What Is The Parody In Monty Python And The Holy Grail

British Literature Midterm Exam The scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail with Sir Galahad and the nurses seems to be a parody of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight—specifically a parody on the portrayal of the seductive tendencies of women in medieval romance. Sir Galahad experiences the seduction and untrustworthiness of women in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. In the provided clip, women that claim to be doctors and insist on caring for him ambush Sir Galahad with intentions of providing sexual favors. I am not familiar with the context of this clip, but I am presuming he is injured. He immediately questions their credentials as doctors. One woman with little confidence replies, “Um…They have a basic medical training, yes.” The women “doctors” are then instructed to “practice their art” on Sir Galahad. The women proceed to undo his belt and insist that they “must examine [him]”. This is a parody of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight because it pokes fun and exaggerates the scene in which Lady Bertilak seduces
Sir Gawain and then later gives reason to distrust women by tricking him into believing that the green girdle possesses magical powers. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, women are depicted as untrustworthy and seductive. Lady Bertilak, the host’s wife, practically throws herself upon Gawain with much persistence. While her husband is away, she sneaks into Gawain’s bedchambers and says, “My young body is yours, / Do with it what you will;/ My strong necessities force/ Me to be your servant still” (1236-1240). Lady Bertilak is seen as a bold and forward sinful woman to be attempting to tempt such a noble knight as Gawain. Now, this might not be uncommon in today’s world, as gender roles are much different today than they were in the late 1300s England. Our culture actually encourages women to be bold and embrace sex appeal. Not saying that this scenario never happened in that time period, I’m just assuming that it was not as common as it is in today’s American culture. The Honorable Sir Gawain does his damnedest to resist and redirect Lady Bertilak. When reading these scenes of seduction, it is important to remember the strict code of knightly behavior expected of a noble knight. Sir Gawain is expected to keep his promises, exemplify honor and obedience, and prove his skill and bravery as a knight. In addition to these qualities, Sir Gawain is expected to maintain perfect manners and be respectful of ladies. Sir Gawain experiences a test of his character when faced with the conflict surrounding Lady Bertilak. He must dismiss her advances while remaining gracious and respectful. He does a remarkable job, but Lady Bertilak continues to persevere in her mission to break him; “You ought to be eager to lay open to a young thing/ Your discoveries in the craft of courtly love” (1526-27). She then proceeds to bully him by accusing him of being ignorant. Along with being seductive, women are portrayed as being untrustworthy in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight through the character (once again) of Lady Bertilak. Gawain discovers at the end of the tale that Lady Bertilak tricked him into thinking the green girdle possessed a magical power of invincibility to its owner. Gawain recounts the many men of the Bible who have been tricked by women; “Who with their wanton wiles have thus waylaid their knight. / Bit it is no marvel for a foolish man to be maddened thus/ And saddled with sorrow by the sleights of women./ For here on earth was Adam taken in by one,/ And Solomon by many such, and Samson likewise;/ Delilah dealt him his doom; and David, later still/ Was blinded by Bathsheba, and badly suffered for it…” (2412-2419).
This anti-feminist attitude that blames women for the destruction of men seen here sings a similar tune to Behn’s The Disappointment, in which Cloris is essentially seduced and possibly raped by Lysander in the woods. She resists to the point of telling him she'd rather him kill her than take away her honor in the form of virginity. Even though she loves Lysander, Cloris is determined to remain pure. Lysander forces Cloris anyway and replaces her honor with shame. He disrespected something she held so valuable and then he couldn't even maintain an erection and this was supposedly her fault? This scenario is much different from Lady Bertilak and Sir Gawain, yet has the same attitude of “passing the bucket” off to women when issues arise. Women seem to be the perfect scapegoats in these works of literature and in the parody. A second scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail that imitates Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is the one with the Black Knight. In this scene, the Black Knight will not allow King Arthur to pass. The only words the Black Knight will say in response to Arthur is, “None shall pass.” Arthur simply does not accept this, thus the two men fight with swords and poor skill. This is one way this clip parodies the skill and bravery of knights in medieval romance—knights are expected to maintain chivalrous code and also be experts at swordsmanship. The Black Knight takes giant swings at Arthur and he simply steps side-to-side avoiding the potential blows. The action picks up, and Arthur proceeds to cut the Black Knight’s limbs off one by one. The Black Knight continues to fight Arthur even though he is left with only a torso. I interpreted this scene as a direct parody to the scene in the beginning of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight where the Green Knight challenges King Arthur. Sir Gawain accepts the challenge in replacement of his King; “Then Gawain at Guinevere’s side/ Bowed and spoke his design:/ ‘Before all, King, confide/ This fight to me.
May it be mine” (339-342). Gawain is given a “head start” by getting the first opportunity to use the heavy axe and swing at the Green Knight exposed skin without any fight back. “The sharp blade sheared through, shattering the bones, /sank deep in the sleek flesh, split it in two, / And the scintillating steel struck the ground” (423-425). This resulted in the decapitation of the Green Knight; his head “fell from the neck, struck the floor,/ And the people spurned as it rolled around./ Blood spurted from the body…” (427-429). The Green Knight is now headless, but not dead. He held his own head, mounted his horse, and reminded Sir Gawain of his promise the following year. Similar to the parody with the Black Knight, both knights are fatally injured by the sword yet are alive and
kicking.