Medieval poetry written in the mid-14th century is a form of period entertainment focused on melding history and legend into a captivating story. Undoubtedly the most popular manuscripts from this age are the Arthurian legends, poems written to commemorate the brave king, and his faithful knights. No exception is the alliterative poem “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”, a tale that encompasses a man who maintains his honor in a sinful world. While the author of this work remains unknown it is clear his intent was to justify morality and exemplify the traits of men and women by providing examples of what they should strive for in life. The author, referred to as the Pearl Poet, achieves this by showing the class dictated situational reactions
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In general he mentions the average upper-class male as competing in tournaments of jousting in which they would gain status with their accomplishments (41). According to Charney in his book titled “A Knights Own Book of Chivalry”: “those who jousted did not have as much honour as those who tourneyed; similarly, those who tourneyed did not have as much honour as those who engaged in open warfare”. This hierarchy of competition to warfare provided a formalized separation of status which was further noted by their seat placement at the Christmas feast described by the Pearl Poet. Here he mentions “At the side-tables sat many stalwart knights”, these would have been the honored military men who had seen warfare and gained their reputation in battle. Perhaps the use of the caste system was a method for maintain order throughout the classes; however, as apparent with the previous example it was not strictly set, and was open for individuals to enhance their status according to their abilities. It would appear that the message here is that no man, unless he was from a corrupt lineage, or the low class was required to remain in the status given by …show more content…
While the audience is given relatively few details to these individuals it is mentioned that they were absent from the feast save for those who prepared the meal (71). Later in the poem it is mentioned that men from this class served as grooms for the horses of guests at Lord Bertilak’s castle who “set about briskly to bind on saddles, tend to their tackle, [and] tie up trunks” (1127-1129). They were also used as “beaters”, an advance hunting party used to flush game in the direction guests and king so as to improve success of the hunt (Marvin, 110). This would have been an inherently dangerous role particularly when confronted with desperate animals such as the boar slaughtered by Lord Bertilak (1588). While the details are few concerning these men they are undoubtedly considered as expendable, items used to improve the living conditions of men and women born into higher classes.
In conclusion, the Pearl Poet provides a description of men in “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” by documenting their sociological placement, their role by class, and the challenges they are faced with. While this is no way a comprehensive guide to class division it enlightens the reader as to how men were regarded according to the family they were born
In general he mentions the average upper-class male as competing in tournaments of jousting in which they would gain status with their accomplishments (41). According to Charney in his book titled “A Knights Own Book of Chivalry”: “those who jousted did not have as much honour as those who tourneyed; similarly, those who tourneyed did not have as much honour as those who engaged in open warfare”. This hierarchy of competition to warfare provided a formalized separation of status which was further noted by their seat placement at the Christmas feast described by the Pearl Poet. Here he mentions “At the side-tables sat many stalwart knights”, these would have been the honored military men who had seen warfare and gained their reputation in battle. Perhaps the use of the caste system was a method for maintain order throughout the classes; however, as apparent with the previous example it was not strictly set, and was open for individuals to enhance their status according to their abilities. It would appear that the message here is that no man, unless he was from a corrupt lineage, or the low class was required to remain in the status given by …show more content…
While the audience is given relatively few details to these individuals it is mentioned that they were absent from the feast save for those who prepared the meal (71). Later in the poem it is mentioned that men from this class served as grooms for the horses of guests at Lord Bertilak’s castle who “set about briskly to bind on saddles, tend to their tackle, [and] tie up trunks” (1127-1129). They were also used as “beaters”, an advance hunting party used to flush game in the direction guests and king so as to improve success of the hunt (Marvin, 110). This would have been an inherently dangerous role particularly when confronted with desperate animals such as the boar slaughtered by Lord Bertilak (1588). While the details are few concerning these men they are undoubtedly considered as expendable, items used to improve the living conditions of men and women born into higher classes.
In conclusion, the Pearl Poet provides a description of men in “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” by documenting their sociological placement, their role by class, and the challenges they are faced with. While this is no way a comprehensive guide to class division it enlightens the reader as to how men were regarded according to the family they were born