#Sir Gawaine

[morganaconda]

[rejamart]

i cannot stress enough how few liberties i took with this.

link to single image version under the cut if you wanna share it somewhere

https://www.deviantart.com/stash/011semh55502

[mordred-galahad]

based on @gringolet's onion headlines

[gawaincomic]

Bookish Gawain.

I think Camelot would totally have a library - which explains the sheer number of books on that shelf.

It's rare that I'm happy with my watercolours, but I think I pulled this one off rather well. The background could have been darker, I guess - that's always a difficult thing for me. I made it muted, that's something.

[andalon-historian]

Day 8: Beast! The Northumbrian Dragon

Arthur, Lancelot, Gawaine, Morgan, and Guinevere encounter a monstrous beast on a visit to King Aethelfrith

Awesome

Done for @kulttuurinkurittama 's October Round Table art challenge

[sirgavvainet]

something something redering practice. Schools been killing me and now I’m sick <3 I’ll get back to doing pentiment requests in a couple weeks don’t worry I’ve just been drawing for myself atm bc of stress

[gymnopedie]

looks like we get some insight into the chivalric code here—sir gawaine does not help sir pelleas immediately (even at the lady’s urging, even with her scolding) and as a result loses her favor and presence; interested to see how sir gawaine reacts once he realizes that she has left him

[adhd-merlin]

I also need to tell you abt that passage abt Gawain and Lunette (the handmaiden of his cousins wife) bc the poet makes a pun on how Gawain is like the sun (bc of his solar powers and his great knightly reputation I guess) and lunette is the moon (lune=moon) and it’s adorableee I love it they have a one night stand and it’s no big deal and everyone is happy abt it 👍

thank you I love it 🥺

[dondalsy]

oh no…. i desire him carnally

[tiodolma]

Yknow. It's sad that malory weakened gawaine in his version. I dont understand the purpose of this but i dont think gawaine deserved this treatment.

[joemerl]

Huh. Weird that I happened to get to this part today.

Anyway, happy deathday, Gawain! Sorry your vendetta didn't work out, but at least you'll see your brothers again?

[pedanther]

asdf ghjkl 

[ptr-sqloint]

The Green Knight

[mordred-galahad]

morтe d'arтhur gawain beheads someone counтer: 1

RIP Emperor Lucius's nephew Sir Gainus

[gawaincomic]

I was wondering and you seemed like a likely candidate to know, do you know when red-headed Gawain first became a thing? It seems to have become the standard for his character, but I've never come across a description in the original sources that mentioned his coloring whatsoever. Did this start with T.H. White's depiction? Or *is* there an earlier description in a source I haven't read yet? (I'd also be curious if there are any og sources which give him a different hair color entirely!)

@luanna801 Thank you for the question! As you have guessed, this is something that really interests me, and I have looked into it in the past.

To be sure, I haven't read *all* the sources (I'm still reading) and some of my reading happened ages ago, so - maybe someone can correct me on this. But here is what I have found:

I can't recall a single medieval source that mentions Gawain's hair colour. Not one. I assume that the colour of a knight's hair was of no interest to medieval authors and readers, as long as he had a 'noble countenance'. This fact is striking to me because today, we often like to describe characters' appearances in great detail, but - nope, I personally haven't found any descriptions of his appearance except in the most general terms. (His clothes, yes!)

As far as I have been able to ascertain, red-haired Gawains are indeed descendants of T. H. White's Gawaine. I'm not sure I'd call the red hair 'standard', really, because I've found blond and brown and black-haired Gawains in post-White books, but it's clear that White has had a very powerful influence. Then again, his Gawaine is a striking character. It's also White who made Gawain Scottish and Gaelic. Medieval sources don't touch upon that at all (indeed, some say Lot is the king of Norway, so that would make Gawain Norwegian, but whether he's British or Norwegian, none of it seems to have any real impact on his character). Also, I've noticed that when people write a red-haired Gawain, they often give him character traits that also come from White.

For me personally, red-haired Gawain was a no-brainer because I really only picked up on him as a character in The Once and Future King as a twelve-year-old, and next I read Rosemary Sutcliff and Anthony Mockler, both of whom write Gawains who are clearly influenced by White. So that's the image that got fixed in my mind. But clearly, there are also a number of post-White Gawains around who are not particularly White-inspired.

Off the top of my head: Phyllis Ann Karr's Gawain in The Idylls of the Queen is blond, and Gillian Bradshaw's Gwalchmei in the Hawk of May trilogy is dark. Bernard Cornwell's little Gawain is blond too. In Het Zwevende Schaakbord, a 1918 Dutch novel by Louis Couperus, Gawain / Walewein has brown hair and brown eyes (OK, this is clearly pre-White but I'm putting it out here anyway). I've also found blond and brown-haired Gawains (and, indeed, a Black Gawain) in comics - and of course, there isn't a single red-haired Gawain on screen, a fact I deeply deplore 😅.

[andalon-historian]

Book called "The Loves of Lancelot" that's in four parts:

1. Lancelot and Morgan, living at court as young people. They can keep up with each other mentally, socially, and have the same sense of humor; the few who notice, including Arthur, are very supportive. Morgan is jealous of Gwen, and tries to "win" Lance for herself, but Lance can't make the decision to leave Gwen and Morgan cuts it off.

2. Lancelot and Galehaut, living as soldiers during Arthur's conquests of Britain and the English. They are extremely codependent, and worship each other; most people are impressed Lancelot managed such a catch, and expect them to move away to live together in Gaul. Galehaut enables Lance and Gwen, playing wingman for them, and eventually he dies. Somehow. Haven't figured that part out.

3. Lancelot and Elaine, at court and in Astolat during the adventures. After the events of Lady of Shalott, Lancelot's touch miraculously resurrection her, and she worships Lance completely one-sidedly; the court begs Lance to go for the poor girl. She is completely oblivious to the Gwen situation, and eventually Lance cuts it off out of guilt.

4. Lancelot and Gawaine on the adventures of the Grail. They are long-time best friends, and know each other well, and slowly fall while isolated from court. Gawaine cities Lance and Gwen, and tries to be that person for Lance to stop him from going back-- and he keeps trying until Lance, after the boat ride with Galahad, goes back to Camelot.

The book ends as Lancelot has finally made a firm decision that he can't take back-- he kills his last lover's family, and he and Gwen ride away from Camelot as fast as his horse can take them, leaving behind-- for each other-- everything they are, and everything they know, and everyone else they love.