Honor In Chivalric Culture

There are times in life when one must tell a little white lie, but there are other times that one may take their lie too far. In Burton Raffel’s translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Sir Gawain selfishly deceives the Round Table so that he may achieve his own ambitions. Gawain tries to show the Round Table that he is more courageous, capable, and chivalrous than he really is. One of the motives behind Gawain’s deception is that he wants to be accepted by the other knights in the Round Table.

In this time period a knight’s honor was everything, without it the noblemen would become a huge disgrace. Sir Gawain’s honor is immediately tested at the beginning of the poem. He gives his word in the beheading game and intends to keep it even though it’s obvious that the Green Knight had tricked him. “Blood gutters brightly against his green gown, yet the man doesn’t shudder or stagger or sink, but trudges towards them […] gripping his head by a handful of hair. Then he settles himself in his seat with the ease of a man unmarked” (429-439).

In the beginning of the poem, Sir Gawain is described as an honorable knight, friend and a man of God. Throughout several scenarios of being honest and true to his values, we form a perfect image of his character. Going deeper many incidences occur that give us readers an unrealistic view of Sir Gawain that he seems to be inhuman and one without the ability to make mistakes, even compared to “a precious pearl” (Gawain, 206). When the text unfolds more however, his character begins to alter, and starts to get viewed differently.

Courage is a very important aspect of a knight’s life and is needed in the succession of knighthood. Gawain is a knight that possesses this and gives the reader an effective concrete picture to the theme of courage in the story. It answers my questions in the introduction, what is courage and what do you have to do to be courageous. It is simple really when you take into consideration Gawain’s experiences. Courage is not just about being brave in front of others or being fearful but standing up to them, it is about being courageous on the inside, using everything in your heart to achieve the unachievable and reaching goals you never thought you would ever reach.

The ideals of Christian morality and knightly qualities are represented by Gawain’s gold, star-shaped pentangle. The five knightly virtues that Sir Gawain expresses are: generosity, chastity, friendship, piety, and courtesy. From the beginning of the poem, Sir Gawain portrays his generosity by agreeing to cut the Green Knight’s head with an axe. He makes this decision after King Arthur fails to do so (Cathell, 2014).

Sir Gawain disrespected the lord whom was housing him when he decided to keep the sash a secret. This decision also contradicted his oath to speak truth at all times because he did not disclose his gift the lord, and therefore indirectly lied to the lord. Sir Gawain fails to uphold the chivalrous code through his prioritization for self-preservation over honoring his commitment to fellow

Is chivalry dead? Chivalry is a code of rules established sometime in the 12th century, most likely by a King, maybe even Charlemagne. For many years knights lived by this code, and they upheld it to the death. Even in the Pre-Antebellum period of the southern United States chivalry was alive and well. The question is, “Is chivalry alive or dead in Today’s world?”

Shame is also prevalent in the movie as shown by people shaming others, or attempting to save others from facing shame. Lord Kira feels as if he is being shamed by Lord Asano with his refusal to give adequate gifts, or bribes. In turn Lord Asano brings shame upon his whole clan by attacking Kira while defending his honor. One of Asano’s vassals, Oishi, tries to protect his wife and family from the shame of his future actions by divorcing her. In these examples, the emphasis on honor and shame in the samurai culture are displayed by the actions of the samurai in the film.

Gawain’s values as a knight are in conflict, because he needs to be polite to the Lady, but he is also loyal to the Lord. Gawain ultimately fails

So not only does it include courtesy, as we understand it today, but includes other honorable qualities. As chivalry is in reference to an ideal knight, it makes sense that we can identify this quality throughout the film Excalibur. This film is set in medieval times following the

When someone is described as having the characteristic of honor they are usually described as honest, trustworthy and brave, but the list can go on. Throughout many novels, honor is a specific characteristic that the characters perform, giving them a sense of honor. Honor is a very noble quality that many people understand throughout the literary stories. In the literary works of Mel Gibson’s Braveheart, Beowulf, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight different characteristics that represent honor are performed by William Wallace, Beowulf, and Sir Gawain.

In the world of social media, a popular quote is “An honorable man restores the dignity of others.” This quote shows how in society, once a person loses something so vital to their well being--their honor--they need an honorable man to help restore it. This is the case in Chronicle of a Death Foretold, by Gabriel García Marquez, and characters do anything to protect their honor. In Chronicle of a Death Foretold, characters experience problems with honor as wealth, with honor as social status, and with honor as gender. First, characters have to deal with honor as a sign of wealth.

In ancient Chinese tradition, one of the highest achievements for any person was the act of bringing honor. Typically, bringing honor to one’s name is predetermined for every person. For instance, women are expected to bring honor to their families, while men are expected to bring honor to their country. However, these expectations can cause one to doubt or distort their own self-image. In Tony Bancroft’s Mulan, the female protagonist Mulan experiences a loss in her own self-perception.

The famous Bushido honor code, also known as ‘the way of the warrior’, is one of the many things people admire about the Samurai. It was the moral code adopted after Shinto was made the state religion in Japan. The Japanese

CHIVALRY IS DEAD IN MODERN MEN The term “chivalry” emerged around the 10th century A.D. in France, referring to the medieval institution of knighthood that developed between 1170 and 1220. The code of chivalry back then represented a combination of Christian and military ideas of morality. As time progressed, the real meaning of the word disappeared and was mated with the fancies of love that resulted in a new definition that stressed on social and moral values. Chivalry got romanticized.