#AStrangerArrives
Theseus, Sir Gareth and the Green Knight
Athens is getting ready to send fourteen youths to be sacrificed to the Minotaur, a tribute that was forced upon them by Crete. The power of King Aegeus had waned after this defeat, further exacerbated once he took Medea as his lover; an Asian princess infamous for murdering her own children in Corinth. Suddenly, a teenager appears in court ―a godsend, for Aegeus― whose reputation preceded him after having rid the road to Athens of all its nefarious bandits. #AStrangerArrives
King Arthur and his knights sit at the Round Table to celebrate Whitsunday. Following their tradition to hold their meal until they witnessed a wonderous apparition, they are relieved when a damsel suddenly presents herself before them, bearing a call to adventure: she seeks a champion to free her sister from the powerful Red Knight of the Red Launds. #AStrangerArrives
King Arthur and his knights, again, sit at the Round Table to celebrate New Year’s Eve. (This happens a lot). As they feast, the doors of their hall open and the supernatural Green Knight enters riding his green horse and brandishing his giant axe. He brings with him an uncanny challenge: a mutual beheading game. #AStrangerArrives
Applied Mythology’s Breakdown
These are all stories of Strangers Arriving, of Perilous Roads and ultimately, of Recognition.
If before, I had described Theseus’ coming-of-age myth as the story of a teenager seeking his father’s #Recognition (the Desire) by presenting himself in court ―#AStrangerArrives, (the Plan)― after overcoming the dangers of a #PerilousRoad (the Means), I’ll now demonstrate how these three mythical tropes, arranged differently, give us the stories of Sir Gareth and Sir Gawain, whose genealogy we reviewed last week.
This exploration will conclude with a new entry to my Parallel Lives series, through which I link mythical characters to current affairs: in this case, the story of Gawain and the Green Knight, to that of US Senator (R-SC) Lindsey Graham (why not?!). But first, let’s start with Sir Gawain’s younger brother, Sir Gareth.
The Story of Sir Gareth, abridged
Unlike Theseus, who presents himself in court after having proven his worth on his travels to Athens, the charm of Sir Gareth’s story is that he does the opposite: he arrives in court with no proof of his worth other than his noble lineage and chiseled good looks. Having none of that nepotism nonsense, Gareth ―King Arthur’s youngest nephew― presents himself anonymously to his uncle on Whitsunday, and asks for a first boon: to be fed in the castle kitchens for a year. Sir Kay, the Nelson Muntz of the Arthurian world, mocks him by calling him Beaumains, or ‘pretty hands’.
A year passes and #AStrangerAppears for the second time. On this occasion, it’s a noble lady asking for a champion to defend her sister, who is being held captive by the villainous Red Knight of the Red Launds. Expecting a hall-of-famer like Sir Lancelot, Sir Gawain or Sir Lamorak, she is sorely disappointed when Beaumains ―reeking after serving in the kitchens― steps up and asks for the second part of his boon: to be given this adventure.
If Theseus seeks his #Recognition after defeating the challenges of a #PerilousRoad, the anonymous Gareth does the opposite: he deliberately hides his noble origins and debases himself in the court kitchens, in order to build his reputation from the very bottom, letting his actions speak for themselves. Despite holding his own in an early battle against Sir Lancelot (who, impressed with his skills, knights him), the lady seeking a champion, Dame Lynet ―aka the Damsel Sauvage― is 100% not impressed and will spend a greater part of the story cursing, deriding, and belittling Beaumain’s accomplishments.
Gareth’s #PerilousRoad is not as desultory as Theseus’. Following a theme that would inspire future generations of Super Sentai Japanese series, he battles and defeats in succession, and with ascending power levels:
the Black Knight, Sir Percard, who is killed by Beaumains;
the Puce Knight, Sir Perimones, who surrenders and swears his loyalty with 30 of his knights;
the Green Knight, Sir Pertolepe, who surrenders and swears his loyalty with 50 of his knights; and
the Blue Knight, Sir Persant of Inde, who surrenders and swears his loyalty with 100 of his knights.
At this point, the long chain of victories makes it quite clear that Beaumains is no ordinary kitchen knave, leading everyone around him to an interesting conclusion: because he is so valiant, he has to be of noble descent. In the Arthurian world, nobility is not (just) inherited, but inherent. Noblesse and virtue go hand in hand, so if you are one, then surely you must be the other. Having proven himself repeatedly, Lady Lynet warms up to the idea that Beaumains is actually a prince going incognito, and starts regretting having been a bitch to him for the entire ride.
After being defeated, the Blue Knight ―the older, stronger and more powerful of these medieval Power Rangers― tests Beaumains by sending his virgin daughter to his bed that night. He graciously declines, passing the 6th century version of the Marshmallow Experiment and giving him the absolute certainty that Beaumains is, in fact, a nobleman. After all, integrity, restraint and discretion are sure ways of identifying a true British noble.
The Deed that Gets Undone
Beaumains’ #PerilousRoad finally reaches its climax in the fight against Sir Ironside, the Red Knight of the Red Launds, who possessed the strength of seven men and become mightier with the sunlight (a curiously similar superpower to that of Gareth’s brother’s, Sir Gawain). After a long battle, Sir Gareth is victorious but spares the life of his rival when he hears his sob story: Sir Ironside wasn’t really doing this to upset Lady Lynet’s sister, Lady Lionesse, but to appease his girlfriend who held a grudge against King Arthur’s strongest knights for having killed her brother. For all the male dominance in the Arthurian world, it’s often the women who are calling the shots.
The story’s happy ending gets frustrated, however, because Gareth’s #Recognition has yet to be fulfilled. Although it’s pretty clear that he is a noble, Lady Lionesse can’t prove it, so she refuses to let him into her castle, choosing instead to kidnap his dwarf (yes, he had a dwarf) and strongarm him into revealing Gareth’s identity. After confirming that her champion was none other than King Arthur’s nephew, she accepts him and lets him into her domain.
Not content with having proven his worth in battle, despite being mocked at Arthur’s court and insulted by Lady Lynet, Gareth wants to take things a step further and asks Lionesse to summon a nationwide tournament to celebrate her liberation by offering herself and her castle as the prize to the strongest knight. As expected, Gareth participates and excels incognito, using a ring that changed the color of his armor, proving his prowess once again, before he is recognized ―and flees.
Having made it perfectly clear that he is a worthy knight, Gareth finally marries Lionesse with King Arthur’s blessing, in what would be the royal wedding of the year. Lady Lynet and her niece, Lady Laurel, marry two of Sir Gareth’s brothers, Sir Agravain and Sir Gaheris, and they sort of live happily ever after…
…at least until Gareth is accidentally murdered by his friend and mentor, Sir Lancelot. Just like with the death of the Norse god Baldr, this marks the beginning of the end of the Arthurian sagas, and the downfall of the Knights of the Round Table.
Preparing these articles and family trees takes time and effort, so thank you very much for considering a paid subscription to Applied Mythology.
Coming up next. The story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, not starring Dev Patel. This will be another permutation of the same mythological tropes in Theseus’ and Gareth’s stories, but leading to a very different outcome.
…and a Fun Fact. While Gareth and Lionesse’s story is one of the most PG-13 in Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur, it has a wonderful intermezzo where Lady Lionesse and Sir Gareth desperately want to shag, and Lynet keeps cockblocking them using her magic powers in order to preserve their virginity for their wedding night.
"For all the male dominance in the Arthurian world, it’s often the women who are calling the shots." -- Similarly, I read Njalssaga a few years ago and was surprised by how often men kill each other in it because women told them to.