That Gawain is Mary's Knight is made clear as he is robed for battle; the pentangle represents the five joys of Mary, and he has "that queen's image / Etched on the inside of his armored shield" (648-649). As long as he is solely focused on his quest for the Green Knight, he derives his prowess and courage from his special relationship with Mary. On his journey to look for the Green Knight he is beset by a number of hardships, and is finally brought to the point of despair. Alone and freezing in the forest, he prays to Mary for shelter and a place to say mass on Christmas Eve. She answers his prayers and leads him to Bertilak's castle; however, his arrival at Bertilak's court throws him into a totally different world. Here, Gawain impresses courtiers of Bertilak's castle with his prowess in the field of courtly love rather than the feats of daring or his upholding of his honor, traits that would draw compliments in Arthur's court. Camelot is portrayed in its youth, long before it too is tainted by Lancelot and courtly love; Arthur is young, "child-like (86)" and the "fine fellowship [of Camelot] was in its fair prime." The analogy is obvious: Arthur's court embodies chivalry's pure roots, where martial exploits were the primary subject of interest, whereas Bertilak's castle represents the low point of the degeneration the poet perceives chivalry to have undergone. The Lady's association with courtly love also ties this aspect of chivalry with degeneration and sin. Immediately upon his arrival in Bertilak's court, the separation between courtly love religion is clear: Gawain at Mass is "in serious mood the whole service through"(940). This serious mood is immediately forgotten with the sight of the Lady, whom he immediately focuses on at the expense of Christmas' meaning. Instead of finding solace in the meaning of Christmas, Gawain and the Lady "found such solace and satisfaction seated together, in the discrete confidences of their c...
