Gawain
Gawain is the oldest of his siblings, but is not a prince, he is not tied explicitly to the court but he is part of that big noble, elite group. This gives him more freedom to go out and adventure. Gawain has many adventures, whether they’re for King Arthur or for himself, he is one of the freest roaming knights out there.
His first major role in a romance was in “Perceval” or “The Story of the Grail”
In the earlier medieval tales Sir Gawain is the perfect knight, the most chivalrous and worthy, while later on in the French romances he is depicted as less of a knight and unworthy, as a sinful womanizer. He is also thought of as a sinner sometimes because he is not one of he most faithful knights, that is to say, his connection with God is not as strong as ones other knights have. As an example he didn’t go to confession once for four years.
The origins Of Sir Gawain:
Rise of Gawain, Nephew of Arthur - Anna (or Morgause) had Gawain out of wedlock and feared that both her and the baby would be killed because of this. When she had him she sent him away with a merchant with a letter and a ring that identified who he was. The merchant lost the boy one day though and a fisherman named Viamundus. He was known as the boy with no name for seven years. They moved to Rome and he eventually became the emperors’ ward, who sent him to Arthur when he was ready. He was first a page and then a squire; at the age of 15 he became a knight. He then became known as “Knight of the Surcoat” as he was the first to wear crimson tunic over his armor.
Geoffrey of Monmouth – King Lot sent 12 year old Gawain to serve the household of Pope Sulpicius who knighted him. In this story Gawain always knew who he was, he wasn’t born illegitimately, and he wasn’t set in secret to Rome.
He has no fixed superlative or definitive quality that restricts his behavior. His choices are his own. Because of this Gawain is the most flexible character to work with. Sometimes he is the most noble and sometimes he is not, either way since he is hardly ever the main character, no matter what his deed is, it is usually diminished by the characters that deal with more outlandish things such as the Grail. He is the most human, the one that learns and fails and changes.
Sir Gawain is one of the most famous Knights of the Round Table; he actually appears more in the Arthurian legends and romances than any other knight. He is Arthur’s nephew and one of his most trusted knights.
His death always seems to redeem him. In some tales one of his brother’s was killed by Lancelot, which caused them to become bitter enemies for a while. In a battle with Lancelot, Gawain was mortally wounded, and Lancelot, wept at his tomb for two nights. Before he died though, Gawain repented his bitterness and forgave Lancelot.