Courage In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

“Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.” - C. S. Lewis
There are three characteristics that make up a hero: bravery, humility, and a servant attitude. In this paper, three characters: Beowulf from Beowulf, the knight from Selected Canterbury Tales, and Sir Gawain from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, will be judged by these characteristics. The first character to be assessed is Beowulf. After sailing to the kingdom of the Spear-Danes, the great warrior Beowulf rid them of a terrible monster, Grendel. Courageously, Beowulf risked his life twice in the book. He killed Grendel without a sword, and then dove underwater to kill Grendel's mother in her underwater lair. However, Beowulf was not
In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a knight carrying an ax and a holly branch while dressed completely in green rides into King Arthur's dining hall on Christmas. Calmly, the Green Knight challenges King Arthur’s knights to a Christmas jest, to strike the knight with the ax and then to receive an equal stroke. All the knights are silent, except for Sir Gawain, the King’s nephew, who assented in order to protect the honor of the king. Because he risked his life, Sir Gawain can be considered brave. “Much sorrowing and weeping was there in the hall to think that so worthy a knight as Gawain should wend his way to seek a deadly blow,” (Weston, 12). Sir Gawain traveled in search of the Green Knight to receive his blow. A year after striking the Green knight, Sir Gawain permitted his foe to strike him unarmed. Another characteristic Sir Gawain demonstrated was humility. Even though no one else dared to take the challenge, he spoke, “‘ I am the weakest, I wot, and the feeblest of wit,” (Weston, 7). Sir Gawain was helpful without seeking his own gain. Besides risking his life to protect the king’s honor, he killed monsters and other foes that were harming innocent people. “Sometimes he fought with dragons and wolves; sometimes with wild men that dwelt in the rocks; another while with bulls, and bears, and wild boars,” (Weston, 15). Therefore, because of his bravery, humbleness and servant attitude, Sir Gawain was a hero. Based on three characteristics: bravery, humbleness, and a servant attitude, Beowulf was not a hero, while the knight from the Canterbury Tales and Sir Gawain were heroes. Although both the knight and Sir Gawain were heroes, Sir Gawain was the better exemplified the characteristics of hero because he exhibited more bravery by allowing the Green Knight to strike him without protecting