Table setting

invading Saxons. Arthur achieved this through a fellowship of knights who were sworn to Arthur’s cause – as well as to Arthur’s noble precepts of respect, honor, duty, service, valor, courtesy, and righteousness. These were the Knights of the Round Table. These were the men who followed Arthur’s rule – based upon their communal belief in the Arthurian chivalric code – a chivalric code that existed long before the High Middle Ages ever conceived of such, or…

Heros and villains are the backbones of literature. From Polyphemus in the Odyssey to Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter series, villains create conflict, create for contrast, add drama and excitement to stories, and serve as the drivers of the plotline. In different eras of literature, villains take on different shapes and sizes, and serve different purposes. In Medieval Literature, the purpose of a villain is to act as a foil for the hero character. In doing so, the villain brings out the…

How often do we think about where our family traditions started? It could be something our parents created or something that has been going on for many years. Some of the things we do might be cultural or are rooted from our religion. Hospitality is a tradition that has been shared around the world in the past and present. Part of the medieval Christian faith was to be hospitable because it was important to welcome strangers into your home. Gift giving was also a big part of the middle ages…

The fate of one 's life comes from actions and choices made during life. If one did good things in their life, they will get rewarded for their good deeds and vice versa. There are many theories of what exactly fate is, but in this case the hero 's fate is already determined, there are obstacles and actions people have to go through shaping their fate being good or bad, at the end our fate will come true. Referring to Beowulf and Sir Gawain, their fate was already predetermined, especially if…

journey, he faces many challenges, but he never loses his faith in God until it comes to live or death decision where he relies on magic. The poem is a classic chivalric ideology and the perfect example, with King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table having those traits. Despite the fact that this is a chivalric poem the main focus is the test of faith. Where Sir Gawain’s faith, that is being tested by Lady Bertilak. She plays an important role in which she directly controls the situations…

Beowulf is a classical Old English epic poem that has everything an action packed story should have. There are monsters in the form of Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and a dragon. There are also heroes that throughout the epic distinguish themselves from the other characters through battle and companionship. One main trait presented throughout is leadership and the most important leader in this epic is Beowulf. Beowulf is a strong warrior that maintains peace for his people as long as he is their…

Reality vs. Myth Sir Thomas Malory was influenced by the knights in his time to write Arthur becomes King. Sir Malory was born in Warwickshire, England, sometime around 1405. As a young man, Malory was a fairly wealthy landowner. He became a knight in 1442 and served in Parliament in 1445. He became involved in crime and allied himself politically with people and groups who opposed the royal government. He spent several years in prison for his crimes and political alle-giances while in prison…

The obscure creator of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight enlivens the character of Sir Gawain, a knight of King Arthur 's court who spares the life of his lord by tolerating the test of the Green Knight. All through his enterprises in the story, Gawain finds, creates, and exhibits his own particular chivalric qualities. He commits a couple of errors along the way, however endeavors to settle to no end not as much as flawlessness in unwaveringness, fearlessness and civility. The chivalric code…

In the medieval story of “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,” the presence of unintentional doings due to Sir Gawain’s impetuousness is displayed continuously throughout the epic. Opposing views claim that Sir Gawain was in fact, aware of the outcomes as a result of his actions and calculated thoughts. There certainly might be evidence to this claim such as the following statement made by Gawain, “such a foolish affair is fitting for a king, so; being first to come forward, it should fall to me”…

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…