Sir Gawain shows chivalry by being loyal to his king. A mysterious knight shows up at the king’s castle and calls himself the Green Knight. The Green Knight then challenges one to play the “beheading game” which means to strike him with his axe if one will take a return blow in a year and a day. Sir Gawain then proceeded to accept the challenge for King Arthur when nobody else in the castle would. He took the King’s role in the game to protect him from the Green Knight. “I beseech you, Sire,” he said, “Let this game be mine” (Gardener 231). Sir Gawain says that statement when King Arthur is about to take the axe from the Green Knight and play the game.
Treating women fairly and with respect is also another quality of being chivalrous. Sir Gawain demonstrates this quality when he is with the Lord’s wife. He did not take advantage of her while he stayed at their castle. When the lady attempted to seduce him, Gawain resisted her. “My lady gay, I can hardly take gifts at the moment; having nothing to give, I’d be wrong to take gifts in turn” (233). Sir Gawain shows respect to the lady by not being too greedy and refusing her gifts. He swore on his knighthood and being the true gentleman that he is, would not accept the gift from her.
Bravery is chivalry in its finest form. A knight must be brave and courageous. Sir Gawain’s courage was most evident when he accepted the challenge of the Green Knight. None of the other knights in the hall accepted the challenge right away—so Arthur, “waved his beard and waited for someone to rise; when no one answered, he coughed, as if embarrassed” (230). His courage was demonstrated throughout the rest of the story in the task to search for the Green Chapel, knowing he would be away from his castle and his loved ones during the holiday, and in his will to keep the promise that he made with the Green Knight. Although, some might say that Gawain was not being courageous when he flinched and turned away the first time the Green Knight brought the axe down for the first blow, after promising he would take the blow fearlessly.
Sir Gawain does not do everything perfect. Like all of us, he is human. This means that he will make mistakes and cross roads that will tempt him to break the code of chivalry. He cannot live up to every standard of a chivalrous knight. The morals that he set for himself were really high, but he conveyed loyalty, bravery, and respectfulness that made him one of the most chivalric of all the knights described in literature.
Works Cited
Gardener, John, trans. “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”
McDougal Littell Literature. Evanston, IL: McDougal Litell, 2008.
226-239. Print.
by
okaydemi (student)
