Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrong cover image

The Green Knight: History, Myth, and Modern Shame -- A Historian's View

Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrong

CHAPTER

The Scar and the Girdle of the King's Beheading

Gawaine's scar and girdle which he has covering over it, are marks of shame. He thinks he's acted dishonourably but also says he is twinned in some way. So although he failed in the winnings exchange agreement with bertelac, it allowed him then to succeed in completing and surviving the beheading game. I think this drives home how honour and shame are two sides to the same coin. And i think the complex, embedded structure of these games makes it possible to interpret gawayne's actions in a very positive light despite his flaws.

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