Christianity In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, an epic poem written by the mysterious Pearl Poet is a story centered on the nephew of the royal King Arthur, Gawain, and his adventure through the countryside in search of an ambiguous Green Knight, later revealed as a local leader, Lord Bertilak. This Arthurian legend brings about two distinct, yet well-known religions and ideologies that are clashed and represented by the purity of Sir Gawain, and the Green Knight’s supernatural appearance first unveiled in the first fit. The hero in this eminent tale is unanimously considered Gawain with the alien figure being resembled as the Green Knight. At the time of publication of this piece, (approximately 1300-1400) Christianity had already captured a large number

of followers who followed the Church and royals as if they themselves were deities. The knights of King Arthur, likewise, had a set of instructions and rules that were seen as the gateway to remaining a perfect knight and attaining the path to heaven, where their almighty resided.

The sudden introduction of an odd, strange creature like the Green Knight brings a deep contrast to Christian ideals of perfection, attacking the long-standing place of Christianity with Paganism and questioning the authenticity of the knights, Arthur, and fellow leaders of the time.
As shown in the epic poem, the ideals of Christianity frequently come into play during the time period and directly affect the actions of Sir Gawain and his adventure. Different from most Arthurian allegories, Arthur himself is not the principal character, and Gawain accedes that position. From the inception of the poem, the prowess of Christianity is depicted as the “most chivalrous and

courteous knights known to Christendom” arrive to have Christmas supper (51). The ambiance of the setting is jolly, merry, and pervaded with the prominent figures of Arthur’s court, with an apparent sense of perfection present that only one like the King himself could achieve. This aforementioned sense of perfection is one that remains thoroughly with Gawain, sticking alongside him and the Christian values he resembles until the day of his proposed death, which happens to not even occur. Arthur’s role in most stories is shifted onto his nephew’s back, with the latter having to represent the purity of the court without committing sins and without breaking the chivalric code. By this, Gawain becomes an archetype of the Christian knight, noble, godlike in most senses and given divinity by his peers to stabilize and maintain the image that had been solidified for years. Still, when Gawain later receives the girdle from the temptress Lady Bertilak, he is practically breaking his ties with Christianity, destroying his complete trust in God, and placing his beliefs on something supernatural. Paganism brought about by Lord Bertilak, or the Green Knight deconstructs and even dehumanizes all these virtues, doubting the credibility of the king’s court and hinting at the fact that Christianity was not all that divine.
As far as Christianity and its supposed holiness go, the Pearl Poet implements extreme polarities with the introduction of the Green Knight, a pure symbol of paganism.

Although paganism wasn’t a large religion anymore, its ideologies were huge contrasts to those of Christianity. In Fit 1, during the supper, “a mountain of a man, immeasurably high” ruddily infiltrated the court with his horse in search of a knight worthy enough to play the infamous beheading game (136). The sheer representation of the Green Knight screams an out-of-this-world and peculiar figure present in Arthur’s court. Also, the “hulk of a human” displayed a bright green color, reminiscent of the natural world and other symbols in Pagan views, another reason to believe the Green Knight was a concrete Pagan symbol (138). The distinct image of the “half [emerald] giant” wearing enforces the many interpretations of the color green and imposes the vagueness on the literal and cultural reasoning on why the Knight has come to a predominantly Christian kingdom

(140).
Moreover, in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, symbols arise that are all dedicated in expanding or revealing a deeper message regarding Christianity and its counterpart, Paganism. A symbol of purity in the eyes of Gawain and fellow Christian knights is the Pentangle. This “endless knot”, originating from Celtic and German culture resembles a star and blends together all knightly virtues that incorporate chivalry, nobility, and faith. This pentangle lying on Gawain’s shield represents all for he is worth; his faith in God and his purpose in life. Yet, these values are quite contradictory to his actions in the latter parts of his book as his lack of faith in God and his unwillingness to accept a mortal death differ from his “token of fidelity” (626).