Sir Gawain And The Green Knight Chivalry Essay

The Wise Code of the Knights

(An Analysis of Chivalry)

Medieval knights would often follow a special code to live by. This code was called chivalry. Muck like the Anglo-Saxon code, chivalry follows many of the same key aspects. Knights during the medieval times had to be very strong. Not only physically strong, but mentally strong as well. They had to be wise about what they were doing and stay loyal to the king and queen who they were fighting for. In the heat of battle, knights had to be very courageous and brave fighting against the enemy. In the stories, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Morte D’Arthur, there are examples of chivalry.

The first example of chivalry from the stories is courage. Courage was very important for all knights to have, especially during battle. If they did not have courage, they wouldn’t have the strength to fight during a battle. Courage can be found in from the story, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, when the Green Knight is looking for someone to hit his neck. Sir Gawain says, “I am the weakest, well I know, and of wit feeblest; And the loss of my life would be least of any.” (lines 128-129). This quote shows a great example of courage because, even though Gawain is the weakest of all the knights, he still has enough courage to stand up and fight the Green Knight.

The next example of chivalry from the stories is wisdom.

Wisdom is a big part of the lifestyle of knights because it allows them to understand what they are doing. Without wisdom, the knights couldn’t have courage, bravery, or loyalty. Wisdom is found in the story of Morte D’Arthur, when King Arthur sees Mordred standing alone after the battle. King Arthur says, “Now I see him yonder alone, he shall never escape mine hands.” (page 189). Arthur is wise enough to know that he will never get another chance to finish off Mordred, so he must do it now. This scene from the story is a great example of how Arthur uses his

wisdom.
The last example of chivalry from the stories is loyalty. Knights had to stay loyal to the king and queen, otherwise they would’ve been seen as cowards and traitors. Loyalty is very important to knights because they needed to have true loyalty to be trusted by other knights and especially the king. An example of loyalty can be found in the text from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, when Sir Gawain has returned to the Green Knight the second time. The Green Knight says, “And you have followed me faithfully and found me betimes, and on the business between us we both agreed.” (lines 337-338). This is an example of loyalty because Sir Gawain kept his word to the Green Knight and returned a year later to find him.
Overall, chivalry is a code that should be followed not only by knights, but by everyone today. The three main parts of chivalry are very important qualities to have in life. You need courage to be strong in tough situations. Wisdom is needed to make right decisions and understand what you are doing. Finally, loyalty is needed so people can have trust in you and know that you won't betray them.