Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Medieval Period)

To Be or Not To Be Afraid of Magic

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is an Anti-Romance poem in which the main character undergoes a “heroic” quest but to safe himself; however, little has been said about the role of Magic in this poem. Magic, during the Medieval period, was seen as a dark and mysterious practice that people related to evilness. This was mainly because people who practiced it had a set of beliefs that differed and opposed the “Christian” behaviors of the majority, and, therefore, intimidated them. For instance, the fear people had towards Magic was manifested in different characters from the poem. One example is the reaction people had in King Arthur’s court when Gawain cut off the head of the Green Knight; the latter began to speak with his head chopped off from his body which caused panic and fear on the crowd. Similarly, the main character, Gawain, rejected and was scared of his “quest” mostly because he feared the evil entity he had to face; Gawain believed that the Green Knight was a supernatural and Magical creature that was superior to him. In other words, people feared Magic and the ones who practiced it because they were presumed to be evil and to have supernatural powers that could harm them.

In spite of the fear people had, Magic, in this poem, played an inverted role because people who practiced it actually intended to teach and correct others. To begin with, Magic opposed the “Christian” behaviors of the poem's characters because people who practice this religion were portrayed as permissive and prone to excesses. At the beginning of the poem, there is a Christmas celebration in which people were abusing from drinking, eating, and lustfulness; needless to say that these are not proper Christian behaviors. In addition, the major representatives of this religion in the poem, priests, did not behave properly; at Bertilak's castle these characters stood up all night drinking with all the guests and the next day they gave mass and confess people. Clearly, there is a contradiction between the Christian beliefs and the way in which people actually behaved. On the other hand, the representatives of Magic are portrayed as wise characters; an example is Morgana LeFay. This character is the one who was in charge of all the plan of sending the Green Knight in order to teach a lesson not only to Gawain, but to all the other knights and people at King Arthur’s court. Her purpose was to reinforce the values of this society and to provide a lesson of morality; in other words, she functions not as an entity of evil, but as an entity of goodness.

Briefly, the concept of Magic is redefined in this poem because it is not portrayed as a negative practice. It is truth that at first glance the Green Knight and Morgana appear to be enemies of King Arthur and his knights; nonetheless, these Magical characters have only one purpose in this poem: to amend the lost values of this society. Thus, in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Magic is not a source of malevolence; it is instead the means through which characters correct their misbehaviors.

By Juan Manuel Rodríguez

Image Credit:

https://web.gsc.edu/fs/sprestridge/greenknight.jpg