Medieval Romances

The theme of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is shown by courtly love vs. chivalric code. The Green Knight sets up a plan to test Sir Gawain's courage and loyalty by having his lady try and seduce him for three days. The deal between Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was that whatever Sir Gawain received throughout the day from the lady, the Green Knight in return would receive them from Sir Gawain. Courtly love vs. chivalric code means that the theme represents a conflict between love for a woman and loyalty toward a lord. Sir Gawain gave the Green Knight everything that the lady had given him except for the green sash. It was given to him to remember the lady by and he was told that if he kept it, it would protect him. In order to stay protected from the Green Knight when he was going to get a blow to the head, he kept the green sash. "For the man who goes to battle in this green lace. As long as he

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The ladies were supernatural as well as the hand that came out of the lake. kept it looped around him, No man under Heaven can hurt him, whoever may try, For nothing on earth, however uncanny, can kill him. The moral lesson was that you should always remain loyal whether you are benefiting yourself or not. The Excalibur represented the magic. They both include a quest and teach a moral lesson in the outcome. The hero Gawain is human in order to allow the reader to be able to relate to him. By the area where Sir Gawain was meeting the Green Knight, there was a creek that existed at the bottom of a waterfall and the water in it was bubbling like boiling water. King Arthur was sent to Avilion which is a legendary island, sometimes identified with the earthly Paradise, where the ladies were to heal him of his wound. " A characteristic shown in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was courtly love, which is when love is secret or unable to lead to marriage. Magic was another characteristic, which was shown when Sir Bedivere, after three attempts, threw Excalibur into the water.

To conclude, both Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Le Morte Darthur are considered to be medieval romances. In Le Morte Darthur, water was used as a symbol. It follows all of the rules of the medieval romance as well as being written in verse.

Supernaturalism and magic were major characteristics of Le Morte Darthur.

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Approximate Word count = 871
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

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