Chivalry: You're Doing It Wrong (Series, Part 2)

Part 2: The Pentangle Knight

Warning: Spoilers

            Like in Beowulf, we aren’t introduced to the hero of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight until many lines into the poem. We no sooner learn Sir Gawain’s name than we are presented with his beloved shield, and the mark upon it.  The sign is a pentangle, a 5-pointed star.

            












This star is supposed to represent the virtues of a knight.  In this same passage, we are shown virtue through five groups of five.

There were the five senses, which represented purity in all aspects of life (reminiscent of see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil). 

There was the group of five fingers on each hand, representing physical dexterity. 

There was the five wounds of Christ, which represented faith and piety. 

There were the five joys of the Virgin Mary.  You would think that these also represented religious faith, but they actually represented courage.  We know this because we are told that Sir Gawain has the Virgin Mary painted on the inside of his shield to give him courage during battle.  For more on that, see Part 9: Piety and Courage.

         











Annunciation

Nativity

Resurrection

Ascension

Assumption

Finally and most importantly, each of the points of the pentangle is supposed to represent one of the characteristics of a virtuous knight: generosity, friendship, chastity, courtesy, and piety.

The virtues presented in the pentangle are supposed to inform Sir Gawain’s actions throughout the rest of the poem, and yet in each of the five traits that the pentangle represents, Gawain either fails the virtue in one respect or another or is failed by it.  There will be a part or two devoted to each of these virtues, starting with generosity.