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Elements Of Medieval Romance In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

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Elements Of Medieval Romance In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a medieval romance about Sir Gawain’s journey to the Green Chapel to meet a mysterious Green Knight. A typical medieval romance contain characteristics of mystical and supernatural elements, the code of chivalry, and courtly love. On Sir Gawain's quest for the Green Chapel, he encounters enchanted land and unusual monsters. As a knight, he must abide to the code of chivalry and he also engages in courtly love. Even though Sir Gawain and the Green Knight does not contain all characteristics of a medieval romance, it still fits into that genre. Medieval Romance usually idealizes chivalry. Chivalry was a “set of limitations which the strong and mighty placed upon themselves with the realization that setting a …show more content…
A Medieval Romance typically contains elements of courtly love. Courtly love is a form of love in which a knight devotes himself to a noblewoman who is usually married and feigns indifference to preserve her reputation(American Heritage 2011). The knights love and respect for the lady is provoked by his passion to please her and to be noble of her love and win her favor. Courtly love is a moral test for the knight that he must endure. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain must show Lady Bertilak and Guinevere courtly love. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight contains elements which include fairy­tale like aspects. In this poem the Green Knight is mystical and has the ability to lose his head and stay alive. As Gawain travels closer to Sir Bertilak's castle, he encounters many supernatural creatures dispersed among more typical wild animals that he must also battle. He encounters dragons, mythical men­like creatures, and ogres which is typically found in fairy­tales. The description of Bertilak’s castle is also very mystical because it “shimmers” and “shines”. The poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight fits into the genre of a medieval
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