The Christian Faith In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

At face value, the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight tells of a knight who is challenged by a Green Knight to show the decline in the knighthood, but that is only the literal interpretation. Throughout the story, there are many parallels to the Christian faith seen. The Green Knight places the young knight in a trial just like God might do to Christians. The Green Knight mentions that if Gawain seeks him, then he will be found which is very similar to when Christ says that if we seek, we shall find. The motif of the number three as seen in the Bible for example Peter denying Christ three times and Christ rising after the third day is seen, as well. Also, the wife of the lord of the castle tries to seduce Gawain just as Potiphar’s wife had with Joseph. All these parallels are no coincidence. The Christian elements in the story are added to emphasize the underlying Christian meaning in the story. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight serves as an allegory to the Christian faith. …show more content…
People declare that King Arthur’s knights are the most “mighty and most worthy of all mortal men” (42). As King Arthur’s knights, they are expected to be strong and brave since they have a certain standard to live up to from King Arthur--that is how they are expected to act. This is similar to the Christian faith. As Christians, we have a difficult task of showing continual forgiveness and love and faithfulness and righteousness, but that is expected of us. People have a certain expectation when viewing Christians since Christ is our greatest example. There is a great importance for our actions to show Christ so we can be a good representation to the world who Christ truly