The Battle of the Soul in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

This work examines the psychomachia, or battle of the
soul, as it occurs in the 14th century poem, Sir
Gawain and the Green Knight. Based on an analysis of
the Gawain-poet s earlier work, as well as
contemporary analogs in chivalric manuals, Arthurian
romances and mystical literature such as The Cloud of
Unknowing, it argues that Sir Gawain''s quest into the
Otherworld is a tragedy of limited, human
perception pitted against a mysterious Infinite that
"deigns to destroy" the mortal protagonist s delusion
of knowing. The fault of Sir Gawain, therefore,
occurs after his ordeal at the chopping block,
arising from excessive pride in his own chivalric
self-conception. As such, the Gawain poet s final
work is a masterful culmination to his life-long
exploration of the themes of purity, confession, and
unclouded spiritual perception.

Autorentext

Robert Tindall is a writer, classical guitarist, and inveteratetraveler, who has also written on the medieval pilgrimage alongthe Camino to Santiago. His most recent work, The Jaguar thatRoams the Mind, narrates a journey into the vanishing world ofAmazonian shamanism.

Klappentext

This work examines the psychomachia, or battle of thesoul, as it occurs in the 14th century poem, SirGawain and the Green Knight. Based on an analysis ofthe Gawain-poet's earlier work, as well ascontemporary analogs in chivalric manuals, Arthurianromances and mystical literature such as The Cloud ofUnknowing, it argues that Sir Gawain's quest into theOtherworld is a tragedy of limited, humanperception pitted against a mysterious Infinite that"deigns to destroy" the mortal protagonist's delusionof knowing. The fault of Sir Gawain, therefore,occurs after his ordeal at the chopping block,arising from excessive pride in his own chivalricself-conception. As such, the Gawain poet's finalwork is a masterful culmination to his life-longexploration of the themes of purity, confession, andunclouded spiritual perception.