What Are the Characteristics of a Knight?

In "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Sir Gawain portrays certain characteristics. Those characteristics are loyalty, honesty, bravery, and courtesy. He shows loyalty to King Arthur, when he is the only one to step forward to accept the Green Knight's challenge. The Knight had urged any of the Knights to take his ax and attempt to decapitate him and no one came forward. Only Gawain came forward. Once Gawain cuts off the Green Knight's head, the Green Knight's body picks up his own head and says that he will see Gawain in one year so that he can receive the return blow that is coming to him. Gawain is determined to follow through with his part of the bargain in order to show his loyalty to Arthur. He eventually does face the Green Knight on New Years.

The way Sir Gawain shows bravery is when the green knight says to Gawain, "Did I flinch, or flee from you when your blow felled me?" Gawain replied, "Enough! I won't flinch when you hack!" This shows bravery, because the second time the green knight swung to chop off his head Gawain didn't flinch a bit. Even though Gawain knew he wasn't going to be picking up his head, it still took a lot of bravery to just stand there and remain still while you got this big green knight getting ready to swing at you with an ax. Another demonstration of bravery is when Gawain faces the green knight in the beginning of the story.

The third characteristic that Sir Gawain portrays in the story is courtesy. The way he shows this is after the lady giving Gawain the gift, she starts preying on his desire and knightly obligation to be polite and courteous. "Urgently, spurring him to the brink, and he thinks, I must accept her affection, or refuse, and offend her. Concerned with courtesy, less he be thought a bore." This shows him having courtesy by him not wanting to stop her in the middle of prey over him. Gawain knew he was doing something wrong by accepting this. Even though he sinned, he wasn't going to stop her from preying and offend her.

The last characteristic that Sir Gawain shows in the story is honesty, when the lord and himself make the three day agreement. The first two days he was honest and shared what he got. On the third day while the lord was hunting his wife gives Gawain this magic girdle that she tells him it will save him from the green knight. Gawain takes it and doesn't share what was the lords. "For that woven garment you wear is my own girdle. My wife wove it, *so I know it well. I have missed no facts concerning your acts and kisses, Nor my wife's wooing of you; I brought it all about. I sent her to test you. You withstood her stoutly. You're the most faultless solider who walks on foot!" This is explaining how the lord set up this trap for Gawain to fall into. This was to test his honesty and see if he would share this magic girdle that would save his life. Gawain got to the