating these virtues through his fights with Grendel, the mother of

Grendel, and the dragon. In comparison, in Middle English, the emphasis turned to the more

chivalrous ideals of the beautified court of Arthur's knights, such as virtue and chastity. In his

confrontations with the Green Knight, the lady of Bertilac's palace, and the Green Knight once

again in the Green Church, Sir Gawain is tried for his very principles.

The reader is shocked that Beowulf must suffer this poisonous beast, facing his death, after this

horrific portrayal of Grendel. H.L Rogers insists, however that Beowulf is at the heart of the

story against odds; undaunted by death." Although the spectator is conscious that Beowulf is

unlikely to die at his first execution, they are indulged in their fears of the destiny of their

warrior.Beowulf uses neither arms nor armor to defend himself against Grendel, reiterating his

fighting prowess again and relies entirely on his brute human power to defeat the 'satanic' fiend;

it's almost as if Beowulf himself is not human. This is arguably the most honourable form of

fighting for the reader; the courage of Beowulf ends the expected death of Grendel. Tolkien

claims that men shall die, every man and all men, and their works."What he fails to realize is that

his legacy remains an everlasting source of honor for him in the trials of Beowulf, even after his

death in the final trial. It is very brutal about the essence of this test. Beowulf uses only brute
strength to brutally rip Grendel's arm from his body, but this fight is Beowulf's faultless

introductory test.Ad Putter, on the other hand, argues that this Arthurian romance is 'curiously a

combination of realism and spiritual severity on the one hand, and imagination and illusion on

the other.' A supernatural Green Knight declares his appearance as Arthur and his knights

celebrate Christmas and invites a brave to play a 'crystemas gomen' Christmas game of

beheading each other with a 45 inch axe.Not only is the knight portrayed in green, but his ability

to pick up his severed head and speak adds to the incredible mystery of the story, the imagination

lies in the bewildering portrayal of the green knight. There are stark contrasts, however, between

the trial of Sir Gawain and Beowulf.Beowulf, by contrast, purposely pursues Grendel to glorify

his stature. Secondly, it is literally a death inflicting beheading that transcends into a contractual

legal contract, as the knight paradoxically calls Gawain's test a 'playing'. The lexical choice of

'gomen' suggests that for this knight, death is merely playtime. As Hrothgar's realm was under

siege with countless warriors dying from Grendel's hunger, Beowulf's battle with Grendel was

out of desperation.The Gawain-poet, however, deceptively disguises the 'moral gravity' of this

apparently futile beheading game before the final fit of this poem.Next, both Beowulf and Sir

Gawain are tried by women, but Beowulf endures a physically arduous and bloody struggle once

again with the mother of Grendel avenging her dead son. Gawain, on the other hand, is

physically attracted by the wife of Lord Bertilac, demure in her medieval grace, which almost

contributes to his undoing.For Beowulf, the second trial proves more vigorous as he swims for

about a day to reach the 'ælwihta eard' [abode of foreign creatures], clad in his ornate armor. In

such a way that it seems almost unlikely for this valiant hero to be defeated, particularly after his

proud boasts accompanying each battle, the Beowulf-poet illustrates Beowulf. However, despite

being female, Grendel's mother is able to vigorously assault Beowulf, crippling him into a
ragdoll, arguably, and eventually sitting on him.Critics claim that a convoluted romantic desire

lingers between Beowulf and the mother of Grendel at this stage, but it is obvious that Beowulf

is in undeniable trouble when she aims to echo her son's death on his shoulder. The presumed

invincible is now fallible, as he tries to conquer the battle-sword of Grendel's mother.Although

Beowulf did not previously need help from weapons or armor, it is now clear that he would not

have been able to survive in his second trial. Rogers claims that Beowulf has a more desperate

fight to conquer her despite this 'female creature becoming weaker than her son.' Ironically, the

reader feels a sense of sympathy for this adversary, she didn't strike the court of Hrothgar

unprovoked, she's not only a Cain's satanic descendant.However the test of seduction, emotional

coercion and his virtue was Sir Gawain's test. Although Gawain enjoys a short interlude before

the final Green Knight confrontation, Bertilac's wife attempts to lustfully try to seduce him in his

apartment. Spearing argues that There should definitely be no question that it is the chastity of

Gawain that is being tested here.'It is clear from this quote that the knight had to be checked by

romance in Middle English's chivalric heroic, in order to prove his true virtue; contradicting

Beowulf, where no romantic interest is ever present, his examination was of bravery.When the

husband is hunting, the lady of the castle visits his bedroom three times, keeping his vow to

Gawain. The first day, like Grendel's mother, an unknown woman tries to kiss Gawain, and the

second day she manages to kiss Gawain again, twice failing to lure him to become her sexual

partner. His insecurity was instilled in the idea that he should not offend against Heaven, rather

than disrespect his fidelity to his host.However in spite of her rebuking Gawain's ways of

refusing her on the third day, he only accepts a green girdle that will shield him from any harm.

With the Green Knight in mind, as part of their trading game, he declines to trade his winnings

with Lord Bertilac; he breaks his vow. While Gawain effectively repels sexual advances, he fails
to measure 'trawέe'[truthfulness] in the test.Like Beowulf, Sir Gawain, in his second trial, falls

weak. Ironically, the women who are belittled by the absence of identity serve as the most

strenuous protagonists to date, causing the reader to anticipate their collapse. Another distinction

between the second trials is that the reader does not invoke concern for the castle lady, but rather

for Gawain as he is driven ever closer to the loss of his 'trawĐe'.Sadly, he does in the keeping of

her girdle, and the story sharply entangles Gawain in a web of deception.Beowulf and Gawain's

third and final examination, every poem's apex climax, is when they both meet their death.

Beowulf feels his own death before the battle with the dragon; likewise, once again in the chapel,

Gawain before meeting the Green Knight.Beowulf is not decrepit, but he is fifty years older

when he approaches his final examination. In spite of this, his shield had refused to defend him,

and all but one, Wiglaf, had fled in cowardice. Beowulf arguably repudiates all his support. The

dragon shielded the dragon for years in an effort to obtain the cursed treasure.Tolkien describes

that 'malice, greed and ruin' is the evil side of the heroic[9], but this must be debunked as the

noble, courageous Beowulf is portrayed as a brave leader loyal to his Lords and later his subjects

throughout his life. It is not greed that in the end destroys him.William Lawrence insists that a

true troll slayer' does not perish in his bed, tamely, but with a valiant opponent in glorious battle.'

Just like the dragon is Beowulf's perfect conclusion, Grendel was his perfect beginning.Gawain's

final test is as he waits for the retaliatory blow of the Green Knight, fearing his death. His

dishonesty awards him a minute wound on his neck as he conceals the girdle from Bertilac;

parallel to Beowulf's neck injury as well. At this point, Gawain flinches in terror, different from

Beowulf, who was always steadfast, and as the Knight declares himself to be Lord Bertilac, the

moment of retrospective illumination arrives.The combat that is present in Sir Gawain is

psychological, often physical, discordant from Beowulf. The morality of the final test of Gawain
is that 'trawЯe' is a virtue that any noble knight can encapsulate. He is remembered for his

preeminent bravery that reverberates throughout Old English literature, though Beowulf dies.In

the other hand, Sir Gawain, lies, repents, and in exchange, the source of his ruin, the girdle,

ironically becomes the emblem of his renowned fame in Middle English as the courteous

knight.In conclusion, the epic poem Beowulf concludes as it should, with Beowulf's apotheosis.

Tolkien claims that 'Beowulf is not necessarily an epic; it is in fact a heroic-elegiac poem.' This

is a true argument; this poem was composed in homage to his recollection of victorious deeds

after Beowulf's chaos in his fictional life. Sir Gawain Putter believes that social relations are as

volatile as human desires without human truthfulness. "The crux of both of these poems is that

Beowulf and Gawain appear as the ultimate infallible protagonists of Medieval Literature after

physical and psychological examination.