Gawain

Nephew of Arthur and one of his most famous knights. He is the quintessential knight errant and lover of maidens. In contrast to other prominent knights, such as Perceval or Yvain, no author ever wrote a archetypal romance of Gawain. Although his life spans the great chronicles of Geoffrey of Monmouth and Malory, and a number of Middle English romances feature him, but he has no definitive Roman de Gawain in the manner of Chrétien’s Erec or Yvain.
His first significant appearances are in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia and Chrétien de Troyes’s Perceval. His character is inconsistent. Early French romance considered him the pearl of worldly knighthood, but the Vulgate and Post-Vulgate Cycles somewhat besmirched his character, turning him into a brash bully who murders knights during the Grail Quest and contributes to Britain’s downfall by egging Arthur into a war with Lancelot. Middle-English romance rejects this portrayal and again elevates him to the epitome of chivalric virtue, the most famous example being Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Malory, however, follows the Vulgate interpretation and, consequently, Gawain is a less significant character to modern audiences.
Like Arthur, the figure of Gawain was born long before the Arthurian legends were written in verse or prose. He comes from the hazy realm of oral tradition, and by the time the Latin Chronicles or the French romances were written, their authors felt it sufficient to simply allude to his adventures. Thus, William of Malmesbury—who wrote the earliest existing reference to Gawain—simply mentioned his relation to Arthur and his tomb in Galloway.
Gawain has no obvious origin in existing early Celtic legend, but he appears Geoffrey of Monmouth’s chronicle, and Geoffrey drew his Arthurian characters almost exclusively from Celtic tradition. Another Celtic feature is Gawain’s strength, which supposedly waxed in the morning and waned in the afternoon, indicating that in some murky origin, Gawain may have been a sun deity. Though his origins are uncertain, Gawain does have two predecessors or counterparts. The first, Cuchulainn, is an early Irish hero whose adventures (such as the Beheading Game) were assigned to Gawain, in modified form, in French and Middle-English literature. Gawain’s other counterpart is Gwalchmei, a Welsh hero who, like Gawain, is the nephew of Arthur. Gwalchmei is substituted for Gawain in later Welsh adaptations of French literature. Some scholars see Gwalchmei as Gawain’s direct origin, but R. S. Loomis rejected this argument in favor of a theory that makes Gawain (orignal form: Gualguainus) a derivation of Gwallt-afwyn (“wild hair”), the sobriquet of the Welsh warrior Gwrfan.
Prior to his role in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s chronicle, Gawain has a few existing appearances which only hint at his adventures in early oral legend. William of Malmesbury (1125) says he was Arthur’s nephew and that he ruled Galloway, which was apparently named after him, and that his grave was discovered in Pembroke in Wales (there seems to be some confusion with an obscure St. Govan, who has a church in Pembroke). On the cathedral archivolt in Modena, Italy (c. 1135), he appears to rescue Guinevere from her abductors, Mardoc and Caradoc.
Geoffrey of Monmouth (c. 1138) sketches a brief biography of his life, naming his parents as King Lot of Lothian and Anna, Arthur’s sister. During the time of Arthur’s conquests, Gawain is raised in Rome, in the service of Pope Sulpicius. He eventually returns to Britain and becomes one of Arthur’s warriors. When Arthur and Rome prepare for war, Gawain is part of a peace envoy sent to the camp of the Roman Emperor Lucius. Gawain takes offense to some comments by one of Lucius’s soldiers, cuts off his head, and starts the war. Gawain dies at Richborough, in the first battle between the forces of Arthur and Mordred, Gawain’s brother.
Gawain made the transition from chronicle to romance in Chrétien de Troyes’s Perceval (c. 1190). Though the romance is primarily about the title character, Gawain’s adventures occupy the last third of the uncompleted manuscript. Already, we find in Chrétien a portrayal of Gawain as a noble knight, quick with his sword (Excalibur) and with the maidens. While Perceval tries to unravel the mysteries of the Grail and to repair his previous blunder at the Grail Castle, Gawain must go to Escavalon to defend himself against a murder charge brought by Guingambresil. We witness him charm the sister of the king of Escavalon, and then fight his way out of the situation when the king’s guards arrive. Later, we see him kindly championing the little daughter of Duke Tiebaut of Tintagel in a tournament, and winning the tournament through his skill in arms. He endures the vicious tongue of Lady Orgelleuse of Logres, who leads him to Canguin Rock, a mysterious castle inhabited by ladies. He braves the Perilous Bed inside the castle, slays a lion, and apparently ends the castle’s enchantments. Chrétien seems to be contrasting the worldly adventures of Gawain with the spiritual education of Perceval.
Chrétien’s story ends soon afterwards, and it is unclear how or if he intended to draw Gawain into the Grail Quest. Chrétien’s first continuator (c. 1200) focused on Gawain to the exclusion of Perceval, describing Gawain’s visit to the Grail Castle, but other continuators retained Perceval as the Grail hero. A notable exception is Heinrich von dem Türlin (c. 1230), who has Gawain complete the Grail Quest and heal the Fisher King.
Throughout the thirteenth century—the golden age of French and German Arthurian romance—Gawain appears in dozens of romances, but rarely in his own adventures. Already established as the greatest of Arthur’s knights, Gawain acts as a mentor to young warriors and as a yardstick by which to measure the prowess of other knights. In an often-employed formula, a young knight first arrives at Arthur’s court and enters a tournament or joust to prove his prowess. The hero overthrows most of the Knights of the Round Table, but not Gawain, who fights the hero to a draw. In this manner, authors demonstrated the skill of their characters without having them defeat Arthur’s greatest knight. Some of these young heroes, such as Guinglain and Wigalois, are Gawain’s own sons; Gawain, known as the “Knight of Maidens,” has multiple amies and, it seems, multiple children.
Among these romances, we have, for the first time, two accounts of Gawain’s youth: Les Enfances Gauvain and De Ortu Waluanniii Nepotis Arturi, which are apparently based on Geoffrey of Monmouth’s assertion that Gawain was raised in the service of Pope Sulpicius:
Born illegitimately in the court of Uther Pendragon, Gawain was sent away by his mother in order to avoid any potential problems. She gave him to a knight named Gawain the Brown, who baptized the infant with his name. With only a ring and parchment attesting to his lineage, the infant Gawain was handed to some wealthy merchants (or rescued by fishermen), who took him to Gaul. Leaving him alone on their ship, they docked and entered the town of Narbonne. A poor fisherman named Viamundus happened along, plundered the ship, and took Gawain with him. In time, he journeyed to Rome and raised Gawain there, in the service of the Roman Emperor and Pope Sulpicius. Ignorant of his parentage and true name, Gawain was first called the Boy with No Name and then the Knight of the Surcoat. Knighted by the Emperor of Rome, Gawain claimed the right to the next single combat against Rome’s enemies, and was accordingly sent to Jerusalem when Rome went to war with Persia. On the way, the Roman fleet was blown off course and landed on a barbarian island, where Gawain and the Romans defeated the barbarian King Milocrates. Continuing to Jerusalem, he defeated the Persian warrior Gormundus and settled the dispute.
Having thus served Rome, Gawain decided to journey to the court of the famous King Arthur. The Roman Emperor gave him a box containing the ring and parchment, which he was to present to King Arthur without opening himself. After Gawain defeated Arthur in a joust near his court in Caerleon, Arthur begrudgingly told Gawain that he could join his court if he proved himself worthy. Gawain soon had the chance when Arthur set out to liberate the Castle of Maidens, and Gawain proved himself the only knight able to defeat the pagan king who had captured it. Following this service, Arthur rewarded Gawain by informing him of his name and lineage, and by welcoming him into his service as his knight and nephew.
Other French romances to feature Gawain include a pair of parodies called La Mule Sans Frein and Le Chevalier à l’Épée, La Vengeance Raguidel (Gawain avenges the muder of a knight named Raguidel against Sir Guengasoain), L’Atre Périlleux (Gawain rescues a maiden kidnapped by Escanor), Les Merveilles de Rigomer (Gawain conquers Rigomer castle after many of Arthur’s other knights, including Lancelot, fail). Also notable are Heinrich von dem Türlin’s Diu Crône (c. 1230), a German romance that makes Gawain the Grail Hero, and Penninc and Pieter Vostaert’s Roman van Walewein (late thirteenth century), in which Gawain embarks on multiple interlocking quests with the ultimate goal of obtaining the Floating Chessboard from King Wonder.
The great prose cycles written in the early thirteenth century offer the first and only detailed biography of Gawain’s life, intertwined with the epic tale of Arthur’s rise and downfall. This model was to serve as the source of Malory’s Gawain and, consequently, of the modern conception of Gawain. Gawain, though still a significant character, is eclipsed in importance by Lancelot. The Vulgate Queste del Saint Graal is the first romance to make Gawain a sinner; the portrayal in the Post-Vulgate romances is even darker; and in the Prose Tristan, he is thorougly evil. The account given by Vulgate and Post-Vulgate romances is summarized as follows:
Gawain is born to King Lot of Lothian and Arthur’s half-sister (Belisent or Morgause). He is a descendant of Peter, a follower of Joseph of Arimathea. His brothers are Agravain, Gareth, Gaheris, and Mordred. Gawain’s father joins a rebellion against Arthur shortly after Arthur is first crowned. When Gawain, a young man, hears that Arthur is his uncle, he leaves his father’s household and swears never to return until Lot submits to Arthur.
Joined by his brothers and cousins (Galescalain and the Yvains), Gawain goes to seek out Arthur, who is embroiled in a war against the invading Saxons. Along the war, Gawain and his companions encounter forces of Saxons, which they defeat at the battles of Logres and Diana Bridge, among others. Merlin assists Gawain in these fights. Eventually, Gawain and his companions find Arthur and are knighted for their brave service. Arthur gives Gawain Excalibur when he receives a better sword. Gawain participates in Arthur’s war with Lucius of Rome and begins the first battle as in Geoffrey of Monmouth.
After Arthur has pacified Britain, Gawain has innumerable adventures, some of which are a credit to his character, some of which shame him. He embarks on several quests to find Lancelot, who always seems to be missing. Gawain defends Roestoc against an attack by Seguarades. He supports the true Guinevere duirng the False Guinevere episode. He is imprisoned for a time by Caradoc of the Dolorous Tower, but is liberated by Lancelot. He becomes king of the Castle of Ten Knights for six years.
He gets into his usual scrapes over women: he is attacked by the king of North Wales after sleeping with the king’s daughter; and he betrays Pelleas by sleeping with Arcade. He allows himself to become ensorcelled by the ladies on the Rock of Maidens and has to be freed by his brother Gaheris.
In the Post-Vulgate version, Pellinore has killed Lot, so Gawain and his brothers kill Pellinore and Pellinore’s sons Lamorat and Drian.
Gawain visits the Grail Castle, but is unable to mend the Grail Sword. He is unable to deliver the daughter of King Pelles from her tub of boiling water. In another visit to Corbenic, he sees the Grail, but his eyes are drawn away from the holy vessel to the beautiful maiden carrying it. He is driven from the castle in a cart, surrounded by peasants pelting him with dung.
When the Sword in the Stone arrives at Camelot, Gawain is unable to draw it, and it is predicted that he will receive a wound for having tried. Gawain is the first to announce his commitment to the Grail Quest when the Grail appears to the Knights of the Round Table. During the quest, Gawain, Gaheris, and Yvain kill the seven brothers whom Galahad has exiled from the Castle of Maidens. In other adventures, Gawain kills his cousin Yvain the *******, King Bagdemagus, and sixteen other knights. He is told by a hermit that he cannot achieve the Grail because he lacks humility, patience, and abstinence. Eventually, he is wounded by Galahad in a tournament (by the same sword that Gawain had tried to draw from the stone) and is laid up for the rest of the quest. Afterwards, Arthur chastises him for having killed so many knights during a holy quest.
Gawain remains neutral during the discovery of Lancelot’s affair with Guinevere until Lancelot accidentally kills Gaheris and Gareth while rescuing Guinevere from the stake. Gawain’s fury forces Arthur into a war with Lancelot, and Gawain refuses any compromise or surrender or apology from Lancelot. Finally, in Benoic, he fights Lancelot in single combat and receives a serious head wound. The Romans attack Arthur while Arthur is in France, and Gawain’s wound is aggravated during the battle. Arthur’s army returns to Britain to deal with Mordred’s treachery. Gawain, on his deathbed, relents and says, “I am sadder about not being able to see Lancelot before I die than I am about the thought of dying. If I could only see the man I know to be the finest and most courteous knight in the world and beg his forgiveness for having been so uncourtly to him recently, I feel my soul would be more at rest after my death.” Gawain perishes of his wound a few days later and is buried in a tomb with his brother Gaheris.
Though this version of Gawain’s life and character survives in Malory (1470), Gawain briefly reclaims his heroic, pure status in the Middle English romances of the fourteenth century. These include Syre Gawene and the Carle of Carlyle (by passing a test of nobility, Gawain transforms the Carl of Carlisle and marries his daughter), The Avowing of King Arthur (Gawain rescues a maiden from Menealf), The Awntyrs off Arthure (Gawain defeats Lord Galleron of Galloway in a battle before Arthur), The Weddyng of Syr Gawen and “The Marriage of Sir Gawain” (Gawain marries the loathly lady in order to save Arthur), and, of course, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, in which Gawain demonstrates virtues while braving a beheading game at the hands of the supernatural Green Knight.
Again, Malory, using the Post-Vulgate characterization, makes Gawain a knight whose human failings are all too evident, though his final letter of forgiveness to Lancelot (“By a more noble man might I not be slain”) is a magnanimous and moving moment. Gawain is not the main character in any of Malory’s eight books, though some of them feature Gawain in chapters. The ultimate effect of Malory’s treatment was to relegate Gawain to second-class status. In later romances, including modern fiction and film, Gawain’s character is eclipsed by the Lancelot-Guinevere affair. Tennyson mentions him only briefly.
In Hughes’ The Misfortunes of Arthur, Gawain survives until the battle of Camlann. The Middle English Parlement of the Thre Ages is unique in saying that Gawain survived the Mordred wars and threw Excalibur into a lake.