Humanity has always had an ideal figure to look up to or pursue, whether it be for selfish reasons or for the good of all. During medieval times, the Code of Chivalry was followed – a moral system which went beyond rules of combat and introduced the concept of virtuous conduct. It represents qualities in knighthood such as bravery, courtesy, and honor, setting an example of the ideal character. The two texts Sir Gawain and the Green knight and Beowulf, medieval and AngloSaxon respectively, serve as a demonstration of what these values are.
The valiant actions of two heroes boast the chivalric qualities they possess and gain on their journey’s. The medieval text describes Sir Gawain’s decisions and struggles which deeply affect his fate and his view of moral standards, while the AngloSaxon text delves into the heroic feats performed by Beowulf. Sir Gawain and Beowulf are chivalrous, but Beowulf is more chivalric as he fights for the welfare of others, eschews unfairness and deceit, and never fails to tell the truth. A common argument in this debate is that Beowulf is not chivalrous as he accepts all pecuniary rewards.
However, according to Viking culture, Vikings are motivated by honor but rewards are a good bonus. This can be shown when Beowulf defeats Grendel, the poem’s malevolent villain, and is presented with monetary and pecuniary rewards such as “a helmet, / and a coat of mail, and an ancient sword” as well as “horses and weapons”(1022-1024). The king of Hrothgar also presented “treasure gifts for each of the Geats / who’d sailed with Beowulf and still sat / beside him”(1051-1053), who are also part of the same culture as Beowulf.
While all of this went down, the text states that Beowulf “drank to those presents, not ashamed to be / praised”(1025-1026). Beowulf does not see these rewards as a special kindness, it is what he expects to be given to him. These vikings are not only rewarded in their present life with gold and money for their adherence to the Code of Chivalry but are also remembered in their afterlife for their courage and valor. These events show that the Anglo-Saxon society had a culture of great rewards and this was expected of vikings.
The actions of both Sir Gawain and Beowulf are always intended to put the welfare of others before themselves. When the Green Knight challenges the courage of the King Arthur and his so called “bold” knights of the round table, the knights are taken aback and King Arthur is forced to take the challenge presented to him. Sir Gawain, however, ashamed that none of the knights are bold enough to serve the king, comes forward and states “I beseech in plain speech that this melee be mine”(1. 15).
Stepping up to the job, Sir Gawain shows his care for the reputation for the knights and says “I think it not seemly, for such an asking is heaved so highly in you hall, / that you yourself are tempted” and continues to show his support by saying “I am the weakest… least worth the loss of my life”(1. 16). Here, Gawain is not only loyal to his king but also quite faithful to his belief. Moreover, he disproves his initial statement, showing that he is not the “wit feeblest” and “least worth”, but actually the most gallant knight of the round table.
As literary critic Kim Neininger states, Gawain “has cleverly chosen his most courteous words to release Arthur from this predicament and restore the reputation of the knights of the Round Table. “(Neininger) We cannot imagine a more courageous action than Gawain offering his life for his king nor a more polite offer to take the game. Likewise, Beowulf puts aside his personal welfare for the good of others and is consistently willing to sacrifice himself for those who cannot defend themselves.
When Beowulf hears of “how Grendel filled nights with horror” he immediately proclaims that he would “sail across the sea to Hrothgar/ now when help was needed”(197-201). This response reveals Beowulfs dedication to helping those being unprotected from Grendel, even when he is greeted as a “stranger” and when he is told to state “exactly who [he] is, and from where, / and why”(253-255) by a soldier. His desire to be of service shows his lack of fear when put next to helping others.
In contrast, however, Sir Gawain steps up for King Arthur without knowing the dangers that he would be facing; he can not have expected the Green Knight to pick up his head and reattach it. Only then did Gawain come to know that he would have to endure through a long journey. Beowulf, on the other hand, was aware of the difficulties he would face, yet he still chose to help the citizens regardless of the dangers in the way and the stories he had heard of Grendel. The two protagonists of our poems stand as a wall to those unprotected and maintain this as a priority.
The driving force for Beowulf and Sir Gawain accomplishing their goals is fairness. Both characters strive to eschew deceit by keeping their word and performing honorably. In Beowulf, when preparing for a fight with Grendel, Beowulf notices how Grendel is underpowered when facing the weapons Beowulf wields. Beowulf acknowledges that Grendel is known to be a “bold and famous fighter, but his claws and teeth / scratching at my shield, his clumsy fists / beating at my sword blade, would be / helpless”(680-685) and thus, Beowulf fights Grendel with his own bare hands, letting God decide who the winner will be.
As Eleanor Cory so aptly writes, “the act of attacking men in their sleep when they cannot defend themselves shows how morally inferior Grendel is to the honorable Beowulf”(Cory) yet Beowulf still negates his own advantages to “play fair”“. He is earlier said to have possessed hands “that moved with thirty men’s strength, / and courage to match” which is equal to the number of soldiers Grendel murdered in their sleep.
Even as Grendel snatches one of Beowulfs allies “[ripping] him apart, cutting / his body to bits” and “snapping his life shut”, he maintains his qualities of a chivalric hero by refraining from using weapons and keeping the battle equal. Similarly, Sir Gawain upholds his part of a deal to be fair, even when the outlook of doing so seems to be his death. Sir Gawain accepts a challenge by the Green Knight, a mysterious foe who approaches King Arthur’s court, where he strikes a blow to the Green knight but if he is living, shall receive a blow in one year.
Sir Gawain fails to kill him and so in return, has to receive a hit to his body that could easily be fatal to him. However, in order to fulfill his end of the bargain, Sir Gawain must travel to the Green Chapel, but “the journey… where he expects to meet his end, is not an easy one” (Thannickal). Sir Gawain faces treacherous obstacles to reach his destination as the text reveals “it would be torturous to tell a tenth of the tale” as he wars with “dragons, and wolves also, / sometimes with wild woodsmen haunting the crags, / with bulls and bears both, and boar other times”(2. 1) yet Sir Gawain perseveres to reach the Green Chapel. Any other knight may have turned back to escape his death but this is not an option for our hero, and he eventually reaches the Green Chapel through insurmountable odds.
Once Sir Gawain is within reach of the Green Chapel, his guide must turn back but warns our hero of “a man in that waste, the worst upon earth… and [he] shows no mercy'(3. 84) in a last attempt to change Gawain’s mind. The guide begs Gawain to “let [the Green Knight] alone, and go by some other way, for God’s own sake”(1. 5) but nonetheless, Sir Gawain continues to hold his integrity in the face of certain death. Like Beowulf, he does not turn back when faced with perilous obstacles or the possibility of death but parallels Beowulf’s yearning for fairness. Although Sir Gawain means to complete his promise and Beowulf willingly puts down his weapons, the two seem to be okay with risking their lives as long as they are following the chivalric code. The two heroes are true to their word on their journeys and are satisfied with their results.
In striving to achieve the standard of perfection the Code of Chivalry enforces, Sir Gawain discovers his mortality and the realization that no man can be perfect. On his journey, Sir Gawain stops at a castle to rest. He meets Lord Bertilak, the host of the castle, who offers Gawain a deal to trade whatever earnings he makes with him. Sir Gawain accepts his offer and on the first two days when the lord leaves to hunt, he receives kisses from the lady of Bertilak’s castle which he happily trades with the lord. On the third day, however, Sir Gawain receives kisses but also a girdle which the lady gives as a keepsake.
The lady tells Sir Gawain that when the girdle is worn, “no man under heaven might hew him,/ for he may not slain by any sleight upon earth”(1. 74). When Gawain receives this Girdle, he immediately sees it as “a jewel for the jeopardy judged upon him”(1. 74) and he decides to keep it as it may help him with his upcoming fate. Here, we see the mortality revealed in Gawain as he does not give the girdle to Bertilak, and he relies on an item to escape death. As Kim Neininger explains, in failing to tell Bercilak about the girdle, Gawain “betrayed his host, lied to him, and compromised his own standards. ” (Neininger).
Gawain responds to the girdle just as any mortal would because no man can be perfect, and would try to avoid their death. In contrast, Beowulf never fails to lie, even when he is put in a position where he is shamed. Unferth, a man who insults Beowulf’s pride, sneers “are you-the same / boastful fool who fought a swimming / match with Brecca… and at the end victory was his” and taunts Beowulf, questioning his ability to fight Grendel. Beowulf, unable to tell a false fact, reveals that “[Brecca] could never leave [him] behind” and Beowulf could swim faster / across the waves than [Brecca] could”(541-542).
Beowulf proclaims that the only reason he lost was due to “monsters crowding around [him], / continually attacking… ” and by the time he had reached the end, “lucky or not, nine was the number of sea-huge monsters I killed”. Beowulf endured through these hardships as he swam for many days, and although he lost, he is telling the truth because the Code of Chivalry refrains him from lying. Beowulf later assures Unferth that he was not lying by stating he “mean[s] no boast” and “has announced no more than [he] knows”.
In contrast to Sir Gawain, Beowulf does not take advantage by lying whereas Sir Gawain lies in order to secure himself a safer future, making Beowulf the ideal character presented by the Code of Chivalry. The characters in Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight demonstrate some of the most important morals at the time of the story’s creation. Although both Sir Gawain and Beowulf undergo similar processes to achieve their chivalrousness, Gawain does not live up to every standard of the Code of Chivalry perfectly whereas Beowulf exemplifies the traits he lives by.
This, however, shows that Gawain is only human unlike Beowulf, whose perfect care for others, ability to always tell the truth, and fairness push him over the top where it is impossible to achieve that level of chivalry for Sir Gawain. These men together form the representation of the moral ideals during their ages. Ultimately, these ancient poems help guide humanity on a journey towards the goal it is pursuing by telling the stories of two men on their own journeys.
