The identity of the Green Knight in “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” is a topic that has been discussed amongst scholars for decades. Throughout academia the Green Knight has been theorized as a remnant of cultural mythology such as the vegetation myth (Benson 62, Speirs, 225), a demon, wild man (Benson, 72), and even the devil. Among these popular scholars, Larry Benson connects the Green Knight to the Green Man and Wild Man stories, which explain the knight’s ambiguous chivalrous and aggressive personality, while Ann M. Martinez presents an ecological perspective of the Green Knight as steward to the land. Furthermore, John Speirs also offers a long-disputed theory on the Green Knight as the exact mythological Green Man. In response to these theories and the resulting implications for the poem itself, this
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Speirs notes the similarities between the scene of the Green Knight’s arrival and a medieval Folk Play (219). Speirs suggests that Bertilak bears resemblances to the figures of the Green Man or the Wild Man. As Speirs indicates, the Green man is reminiscent of a vegetation fertility God whose death and rebirth represents the turning of the seasons in nature (219). Speirs also asserts that indeed, the Green Knight and the Green Man are the same character, and that Bertilak is not simply a modification of the early myth (225). Conversely, Benson refutes Speirs’ and others assertions that the Green Knight is any one exact thing, or even reminiscent of any one exact myth, and suggests instead that Bertilak is an amalgamation of multiple medieval conventions that would be familiar to the Gawain Poet’s audience (68-69). Benson claims that the Gawain Poet altered and combined the myths of the Wild Man and Green Man, and differently to Speirs suggests that the Gawain Poet purposefully manipulated these conventions to suit his needs within the narrative
Speirs notes the similarities between the scene of the Green Knight’s arrival and a medieval Folk Play (219). Speirs suggests that Bertilak bears resemblances to the figures of the Green Man or the Wild Man. As Speirs indicates, the Green man is reminiscent of a vegetation fertility God whose death and rebirth represents the turning of the seasons in nature (219). Speirs also asserts that indeed, the Green Knight and the Green Man are the same character, and that Bertilak is not simply a modification of the early myth (225). Conversely, Benson refutes Speirs’ and others assertions that the Green Knight is any one exact thing, or even reminiscent of any one exact myth, and suggests instead that Bertilak is an amalgamation of multiple medieval conventions that would be familiar to the Gawain Poet’s audience (68-69). Benson claims that the Gawain Poet altered and combined the myths of the Wild Man and Green Man, and differently to Speirs suggests that the Gawain Poet purposefully manipulated these conventions to suit his needs within the narrative