Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Question 1

When was Sir Gawain and the Green Knight written?

Answer 1

c. 1380

Question 2

Who is the author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight?

Answer 2

Unknown; the Pearl poet

Question 3

Why is the Middle English of Gawain so different than that of Chaucer’s?

Answer 3

Though the two poems were composed around the same time, Chaucer was from London, while the Pearl poet was from somewhere near the Welsh marches. The London forms of speaking are what became dominant, which is why Chaucer’s English seems somewhat less strange to us now.

Question 4

What is a French source that Chaucer and the Pearl poet share?

Answer 4

Roman de la Rose

Question 5

Who established the cultural tradition of chivalry?

Answer 5

Eleanor of Aquitaine (first husband was King of France, second husband was King of England; 12th century)

Question 6

What are some characteristics of the chivalric tradition?

Answer 6

• elaborate codes of courtly love
• elaborate criteria for knightly prowess and magnanimity
• imaginative spirit

Question 7

What are two striking linguistic features of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight?

Answer 7

Alliterative language and the bob and wheel (short line followed by a quatrain)

Question 8

What time of year does the Green Knight first appear at Camelot?

Answer 8

Christmastime; particularly New Year’s Day

Question 9

When is the historical King Arthur thought to have lived?

Answer 9

c. 5th century

Question 10

How long do Christmas revelries last in King Arthur’s court?

Answer 10

15 days

Question 11

What is the period of time between Gawain’s first and second encounters with the Green Knight? Where else in our reading does this period of time recur?

Answer 11

A year and a day; in the Knight’s Tale and the Wife of Bath’s Tale

Question 12

What is the familial relationship between Arthur and Gawain?

Answer 12

Arthur is Gawain’s uncle

Question 13

What symbol is on Gawain’s shield?

Answer 13

A pentangle

Question 14

What is the significance of the five-pointed star on Gawain’s shield?

Answer 14

• Gawain was faultless in his five senses
• His five fingers never failed him
• The points represent the five wounds of Christ (faith)
• His courage comes from the “five joys” the Queen of Heaven has from her Child
• He displays five virtuous traits

Together, the points form an endless knot of these virtues, which are all interconnected.

Question 15

What are the five traits represented by the pentangle on Gawain’s shield?

Answer 15

• generosity
• fellowship
• purity of heart
• courtesy
• pity

Question 16

What are some of the hardships Gawain faces on his search for the Green Chapel?

Answer 16

In addition to emotional turmoil, he fights dragons, wolves, trolls, and other fierce and fantastic creatures. Even more unpleasant is the harsh winter season, which leaves him cold and hungry on his travels.

Question 17

What action of Gawain’s immediately precedes him finding the hospitable king’s castle?

Answer 17

Praying to God and Mary that he may find a safe place to perform his Christmas devotions; crossing himself three times.

Question 18

What is the name of Gawain’s horse?

Answer 18

Gringelot

Question 19

Describe the appearance of the Lord of the castle.

Answer 19

He is brawny and bearded - he seems to be associated with the color red. He is “fierce as fire”.

Question 20

Discuss Gawain’s linguistic appeal to the foreign court.

Answer 20

Among other virtues the members of this court hope to pick up from Gawain, they are eager for the opportunity to “learn the best forms of speech without asking” and “learn the language of lovers.”

Question 21

What is the bargain that Gawain makes with the Lord of the Castle?

Answer 21

That they will exchange whatever each of them acquires for the day - the King will give Gawain whatever game he gets in the forest, and Gawain will give him anything he happens to get while resting in the castle.

Question 22

What do the King and Gawain exchange on the first day of the bargain?

Answer 22

Gawain gives the King a kiss (but doesn’t reveal its source); the King presents Gawain will the spoils of the day’s hunt - a number of deer.

Question 23

What do the King and Gawain exchange on the second day of the bargain?

Answer 23

Gawain gives the King two kisses (still not revealing who he received them from); the King gives Gawain the Boar that was killed that day.

Question 24

What type of game is hunted on each of the three days?

Answer 24

Day 1: Deer
Day 2: Boar
Day 3: Fox

Question 25

What gift does Gawain refuse to take from the lady of the house?

Answer 25

A ring

Question 26

What gift does Gawain eventually take from the lady? Describe it.

Answer 26

A belt. It is of green silk decorated with gold - a clear signal of its relationship to the Green Knight.

Question 27

What do the King and Gawain exchange on the third and final day of the bargain?

Answer 27

Gawain gives the King three kisses but does not hand over the belt; the King gives Gawain the pelt of the fox that was killed that day.

Question 28

What are the parallels between the bargain between the King and Gawain and Gawain’s second encounter with the Green Knight?

Answer 28

There are three days of exchanges, and three strokes the Green Knight aims at Gawain. In exchange for the first two days, where Gawain was honest, the Green Knight wields harmless strokes. For the third day, when Gawain concealed the belt he received, the Green Knight draws a drop of blood.

Question 29

What happens to the green girdle after Gawain and the Green Knight’s encounter?

Answer 29

Gawain offers to return it, but the Green Knight refuses. Gawain vows to wear it as a reminder of his weakness.

Question 30

What is the Green Knight’s name?

Answer 30

Bertilak of Hautdesert

Question 31

Who is the old woman from the castle?

Answer 31

Morgan Le Faye

Question 32

What is Gawain’s relationship to Morgan Le Faye?

Answer 32

She is his aunt (because she is Arthur’s half-sister)