Sir Gawain

Sir Gawain , one of the most popular heroes of Arthurian legend ; nephew of King Arthur. He was regarded, particularly in the early romances, as the model of chivalry—pure, brave, and courteous. In later romances, when spiritual purity was valued more than chivalrous deeds, his character deteriorated, becoming treacherous and brutal. Gawain is most famous as the hero of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (see Pearl, The ).

Gawain, Sir (Walwain, Sir) the eldest of the four sons of King Lot of Orkney and Arthur's sister Morgawse. In the Arthurian legends he is prominent from the first 12th-cent. stories in which he is the leading knight, courageous, pure, and courteous. In later versions his excellence was surpassed by that of Launcelot. In Geoffrey of Monmouth he is Arthur's ambassador to Rome; in Malory he becomes at the end the bitter enemy of Launcelot who has accidentally killed Gawain's beloved youngest brother Gaheris and who also killed Gareth. Gawain is killed when Arthur lands at Dover before the final battle with Mordred. The most celebrated single adventure of Gawain is the one described in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

Gawain in Arthurian legend, one of the knights of the Round Table who sought for the Holy Grail. He is Arthur's nephew, and is the hero of the medieval poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.