Was Gawain a great knight or a royal pain?
Gawain appears early on in the legends of
Arthur. He is sometimes portrayed as having his strength
linked to the Sun, a link to Gwalchmei, the solar deity of
Celtic mythology. Indeed, a Welsh tradition of
Geoffrey
of Monmouth's History of the
Kings of Britain equates Gawain and Gwalchmei.
In the early stories and the later
historical works he is a giant figure, bound to Arthur by
blood, being the son of Lot
and Morgause
and, therefore, Arthur's nephew. He does great deeds and is
a symbol of knightly prowess.
Geoffrey tells us that he was in command
of a division in Arthur's victory over the Roman Emperor
Lucius at the Battle of Saussy and that Gawain attacked
Lucius himself. Gawain was killed as he came back to shore
to fight Modred.
Later stories have Gawain a strong
supporter of Arthur.
The story of the Arthurian Legends begins
with Chretien
de Troyes, who portrays Gawain
first as a mighty knight and then as second to
Lancelot
as a Knight of the Round
Table. Indeed, in Chretien's
first Arthurian romance, Erec, Erec is said to be the
second in importance behind Gawain and ahead of
Lancelot.
But as Chretien wrote his stories and
found he liked Lancelot and Perceval
more, Gawain took a back seat. Indeed, in Chretien's
unfinished Perceval story, we find Gawain questing for the
Holy
Grail as well; even though the
story is unfinished, the reader can well conclude that
Gawain will not achieve the Grail Quest.
Gawain is perhaps most famous for the
story of his adventures at the hands of the Green
Knight. In this story, Gawain is
made to be a virtuous and loyal knight whose one failing is
to reveal the existence of a magical talisman. He bravely
accepts the Green Knight's twin challenges: to strike a
mighty blow at Camelot and to take a mighty blow at the
Green Chapel. Gawain is not afraid. His adventure completed,
he returns to Camelot a hero.
Later writers, especially Malory and
Tennyson, stuck to the unflattering treatment. He is said to
be a source of irritation to the king and a proud, stubborn,
old knight.
Modern writers, such as Marion Zimmer
Bradley, portray Gawain as a proud head of a clan: He is the
oldest of the brothers Orkney at Camelot and, as such, is
responsible for their actions.
See also
Was
Arthur a king or just a battle commander?
Was
Guinevere really an adulteress?
Was
Morgan Le Fay really a witch?
Was
Morgause to blame for all of Arthur's troubles?
Explorations in Arthurian History and Legends
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