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California State University, Northridge CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE SIR GAWAIN OF THE COURT OF KING ARTHUR: A STUDY IN THE METAMORPHOSIS OF A HERO A thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts with Honors in English by Christian R. Andersen May, 1984 The thesis of Christian R. Andersen is approved: Dr. Mahlon C. Gaumer III Director Second Reader Received by: Dr. Arthur Lane Director, Committee on Honors Sir Gawain of the Court of King Arthur: A Study in the Metamorphosis of a Hero To readers of the Arthurian tales the mention of King Arthur brings to mind a myriad of other names such as Lancelot, Galahad, Perceval, Gareth, and Gawain; heroes whose exploits comprise the substance of the legend of Arthur. Much like the twelve peers of Charlemagne, the knights of King Arthur's court and heroic individuals whose legends are interwoven and crossed into a single tapestry by association with the ruler of a mighty realm. In fact, critics have speculated that the Arthurian saga is very simple in its essential form. Certainly it is the tales of the heroes who have been attached to the story of Arthur that form the bulk of :he legend familiar to the reader of 1 Malory. Of these ancillary heroes, there is little doubt that the most popular, especially in the hearts of the English, was he who is known as v~alwein, Gwalmachmai, Gauvain, or simply Gawain. In fact, there are more tales dealing with Gawain than with Arthur in English literature. As R.W. Ackerman points out, "in no fewer than seven of the 2 [English] romances is he [Gawain] indisputably the hero." Yet the importance of Gawain in the legends is not fully realized by those who read only Malory or the derivatives of his work. The name which appears foremost in their minds is that of Sir Lancelot du Lac, as one of the best 1 2 knights in Arthur's court, the most gallant servant to the king, and the secret lover of Guenevere. To many, the story of Lancelot and Guenevere is the quintessence of all the Arthurian tales. As his name indicates, Lancelot du Lac is a creation of the French romance writers who began to create their own versions of the Arthurian tales in the twelfth century under the patronage of such powerful people as Eleanor of Aquitaine and her daughter, Marie of Champagne. Thus Lancelot, as Arthur's knight and the Queen's lover, is a comparatively late addition to the story. Any student of the Arthurian cycle could, without difficulty, name romances in which Lancelot is not even mentioned, but he would find it difficult to recall one in which Gawain does not figure. Unlike the French romances that elevate Lancelot to the highest position at court, the English works proclaim Gawain as the finest knight in Arthur's realm; as R.W. 3 Ackerman puts it, he is the "perennial English favorite. " ·of course, Gawain's role as the mirror of chivalry is well known, but his part in the Arthurian story consists of more than that single role. Such works as a Of Arthour and Of Merlin written in the twelfth century but recording tales which are at least one hundred years older clearly assign the role of the Queen's special knight to Sir Gawain. He is always closely connected with Arthur by being his nephew 3 on his sister's side and thus Gawain is presented as an integral part of Arthur's life and court. Not until the fifteenth century does Gawain appear in English works in the reduced capacity that the French writers delegate to him. He appears in this capacity in the stanzaic Morte Arthur (c. 1400), the Jeaste of Syr Gawayne (between 1450-1500), and, of course, in Malory (printed by Caxton in 1485). Thus the figure of Sir Gawain presents a problem to the reader of the Arthurian legends. If Gawain appears as the best knight of Arthur's realm and special guardian to the Queen prior to the twelfth century, why does Chretien de Troyes assign these roles to Lancelot in the latter part of the twelfth century? Why does this change not take place in the English romances? Again, why does Gawain appear in the English romances as the knight par excellence but in the French tales (and hence in Malory) as at times trecherous and less than perfect? These changes in Gawain's portrayal are a direct result of his special role in the early legends, which arises out of his origin in Celtic lore, clashing with the new French literary convention of the twelfth century which required that the element of Courtly Love be added to the Arthurian legends and therefore that a lover must be created for the Queen. The English romances differ from the French because the need for this requirement was not felt by the English writers. 4 Gawain enters the Arthurian cycle from his origins as 4 a Celtic solar diety. Remnants of his origin are shown in one of the most striking features of Gawain, that of the waxing and waning of his strength as the day progresses. So distinctive is this element of Gawain that it finds its way into the French romance writings. Gautier de Doulens, one of the continuators of Chretien de Troyes Conte del Graal states that: Hardemens et Force Doublout Toustans puis le midis passot, Por voir, a monsignor Gauvain Tout en Devons estre certain: Quapt la clartes de jor faloit Icelle force tresaloit Et de meidi en avant 5 Li recriossoit tot autretant. vv . 1 91 3 9 -4 6 Malory gives another version of this strange power in Book IV of his Morte D'Arthur: "But sir Gawayune, fro hit was nine of the clock, wexed ever strenger and strenger, for by than hit earn to the howre of noone he had three times his 6 might encressed." Gawain's origin has been traced to the Ultonian Cycles of Ireland and more specifically to the character of Cuchulainn. In this cycle, Cuchulainn and Curoi are both gods of sun and lightning. Loomis sets up the hypothesis that Curoi and Cuchulainn are virtually manifestations of 7 each other and of their mutual father, Lug. Moreover, he points specifically to a story in which Cuchulainn takes over Curoi's power and defeats him. This story, or type-tale, is referred to as the Beheading Game and it is 5 to be repeated in the tales of Gawain up through the English romance writers. The first appearance of the Beheading Game is the Ultonian Cycle in a tale called the Feast of Bricriu. Elizabeth Brewer reproduces two separate versions of the Beheading Game found in this tale, each of which reflect aspects later to be found in the knight par excellence of Arthur's court. In the first version, the son of Great Fear, Terror, a wizard who could change his shape, makes a proposal to Loigaire, Conall, and Cuchulainn, who have been led by Yellow to see the wizard. "I have a covenant to make with you, and whoever fulfills it with me, he is to have the Champion's Portion .••• I have an axe, and the man into whose hand it shall be put is to cut off my head today, I to cut off his head tomorrow." Cornall and Loigaire both say they will not agree to such a covenant for they content that it would be impossible for them to live after being beheaded although the wizard might. However Cuchulainn solemnly pledges the others not to contest the Champion's Portion if it is to be given to him and when they agree, Terror puts his head on the stone after enchanting his own axe and giving it to Cuchulainn. Cuchulainn, however, does not use Terror's axe but rather swings at him with his own and gives the giant a blow that cuts off his head. Afterwards, Terror picks up his head and the unused axe and goes into the loch pressing them to 6 his breast. On the morrow Terror returns and "the axe with its edge reversed ••. draws down thrice on Cuchulainn's neck" without harm to Cuchulainn. Terror then awares the 8 Champion's Portion to Cuchulainn. The basic elements of the Beheading Game are found later in their fullest form in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Like Gawain in the much later tale of the Green Knight, Cuchulainn agrees to the covenant even though the others fear certain death. Similarly, Cuchulainn does not back down from his agreement and succeeds. Of course, it is obvious that, unlike Gawain, Cuchulainn decides to cheat just a bit by using his own axe even though the giant has stipulated that the covenant involves his own axe. Yet did not Gawain accept the Green Girdle from the knight's wife to protect him from harm? The difference between the two is that Cuchulainn engaged in trickery while Gawain takes advantage of what appears to be a fortuitous bit of luck, that is, that the girdle has the magic property of protecting its possessor from harm. Much more characteristic of the later tales of Gawain is the second Beheading Game found in the Feast of Bricriu. Curoi approaches the heroes of Ulster in the guise of a bachlach, or herdsman, and states that in his journeys in the East and the Isle of Gades, he has not found any man who would fulfill the rules of Fair Play for him. He then announces that whoever is able to strike off his head 7 tonight he will return the blow on the following night.
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