The Green Knight

The Green Knight
Textile Art (Embroidery)
An Interpretation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Medieval Romance: Magic and the Supernatural (YHU2309)
2022

“A text is a weave of knowing and not-knowing.”¹ As stated by critic Geraldine Heng with regards to Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the narrative is full of unanswered questions. The Green Knight is a mysterious character both known and unknowable. His first appearance is a shock to Arthur’s court, and though we eventually glean some insight as to his origins, there still lurks questions, such as: why does Morgan le Fay hate Guinevere? How does Guinevere react? The binaries of knowing and not-knowing form a compelling narrative.

With the text described as a “weave,” I was inspired to embroider. In fact, various narratives refer to embroidery as a medium for communication. For instance, in the Middle English Breton Lai Emare, Emare’s luxuriously embroidered robe plays a central role in the narrative. The robe depicts different pairs of lovers. With its images of true loves, the robe becomes representative of a “gallery of ideals,” integral to the romance of the story.² Embroidery was a common pastime for women in the Medieval period, akin to a symbol of status. Embroidered items were often created with expensive materials like silk, silver or gold, and given as presents to promote the political interests of the family. A valuable gift, embroidery was a medium of communication, signalling friendly intentions and furthering alliances.³ In embroidery, various stitches are used; the split stitch was popular in Medieval England, and so I mainly used this stitch, as seen in the border and leaves.⁴

Regarding the Green Knight, what struck me was the ambiguity of what he represented. While at first an ominous appearance in Arthur’s court, by the end of the tale, we learn he is the friendly lord who welcomed Gawain into his court. In fact, the Green Knight possesses many paradoxical qualities, seen in lines 151-220, expounding his appearance in excruciating detail. He is green and supernaturally strong, yet appears human at the same time. He appears offering symbols of peace (the holly sprig) and of violence (the axe). He could be good or evil. As such, I decided to focus on embroidering just the Green Knight, although in the narrative, he enters Arthur’s court on his green horse. Moreover, I kept his face empty, in order to underscore the mystery of his identity—Arthur’s court knows nothing about the Green Knight’s origins when he first arrives.

The most striking aspect of the Green Knight is, as his name suggests, that he is entirely green. Specific shades of green are mentioned; he is the green of nature, be it “forest-green” or “grass-green” (lines 220 and 235). To highlight the greenness of the knight, I decided to use green cloth for the background, overtly highlighting the green-ness of the Green Knight and the overall piece. The only parts of the piece that are not green are the gold accents and the items he wields.

In this piece, I tried to depict the contrast between the humanity of the Green Knight and his supernatural appearance, where he appears like a force of nature. The Green Knight is directly associated with nature, his garments “embroidered as it was with butterflies and birds,” lending a sense of delicateness to the Green Knight, in line with his meticulously groomed appearance (line 166). To make these animals more obvious, I embroidered butterflies around the knight, as though following him—emphasising the idea that the Green Knight is aided by the power of nature, and is thus stronger than normal knights. I also used green felt for the armour, creating a texture that reminded me of moss, as though elements of nature are literally being used to protect him. On top of the mossy armour, I used embroidery thread to stitch leaves and vines, explicitly highlighting the Green Knight’s connection to nature. Similarly, the Green Knight’s cape has felt leaves attached on top, as though they are natural extensions of the cloak.

However, at the same time, the Green Knight is human. Though the characters do not know it yet at this juncture, the Green Knight is an alternate identity of Sir Bertilak. After all, the knight is dressed like a wealthy lord who is familiar with the clothes and customs of the time: “baubles and gems” are “arrayed so richly around his costume” (line 162). Interestingly, the word “costume” suggests that the ‘Green Knight’ is a mere illusion; underneath the clothes is a completely human being. To emphasise the human side of the Green Knight, green sequins were added to the cloak to represent the “baubles and gems.” Gold thread helps signify the status of the Green Knight: he appears in Arthur’s court as a grand figure dressed “richly” in human finery meant to impress. Furthermore, for the Green Knight’s hair, woolier thread is used to add more texture and make the hair appear more similar to human hair, despite being green.

Tellingly, the reactions of those at Arthur’s court emphasises the human-ness yet unnatural-ness of the Green Knight. The Green Knight is an oddity: although described as “weird” and “otherworldly,” characters note the Green Knight is still “flesh and bone,” ascribing human qualities to him (lines 196-198). This underscores the inability of the characters to categorise the Green Knight. Instead, the Green Knight appears to be symbolic of some connection between humanity and nature. He could even possibly represent a harbinger of death; after all, he looks so strong to the point that “it seemed no man there might / survive his violent blow” (lines 201-202). I tried to show the prowess of the Green Knight by making him appear imposing. His arms are outstretched, creating the impression of a large towering figure.

The Green Knight is also divine-like, aligning with the religious undertones of the narrative. Christ’s human yet divine nature is comparable to the Green Knight’s human yet supernatural nature. The Green Knight suddenly appears on New Year’s day, when Arthur is waiting for a marvellous story. Critics have pointed out it as though the Green Knight is playing out “an inversion of the Easter phase of Jesus’s ministry, a violent death and resurrection that threatens to bring death without hope of redemption or resurrection to Gawain.”¹ As such, I took the liberty of adding a gold cross around the neck of the Green Knight, implying his connection to Christianity.

Finally, I depicted the items the Green Knight is holding, in order to present the dichotomy of violence and peace that he offers Arthur’s court. The text describes him as holding “in one hand a sprig of holly” (line 206). The holly symbolises the Green Knight’s peacefulness, as he explicitly states: “Be assured by this holly stem here in my hand / that I mean no menace” (lines 265-266). As one of the few non-green items the Green Knight carries, I wanted to emphasise it by using bright red; hence, I used red sequins for the berries. This helps draw one’s eye to the sprig of holly, signalling the Green Knight’s peaceful intentions.

However, in his other hand, the Green Knight holds “the mother of all axes,/ a cruel piece of kit” (lines 208-209). The menacing look of the axe is also seen through the line: “broad-edged blade brightly burnished” (line 212). Although the Green Knight tells Arthur’s court that if he wanted conflict, his “sword and spear would be here,” the axe still remains ominously visible, and later becomes the vital element to his proposed game (line 269).