The Symbolism and Importance of Green Girdle

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is the epitome of the Romantic genre in the Middle Ages, one particular that characteristics both chivalry and courtly enjoy and emphasizes that a knight’s most critical duty is to serve God. While most chivalric tales concentrate on the physical strength and the impressive battles fought by fearless knights, this tale focuses on the strength of a knight’s faith. Sir Gawain’s faith is tested by the beautiful Lady Bertilak, who gives him her green girdle. The silk belt is the best utility to tie the two components of chivalry and courtly love together. All through the poem, the Pearl poet shifts the nature of the girdle and how it is perceived by Gawain. The girdle appears like an insignificant, inanimate piece of cloth. However, due to the fact Gawain invests all of his faith in it, the girdle’s function, value, and all round connotation turn out to be progressively a lot more substantial.

The presentation of the girdle by Lady Bertilak initial tests Gawain’s faith. The Lady initial delivers Gawain a “rich ring, wrought all of gold…worth a king’s wealth, you could nicely believe” (ll.1817-20), which makes her second present – the girdle – seem all the a lot more mundane. When Gawain refuses the gift, the Lady inquiries his selection: “‘Because it seems in your sight so simple a point?’” (l.1846). The Lady hints that maybe Gawain’s senses are not sharp adequate to realize the value of such an object, which intrigues Gawain. Still, he argues that “‘Before God, excellent lady, I forego all gifts’” (l.1822), for earlier in the day he and Lord Bertilak had agreed that something that either man gains throughout the course of the day is to be offered to the other. Till this point Gawain had held to his private oath, rejecting each Lady Bertilak’s seduction and her provide of the ring. But after the lady reveals to him the girdle’s powers, he accepts it – and conceals it even although, below terms of the pact with Lord Bertilak, it rightfully belongs to the lord. He gives the lord the 3 kisses he had received earlier as gifts and then lies to him, saying that “all that I owe right here is openly paid” (l.1941). He sins by lying, placing the worth of the girdle above his Christian virtues.

The girdle also challenges Gawain’s commitment to serve God by becoming a far more powerful symbol of faith than any Christian symbol. The girdle, a basic garment worn by girls, ordinarily would have no relevance to a knight. Lady Bertilak explains to Gawain that by carrying this girdle, nevertheless, “There is no hand below heaven that could hew him down/ For he could not be killed by any craft on earth” (ll.1852-54). The emphasis on “under heaven” and “on earth” provides the girdle an unearthly, supernatural high quality. Whereas earlier in the poem Gawain turns to Christianity for guidance – praying, for example, “that Mary could be his guide” (l.738) – he now holds the girdle to be “a pearl for his plight” (l.1856). His trust in the girdle replaces his trust in God to save him from the Green Knight, transforming the girdle from a straightforward silk belt to a supernatural protector. This development is most considerable simply because Gawain’s knightly duty is to serve God, but he has now placed his faith in a easy object.

Gawain’s acceptance and faith in the green girdle deeply challenge his reputation of virtuousness. Gawain prominently displayed his pentangle, a religious symbol that represents the 5 virtues, on his shield “in purest gold” (l.620). He was esteemed to be “faultless in his five senses” and his fantastic fidelity was “fixed upon the 5 wounds/ That Christ got on the cross” (ll.642-43). The knight also claimed the attributes of becoming a “most courteous knight” (l.639) and of a “pure mind” (l.653). Providing into Lady Bertilak’s temptation and lying to Lord Bertilak corrupt Gawain’s seemingly ideal chivalry. They show that Gawain is not with no fault. Initial, he is tricked by the girdle’s false promises of the girdle and distracted by its magical powers. Second, he appears greedy and selfish, wanting to possess a beneficial object only to save his own life. Third, Gawain is unfaithful to each Lord Bertilak and God, accepting the Lord’s loyalty in their game of exchange but failing to return this loyalty. Ultimately Gawain lacks the faith to face the Green Knight alone alternatively, he puts his faith in an earthly object.

Gawain recognizes his downfall and begins to repent right away right after he conceals it from Lord Bertilak. Straight “to the chapel he goes” (l.1876) soon after the temptress leaves “to cleanse his soul” (l.1882). He chastises himself: “‘Accursed be a cowardly and covetous heart! In you is villainy and vice, and virtue laid low!” (ll.2374-75). By the end of the poem, the knowledge of the girdle assists Gawain to recognize his faults and leads him to turn out to be an even far more virtuous knight. He says, “‘I hold you polished as a pearl, as pure and as bright/ As you had lived totally free of fault since first you were born” (ll.2393-94). Simply because Gawain fully confesses to the Green Knight, he is entirely absolved of his sins.

The sin of the girdle humbles Gawain’s pride as nicely as King Arthur’s court but ultimately becomes an crucial reminder of the importance of humility and virtue. The green belt becomes a “badge of false faith” (l.2509) that serves as a constant reminder of the “cowardice and coveting” (l.2508) that Gawain came to uncover on his plight. With no this knowledge, Gawain and his court would in no way have realized their faults in character simply because their virtues would by no means have been tested. In the finish, the green girdle becomes a symbol of virtuousness worn by the entire court.