Chani Miller

Gawain Reading Response

Gawain and the Green Knight is one of many medieval narratives that tells the story of famous

literary characters including King Arthur, Gawain and Morgan le Fay. On Christmas, King

Arthur's court receives a visit from a terrifying knight dressed all in green that offers a challenge:

he will allow one of them to strike one blow at him undefended if he can return the blow in a

year's time. The noble knight Gawain takes up the challenge and strikes a blow that severs the

knight's head, but the Green Knight simply picks it up and leaves, reminding Gawain that he has

a year to find him to essentially be killed. A little before a year is up, Gawain sets out to find the

Knight, but is unable to do so and instead discovers a castle where he is invited to spend the

holidays. The lord offers Gawain great hospitality and a challenge of his own: he will hunt for

three days and Gawain will stay home, and they will give each other whatever they earn. Gawain

agrees, but is distressed when the lord's wife tries to seduce him all 3 days, and he uses his wit to

escape with nothing worse than several kisses, which he gives to the lord. Finally, Gawain meets

the knight, who is actually the lord, and he reveals that both challenges, as well as his wife's

seduction attempts, were concocted by the witch Morgan le Fay to test Arthur's court and

Gawain's integrity.

It was rather obvious to me from early on that the lord had something to do with the Green

Knight. It seems a little too convenient that there would just happen to be a castle located all the

way up north, near where Gawain expected to find the Green Knight, when the rest of that entire

area was dangerous wilderness and no one seemed to have heard of the man Gawain was

seeking. When the lord assured him that he could find the Green Knight nearby and urged him to

stay a few more days, that increased my suspicion that the two were in cahoots. Finally, when the

lord offered his bizarre challenge of trading whatever the two hunted- which made no sense
Chani Miller

because what exactly did the lord expect Gawain to capture if he was staying home in bed- it was

clear that the lord was the Green Knight, who also offered a bizarre challenge, and the only

question left was why.

It seems to me that as medieval literature progressed, it increased in sophistication, complexity

and intrigue. You can hardly compare early medieval works like Roland and El Cid to later ones

like Tristan and Iseult and Gawain. The earlier literature contains flat characters, a very linear

and easily predictable plot (wars, wars, and more wars for Christianity) and limited imagery.

Later medieval literature contains more interesting characters, including strong female

characters, increased imagery and far more exciting and creative plotlines with lots of plot twists

(while I guessed at Gawain's ending, I still give the author credit for an excellent plotline).