Medieval Romance

Medieval romance is truly depicted in Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur, T.H. White's The Once and Future King, and in the tales about Sir Gawain. Medieval romance is often characterized by idealizing chivalry, the centralization of a hero and knight male figure, and many times the ideal of a knight and his love for a woman is shown in medieval romantic pieces. Personally, I have been really enjoying the variety of medieval romantic pieces that we have been reading in class. They have been offering much more detail to many simple "fairy-tale" stories that we have been growing up listening to and learning about. However, there is much less comedy in Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur than in Shrek (haha). The work that I like the most is most definitely Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. It incorporates all of the medieval romantic characteristics that I discussed earlier, and it also brings competition, honor, and fidelity into play. The way that Sir Gawain will "stick his neck out" (literally and figuratively) for King Arthur shows a lot about who Sir Gawain is and what he believes in. For him to stand alone above the other knights also shows his prowess and commitment in being a knight and the best possible one he can be. "And all at once it seemed to be Spring, as his face shone, and that fair robe glistened with color, and Gawain walked, gracious, among waiting knights, and they thought, each of them, Christ had made no better man. Whatever his land, he seemed a matchless prince, meant to attack in the center of battle" (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, 75, 865-74). This quote without a doubt ties together all of the characteristics of an honorable knight, and is a great description of Sir Gawain. I have really enjoyed the medieval romantic pieces thus far.