SIR GAWAIN
ARTHURIAN LEGENDS
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| Sir Gawain |
“Then Sir Gawaine was all abashed, and with Galatine his good sword he smote through shield and thick hauberk made of thick mails, and all to-rushed and break the precious stones, and made him a large wound, that men might see both liver and lung.”
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| Galatine, a representation |
Galatine is often seen
as the ‘shadow to Excalibur’s light’. At the same time, its strength is
said to be greatest when there is ample sunlight — since the sun is
associated with justice and glory. Unfortunately, even with Galatine,
Gawain was no match for the evil-doings of Mordred, and died while
defending King Arthur’s throne from Mordred’s armies.
Gawain was the epitome of a good knight. He was a gentleman who treated women with manners, and had a heart as pure as snow. His combat skills were unrivalled, and he would not hesitate to sacrifice his life for his king and country. His fellow knights liked and respected him as well.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is one of the most well-known stories about Gawain. It described how Gawain had accepted a test of courage that was issued by a knight adorned entirely in green. While Gawain was travelling to the slated location, he happened to stop at a castle lorded by Bertilak de Hautdesert. There, he allowed himself to wear Lady Bertilak’s gift of a silk belt, which she claimed would protect him in his fight with the Green Knight. Naturally, it went against Gawain’s strict code of honor, but he faltered in a moment of cowardice. In the end, it was revealed that the whole thing was actually a plot concocted by Morgan le Fay so as to humiliate him. Consequently, Gawain had lost — even before drawing Galatine — and he returned to the castle in shame.
Gawain was the epitome of a good knight. He was a gentleman who treated women with manners, and had a heart as pure as snow. His combat skills were unrivalled, and he would not hesitate to sacrifice his life for his king and country. His fellow knights liked and respected him as well.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is one of the most well-known stories about Gawain. It described how Gawain had accepted a test of courage that was issued by a knight adorned entirely in green. While Gawain was travelling to the slated location, he happened to stop at a castle lorded by Bertilak de Hautdesert. There, he allowed himself to wear Lady Bertilak’s gift of a silk belt, which she claimed would protect him in his fight with the Green Knight. Naturally, it went against Gawain’s strict code of honor, but he faltered in a moment of cowardice. In the end, it was revealed that the whole thing was actually a plot concocted by Morgan le Fay so as to humiliate him. Consequently, Gawain had lost — even before drawing Galatine — and he returned to the castle in shame.
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That's not how I remember it ending. The version I read was a test made by the Green Knight to find out how noble the knights of Camelot were, which found Gawain to be the perfect example of a knight, despite his many protests pointing to his failures.
ReplyDeleteThat's true, we read it in college. It ends with him being lauded as the ideal of chivalry.
DeletePerhaps there are two versions?
The version I remember is, after losing a duel against Nero Claudius, Gawain used Galatine to fire a beam of pure sunlight at the Buddha, helping to end the moon's Holy Grail War
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