The Gawain-character in four middle English romances: a study in medieval courtesy and courtly love.

Abstract

This investigation is concerned with an analysis of the Gawain-character as it occurs in four early medieval romances covering the time span, 1350-1450: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Sir Gawain and, the Carl of Carlisle, The Weddynge of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell, and The Jeaste of Sir Gawain. These four poems out of an extant eleven in which Gawain figures as a main character consistently depict him as a model, virtuous knight, the exemplar of chivalric courtesy and courtly love. A close analysis of this character, in the light of the medieval conventions of courtesy and courtly love, reveals that the anonymous authors of these four poems were working with a common source of conventions, namely those established by Eleanor of Aquitaine in her celebrated court of love at Poitiers, and those inherent to chivalric courtesy. This study is prefaced with a brief review of the history of courtly love from the time of Ovid to Eleanor of Aquitaine and includes a discussion of the rules of courtly love as devised by Andreas Capellanus. A summary account considers the roles of the women characters whom Gawain encounters in these romances and the part they played in shaping the literature of courtly love.