Medieval Concepts: Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales, and Sir Gawain

Pieces of work from the same time period tend to have many similarities in them. Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales, and Sir Gawain all come from the same literary period of medieval times. Hence they all have numerous similarities like the supernatural theme, chivalry, and religion. However, all three stories have differences in characters, their goals and personalities. Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales, and Sir Gawain are similar pieces of works with similar themes but there minor differences in characters.

One of the most palpable aspects of all three pieces of work is their usage of supernatural. Supernaturalism does not naturally occur and hence is not common. In Beowulf, there are two monsters, Grendel and his mother, who the main hero Beowulf must fight. In addition, Grendel’s mother lives undersea so Beowulf, a warrior, must go under water to fight of Grendel’s mother. During this scene the audience is supposed to forget that humans (and warriors) cannot breathe under water and so killing Grendel’s mother is possible, which did happen. In Sir Gawain, the knight is beheaded because he was not truthful. However, after the beheading, the knight survived and was not killed by the beheading! In The Canterbury Tales, there were many instances when supernatural elements were used. One of them was about a knight who could travel the world on horse in one day! All three pieces of work had something which was impossible to happen, whether it was being under water for a long time or travelling the world in a day, which showed the frequent usage of supernatural elements in medieval times.

In addition, chivalry was another thing used in all three pieces of work. Chivalry, in medieval times, was a knight’s duty to the world and God while s...

... middle of paper ...

...rder. However, Beowulf fights to attain fame and while it is to save the people, he just kills Grendel so that he could receive recognition. Beowulf is confident in himself and shows that he can protect the people while creating a reputation for him. Gawain, on the other hand, takes certain actions to protect King Arthur and his honor and does show fear, especially when he is going to be beheaded. Characters of all three stories fight for different reasons and with different personalities but in the end, they all reach their goals.

In conclusion, the medieval times revolved around supernaturalism, religion and chivalry. While characters of the three stories had different personalities, they all reached their goals keeping in mind their morals. The authors used unimaginable events and powers which revealed the true character of the knights, Beowulf, and Sir Gawain