The 2 Sides of Gawain: Hero vs. Antihero | Fate & Fabled

Knights of the Round Table were expected to adhere to a strict moral standard of piety, honor, bravery, and courtesy called chivalry. But considering that they often spent their days killing and rampaging at the behest of their lord, that must've required some next-level compartmentalization.

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Hosted by Dr. Moiya McTier & Dr. Emily Zarka, FATE & FABLED explores the stories and characters of mythologies from all around the world - why they came to be and how they impact us still today.

Host: Emily Zarka, PhD
Writer: Iseult Gillespie
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[MulleDullen]

Sadly, Sir Gawain would then later fall to the terrible Rabbit of Caerbannog during the quest for the holy grail.

[chavamara]

My favourite Gawain story is the one with the Hideous Bride, where Arthur is tasked to answer the question, "What do women want most?" or die. Arthur gets the answer from an ugly hag he meets, that women "want to have their own way, " but in exchange, he has to marry her to one of his knights. Gawain is the only one who volunteers to marry her, and in so doing breaks part of the curse she's under so she can be beautiful for either the day or the night. When she asks him when she should be beautiful, Gawain shows he's learned the moral of the story and tells her to pick for herself, fully breaking her curse.

[ANewShadeOfBlue]

The version of The Green Knight I read basically concluded with the moral of “It’s okay to not be perfect.” The knight knew he lied to keep the hurdle, but didn’t begrudge him for not wanting to die. He got a B on his honor exam and B still passes. Of course, Gawain still felt shame about it, so wore the girdle to remind himself to keep the faith, essentially. I never heard it read as a deconstruction before. Goes to show that there are many ways to interpret a story.

[leocelente]

This is the first time I heard the tale of the Green Knight, but I read the first beheading as hubris, Gawain thought he could cheat the game by killing and was punished by either having to give up on his life or his honor, the latter being heavily intertwined with his status and source of the hubris.

[ethenallen]

My understanding is that, after his second encounter with the Green Knight, Gawain choose to wear the girdle for the rest of his life as penance, and the rest of the Round Table knights followed his example in a gesture of solidarity. A sort of "Your shame is our shame, " thing.

[billtisch]

Another famous Gawain legend is that of Lady Guinevere's chastity belt. King Arthur was planning for a great crusade to the Holy Land. One of his tasks was to ensure the safety of his Queen Guinevere's honor while he was away. So he had a chastity belt made for her and locked her securely in it as he prepared to depart. But then he realized he would need to entrust the key to one of his knights, since it was a possibility that he would never return. So, after careful consideration, he decided that he must leave key with Sir Gawain, his most chaste and moral knight. Having done this, he set off on his journey. Just a few minutes later, however, Sir Gawain came galloping from the castle in pursuit, shouting to Arthur, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty! You gave me the wrong key!"

[xenspace]

Gawain and Cuchulainn are to some extent the same character, or share a similar origin and evolved on separate paths (Gawain being Brythonic/Welsh, CuChulainn Irsh), as were the Morrigan and Queen Morgana (a name that could either mean 'Great Queen (Mor Regana) or Born of the Sea (Mori-gena), ). I love the story of Gawain and the Green Knight, but have a somewhat different interpretation to others expressed here. Gawain did not take the challenge of the beheading game out of pride or hubris, but to save the life of King Arthur who was going to accept the challenge. Gawain therefore knew the challenge was completely sus and likely to be a trick, so would have refused had he the choice, so his acceptance was reluctant, but necessary to save his lord, whom he had sworn to protect. The end of the tale is also slightly glossed over; according to my memory, Lord Bertilak doesn't take a single swing, but three. The fist two times he doesn't make contact, but pulls the blow, giving some excuse for doing so. It is on the third swing that he nicks Gawain's neck. This reflects the three days prior; on the first two days, Gawain gave what he received (the kisses) and so honoured the bargain made. On the final day he broke the deal by keeping the girdle, and therefore receives the cut. He didn't get his head cut off because Gawain had shown up in the first place - one imagines that if he had just stayed at home, the Green Knight would have turned up and been somewhat less merciful with his axe.

[SaiyanHeretic]

The Green Knight (2021) is a trippy and really engrossing adaptation of this tale that was critically acclaimed but went criminally unseen. I highly recommend it, one of the best movies I saw that year!

[merlapittman]

This is a very interesting story, but I've watched too much Monty Python. I hear "Knights of the Round Table " and immediately hear the singing in my head - "We're Knights of the Round Table! We dance when we're able!"

[Beryllahawk]

Arthurian legends are always so entangled and confusing, sometimes in a good way and sometimes not so much. Recalling that a girdle could symbolize a woman's "virtue" really makes the interaction with the Lady more uncomfortable for me at least. It's also interesting if you take it as "foreshadowing" what happens later with Lancelot, especially when looking at the story through a lens of "questioning the hypocrisy."

[johnsteiner]

I recall a documentary talking about the earliest knightly codes during the crusades. Turns out knights needed to be told not to attack pilgrims.

[teasorceryr]

How I love you guys and this series! Dr Emily your fashion sense is killer! So is Moiya’s her dresses are FAB

[thrillhouse]

Gawain’s Word! Gawain’s Word! Party time! Excellent!
Hehe shoutouts to _Between the Lions_, an extraordinarily expensive wonderful PBS production.

[chavamara]

I remember hearing that the Green Man was actually a fabrication made up by a Victorian scholar who wanted to explain why there were leafy faces on so many Medieval buildings, and that there's no previous mention of the Green Man before that. Could you check up on that?

[sandradermark]

Then there is the story of Dame Rag-Nell (famously told by the Wife of Bath in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales). Queen Guinevere sends Gawain on a quest to find "what all women want the most." Only an old washerwoman crone, Rag-Nell, gives him the answer "for their will to be done, " in exchange for his hand in marriage. After they wed and when night falls, the crone becomes a beautiful but evil girl... Turns out that due to a spell (maybe by Morgan le Fey?) she was ugly on the outside but pretty on the inside (kind) by day, but a beautiful evil girl by night... until she got married. Then her bridegroom should decide how she should be... Gawain says that, since all women want their will to be done, SHE should decide HERSELF... And she becomes young and pretty but also kind-hearted.

[sameechaos]

Loved Gawain portrayed in the Merlin tv series.

[elizabethdavis]

Please consider doing some videos on the mythology of different hair and eye colors!

[rileyb]

One of my favourite adventure time episodes ever

[thelorax]

One more similarity to home alone, violence that should be fatal but is instead shaken off with minor or nonexistent lasting effects

[ReynaSingh]

The knight is a pervasive archetype that we see across cultures.It's a fascinating symbol of courage and self-scarifice