Chivalry is not Dead
(An analysis of chivalry as observed in the Arthurian texts, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Song of Roland, Perceval, and Morte D’Arthur) Chivalry is commonly known as being gentleman-like. If someone has chivalry, he is respectful and holds the door for people. But where does this idea of chivalry come from? Back in the middle ages, the Code of Chivalry was born with the rise of King Arthur and his Knights. Scholar Chantry Westwell states, “The epic tales of King Arthur’s court, of chivalry, courtly love and the quest for the Holy Grail are some of the most captivating and poignant of all European fiction,”(Westwell). The stories of King Arthur are known around the world and have been told for centuries. These tales …show more content…
The Green Knight shows up in Camelot and challenges one of the knights of the Round Table to a challenge. The Green Knight challenges one of the knights to cut off his head, and in one year the Knight will come back to take his shot at the contestant. No man steps up to the challenge, so King Arthur accepts the challenge. Just as he is about to swing the axe at the Green Knight, Sir Gawain steps in and declares, “I beseech, before all here, that this melee may be mine. Would you grant me the grace to be gone from this bench and stand by you there?”(Green Knight 174). As you can see, Sir Gawain is willing to risk his life for his king. Part of the code of chivalry is to be willing to lay down your life as a knight for your king and country. Gawain shows this as he takes Arthur’s place as the contestant in the Green Knight’s challenge. King Arthur’s knights, “were portrayed as being honorable, loyal and noble gentlemen. They were expected to uphold the values of the Church, defend the king, his land and his people, and be courteous to the ladies,”(Young). Gawain embodies the ideas of defending the king as a knight when he takes Arthur’s place in the challenge. The Green Knight also shows chivalry because he stays true to his word. His head gets chopped off by Sir Gawain, but he lives. One year later, he comes back to Sir Gawain, just like he had declared when he first arrived in King Arthur’s
(An analysis of chivalry as observed in the Arthurian texts, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Song of Roland, Perceval, and Morte D’Arthur) Chivalry is commonly known as being gentleman-like. If someone has chivalry, he is respectful and holds the door for people. But where does this idea of chivalry come from? Back in the middle ages, the Code of Chivalry was born with the rise of King Arthur and his Knights. Scholar Chantry Westwell states, “The epic tales of King Arthur’s court, of chivalry, courtly love and the quest for the Holy Grail are some of the most captivating and poignant of all European fiction,”(Westwell). The stories of King Arthur are known around the world and have been told for centuries. These tales …show more content…
The Green Knight shows up in Camelot and challenges one of the knights of the Round Table to a challenge. The Green Knight challenges one of the knights to cut off his head, and in one year the Knight will come back to take his shot at the contestant. No man steps up to the challenge, so King Arthur accepts the challenge. Just as he is about to swing the axe at the Green Knight, Sir Gawain steps in and declares, “I beseech, before all here, that this melee may be mine. Would you grant me the grace to be gone from this bench and stand by you there?”(Green Knight 174). As you can see, Sir Gawain is willing to risk his life for his king. Part of the code of chivalry is to be willing to lay down your life as a knight for your king and country. Gawain shows this as he takes Arthur’s place as the contestant in the Green Knight’s challenge. King Arthur’s knights, “were portrayed as being honorable, loyal and noble gentlemen. They were expected to uphold the values of the Church, defend the king, his land and his people, and be courteous to the ladies,”(Young). Gawain embodies the ideas of defending the king as a knight when he takes Arthur’s place in the challenge. The Green Knight also shows chivalry because he stays true to his word. His head gets chopped off by Sir Gawain, but he lives. One year later, he comes back to Sir Gawain, just like he had declared when he first arrived in King Arthur’s