Knights Code

The Knight’s code is based off of chivalry and virtues. Chivalry is the set of rules a knight abides to, such as respect for women and your lord. Some virtues of the code are: fear God and maintain the church, serve his lord and obey authority, and preserve to the end of all tasks. While reading Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, I learned that being chivalrous is not the same as following the Knight’s Code. You can follow the rules, while having a different point of view on why you do things. For example, Gawain wanted to fight the Green Knight, but not for the reason he said he wanted to. 

In this story you see a change in language from the Anglo-Saxon time period to the Medieval Time period, and even to now. In the Anglo-Saxon time period, it is hard to understand what authors are trying to explain. They use an older form of English, and it’s hard to comprehend their slang. In the Medieval time period writings, it gives a better understanding of what is happening in the story. Nowadays, writing is so much easier because we don’t use as many synonyms and make it simple. One thing I noticed in this story that surprised me was the fact that Gawain was recognized as a very brave knight, but when it came down to it, he wasn’t as brave as everyone thought. This also appears in today’s society within many people.