Fusing traditions : the epic conventions of Anglo-Saxon poetry and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Scholars have embraced a "standard reading" of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in which the constituent elements of the poem have been defined almost exclusively via reference to the conventions of the continental romance. But, such romantic approaches to SGGK are complicated by the presence of the "anti-romantic" features of the poem. The conventions of the romance cannot justify the Gawain-poet’s decision to cast Sir Gawain—who epitomized trecherye in the fourteenth century— as the hero of SGGK; neither can they explain the Gawain-poet's pairing of "challenge" and "temptation" motifs or the thematic significance of the laughter with which Arthur greets Sir Gawain's account of his failure at Hautedesert.

The Gawain-poet's choices in this regard become less disconcerting if we consider them in light of the conventions of the Anglo-Saxon epic. Because most Anglo- Saxon epic heroes achieve their status because they overcome a series of obstacles despite others' low expectations of them. Sir Gawain's own inglorious reputation would render him-at least from the perspective of a poet familiar with the conventions of the Anglo-Saxon tradition—a character of immense "heroic potential." Likewise, if we remain mindful of the moral obligations which bind guest and host in the poetry of the epic tradition as we read the "challenge" and "temptation" episodes of SGGK, it becomes clear that when Gawain chooses to participate in the Green Knight's game—the terms of which call for Gawain to disarm and attack a guest of the court—Gawain behaves as discourteously as he does when he accepts and conceals Lady Bertilak's green girdle from his host.

Gawain finally comes to understand the discourtesy inherent in his conduct and attempts to impart to Arthur the lesson which his trials have taught him. Arthur dismisses Gawain's counsel with a laugh which renders Gawain's sacrifice for the court as tragically ineffectual as that of Cassandra of Troy. With his concluding reference to Troy itself, the Gawain-poet leaves his audience to contemplate the tragedy of Camelot's untimely demise; thus, he imbues SGGK with the thematic sense of waste common to texts of the epic tradition, particularly Beowulf.