By: Emma Finney
Knighthood in the Middle Ages has been depicted through multiple forms of media that show conflicting views. Today we know knights to be backstabbing and selfish like Sir Jaime in Game of Thrones or to be heroic and romantic like Sir Lancelet or King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, but even then, those stories give us different perspectives as a means of dramatizing or entertaining us. The poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, gives readers and historians an entirely different perspective of what it means to be a knight. Sir Gawain, a member of King Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table, is a lesser known knight compared to King Arthur or Sir Lancelot but that does not make him a lesser knight. Sir Gawain is an excellent example of an esteemed knight of the Middle Ages and their expected livelihood because he “was as good as the purest gold – devoid of vices but virtuous, loyal and kind, so bore that badge on both his shawl and shield alike. A prince who talked the truth: known as the noblest knight” (Gawain 632-639).
On Sir Gawain’s shield there is “a sign that Solomon set formerly as a token of truth, by its own right, for it is a figure that holds five points, and each line overlaps and locks in another; and throughout it is endless; and the English call it everywhere, as I hear, the endless knot” (Gawain 625-630). This picture of a five-pointed star is symbolic of Sir Gawain’s knightly values that
“meant more to Gawain than to most other men. So these five sets of five were fixed in this knight, each linked to the last through the endless line, a five-pointed form which never failed, never stronger to one side or slack at the other, but unbroken in its being from beginning to end however its trail is tracked and traced” (656-661).
The first point on the “endless knot” of knightly values is to be physically flawless, “in the five senses” (640). A knight had to be skilled, well trained as to be able to maintain their stamina while in tournaments and battles. This first point is important as it overlaps with the four other points, as to be a physically flawless knight one has to be skilled in combat, and physically devoted and faithful to their vows to God, their vows towards the Code of Chivalry, and their vows to the Knighthood.
The second point is to be a good fighter, “his five fingers never at fault” (641). To be a knight, one must have the important skillset to be a good fighter, especially with a sword. They didn’t always need to be skilled in combat to win a battle, though it was helpful. The third point is to be a good Christian, full of faith and love towards Christ. A knight’s devotion to the third and fourth points are similar because both require a knight to have faith in himself, God, and his vows. The fourth point is to be a devoted person, “if that soldier struggled in skirmish one thought pulled him through above all other things: the fortitude he found in the five joys which Mary had conceived in her son, our Savior” (644-647). A knight’s devotion during this time is placed in the feudal system, as a result the focus of that time period had an emphasis on a knight’s faith and obedience to their God. It was also thought of at that time that god had supposedly chosen their king thus emphasis on a knight’s loyalty and strong faith to the throne and God. Lastly, the fifth point represents virtue and chivalry, “included friendship and fraternity with fellow men, purity and politeness that impressed at all times, and pity, which surpassed all pointedness” (651-654).
Bibliography
Battles, Paul. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Broadview Press, 2012.