Transgression and Resolution in 'Sir Gowther' and 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight' Amelia Coen College

An emerging feature in all penitential romances is the concern with social reintegration, healing and peaceful resolution, at the end of a long sequence of highly disturbing events. (RADULESCU)

Middle English popular romances, such as Sir Gowther and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, were a notably provocative form of literature, full of moral repugnance and obscene transgressions. These popular romances were primarily aimed at a non-aristocratic audience, allowing the poems’ themes and motifs to transcend across social class boundaries; thus the Middle English popular romance is often referred to as the ‘ugly duckling of Medieval English studies’[1], having very little prestige. Due to Medieval English poets having a clear interest in social codes, the concept of Christian morals is a particularly important focus in Middle English romance as it allows the poet to reflect medieval audience concerns with spiritual matters, chivalric romances and, perhaps most importantly, religion; as Radulescu states, “penance and social order together clearly signal the main focus of Middle English popular romance”[2].

This idea of the process from transgression to penance is striking in Sir Gowther, a text largely ignored by critics. The...