GAWAIN

The protagonist of the poem. Sir Gawain, is the youngest knight of Arthur’s Court and upholds the court’s honour in his acceptance of the Green Knight’s challenge. Gawain acts as the ‘Everyman’ being tested in terms of Christian, social, courtly and romance ideals of knighthood in a world of mutability and human weaknesses. It is significant that in his first journey from Camelot, Gawain engages in heroic single combat against wild beasts and giants. He displays perfection in the ideal codes of chivalric conduct. However, his test is not one of his idealisations, but a psychological trial that exposes how human imperfection must be acknowledged and accepted.

ARTHUR

The legendary King of the Britons, in this poem Arthur is the young king (thirty-something) of an innocent, heroic, well-renowned, Christian, jovial court. He is the epitome of the engaging host. The Green Knight’s interruption of his New Year’s feast and the death-challenge is met with initial silence from the court. Arthur redeems the court’s honour through his courteous response and his speech, reassuring his wife Guinevere. It is not, however, until the end of the poem that we become aware of the significance of the opening scene; through his knightly courage Arthur has unwittingly foiled Morgan La Fay’s plan to frighten Guinevere to death.

GREEN KNIGHT

Half as large again as other men, not only are his clothes green, but also his skin, hair, beard and horse. He is a mysterious spectacle, not only in appearance but also in his parodies of courtly speech and ambiguous performances, surviving, not least, a beheading.

The meaning of the Green Knight has given rise to intense and varied speculation. Suggestions include that the Green Knight is a:

Pagan nature (fertility) god
His greenness of complexion, the continual descriptions of nature in his scenes, and the fact that he holds the life of Gawain in his hands.

Wild man
A common figure in medieval iconology. Believed to be a courtly derivative of the pagan nature god, acceptable to Christians.

Personification of Death
The guide on the way to the chapel tells Gawain that all who face the Green Knight die, regardless of age or class. He must travel alone, at the appointed time, to meet his fate.

Christ
The Green Knight appears on the Advent and there is the continual presence in the poem of the judgement of his second coming.

Devil
He appears in diabolical terms, is a shape-shifter and contrives to lure Gawain from his moral steadfastness. It was commonly believed that the Devil lived in the north, the original locale of this tale.

Biographical identification
A number of fourteenth-century noblemen have been suggested.

The Green Knight is full of paradoxes. On his first appearance in Camelot he carries holly. Holly is a symbol of peace. However, in his other hand he wields an axe, indicative of his capacity for war. He appears evergreen in winter: images of growth are embodied in him while the external world is in the season of dormancy. He offers Arthur’s court a game, suggesting joviality. His game turns out to be in earnest, a death-challenge. He is unfamiliar in sight and nature, yet he is described in direct speech. No third person descriptions are made, making him the one character that is most familiar as he is presented in the most vivid, immediate, personal terms.

The paradoxes are most obvious in his split personality, for the Green Knight is also:

BERTILAK

Lord Bertilak engages in civilised courtly discussions with Gawain. He is the perfect, amiable host, enjoys feasts and is expert in courtly pastimes, such as the hunts and carving of the animals. Everyone at his court goes to Mass as the first act of each day and eats fish on fast days. An image of a welcoming Christian court is presented.

However, this court houses Arthur’s deadly enemy, Morgan La Fay. If Bertilak/the Green Knight’s game succeeds, as originally planned by Morgan, Gawain will be killed. Deception is the main feature of Bertilak’s court.

MORGAN LA FAY

Very little mention is made of this character, yet her presence has dramatic consequences. First introduced as an old lady at Bertilak’s court, her presence is unexplained until the end. According to Arthurian tradition of old, she is evil and an expert in necromancy. Apart from providing explanation of how the magical tricks have been conjured, the role of Morgan La Fay implies the seriousness of the challenges Gawain has endured: chivalry is being challenged by its antithesis. The bedroom scenes and the exchange of kisses with Bertilak are no longer comic. When we learn that she is behind the mysterious shape-shifting and illusions of beheading, the deception is more sinister: the game has all along been an serious plot to lure Gawain to his death. The intentional placing of Gawain in an impossible position to defend the Arthurian ideals of chivalry, is foiled by Gawain’s virtue and strength of mind. Although Gawain is injured by the experience, the Arthurian court survives and Morgan La Fay fails in her endeavour to bring about Gawain’s death.

One other point to bear in mind is that Morgan La Fay is Gawain’s aunt. At the beginning of the poem Gawain is proud to emphasize that Arthur is his uncle. He tells us he is only a knight by virtue of his blood-ties with Arthur and therefore has to prove himself worthy of the name. Yet, at the end of his trial he is reminded not of his kinship to Arthur, but of his blood-ties to Morgan La Fay. Gawain is forced to admit to his heritage from both sources, to his burden of shame as well as pride.

THE LADY

A superlative lady, a mischievous seducer, an amiable hostess, a deceiver: whatever role the Lady (Sir Bertilak’s wife) adopts, her appearances are all ‘performances’. Her purpose is to trick Gawain. Her public conversations at the evening feasts are perfect examples of courtly ‘cleanness’ yet her private meetings with Gawain contradict them in her aggressively sexual behaviour. She flatters yet goads, lures yet reproves. While threateningly physical towards Gawain, she, in effect, launches psychological assaults.