Exemplifying the Creative Writing - Sir Gawain and the Green Knight - Essay Example

And the day came when a young lord of the family Bradwardine sought out Sir Gawain, for all across the land knew of Gawain as the most chivalric of all knights. Gawain, knowing of the esteem of the Bradwardine family, accepted the young lord graciously and threw a feast for him. The halls were filled with gaiety that night, for it was not often that Sir Gawain had the opportunity to throw a party of this measure. As all of the festivities were winding down at the end of the night, the young lord of Bradwardine, who was called Thomas, asked Sir Gawain for a private audience, for he had important matters to discuss with him. When they were in private, Sir Gawain asked the young Thomas Bradwardine the nature of this meeting. And Thomas spoke: “Sir Gawain, you are known for your grace, wisdom, and chivalry throughout the land. Indeed, I see that you still wear the girdle around your arm to remind you of your past mistakes.i That was long ago, and your lesson seems to have taught you better than any other knight in the kingdom. So I come to you with my story, and I ask if there might be any way that you could aid my family, at least advise me of what to do, for unless something is done soon, I fear that my whole family will exist no moreii. “Sir knight, surely you know of the rules of primogenitureiii. And as I stand here talking to you, know that I have no desire to inherit my father’s estate, for I shall be joining the church, and have no need for such measures. However, my other brothers, I fear, shall all kill each other off in an attempt to inherit my father’s estate, and since I shall be bearing no offspring, if my brothers all kill one another off, there will be no one to inherit the estate.” Sir Gawain felt need to interject: “If these brothers of yours are so unholy as to slay each other over an inheritance, then I see no need to aid such lowly, base creatures.” And Thomas replied: “Oh but Sir knight, you must know that it is not their fault. For a spell has been placed upon them. They have been bewitched. You must know that a family such as mine would never resort to such behavior. “As I said, it is not their fault. Three months ago a guest came to stay at our house, and he brought his lovely wife with him. My brothers, they all saw her and fell madly in love with her. At first they attempted to confide in each other, telling each other of their true love for this lady, but once they realized that they all lusted after the same prize, they refused to speak to each other since then. And know you that this is not the first time that a lovely lady has come to our home with her husband.” Gawain spoke: “This does not sound, methinks, so terribly out of the normal. Brothers will often quarrel in these ways, refusing to speak with each other. This sort of behavior is not dignified, but it does not require the intervention from one such as myself. Perhaps the lord and his lady should merely be asked to leave. This seems as though it is the simplest solution to these quarreling brothers.” Thomas, growing more anxious, replied vehemently: “But good Sir knight, I have not finished my story. Please, let me finish, and you shall see the great importance of my coming here to you. It has gone beyond the point of this lord leaving, for he is slain! A week after he arrived, he went on a hunt with my father and brothers. They were hunting a dangerous boar, and somehow the party got separated. After an hour, there was a mighty scream, and the members of the party converged around this sound. When they reached the source of the sound, they saw a terrible sight! My oldest brother, Phineas, was there, standing over top of the slain boar and the disemboweled lord. My brother claimed that it was the boar that had taken the good lord’s life, but my other brothers were unconvinced. They all coveted the lady, and they saw this as Phineas’s way of taking her for himself. As the oldest son, he was the only one allowed to marry, and since the lord had no children of his own, a person marrying the lady would also inherit her property. “When my father and brothers came home with the body of the lord, the lady hardly seemed disturbed by the sight. For surely, it wasn’t a week later when she came to him in his bedchambers, and she attempted to steal a kiss. Once she had procured this kiss from him, she left, saying nothing more. The next day, my father announced that Phineas was to wed the lady, and there was a feast thrown. “The next day there was another hunt, but this time deer were being hunted. Once again the group got separated, and once again there was a terrible scream that brought everyone back together to the source. This time Phineas was the one on the ground, an arrow through his chest, and the next oldest, Percival, was with him. Percival claimed that he had found him in this state, but the other brothers accused him openly of slaying Phineas in order to marry the lady and inherit our father’s estate and her estate. Without any proof, the accusations could go no further, and the brothers and my father came home with the body of Phineas. The lady seemed even less disturbed over the death of her future husband than over the death of her former husband. Indeed, that very night she was in the bedchamber of Percival, procuring a kiss from him, and it was no sooner than the next day that my father announced Percival’s engagement to the lady. This was the day after my brother’s death, and they threw a feast again!” And Sir Gawain spoke: “This is most irregular. I have heard much of your family, though I had not heard much word of your brothers, but I do know your father personally, and this is not behavior from which I would expect of him. Surely it must be as you say that they family has come under some sort of bewitchment, for there are no circumstances under which it is acceptable to throw a feast for one brother while the other slain brother has not yet been buried. But tell me, young Thomas, why it is that you seem to be untouched by this enchantment.” Thomas replied: “Yes, indeed, my family would not do such a thing under normal, and I believe that I have remained untouched by this enchantment for two reasons. Firstly, I was not present when the lord and lady first arrived at my father’s estate. I was at the monastery where I have been studying. “It seems to me as though the source of the enchantment took root in my family that first night, for their actions were most irregular since then. Secondly, I feel that, as a disciple of God, He is protecting me from whatever this enchantment is. “But Sir knight, I should tell you, there hasn’t been any more hunts, but Percival has come close to death several times. I came home for Phineas’ funeral, and the next day when my parent’s were throwing the feast for Percival, I knew that something was amiss. Once I realized that it seemed as though my other brothers were now attempting to kill Percival, I devised a plan to seek you out and ask for your aid. So, good Sir knight, will you aid my family in this time of crisis?” Sir Gawain replied: “Oh, but I am old, so very old. It has indeed been a very long time that I have been wearing this girdle around my arm. It constantly reminds me of my failure, that I am just a human concerned with my own life above my beliefs. You have come a long way, but I am not sure what you think it is that I will be able to do to help you and your family. It has been long since I have left this castle on an adventure, and I fear that I am too old to be running off on any new adventures at this age. My dear Thomas, I think you must seek out a younger knight to come to your aid.” Thomas, with great earnestness, replied to this: “But Sir Gawain, the reason I have come to you is because I believe that you have dealt with this before. For the name of the lord and lady that came to my father’s estate, they gave it as Bertilak.” Upon hearing this name once again, Sir Gawain paused, almost unsure as whether or not to believe young Thomas. But Sir Gawain saw into Thomas’ heart, and he knew that he was pure, and he knew that he was telling the truth. He had once before experienced the trickery of Bertilak before, and though he was unsure what he could do, he agreed to help Thomas and his family. The next day the two of them set out for the Bradwardine estate. It had been a long time since Sir Gawain had left his castle with such purpose, but he found that the aches in his bones grew less and less as they traveled. After waking on the second day of traveling, Sir Gawain noted that all of the previous pains that had kept him bound to his estate for the previous few years were gone. They reached the Bradwardine estate at midday of the third day of traveling, and even young Thomas noticed that Sir Gawain seemed to be a man ten years younger. When the two reached the castle, they were filled with sorrow, for a servant came and told Thomas of the death of his brother Percival. Thomas asked the servant if there was any other news. The servant replied: “Yes, it seems as though Henry is now betrothed to lady Bertilak, and your father is preparing a feast for the celebration.” Sir Gawain said to Thomas: “Come, we must hurry, these sorrows end tonight. First, we must meet with your father.” “My father, why my father?” asked Thomas. “Methinks he knows why this is happening to his house,” replied Sir Gawain. The two travelers went to see Thomas’ father. Sir Gawain asked for a private audience between the two, and he agreed. When they were alone, Sir Gawain spoke: “Lord Bradwardine, do you know why these sorrows have been visited upon your household?” Lord Bradwardine replied: “Sir knight, as surely as I stand here before you, I do not know why my sons have been taken away from me.” Sir Gawain replied: “Am I to take it that you never before have met Lord and Lady Bertilak before they came to your estate some months ago?” Lord Bradwardine seemed taken aback, and said, “Why yes, and did meet a Lord and Lady Bertilak before, in the days of my youth, but they couldn’t possibly be the same two people that I met before. That was years and years ago, and the Lord and Lady Bertilak that arrived at my estate and brought these sorrows with them couldn’t have been born at that time. No, these must be two different people. I am sure of it. Sir Gawain asked, “But, Lord Bradwardine, did you make an agreement with Lord Bertilak at the time that you met him? And did you happen to have broken that agreement?” Again Lord Bradwardine seems taken aback and asked, “But how could you have know that, good Sir knight?” Sir Gawain turned around and showed him the scar upon the back of his neck. And Sir Gawain spoke: “As you can see, this is where the green knight punished me for not giving the girdle that I wear around my arm to him when he was posing as Lord Bertilak. Yes, I am sure that the same Lord Bertilak that I met was the same Lord Bertilak that you met and is the same Lord Bertilak that came to your estate some months ago. For he is not really Lord Bertilak, he is the Green Knight, the same one I beheaded on a New Year’s festival many, many years ago. It seems to me that you broke some kind of bargain with him, and now he has come to collect, yet it would seem as though it wasn’t a mere girdle that you kept from him.” Lord Bradwardine replied: “Yes, yes, everything you have said is true. Good Sir knight, not only are you most chivalric of knights, but your years have made you very, very wise. What am I to do to break this spell? The lady, she comes to me at night at tells me what she expects me to do the next day, and I have no control over my actions! I am bewitched!” Taking the girdle from his arm that he had long worn, he handed it to Lord Bradwardine and said, “I have worn my shame on my arm for long enough. It is retribution they seek, and you shall give it to them. This girdle will break their illusion over the house, and the quarreling will stop. As for the payment they seek, you will have to take care of that on your own. It does not a man any good to break from his bargainsiv.” “Thank you, Sir Gawain, how am I to repay you?” Lord Bradwardine asked. “There is no need, it is my duty to help out those in need. That is the duty of a knight” replied Sir Gawain. Then Lord Bradwardine and Sir Gawain confronted Lady Bertilak with the girdle, and she admitted that she and her husband were seeking retribution for the broken pact. She also informed them that the brothers were not really dead, that it had been a part of the illusion. Lord Bertilak also showed himself at this point. Lord Bradwardine showed apologized for the broken pact and told them that he would honor it now. He then laid himself across the table and exposed his neck. He said, “It has been a long time that I have feared this, but I have found that the sight of my sons slain is even more frightening. I have lived a long life, Green Knight, and you shall now have what you have sought after.” The Green Knight, no longer appearing as Lord Bertilak, stood over Lord Bradwardine, but he did not raise he weapon. He said, “Get up, Lord Bradwardine, and know that you have honored your part of the bargain. The sight of one’s one slain sons is more terrible than anything people can imagine. Now you know what happens when pacts are broken. I believe you have learned your lesson. Go, be with your family.” Lord Bertilak turned to Sir Gawain and said, “Brave Sir Gawain, I can see that you have worn the girdle for all of this time. Your reputation has grown far, and I can see that you learned your lesson from when we last met.” Sir Gawain spoke: “Green Knight, it would have appeared that way, but I think that I never quite learned the lesson properly until young Thomas came to speak with me. For many, many years, I stayed in my castle, not daring to go out. I figured that if I never went out, then I would never be in a situation again where I would risk my honor as was the case with the girdle. That fear settled into my bones, and it made it even harder to get myself to leave my castle. This fear added years and years onto my life as I continued to harbor it. But when I left my keep with young Thomas, I found that the harder I pushed myself, the easier the journey became. “It was my duty to help people, and there were many people that I refused to help over the years. I feel that it is now my duty to search out these people and offer my help if it is not already too late. This adventure has shown me that all that is needed is to stand up for what is right.” The Green Knight replied: “Yes, Sir Gawain, it seems as though you have learned another lesson. As I can see, you have no need to wear the girdle upon your arm anymore. That was why it was effective in revealing the truth of the situation. I feel that you will do much good, even though you are far along in your life.” Lady Bertilak was nowhere to be found at this point, for she again was really Morgan Le Fay. She felt no need to converse with Sir Gawain, and had left while nobody was looking. Sir Gawain had the feeling that he might run across her again in his travels, and without the girdle, he was not sure what he would be able to do. He decided that he would figure that out when the time arose. The Green Knight said to Sir Gawain, “I believe that there will now be a party in your honor. You should join the festivities. As for me, I must now take my leave. My presence might sour the festivities. I do not doubt that we might meet again. Fare thee well, Brave Sir Gawain.” As Sir Gawain Walked into the big hall, he saw that there was indeed a celebration that was being prepared. All of the brothers were there talking amongst themselves, including young Thomas, who broke away and came to speak with Sir Gawain. Thomas spoke: “I have no idea how to thank you for all that you have done for this family. If you had not come, I don’t know what would have happened. This is all thanks to you. I will be eternally grateful.” “No, I should be thankful to you” Sir Gawain said, “you reminded that it was my duty to help those in need. I seemed to have forgotten that in my years since my original meeting with the Green Knight. You helped me find my way, and I must thank you. It is you that these festivities should be in honor of. Now, I believe that your brothers have learned their lessons also, at least when it comes to women. This experience surely has taught them the ways in which they should interact with women, and I hope they will never find themselves in a similar situationv. And may they also know that they should honor their pacts, or their children might suffer such a fate as what they were put through.” “Yes, indeed,” Thomas said, “there are two brothers that will be coming with me to the monastery, devoting their lives to God. Phineas, as the oldest, has plans to find a wife and continue the Bradwardine family in this estate for years to come. I have heard of your plans to travel and seek out those that you didn’t help before. It is my hope that we will meet again.” “And I’m sure that we shall, young Thomas,” Sir Gawain said. The festivities lasted for two days, including a tournamentvi, and after which Sir Gawain set out on his final journey. Read More