Values in Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

The Anglo-Saxon and medieval cultures each held certain morals and standards that represented the consummate individual in their respective communities. Comparisons can be drawn between the two sets of values by looking at the epic Beowulf, the only existing poem from the Anglo-Saxon period, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a medieval poem translated by J.R.R. Tolkien. Two similarities that are linked through the pieces are the value of reputation during life and after death, and the importance of fate or the "Wheel of Fortune", the idea that the Christian God could alter your life in a positive or negative way in a split second.

The text below is spoken by Sir Gawain in Sir Gawain and the Green Knightin response to a squire of the Lord of the Castle who wishes Gawain to flee and not face the Green Knight.

"But however heedfully thou hid it, if I were departed
fain in fear now to flee, in the fashion thou speakest,
I should a knight coward be, I could not be excused."

These lines demonstrate the significance of character, not only to others but personally, as well. Gawain did not want to have to live with himself, a craven being, if he did not keep his word, to take a return blow to the neck, to the habitant of the Green Chapel. Gawain admitted at the beginning of the tale that he was not the most purposeful of knights in King Arthur's court; in fact, he acknowledged he was the weakest. It was important to Gawain to take the challenge of the Green Knight off Arthur's back and make it his own dilemma, and, in the process, create a legacy for himself.

When the Green Knight reveals himself to be Bertilak, or the Lord of the Castle, at his final meeting with Gawain, he exposes that Gawain did not honor their trading game when he chose to keep the Lady of the Castle's girdle for protection. Sir Gawain denounces himself, proclaiming that he will wear the girdle wherever he shall travel as a reminder of his failure of integrity. He returns to the Round Table to find forgiveness and comfort. Arthur goes as far as to prompt the other knights to wear a green baldric, or belt, in honor of Sir Gawain, and the story ends with the mention that his heroic tale was written in the best of books there afterwards.

In Beowulf, Beowulf journeys to the Danish kingdom on behalf of King Higlac of the Geats to kill a hideous beast named Grendel that has terrorized King Hrothgar's castle. Upon arriving, he is quick to boast of the many deeds he has accomplished when Unferth, one of Hrothgar's nobles, mentions his young rivalry with Brecca as foolish. Beowulf stands up for himself by detailing his vicious battles with sea creatures under the depths of the sea, for he values his reputation just as Sir Gawain does in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

Other examples come later in the epic. The treasures (the cup, armor, horses, and etcetera) that are bestowed upon Beowulf for killing Grendel and his mother are a symbol of his worth to the Geats as their supreme warrior. Beowulf, even in his old age, is the only individual to battle a dragon that was harassing his people. The decision would ultimately lead to his downfall, but not before he had slain the creature. His funeral was attended by many, mournful of the death of their glorious king. Twelve of the bravest Geats roamed the outside of his tomb, singing the songs of Beowulf's heroic actions. His boasting carried on even after his death, through the spoken words of all that had been blessed to know him.

Fate is inexorable. This is what was believed by the majority during the Anglo-Saxon and medieval ages. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the concept of the "Wheel of Fortune" can be noted. For example, after Gawain takes up the Green Knight on his "trading-blows" challenge, he is able to slice the Knight's head clean off his shoulders with an axe. Everything seems fine until the body of the magical being picks up its own head and places it back in its rightful place. God had fated Gawain to have to take the return swipe and that is what the man of the Round Table would have to do. Oppositely, while Gawain is searching for the Green Chapel he prays three times to find shelter for himself. His cry is answered the third time as he discovers Bertilak's manor; God had just moved "the wheel" in a positive direction. Sir Gawain shows an understanding of the predetermined fate of God during the squire scene, in the lines below.

"Noy, I'll fare to the Chapel, whatever chance may befall
and have such words with that wild man as my wish is to say,
come fair or come foul, as fate will allot
me there."

Comparable ideas are expressed in Beowulf. When defending his swimming competition with Brecca, Beowulf says:

"Swiftly towards the bottom , swimming with its claws
Tight in my flesh. But fate let me
Find its heart with my sword, hack myself
Free;"

The Anglo-Saxons trusted that what was meant to happen would eventually come to pass. Later in the poem, Beowulf tells the Danes to not fret over the loss of Esher at the hands of Grendel's mother, for each of them are destined to come to the end of life at some point. The death of Beowulf is also a pinnacle point in dealing with the notion of fate in Beowulf. As the King of the Geats lies on the sand, a victim of the dragon, Wiglaf, a young warrior, tries to induce Beowulf to speak.

"He could not. No one could have kept
Life in their lord's body, or turned
Aside the Lord's will: world
And men and all move as He orders,
And always have, and always will."

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Beowulf have immense dissimilarity on the surface: separate works, separate writers, separate groups of people, and separate points in history. Keeping that in mind, it is hard to believe that, at the core, they illustrate the exact same basic values.

Works Cited

Beowulf, as translated by Burton Raffel, First Signet Classic Printing, 1999
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, as translated by J.R.R. Tolkien, Del Ray Publishing, 1979