The myth of Gawain and the Green Knight - Dan Kwartler

Dig into the myth of the Green Knight, who comes to King Arthur’s court to challenge the honor and bravery of Camelot’s knights.

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It was Christmas in Camelot and King Arthur was throwing a party. In the midst of the revelry, a towering knight proposed a game. He challenged the warriors present to attack him with his own axe. If they could strike him down, they would win his powerful weapon. However, he would be allowed to return the blow in one year. Dan Kwartler details the myth of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

Lesson by Dan Kwartler, directed by Sarina Nihei.

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[erinhollow]

I love how unimpressed all the knights look. I think they just want the party-crasher to leave.

[kiranpreetkaur]

" Reputation is what other people know about you. Honor is what you know about yourself" loved it .

[ishanjain]

Sure king Arthur, don't invite the sorceress but everyone else, that can't ever go wrong !

[PedroHLima]

She actually offered him 'more' than the three kisses. In the original, this is the climax of the story — the scenes where they are talking, and she is calling him "beautiful and brave" and saying she "wouldn't let such a man go", are breathtaking, you don't know what he is going to do, if he will actually sin with her, it is so tense —— and he rejects the 'more' she is offering, all because God looked for him and gave him this grace, of not sinning.
Then she offers the magical green sash, and he takes it.

When he encounters the green knight, he swings the axe and holds it before hitting Gawain. He then swings it again and again holds it. Gawain gets angry. The green knight then swings it to the end, and it only bites Gawain's neck.
Gawain is actually happy to see his blood, since it means his head wasn't cut off, and he is ready to go — but the green knight says something along the lines of "Why, wouldn't you want to know why I stopped two times? One, for the first day you repayed me your kiss. Two, for kissing me twice the second day; and the third time I swung the axe indeed, for you erred by keeping that sash which is mine by right — yet I only bit you, because your error only was loving your own life."

Gawain is absolutely broken by this, since, as a Christian, his greatest wish is to _deny_ his own life and follow Christ. He confesses about the sash and throws it to the man, who then gives it back to Gawain. He then takes it and wraps it around his neck, as a sign of his error, for nevermore commiting it again.
And, under the sash, his wound starts to heal.

When he gets back to the round table, he tells the others all the story — even his humiliating sin. The others show comprehension and adopt a similar sash to serve for all as a sign.
And that's why all round table knights have a green sash wrapped around the neck.

This is a thoroughly Christian myth which ought to be read with all the Christian references. A must read (in Tolkien's translation, at least)!

[pacosoentken]

"but on the third day she presented more than kisses"
didn't go where I expected it to go

[shreeyamittal]

The moment you mentioned the solely uninvited Morgan LeFay, I had expected the rest of the story to be her exacting retribution. I'm honestly gladder with how creatively the tale went. Thanks, Ted-ED!

[Ezel_]

this is such a hit of nostalgia, I've read this as a young kid and all the memories of reading stories like this just came back to me.

[bruhbruh]

Green Knight: *Gets Decapitated*
Also the Green Knight: Oh no, anyway.

[ndenz]

An absolute gem of a story. It both subverts the very ideas of honor and chivalry and reconciles them with human nature. A story centuries ahead of its time.

[mypal]

After seeing the Green Knight movie, it's interesting to see this video.

[piplupcola]

I love that at the end of the day Gawain was literally like "wtf was all that about?"

[Mortices]

When does an author's original or adapted narrative become a 'legend', and when does a 'legend' become a 'myth'? This is a finely animated and clearly narrated summary of the late-fourteenth-century poem.

[dysn]

It’s kind of an interesting theme on honor and humanity, as while it is expected to give your life to hold up your end of the deal, it is also perfectly human to fear for your own mortality and it is understandable to keep the sash, even after having come so far on the journey up to the end

[xcar]

Gawain's lesson, you don't need to be perfect, but also don't ruin the things as you did with the betrayal of Lance.

[truthseeker]

"Destiny is a gift. Never forget that fear is but the precursor to valor. That to strive and triumph in the face of fear is what it means to be a hero. Don’t think. Become"

[exhaustedbaking]

One version of the moral I've heard is that the Lord still praised Gawain for trying, and the incident with the sash was a reminder that he was still human and thus not perfect. There's also a version where Gawain flinches at the strike (that in this one never actually hits), which he is ashamed of, which is when the Green Knight absolves him by reminding him that he tried his best and again, is only human.

[TheBetterGamer]

I like this version better than the movie version. Not because he lives, but because it offers an explanation for the whole situation and closes the story up solidly.

[donaldhobson]

Real moral of story. If your going to keep your deals with that level of honour, don't accept the weird ones.

[shikharsachan]

“Green Is What Is Left When Ardor Fades, When Passion Dies, When We Die, Too.” 🍀

[tothboy]

The story of the Green Knight, with him being killed/decapitated and then resurrected goes back to ancient religious stories about so-called "dying-rising vegetation gods". Also, there is a similar story in Irish mythology about the hero Cuchulainn (who is similar to Gawain) vs the Bachlach Giant (who is similar to the Green Knight).

Dying-rising vegetation god stories come from all around the world:

In Greek mythology, Narcissus died and was reborn as a white and yellow flower, probably a daffodil.

In Greek mythology, Hyacinth died and his blood was reborn as the hyacinth flower.

In Norse mythology, the god Balder was killed by a mistletoe arrow and he was said to one day return or be resurrected.

In Phoenician-Greco-Roman mythology, Adonis died and his blood was reborn as the anemone flower (an alternative myth involves red poppies).

In Hittite mythology, the god Telipinu (who disappears and reappears, as opposed to dying and being resurrected) is associated with the oak tree.

In Sumerian mythology, the god Dumuzi died in fall and was resurrected in spring, and he is associated with the cedar tree.

In Egyptian mythology, the god Osiris died at winter and was resurrected at spring, and he was associated with the tamarisk tree, the acacia tree, wheat, and barley.

In Phrygian (i.e. ancient Turkey) mythology, the god Attis hanged on a pine tree in winter and was resurrected as spring vegetation.

In Ugaritic (i.e. ancient Syria) mythology, the god Baal Hadad was resurrected as fruit.

In Roman mythology, Pyramus died and his blood was reborn as mulberries.

In Irish mythology, Miach died and was reborn as 365 herbs.

In Irish mythology, the lovers Naoise and Deirdre died and were reborn as pine trees.

In Algonquin Native American mythology, the god Chakekenapok was killed and then reborn as grapevines.

In Penobscot Native American mythology, Corn Goddess was killed and then she was reborn as corn/maize.

In Shinto mythology from Japan, the goddess Ogetsu-no-hime died and her dead body was reborn as rice, wheat, soy beans, red beans, and millet.

In Christian mythology, Jesus hanged on a "tree" i.e. the cross, died, and was resurrected. Also, his body was bread and his blood was wine.

In the German fairy tale of Snow White, she eats a poison apple, goes into a deep sleep or dies, and is awaken or resurrected.

In the French fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty, she touches a flax, goes into a deep sleep, and is awaken.