Personification of Ideologies in Sir Gawain and The Green Knight

When Christianity was first brought to the isle of England by the Romans in the fifth or sixth century, it heavily influenced the ancient pagan religions that were pre-established by the inhabiting Anglo-Saxons. The two very different faiths quickly began to merge and Christianity adopted certain aspects of pagan mythology before eventually overwhelming it. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight gives the reader an interesting look at the different values of paganism and Christianity. Along with Christianity, the Romans brought massive amounts of infrastructure, a feudal system, and the notion of romantic chivalry. The character Gawain expresses all of the essential elements of chivalry; piety, purity, and humility. In Burton Raffel’s translation of Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, the dissimilarities between Gawain and the mysterious Green Knight serve as a microcosm for the contractions among contemporary Christian and pre-existing pagan ideologies.

One key embodiment of the differences between Romantic and pagan doctrines is the contradictions between Arthur’s Court and the Green Knight’s castle. The poem opens with a lengthy illustration of the lavishness of King Arthur’s castle, emphasizing its grandeur and extravagance. The poet points to the “velvet/Carpets, embroidered rugs, studded/ With jewels as rich as an emperor's ransom” (lines 77-79). The poet spends so much time describing the decorations in order to meet the Christian and Romantic principle that a castle must be awe-inspiring as possible as a tribute to God. Conversely, the Green knights castle is very humble. Located on a grassy knoll in the deep woods, his castle lacks the extravagance of Arthur’s court. Rather, his castle is a simple cave. The simplicity of his hom...

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...is king. The variation between the two ideologies lies in the motivation of the hero. For instance, Gawain’s motivation is to honor his king and his God, while the Green Knight’s incentive is his own pride.

Burton Raffel does an excellent job in displaying both pagan and Christian values in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Another notable distinction in the story is how the Green Knight behaves differently when he is Lord Bertilak. This one character alone can also be analyzed when looking at the influences of paganism and Christianity in the novel. The duality of his persona parallels which ideology he represents; Christianity when he is Lord Bertilak and paganism while he is the Green Knight. However, one can also use him to draw similarities between the two ideologies by pointing out that he retains his morals throughout his role as both characters in the story.