Worldview of the Western World II

1
Worldview of the Western World II
2
Middle Ages
3
During the period from the early Middle Ages to
the end of the seventeenth century, very few
challenged the existence of God or held that
ultimate reality was impersonal or that death
meant individual extinction. The reason is
obvious. Christianity had so penetrated the
Western world that, whether men believed in
Christ or acted as Christians should, they all
lived in a context of ideas influenced and
informed by the Christian faith. Even those who
rejected the faith often lived in the fear of
hellfire or the pangs of purgatory. Bad men may
have rejected Christian goodness, but they knew
themselves to be bad by basically Christian
standards crudely understood, no doubt, but
Christian in essence. The suppositions which lay
behind their values came with their mother's milk
The Universe Next Door, page 22.
4
CHRISTIAN THEISM

• Read Chapter 2 of The Universe Next Door.
• God is infinite
• God is personal in that he knows himself to be
  (he is self-conscious) and he possesses the
  characteristics of self-determination (he
  "thinks" and "acts").
• God is triune. That is, "within the one essence
  of the Godhead we have to distinguish three
  'persons' who are neither three gods on the one
  side, not three parts or modes of God on the
  other, but coequally and coeternally God.

5
CHRISTIAN THEISM

• God is transcendent. This means God is beyond us
  and our world. He is otherly.
• God is immanent, and this means that he is with
  us.
• God is omniscient
• God is sovereign
• God is good
• Holy
• Love

6
CHRISTIAN THEISM

• God created the cosmos ex nihilo.
• God is He Who Is, and thus he is the source of
  all else.
• God spoke it into existence. It came into being
  by his word "God said, 'Let there be light,' and
  there was light" (Gen 13).
• God created the cosmos as a uniformity of cause
  and effect in an open system. (Is 4518-19)
• So theism declares that the universe is orderly
  but not determined.

7
CHRISTIAN THEISM

• As Thomas Aquinas said, we can know that God
  exists through general revelation, but we could
  never know that God is triune except for special
  revelation.
• Heb 11-3 John 114
• 5. Human beings were created good, but through
  the Fall the image of God became defaced, though
  not so ruined as not to be capable of
  restoration through the work of Christ, God
  redeemed humanity and began the process of
  restoring people to goodness, though any given
  person may choose to reject that redemption.

8
CHRISTIAN THEISM

• What has been the affect of the fall of man in
  these four areas
• Intellectually
• In personality, we lost our capacity to know
  ourselves accurately and to determine our own
  course of action freely in response to our
  intelligence.
• We can no longer gain a fully accurate knowledge
  of the world around us, nor are we able to reason
  without constantly falling into error.
• Morally
• we became less able to discern good and evil.
• Socially
• Socially, we began to exploit other people.
• Creatively
• our imagination became separated from reality
  imagination became illusion, and artists who
  created gods in their own image led humanity
  further and further from its origin.

9
CHRISTIAN THEISM

• First is the great separation, the separation
  between God and man.
• Second man from himself. Man has fear. Man has
  psychological problems. Finally, at physical
  death comes the separation of the soul from the
  body.
• The third of the great separations is man from
  man. This is the sociological separation.
• The fourth separation is a separation of man from
  nature and nature from nature

10
CHRISTIAN THEISM

• Why is it important to know what happens to man
  at death?
• Do I disappearpersonal extinction? Do I
  hibernate and return in a different
  formreincarnation? Do I continue in a
  transformed existence in heaven or hell?
• G. K. Chesterton once remarked that hell is a
  monument to human freedomand, we might add,
  human dignity. Hell is God's tribute to the
  freedom he gave each of us to choose whom we
  would serve it is a recognition that our
  decisions have a significance that extends far
  down into the reaches of foreverness
• What is the standard of goodness?
• Gods Law
• The fullest embodiment is in Christ. 1 john 410
  Rom 57-8
• What is the most important aspect of history?
• Heb 927 God is behind it in Christ
• What happens when a person recognizes the
  greatness of God and consciously accepts and acts
  on it?
• The Rock that gives meaning to life and the first
  act is one of love and obedience

11
Schaeffer

• Edict of Milan A.D. 313 (Constantine)
• Christianity as State Religion of Empire
  381(Theodosius)
• The Tome of Leo was a statement that influenced
  the phraseology of the Council of Chalcedon in
  451.
• Leo I kept Attila the Hun from sacking Rome in
  452.
• 325Council of Nicea
• 426Augustine finishes City of God
• 432 Patrick begins mission to Ireland
• 476 Last Roman Emperor overthrown
• 529 Benedict founds monastery in Monte Cassinoc.
• 600Talmud formally closed
• 632 Mohammed finishes Koran and dies
• Charlemagne Reign 768-814
• 800 Pope crowns Charlemagne Emperor in Rome.
• 1066 Battle of Hastings and the Norman Conquest
  of England under William the Conqueror.
• 1095 First Crusade begins
• Romanesque Style 1000-1150
• Gothic Style 1150-1250
• 1215 King John signs Magna Carta
• Aquinas 1225-1274

12
(No Transcript)
13
Schaeffer

• I. Introduction The Post-Roman World
• The fall of Roman according to Schaeffer was
  internal decadence.
• The Church became powerful and wealthy after the
  Vandals left Rome
• II. The Church in the World Economic, Social,
• The early Church avoided musical instruments due
  the association with the theater and the circus
  (the Colosseum) where many Christians died.
• III. Artistic Achievements
• The early Church art was realistic, the later art
  work in the Middle Ages was not realistic, and
  tried to focus on the ideals.
• IV. Links between Philosophical, Theological, and
  Spiritual Developments and the Renaissance
• There was a turning away from the real and
  separating the physical reality from the
  spiritual reality. Eventually there would be a
  focus on the human side, the physical here and
  now in the Renaissance.
• Sketch examples of Romanesque and Gothic styles.
  (See the next slides)
• The Middle Ages are often referred to as the Dark
  Ages. This title implies a very backward
  uneducated culture. According to your
  understanding of this period of history, is this
  an appropriate designation? No

14
Romanesque 1000-1200
15
The Romanesque cathedral at Vezelay (1100 AD)
This is where Bernard of Clairvaux preached
16
Reims Cathedral - Notre-Dame
Earlier Romanesque churches had pointed arches,
but builders didn't capitalize on the shape.
During the Gothic era, builders discovered that
pointed arches would give structures amazing
strength and stability. In Gothic buildings, the
weight of the roof was supported by the arches
rather than the walls. This meant that walls
could be thinner.
17
The flying buttress was used to keep the walls
from falling outward.
18
Since the walls themselves were no longer the
primary supports, Gothic buildings could include
large areas of glass. Huge stained glass windows
and a profusion of smaller windows created the
effect of lightness and space. Notre Dame
19
Schaeffer
20
Schaeffer

• Art A Reflection of Thought
• Characteristics of Early Christian Art
• Characteristics of Byzantine Art
• Place the following two works on the table from
  left to right.
• Madonna and Child on a Curved Throne
• Good Shepherd

21
(No Transcript)
22
(No Transcript)
23
Schaeffer

• These are the oldest two works in our gallery.
• The first is a mosaic of Jesus. The second is a
  painting of Mary
• How are Jesus and Mary pictured in each?
• Francis Schaeffer explains that "...early
  Christian art was also full of life....The
  figures were realistically though simply
  portrayed. For all the of the visual means, the
  people were real people in a very real world.
• Which of these two works best express this idea
  by Schaeffer? Good Shepherd

24
Schaeffer

• The mosaic of Jesus with the sheep from the sixth
  century shows Jesus as a real person, with real
  sheep on a real mountain side not symbols, but a
  real person.
• Schaeffer further explains that "later in the
  church there was an increasing distortion away
  from the biblical teaching, and there aIso came a
  change in art. It became characterized by
  formalized, stylized, symbolic mosaics and
  icons."
• Which of these two works best reflect this idea
  of Schaeffer?
• Madonna and Child
• "In one way there was something good here,"
  writes Schaeffer. In that the artists made their
  mosaics and icons as a witness to the observer.
  Many of those who made these did so with
  devotion, and they were looking for more
  spiritual values. These were pluses. The minuses
  were that in the portrayal of their concept of
  spirituality they set aside nature and the
  importance of the humanity of people.

25
Schaeffer

• This period of history is known as the Byzantine
  Period. Madonna and Child on a Curved Throne is
  characteristic of this type of art and reflects
  this change. The distinct Byzantine style in art
  became clearly established in the 500's and
  lasted through the 1200's.
• II. Learning in the West
• During this time there was a decline in learning
  in the west, though the growing monastic orders,
  gradually organized around the rule of Benedict
  (480?-547?), provided a depository for many of
  the things of the past. Benedict himself had
  built a monastery on Monte Cassino near the main
  road from Naples to Rome. In the monasteries the
  old manuscripts were copied and recopied. Thanks
  to the monks, the Bible was preserved along
  with sections of Greek and Latin classics.
• III. A Humanistic Element was Added
• A humanistic element was added increasingly,
  the authority of the church took precedence over
  the teaching of the Bible. But this would be
  natural since most were illiterate.

26
Schaeffer
Hospital in Siena, still in use today.

• IV. The Middle Ages response to...
• Economics On one level, this challenged
  Christians in their attitude toward material
  possessions and style of living. Not only in the
  time of Peter and Paul but for generations after,
  believers were noted for openhanded generosity.
  Even their enemies admitted it.
• pendulum swung back and forth between utter
  disregard of the command to live modestly (caring
  for the poor, orphaned, and widowed) and a
  razor-sharp application of these same injunctions
  (the early monastic ideal to have no money).
• Saint Francis (1182?-1226), recognizing the
  corrupting effect of this emphasis on wealth,
  forbade his followers to receive money at all.
• The Pope was the most effective medieval monarch
  at the height of papal power between 1100 and
  1300.

27
Schaeffer

• Law the action of the Roman military commander
  Maurice is a good example of a possible response.
  When he received an order to direct a persecution
  of Christians, he handed his insignia to his
  assistant in order to join the Christians and be
  killed as a fellow believer. This action took
  place in the Rhone valley in Switzerland about
  A.D. 286, against a giant cliff just under the
  peaks of the Dents du Midi. It is for him that
  the little town of St. Maurice is now named.
• Ambrogio Lorenzettis (c. 1290-1348) Allegory of
  Good and Bad Government, depicts a good
  government as one that it is safe for a woman to
  walk alone in the streets
• The Conciliar Movement did not want power under
  one Pope, but the Council of Constance
  (1414-1418) deposed three rival popes.
• Thebalance of powers as the theme of kingship was
  balanced by priesthood and prophetic office.
• Knowledge some found it improper to quote the
  pagan scholars. Tertullian (160-240) and Cyprian
  (200?-258) did not, but they proved to be in the
  minority. It is interesting that in the area of
  music a strict view did prevail. The reason . .
  .was that the church looked with indignation on
  the social occasions and pagan religious
  exercises connected with them.

28
Ambrogio Lorenzettis (c. 1290-1348) Allegory of
Good and Bad Government
29
Schaeffer

• Charlemagne, son of Pippin, became king of the
  Franks in 768 and was crowned Holy Roman Emperor
  by Pope Leo III in Rome on Christmas Day of 800.
• He strengthened the church in many ways, giving
  the pope a strong land base in Italy and also
  supporting the Anglo-Saxon missionaries in the
  areas he conquered, especially among the Germanic
  tribes. Charlemagne made tithing compulsory, and
  this supplied funds for the establishment of
  church administration. He also built impressive
  churches, including the Palatine Chapel, at
  Aachen (West Germany).
• Scholars came from all over Europe to
  Charlemagnes court for example, Alcuin
  (735-804) came all the way from York in northern
  England when he was fifty years old. He became
  Charlemagnes advisor, head of the palace school
  at Aachen, and attracted a constellation of
  scholars to join him there.
• all of Charlemagnes scholars were clergy. Our
  word clerk is related to the word cleric, that
  is, a member of the clergy. It seems that though
  Charlemagne himself learned to read, he never
  learned to write.

30
Schaeffer

• Pope Gregory I (pope from 590 to 604) brought the
  music of the western church into a systematic
  whole. This impersonal, mystical, and
  other-worldly music is named after him the
  Gregorian chant.
• The eleventh-century Romanesque architecture was
  distinguished by the rounded arch, thick walls,
  and dim interiors.
• During the change from the Romanesque to the
  Gothic, Mariology began to grow in the church.
  The Romanesque churches were not dedicated to the
  Virgin, but the Gothic churches of France were
  overwhelmingly dedicated to her.
• By 1100 the heavy plow had become common, central
  to a process which historians regard as a
  revolution in cultivation.
• By the twelfth century water mills and windmills
  were common.

31
Palatine Chapel, at Aachen (West Germany
32
World History

• Justinian Law Code and Byzantine Empire
• 1054 the schism between the eastern and western
  Church.
• Seljuk Turks were nomadic tribes from Asia that
  adopted Arab culture and Islam.
• Manzikert was the battle site where Asia Minor
  was lost to the Turks.
• 1453 the fall of the Byzantine empire to the
  Ottoman turks.
• Cyril and Methodius took the Gospel to the Slavs
  of Russia, but first had to develop their
  alphabet.
• Hagia Sophia greatest of churches in size an
  adornment.
• Vladimir I adopted Christianity in Kiev in 988.
• Yaroslav made Kiev like a second Constantinople.

33
World History

• Hegira (flight) established Islam calendar as
  Mohammed left Mecca to Medina.
• In 630 Mohamed conquered Mecca.
• The five pillars of Islam
• Recite There is no God but Allah ..
• Pray 5 times a day toward Mecca
• Alms to the poor
• Fasting during Ramadan
• Pilgrimage to Mecca
• 732 Charles Martel and the battle of Tours
  stopped the spread of Islam to Spain.

34
(No Transcript)
35
World History

• From World Magazine
• The division and the unforgiven grudges go all
  the way back to 632 A.D. when Muhammad died. Who
  would succeed him as the leader of what was
  becoming both a religious and a political empire?
  One group claimed that the prophet had chosen his
  cousin and son-in-law Ali. These "Shiites"a
  shortened form of the words for "the party of
  Ali"believed that future successors should be
  physical descendants from the prophet's family.

36
World History

• The other faction believed Muhammad had said that
  future rulers should be chosen by consensus of
  the other leaders. They chose the prophet's
  father-in-law, Abu Bakr, to be the "caliph." His
  followers became the "Sunnis," from a word for
  followers of the "tradition."
• A bloody civil war between Muslims erupted, which
  Abu Bakr and his faction won. But the party of
  Ali kept their allegiance to the prophet's line.
  After Ali died, Muhammad's grandson Husayn became
  the "2nd imam." He was murdered by the mainstream
  Sunnis, an event Shiites still commemorate by
  flagellating themselves bloody with chains.

37
World History

• The Shiites had 10 more imams descended from the
  prophet. The 12th imam, though, mysteriously
  disappeared, leading to the messianic belief that
  in the last days, after a time of lawlessness and
  violence, he shall return in triumph to impose
  order and establish Islamic law in all the earth.
• Sunnis consider Shiites to be idolaters. Though
  they mingle during the pilgrimage to Mecca, many
  orthodox Sunnis do not consider Shiites to be
  true Muslims. They do not approve of their
  veneration of human beings, their devotion to
  shrines, or their mysticism. They reject giving
  canonical authority to later Shiite writings.
  Sunni polemical writings accuse the Shiites of
  sexual immorality for permitting temporary
  marriagea type of prostitution in which a man
  pays a woman, says the words of marriage, has
  sex, and then says the words of divorce.
• Most Muslims across the world are Sunnis, with
  only about 15 percent being Shiites. But Shiites
  dominate Iran and Syria, and they make up a 60
  percent majority in Iraq.
• As the United States struggles against this Sunni
  terrorism, we also have to worry about the Shiite
  beliefs of the president of Iran, Mahmoud
  Ahmadinejad. He has been preaching that the
  second coming of the 12th imam, the "Mahdi," is
  at hand. The Iranian president has connections to
  a group that believes Muslims can hasten the
  Mahdi's return by creating chaos on earth.

38
World History

• The Vulgate translation by Jerome was the
  standard Bible text for the Middle Ages.
• Seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church by the
  12th Century
• Baptism
• Confirmation
• Penance
• Eucharist
• Marriage
• Holy orders
• Extreme Unction

39
World History

• Relics of Saints needed to be under an altar for
  the Mass to be celebrated.
• Purchase of relics could buy time out of
  Purgatory.
• Gregory the Great was known as the first Pope.
  He was a sincere pious man, but condoned the
  Canon of the Mass which affirmed the sacrificial
  nature of the Mass, and embraced the equality of
  tradition to the Bible and doctrine of Purgatory.

40
World History

• St. Patrick introduced Christianity to Ireland
  in 432-c461 folklore he is also credited with
  driving all snakes from its shores.
• As the new religion became firmly established,
  crafts workers and scholars came from many parts
  of Europe to study in Irish monasteries. Artists
  produced fine objects in gold and silver
  encrusted with precious stones, and metal and
  stone sculptures. Monks copied out important
  works in wonderfully illuminated manuscripts,
  such as the Book of Kells. Irish priests and
  scholars travelled all over Europe founding
  schools, monasteries, and cathedrals, which in
  their turn became famous centers of religious
  learning and craftsmanship.
• All these events disprove the belief that was
  once held, that when the western Roman empire
  collapsed, Europe slid into a Dark Age of
  barbarism in which all beauty and learning were
  destroyed. The particular strength of art and
  learning in Ireland had an influence far beyond
  that island. They were responsible for
  reintroducing Christianity to England. .

41
World History

• St. Boniface (680-754)
• Also known as Winfrid, he brought the gospel to
  the Germans. He reportedly cut down a large oak
  at Geismar, which was sacrad to Thor. The
  Germans thought he would die, but since he didnt
  they onverted to Christianity.
• He also was the first to use women in missionary
  work as well.

42
Middle Ages General Timeline
43
The castle of Camelot perhaps stood where the
earthwork known as Cadbury Castle is now, which
stands on a steep hill west of South Cadbury.
44
(No Transcript)
45
Introduction

• The Failure of Sir Gawain" by E. Burne-Jones and
  John Henry Dearle

46
Introduction

• SIR GAWAYN AND?E GRENE KNY?T
• I
• SI?EN ?e sege and ?e assaut watz sesed at
  Troye,?e bor? brittened and brent to brondez and
  askez,?e tulk ?at ?e trammes of tresoun ?er
  wro?tWatz tried for his tricherie, ?e trewest on
  ertheHit watz Ennias ?e athel, and his highe
  kynde, 5
• ?at si?en depreced prouince, and patrounes
  bicomeWelne?e of al ?e wele in ?e west iles.Fro
  riche Romulus to Rome ricchis hym swy?e,With
  gret bobbaunce ?at bur?e he biges vpon fyrst,

47
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (1380?)

• Classic Medieval Metrical Romance
• Arthurian tale of chivalry and courtly love
• Native poetic tradition
• Deliberately artful vocabulary
• Intricately structured poem
• May have influence of oral tradition
• Far too ornate and organized to be oral

48
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (14th century)

• Alliterative verse recalls earlier Anglo-Saxon
  tradition like Beowulf
• Alliterative Revival -- lost for several
  centuries
• Conscious use of native rather than popular
  continental tradition
• Chaucer follows Continental model
• Chaucer being from the London area
• "Gawain is composed in stanzas consisting of
  unrhymed alliterative lines followed by five
  short rhymed lines. The number of unrhymed lines
  varies from 12 (lines 20-31) to 37 (lines
  928-64), and there are 101 stanzas."

49
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (14th century)

• Atypical Arthurian talenot really about Arthur,
  battles, or Camelot
• Inner moral testing rather than physical tests
• 2 narrative motifs
• Beheading game
• Exchange of gifts
• Gawains quest is to overcome his passion and
  uphold the chivalric code

50
Romance

• Chivalric Romance (Medieval Romance)narrative
  form that developed in 12th-century France
• Spreads to other countries/cultures
• Displaced different epic and heroic tales
• Not concerned with heroic age of tribal conflict
  like epic
• Romance concerned with courtly age of chivalric
  conduct
• Often written in verseMetrical Romance

51
Romance

• Romance plot usually revolves around quest
  undertaken by single knight for ladys favor
• Often revolves around theme of courtly love
• Tournaments, quests, dragons and beasts fought
• Highlights chivalric ideals of honor, courage,
  and loyalty
• Dante and his love for Beatrice reflects his
  chivalry in the Divine Comedy

52
Sir Gawain, Part I

• After the fall of Troy, we are told, various
  heroes left to build cities.
• Romulus founded Rome,
• Brutus founded Britain.
• The author introduces Britains greatest leader,
  the legendary King Arthur he will then relate a
  story he heard told.

53
Sir Gawain, Part I

• The story begins at Christmas time at King
  Arthurs court in Camelot.
• Queen Guinevere presides in their midst.
• The lords and ladies of Camelot have been
  feasting for fifteen days, and now it is New
  Years Day.
• Arthur introduces a new game he refuses to eat
  his dinner until he has heard a marvelous story.

54
Sir Gawain, Part I

• While the lords and ladies feast, with Arthurs
  nephew Gawain and Guinevere sitting together in
  the place of privilege at the high table, Arthur
  continues to wait for his marvel.
• As if in answer to Arthurs request, a gigantic
  knight in an elaborate costume of green, with
  long green hair, and his huge green horse is
  green, break into the gathering.
• Without introducing himself, the knight demands
  to see the person in charge. Arthur steps
  forward, inviting the knight to join the feast
  and tell his tale after he has dismounted from
  his horse. He holds a holly bob in one hand and a
  huge green and gold axe in the other.
• The knight refuses the invitation, remaining
  mounted and explaining that he has come to
  inspect Arthurs court he wants to play a game
  in which someone will strike him with his own
  axe, on the understanding that he gets to return
  the blow in exactly a year and a day.

55
Sir Gawain, Part I
Recording

• Arthur rises to meet the challenge of the Green
  Knight, but Gawain stands up and requests that he
  be allowed to take the task.
• The Green Knight dismounts and bends down toward
  the ground, exposing his neck. Gawain lifts the
  axe, and in one stroke he severs the Green
  Knights head. Blood spurts from the wound, and
  the head rolls around the room, passing by the
  feet of many of the guests.
• He reaches down, picks up the head, and holds it
  before him, pointing it toward the high table.
  The head speaks, reiterating the terms of
  Gawains promise.
• The Green Knight rides out of the hall, sparks
  flying from his horses hooves.
• Arthur and Gawain decide to hang the axe above
  the main dais. They then return to their feast
  and the continuing festivities.

56
Sir Gawain, Part I

• When Gawain steps forth to accept the Green
  Knights challenge, he claims he is the weakest
  of Arthurs knights. Is this just
  self-deprecation or is it from a real sense of
  his own inadequacy, or perhaps really a boast?
• Many scholars of medieval chivalry believe
  Gawains behavior in this scene accords with the
  rules of knightly courtesy, but the poem gives us
  no commentary on Gawains motivations at this
  crucial plot juncture (Sparknotes).

57
Sir Gawain, Part I

• Although the Green Knight refers to his agreement
  with Gawain as a game, suggesting that the
  challenge is no different from any of the other
  games played by Arthurs court, the Green Knight
  words his challenge like a legal contract. He
  refers to the agreement as a covenant and
  mentions dues, and he makes Gawain repeat the
  terms multiple times. The Green Knights language
  foreshadows the fact that the his game will have
  serious ethical implications it will test not
  only Gawains bravery, but also his honesty and
  integrity.

58
Sir Gawain, Part II

• All-Hallows DaySeptember 29
• The year passes, the seasons change and though
  worried but resigned, Gawain calls for his armor,
  which the poet describes in great detail. He
  devotes space to each and every piece, down to
  the shimmering skirts on Gawains horse,
  Gringolet.

59

• The description lingers on Gawains shield, which
  depicts on its outside a gold five-pointed star,
  or pentangle, on a red background. On the inside
  of the shield is the face of Mary, Christs
  mother. Each of the five points of the pentangle,
  which is described as an endless knot,
  represents a set of Gawains virtues his five
  senses his five fingers his fidelity, founded
  on the five wounds of Christ on the cross his
  force, founded on the five joys of Mary and the
  five knightly virtues, free-giving, friendly,
  chastity, chivalry, and piety all surpassing .
  These five virtues will be put to the test in the
  following pages.

60

• The figure is said to have been used by the
  Pythagoreans as a symbol of health, and also by
  the neo-Platonists and Gnostics to signify
  perfection but it was known to the Jews as well,
  thus coming to be called 'Solomon's seal', and is
  obviously related to the similar figure, the
  hexagram, in which two equilateral triangles
  interlock to form a six-pointed star--this,
  inscribed in a circle, was eventually adopted as
  the symbol of Judaism (the Magen David, 'Shield
  of David'). The pentangle was long used as a
  magic sign, believed to give power over evil
  spirits. Its use in this way was condemned by
  Christian writers, such as the Jesuit Athanasius
  Kircher in his Arithmologia ( Rome, 1665), p.
  216 'voces horrendae vna mixtis sacris
  nominibus, nodo quem Salomonis vocant, adnexo. .
  .' but it had much earlier come to be adapted to
  Christian symbolism, the five points sometimes
  being connected with the five letters of the name
  Jesus, or the five wounds it appears as an
  ornament in manuscripts (see Loomis, J.E.G.P.
  xlii ( 1943), 168) and on churches (e.g. the
  fourteenth-century church of Adderbury in
  Oxfordshire).

61
Sir Gawain, Part II

• Gawain travels from Camelot to northern Whales
  and encounters all manner of problems and
  battles. Finally, on Christmas Eve, the desperate
  Gawain prays to the Virgin Mary that he might
  find a place to attend Christmas Mass. He repents
  his sins, crosses himself three times, and, when
  he looks up, he sees a beautiful castle, and
  gives full of thanks to God for saving him,
• The hosts lords and ladies repeatedly express
  their joy that Gawain (a minor celebrity because
  he is Arthurs nephew and a knight of the Round
  Table) can show them the latest in knightly
  behavior and help them to become more courtly
  themselves. Like Arthurs followers, the
  courtiers seem inexperienced and carefree. But
  Gawains host presents a much more imposing
  figure than Arthur. The lord appears to be
  middle-aged, with a thick, gray-black beard and
  solid, sturdy legs. Though the hosts fiery face
  and stocky figure make him appear fierce, his
  speech reveals him to be gracious and gentle.

62
Sir Gawain, Part II

• At the castle of Bertilak (as he gives later)
  things are not as they appear.
• An old hag with the wife of Bertilak, more fair
  than Guinevere, we learn is an enemy of Arthur.
• Bertilaks physique and his initiation of a
  covenant, disguised as a harmless game, recall
  the character of the Green Knight from Part 1
  (Sparknotes).
• The game will be that Bertilak will go out
  hunting with his men, while Gawain remains in bed
  or at the castle. At the end of each of the three
  days, the two men will exchange whatever they
  have won. Happy to play along, Gawain accepts.
  The men kiss each other, repeating their vows,
  and then go off to bed.

63
Sir Gawain, Part III

• In medieval iconography, an old woman next to a
  young woman often allegorically represents
  vanity. The significance of such a representation
  was that love of worldly beauty means neglect of
  the spiritual life, and since worldly beauty must
  always fail and die, its pursuit will always
  prove vain (Sparknotes).
• Early in the morning, Bertilak and his guests get
  out of bed and prepare to ride forth from the
  castle. They attend Mass, eat a small breakfast,
  and leave with their hunting dogs as dawn breaks.
  They ride through the woods, chasing after the
  deer and herding the does away from the bucks and
  harts. In the fields, they slay the deer dozens
  at a time with their deadly arrows.
• Back at the castle, Gawain lingers in bed until
  daybreak. While still half asleep, he hears the
  door open quietly. Peeking out of his beds
  canopy, he sees Bertilaks wife creeping toward
  his bed. She jokes that she has captured him,
  and she threatens to tie him to the bed, laughing
  at her own game. Gawain laughs and surrenders
  to her, then asks her leave to get up and put on
  his clothes. She refuses, saying that instead she
  will hold him captive. She tells Gawain that she
  has heard many stories about him and wants to
  spend time alone with him. She offers to be his
  servant and tells him to use her body any way he
  sees fit.

64
Sir Gawain, Part III

• The two continue bantering, and the lady tells
  Gawain that she would have chosen him for her
  husband if she could have. Gawain responds that
  her own husband is the better man. Until
  mid-morning, the lady continues to lavish Gawain
  with admiration, and Gawain continues to guard
  himself while still being gracious.
• When the lady gets up to leave, she laughs and
  then sternly accuses her captive knight of not
  being the real Gawain. Alarmed and worried that
  he has failed in his courtesy, Gawain asks her to
  explain what she means. She responds that the
  real Gawain would never let a lady leave his
  chamber without taking a kiss. Gawain allows one
  kiss, and then the lady leaves. He dresses
  immediately and goes to hear Mass, then spends
  the afternoon with the women.

65
Sir Gawain, Part III

• Meanwhile, Bertilak, cleans all the deer they
  caught. The poet describes the dismembering of
  the deer in gory detail, from the removal of
  their bowels to the severing of their heads.
  After they finish their bloody task, the hunters
  return home with their meat. The dismembering
  reflects back to the seriousness of a covenant,
  especially a marriage covenant (Gen 15).
• Bertilak greets Gawain and gives him the venison
  he won during the hunt that day. Gawain thanks
  him and in return gives him the kiss he won from
  his wife. The host jokingly asks where Gawain won
  such a prize, and Gawain points out that they
  agreed to exchange winnings, not to tell where or
  how they were acquired. Happy, the men feast and
  retire to bed, agreeing to continue the game
  tomorrow.

66
Sir Gawain, Part III

• The next two days follow a similar pattern. On
  the second day, Bertilak hunts a wild boar,
  risking his life in the kill. Meanwhile, at the
  castle, Gawain lingers in bed again, and much
  like the previous day, the lady continues to
  teasingly challenge Gawains reputation,
  pressuring him into allowing her two kisses. She
  makes convincing arguments for his acceptance of
  her love, and that it would be chivalrous. That
  night, Bertilak brings home the boars head on a
  stick and exchanges it with Gawain for the two
  kisses. The Boars head may remind one of the
  impending decapitation for Gawain, perhaps why he
  does not sleep well that night.
• On the third day Bertilak eventually kills a fox
  after a long hunt. Gawain, after nightmares
  about the Green Knight, has a long joust with the
  lady who eventually gets three kisses. She would
  like to give him a ring, her ring, but he also
  refuses. She then offers him her green girdle,
  which he refuses till she claims it has magical
  properties it possesses the ability to keep the
  man who wears it safe from death. Tempted by the
  possibility of protecting his life, Gawain
  accepts the girdle. Actually the fox was no
  prize, Bertilak says a foul fox-fell (p. 98).

67
Sir Gawain, Part III

• That afternoon, Gawain goes to confession. At the
  end of the day, he gives the three kisses to his
  host but fails to mention the ladys gift. As the
  hunt, so the return to Bertilak are just as slim
  as for Gawain, who now acts more like a fox
  (wessel) than a knight. After the exchange, the
  host and his courtiers hold a farewell party for
  Gawain before he sets out to the Green Chapel in
  the morning.
• Whether he sleeps or not, the poet cannot say.

68
Sir Gawain, Part III

• We see the five graces which are in tension by
  the temptations. Is the poet pointing these
  inconsistencies out? By claiming that she
  possesses Gawain only through Gods grace, the
  lady evokes a complicated system of religious and
  political imagery. As the hosts wife and as a
  noblewoman more generally, the lady exceeds
  Gawain in rank, and his chivalry requires him to
  obey her, facts of which she reminds him when
  attempting to seduce him. Also, the notion that
  courtly lovethe love a knight might have for a
  lady of higher rank than himselfleads to
  spiritual ennoblement had been popularized
  centuries earlier in continental literature.
  Invoking religion at this erotically charged
  moment reminds Gawain that part of his spiritual
  education as a knight should involve courtly
  love. For Gawain to refuse her advances, he must
  break his knightly responsibility to be
  courteous for him to accept, he must break his
  chastity, which he say he certainly could not
  (Sparknotes).

69
Sir Gawain, Part III

• On the third day, Gawains resolve weakens when
  the stakes shift radically from courtesy versus
  chastity to honesty versus safety. On the
  surface, the green silk girdle that the lady
  offers Gawain looks exactly like the kind of
  token that a courtly lady might give her lover
  (and Gawain initially rejects it for this
  reason), yet the ethical dilemma it represents is
  related to self-preservation rather than to
  chastity.
• When the lady tells him that the girdle also
  protects its wearer from being wounded or killed,
  Gawain is eager to be able to fulfill his promise
  to the Green Knight and still survive. What
  Gawain wants is a loophole through which he can
  escape death but this requires him to deceive
  Bertilak, his hosta breach of honesty and
  gratitude for hospitality. Gawain does not notice
  that the girdles silk is green and gold, like
  the Green Knights clothing, and he disassociates
  the girdle itself from the ladys body, which it
  surely symbolizes (Sparks Notes).

70
Sir Gawain, Part IV

• Gawain lies in bed during the early hours of New
  Years morning, listening to the harsh wind
  wailing outside the castle. Despite Gawains
  anxiety, and his failings, his armor shines as
  brightly as it did when he left Camelot. He ties
  the ladys girdle around his waist, which offers
  a stark contrast to the red cloth of Gawains
  surcoat.
• As Gawain and Gringolet prepare to ride off,
  Gawain silently blesses the castle, asking Christ
  to keep it safe from harm and wishing joy on the
  Bertilak and his wife.
• The guide with Gawain offers one more temptation,
  leave now and he would not tell anyone of the
  event. Gawain thanks the guide for his concern,
  but he refuses to be a coward. Gawain continues
  on looking for a building, but realizes, a
  crevice or cave, fringed with tall grass must be
  the Green Chapel.

71
(No Transcript)
72
Sir Gawain, Part IV

• Suddenly certain that the place belongs to the
  devil, Gawain curses the chapel and is proceeding
  toward the cave with his lance in hand when he
  hears the horrifying sound of a weapon being
  sharpened on a grindstone. Gawain calls out to
  the lord of the place, stating that he has come
  to fulfill his agreement.. The Green Knight
  emerges from around a crag, carrying a Danish
  axe. He welcomes Gawain warmly and compliments
  him on his punctuality, then tells him he will
  repay him for his own beheading a year ago.

73
Sir Gawain, Part IV

• Gawain bravely bares his neck to the Green
  Knight. He lifts the axe high and drops it. When
  the Green Knight sees Gawain flinch he stops his
  blade, mocking Gawain and questioning his
  reputation. (Gawain is after all wearing a girdle
  around his surcoat.)
• Gawain tells him he will not flinch again, and he
  says But if on the floor now falls my head, I
  cannot it restore. The Green Knight lifts the
  axe a second time. Gawain doesnt flinch as the
  axe comes down, and the Green Knight holds the
  blade again, this time congratulating Gawains
  courage.
• The third time. He brings it down hard, but
  causes Gawain no harm other than a slight cut on
  his neck. Gawain leaps away, draws his sword
  gleefully, and challenges the Green Knight to a
  fight, telling him that he has withstood the
  promised blow. The Green Knight leans on his axe
  and agrees that Gawain has met the terms of the
  covenant, but refuses to fight. He points out
  that he has spared Gawain.

74
Sir Gawain, Part IV

• Now Bertilak reveals himself, and states the
  first two times, in accordance with their
  covenant, were for his complete compliance to the
  game and the knightly code. The nick from the
  third blow was punishment for Gawains behavior
  on the third day, when he failed to tell the
  truth about the green girdle, and did not keep
  his knightly code. Today would be the time of
  circumcision for the baby Jesus, and reflect the
  keeping of a covenant. The nick to the neck was
  like this, and the scar a constant reminder of
  his transgression remembered.
• Once Bertilak revelas himself Gawain responds by
  untying the girdle and cursing it, and asking to
  regain the hosts trust if possible. The Green
  Knight laughs and absolves Gawain, now that he
  has adequately confessed his sin. He gives Gawain
  the girdle to keep and asks him to come back to
  the castle and stay there longer to celebrate New
  Years, but Gawain refuses.

75
(No Transcript)
76
Sir Gawain, Part IV

• Gawain thanks the Green Knight and sends his best
  wishes to the lady and the old woman, then
  complains about the deceitfulness of women, who
  have brought about the downfalls of great men
  such as Adam, Solomon, Samson, and David.
• Bertilak de Hautdesert, reveals his nam and that
  he is a servant of Morgan le Faye, who is the old
  woman in the castle. Le Faye is also Gawains
  aunt and Arthurs half sister. Bertilak reveals
  that Le Faye sent him in disguise as the Green
  Knight to Camelot in order to scare Queen
  Guinevere to death when his head began to talk.
  Gawain refuses to return to the castle, the place
  of his temptations and failing.
• Gawain will continue to wear the green girdle on
  his right shoulder, as a sign of his failure and
  sin. Arthur and the court try to comfort Gawain,
  and they decide that they will all wear belts of
  green silk as a sign of respect and unity.
• He closes mentioning Brutus, who was the grandson
  of Aeneas, and mention Christ To His bliss us
  bring Who bore the Crown of Thorns on brow!

77
Symbolism

• Medieval exegesis assumed at least four levels of
  meaning literal, allegorical, tropological (or
  moral), and anagogical (or spiritual). At the
  literal level, a Biblical story is a simple
  presentation of facts. At the allegorical level,
  events and people become metaphorical
  representations When Joshua blows his horn and
  the walls of Jericho collapse, for example, the
  story is an allegory of the Last Judgment, when
  the trumpet will sound and the world will come to
  an end. At the tropological level, a story
  teaches a lesson or gives a moral. At the
  anagogical level, a story conveys ultimate
  mystical or spiritual truths. Any Biblical text
  may have one or all of these levels of meaning
  operating at the same time (Cliffs Notes).

78
Characters

• Green Knight (Bertilak)-- The pattern of the
  romance leads to the expectation that the Green
  Knight is a villain, an evil monster. However,
  when the story ends, Gawain and the Green Knight
  part as friends. Far from having been defeated,
  the Green Knight retains the advantage throughout
  the story, and the poet leaves him to go his
  ways, his mysteries unexplained and his
  ambiguities unresolved (Cliffs Notes).
• Arthur is the legendary King of the Britons. The
  poet emphasizes the youthfulness of both the king
  and his courtiers, but the age of Morgan la Faye
  may be distorted. Perhaps it reflects more to
  Arthurs immaturity. Arthur proves to be bolder
  and braver than his court when faced with the
  Green Knights challenge, and he is prepared to
  chop off the Green Knights head until Gawain
  asks to be given the task. Arthur is Gawains
  uncle and Morgans half-brother.

79
Characters

• Gawain -- is said to have been the son of
  Lot(h), king of Lothian, Orkney, and other
  Scottish territories. His mother was Arthur's
  sister, named Anna by Geoffrey, Belisent in some
  French romances, Morgawse in Malory. According to
  William of Malmesbury (ii. 342) Gawain (Walwen)
  ruled over Galloway (Walweitha). In early
  Arthurian tradition both Continental and insular
  Gawain is presented as the greatest of Arthur's
  knights, famed for his courtesy as well as
  invincible in battle. This view of him continued
  in both French and English the best-known
  expression of his reputation for courtesy is in
  Chaucer Squire's Tale (F. 89-97), where the
  strange knight greeted the company
• With so heigh reverence and obeisaunce,As wel in
  speche as in his contenaunce
• That Gawayn, with his olde curteisye,Though he
  were comen ayeyn out of Fairye,Ne koude hym nat
  amende with a word.

80
Worldview

• I hold it healed beyond doubt, the harm that I
  had. Thou hast confessed thee so clean and
  acknowledge thine errors, and has the penance
  plain to see from the point of my blade, that I
  hold thee purged of that debt, made as pure as
  clean as thou hadst done no ill deed since the
  day thou wert born (Tolkien, 116).
• WORLD VIEW
• A world view is a way of looking at life. What do
  the main characters believe about life? What do
  they base their life on? What do they considered
  ultimate truth? In an attempt to determine the
  world view of a piece of literature use the
  following seven questions as a guide
• How is God described? What is He like? What are
  His attributes?
• What is the universe like? Describe its origin
  and operation?
• How is man described? What is man like? What is
  his nature?
• What is the basis for ethics and morality?
• What is the cause of evil and suffering?
• What is thought to happen to man at death?
• Is history seen to have a purpose, or is it
  simply a never ending cycle?

81
Worldview

• How is God described? What is He like? What are
  His attributes?
• Personal, able to pray to pp. 52,63, 92 triune,
  creator p.56, upholdeth the heavens p.118
  sovereign pp.46, 71, 100
• What is the universe like? Describe its origin
  and operation?
• Sorcery, magic, ancient earth but creator is
  gracious p.58
• How is man described? What is man like? What is
  his nature?
• Able not to sin, good at birth p.96 achieve
  sainthood pp. 48, 51, 52 I beseech thee O Lord,
  and Mary Father , Ave and creed Jesus and
  Saint Julian. Man has a soul p.110, mortal p.111
• What is the basis for ethics and morality?
• The Bible and Church in above quote.
• What is the cause of evil and suffering?
• Sin, ones actions lead to sin, repentance needed
  p. 115,
• What is thought to happen to man at death?
• A hope of salvation, rewards p.55, 61, 72 needing
  grace p.119
• Is history seen to have a purpose, or is it
  simply a never ending cycle?
• Cycle of life and death, as the seasons change
• Christ died on the cross to save, p. 121

82
Worldview

• Luds Church was the place the Lollards,
  followers of Wycliffe used to worship, Wycliffe
  was banished to his Rector in 1382.
• It is also the legend of the Green Knights
  abode.
• The Catholic Gawain, notes this place a chapel
  of mischance, the church most accursed that ever
  I entered. Evil betide it (Tolkien, 108)!
• Bertilak and wife never call on Mary, and his
  wife denounces her 1268, p.75
• The druid nature worship and the curse of the
  Devil in the crag is possible, but Bertilak does
  not seem like a pagan, since he celebrates mass.

83
(No Transcript)
84
(No Transcript)
85
Luds Church
A strange chasm in the Cheshire hills. Overgrown
green with ferns and lichen and lit by shafts of
sunlight from the narrow opening it's easy to see
why this is thought to have inspired the
legendary home of the Green Knight in Sir Gawain
and the Green Knight 1 Druids call it a
natural church a place of worship formed by the
earth itself, a spiritual corridor in the ground.
In the past it was believed to have been made by
the devil slashing the earth with a fingernail,
creating a deep, unhealable wound. 2
86
"HONY SOIT QUI MAL PENCE"
The motto of the Knights of the Garter (founded
by Edward III, c. 1348). After the kings
mistress lost her garter on the dance floor, the
king is said to have defuse the potentially
embarrassing situation with the gallant and
interesting assertion "Shame be to him who evil
thinks." Scholars doubt the poet intended the
association, but it may represent a readers
interpretive response to the poem (i.e., this is
a situation in which there is no inherently
shameful thing, but interpretations of it may
bring shame to the interpreters).
87

• Worldview of the Western World II