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Conflicting Virtue in "Sir Gawain & the Green Knight"
by Joel Macaulay, Grade 11
In the story of “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” we see two different codes of virtue come into conflict, the knightly code and the biblical code. The knightly code of virtue was a good code for the most part, though it was not a written document until years after this event would have occurred. It was expected that a knight would be strong, always deal fairly, fight evil, uphold the weak and basically be a hero. Yet the code was not good in relation to women as the knights were expected to obey every noble woman’s desire and command. This led to many affairs between knights and noble women, both married and unmarried. But many knights and noble women were more than happy with this rule as it allowed them to sin without having to pay any visible consequences.
The knightly code of virtue or the chivalric code is a system in which the knight was expected to uphold the weak, fight injustice and protect the fairer sex. But their main belief was that “the chief thing to praise; is the perfect hero rejects sin and finds true strengththe loyal practice of love.” Courtly love requires a knight to follow the bidding of a lady, which is exactly what is seen in Lady Bertilak’s expectations of Sir Gawain. Lady Bertilak was a married woman who attempted to get Sir Gawain to commit adultery with her by repeatedly flattering him and telling him that there would not be any consequences. She tells him 
that her husband is far away on the hunt and that he would never find out. One of the most deadly parts of temptation is the idea that there isn’t a price that has to be paid.
The Biblical code of virtue is a standard, and that standard is perfection. According to the Bible, we are all enslaved to sin and are all worthy of Hell. Yet it is only through Christ that we can be saved from this end and it is only through faith that we can be saved and become righteous (Genesis 15:6, Hebrews 11:7, 39-40). The ultimate example of a hero (or knight) is Jesus Christ. Therefore, the perfect hero rejects sin and finds true strength. Imitators of the True Hero are not sinless, but they do reflect and point to Jesus Christ. We can only achieve true virtue, the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ. Sir Gawain’s idea of virtue was closer to the Biblical standard rather than the knightly code of virtue.
Sir Gawain shows us the biblical standard of virtue by hating sin and loving righteousness. He loved God more than he loved his reputation, pleasure or any other man-centered motivation. He demonstrates this by refusing to commit adultery with Lady Bertilak. The loss of virtue, especially in the form of sexual immorality, always results in the loss of strength for the hero. Sir Gawain knew that it was his duty to remain pure and true in the sight of God and not to simply live for his own pleasures. Sir Gawain still struggled and did not completely follow the biblical standard to perfection in that he continued on spending all his time with Lady Bertilak and her friends. The Bible tells the virtuous man to stay far from evil and not to give the appearance of wrongdoing.
The knightly code of virtue was a deception; it wasn’t made to be a guideline or to help people stay true to God. It was made by sinners to try and make sin righteous and actually the right thing to do. Yet real virtue cares more about what God thinks of a person, rather than what men will think of a person. It isn’t about fulfilling one’s own pleasures but rather sacrificing them and doing what is right. Sir Gawain understood this and we see it when he makes the sign of the cross the first time Lady Bertilak tempts him so that he might be reminded of his duty to remain true in the sight of God. Virtue is meant to accompany strength and, in fact, it supports it. Jesus was without sin and therefore was able to bind the sin and death.