Sir Gawain and The Green Knight

In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, courtly love is used to test the loyalty and faith of Sir Gawain. One definition of courtly love was a “code of behavior that defined the relationship between aristocratic lovers in Western Europe during the Middle Ages. Influenced by contemporary chivalric ideals…” (Encarta Encyclopedia). Although courtly love was a part of chivalry, it also helped to define it. Since this was during the time of the Crusades, strict …

…need for change in the fabric of the social order, and how putting your trust in objects that are of magic or of the devil will only bring about destruction, not to mention the blatant statement that woman are inherently evil and can not be trusted. Courtly love was a good avenue for this intention because it embodies all that the church is fighting to remove from the medieval society. Bibliography Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia - 2000