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Juel Lewis
8th November 2017
Candice Pitts
Le Morte D Arthur

The Definition of Gender According to Le Morte D Arthur Text

In the Medieval Period, knights dedicated their lives to following the code of chivalry. In

Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, a number of characters performed chivalrous acts to

achieve the status of an ideal knight (Minick). Their characteristics of respect for women and

courtesy for all, helpfulness to the weak, honor, and skill in battle made the characters King

Arthur, King Pellinore, and Sir Gryfflette examples of what a knights strove to be like in

Medieval society. (kiblin pg 1). What is chivalry you may ask? It is all the qualities that are

expected of a knight. His bravery, courage, honor and courtesy. But how does Le Morte D

Arthur define gender? In the text gender is defined by the characteristics that are highly expected

of them. For example men, their gender is defined by their courageous activity of chivalry. Here

are a list of themes that can further demonstrate how the male and female gender is defined by

their expected characteristics.

Identity is one of the most important in Le Morte D Arthur. Each character is defined

by their abilities and not their relations. In reference to men. He is defined by his loyalties to his

country or liege. Knights are usually defined with epithets about their abilities or loyalties,

sometimes given through fate, sometimes through their own accomplishments. For example,

questions that would be asked are: are they capable of being a leader? Can they be sustainable on

the battle field? Automatically these questions are not suitable for females which therefore also
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shows how identity of females were in the beholder of their men. This does solve as some sort of

credibility that men (knights) are dominant in the world of Le Morte D Arthur. The role of

women were very submissive. Although women were lacking many characteristics similar to

men, the one thing about their identity that is grand is their sexual power. The most powerful

women are those who can perfectly manipulate men through their sexual demeanor.

Destiny is another theme. All the knights such as Arthur Mordred and Galahad were

destined to accomplish or fulfill a certain task. For example Arthur was meant to bring peace to a

fractured country; Mordred was meant to destroy his fathers kingdom; and Galahad was

destined to find the Sangreal. The whole epic has a sense of inevitable fate because of its title,

which foreshadows Arthur's death long before it happens. What is also fascinating is that there is

no mention of the destiny of a female. Can this be another way the text defines gender: it is

merely focused on men. A knight must have something destined for him whether he accepts it or

not. The center of attention heavily lies on the knights in their community. But you will never

hear mention of the destiny of a woman.

Another major theme that can be seen is chivalry. Chivalry defines the code of ethics that

the Knights of the Round Table must uphold. King Arthur cements the importance of chivalry

within the fellowship of the Round Table by asking his knights to renew their vows of

knighthood at Pentecost each year, promising to protect women and to flee from treason and

murder. Most of the main characters, including King Arthur, Launcelot, and Gawaine, uphold

their promises of chivalry; however, they, like many of the other characters, break their vows on

various occasions. For instance Arthur kills the sorceress Annowre; Launcelot fights and kills

other Knights of the Round Table; and Gawaine encourages Arthur to go to war with Launcelot.

Chivalry is as much of importance for knights to strive for than an easily realized virtue. This is a
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perfect example of a characteristic that defines gender in the text. Chivalry is the most important

characteristic to their identity. Without it who would they be? Their whole society is dependent

on the knights who possess the quality off chivalry. With the amount of betrayal and war talk

that these Knights engage in, they must have some sort of chivalry. Shouldnt they?

Lastly, to give greater insight on the idea or belief that men are the center of attention in

this text, let us look at some ways the world was revolved around them. In other word, the role of

women. While their knights are engaging in jousting tournaments they serve the purpose of

being a cheer leader in support of their beloved knight. Women had always been on the side

lines. Although they are powerful through their sexual demeanor, this still isnt significant

enough to make a greater impact on the society back then. All in all, we can clearly see that this

text defines gender by the characteristic traits they are entitled to: the most common men being

dominant and the women being submissive. Particularly the men, it all depends on the outcome

of their chivalry.
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Work Cited

Knights Chivalry in Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur. Knights Chivalry in Sir Thomas

Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur | Kibin, www.kibin.com/essay-examples/knights-chivalry-in-sir-

thomas-malorys-le-morte-darthur-cq39wNxa.

Malory, Sir Thomas, et al. Le Morte d'Arthur Themes. GradeSaver: Getting you the grade,

www.gradesaver.com/le-morte-darthur/study-guide/themes.

Harcourt, Houhton. Le Morte D Arthur. Cliff Notes. 2016 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All

rights reserved. https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/l/le-morte-darthur/about-le-morte-darthur