Journal of Taibah University the first issue

Medieval and Renaissance Values in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
and Spenser’s Epithalamion
5
Troy and the founding of Britain, at the end of his poem, too. The
author might have also been thinking in terms of a historical
perspective. Donald Howard suggests that the reader of Sir Gawain
can perceive events taking place at Arthur’s court from a historical
perspective. An analogy can be made between the Arthurian legend
and its Trojan counterpart, leading to the establishment of Britain. 6
They used to believe that Europe started to flourish and become great
and more progressive after the Trojan War. There, yet, seems to be
some moral lesson beyond such historical association, which
complicates the function of Classicism in the poem. As the poem
excessively celebrates King Arthur’s court and the knights of the
Round Table, the moral implication is perhaps a possible warning to
Arthur’s brave knights. The poet mentions the treacherous behavior
of Aeneas, who, yet, was ultimately proven most true. The
mythological anecdote offers an ethical model to Arthur’s knights.
The King’s court ought not be deceived in their so-called honor and
nobility, for what happened to Troy could very well happen to
Camelot. Given that implication, the few classical allusions in the
poem work both as inspiration to noble deeds and warning about
ignoble ones. The allusion to the fall of Troy can possibly anticipate
the fall of Arthur’s Kingdom, as the legend has it. Another interesting
classical allusion occurs in the guide’s description of the physical
prowess of the Green Knight who has “a body bigger than the best
four/ that are in Arthur’s house, Hector or any” (Part 4, 2101-2). The
poet perhaps aims at associating the physical power of Gawain with
that of the legendary Trojan hero. The poet deliberately brings in
Arthur’s knights, whom his audience can more easily identify with.
However, the Gawain-poet’s use of very few classical allusions- one
of them is only accidental- suggests a noticeable medieval lack of
interest in Classicism. When used, however, we can clearly perceive
the overall moral function of such allusions, closely associated with
medieval culture and literature.
In his poem, Spenser demonstrates the general Renaissance
awareness of texts from classical antiquity and the development of
aesthetic norms based on classical models. Writing his Epithalamion,
the poet actually adopts a traditional genre derived from classical
literature. According to Enid Welsford, the term ‘epithalamion,’ a
genre practiced by Latin writers as ‘epithalamium,’ has often been
employed by Greek writers, like Homer in his Illiad. The genre,
referring to a nuptial ode, incorporates elaborate and merry songs that
would accompany Greek and Roman marriage ceremonies. These
nuptial odes used to be sung outside the couple’s bed chamber.
Common features of such marriages were invocations of Gods,