A hero may not exist without physical combat. The reasons why the heroes of these two works fight are antitheses of each other. Beowulf's first battles are fought in defense of a whole nation because the protagonist's "duty was to go to the Danes' great king. . ." to destroy the evil himself (Raffel 46). Beowulf later takes on a dragon which menaces his kingdom to protect his civilians. Therefore, the Anglo-Saxon hero foremost must defend others. Whereas Sir Gawain's motivation is to stay loyal to his king. Chivalry requires him to defend Arthur's honor. Consequently, Gawain volunteered to fight the Green Knight.

The pivotal characters in both legends act differently. When Beowulf arrives at the court

of King Hrothgar to slay Grendel he quickly boasts of his past triumphs in which he "drove five great giants into chains, / Chased all of that race from the earth. . . / Swam in the blackness of night, / Hunting monsters out of the ocean. . ." (Raffel 46). Sir Gawain demonstrates the ideal of chivalry by politely asking to defend his lord while belittling himself. He stated "I am the weakest, / Well I know, and of wit feeblest; / And the loss of my life would be the least of any. . . / And for this folly befits not a king. . ." (Borroff 146). While the epic hero is allowed to be boastful because pride is involved in his Pagan culture, the chivalric knight must be trained in courtly skills and exhibit a Christian meekness.

The characters from both the epic and chivalric romance become exalted in the conclusion of the works. The reasons of Beowulf's exaltation lie in his death - he dies in defense of his people - and a lifetime of righteous adventures. Sir Gawain is exalted as a hero because he closely followed the code of chivalry. Although he broke it once when he kissed the knight's wife, his admittance and apology absolves him of this tainted event. The distinction in the reasons for their exaltation lay in their cultures. The Anglo-Saxon culture focuses on heroes who are greater than an average man and can save the people of a country. The Medieval culture centers on a hero who is physically similar to the av

Some common words found in the essay are:
Sir Gawain, Green Knight, Christmas Eve, Heroes Anglo-Saxon, , King Hrothgar, Beowulf Gawain, Beowulf God, King Hrothgar's, Sir Gawain's, sir gawain, green knight, anglo-saxon hero, /, court judge, chivalric romance, borroff 146, raffel 46, similar characteristics, god faith,
Approximate Word count = 970
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)