Monstrosity in Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Abstract

The present study aspires to demonstrate the function of the monster in early and late medieval literature through a multi-layered study of monstrosity in Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Much of the previous research that has analysed monstrosity in these texts has focused on the physical shape and body of the monsters. Therefore, a more culturally contextualised reading is offered, arguing that the monsters, when they appear in heroic epics or courtly romances, reflect profoundly on the culture that created them. It is analysed whether Jeffrey Jerome Cohen’s “Monster Culture (Seven Theses)” applies to Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and whether a comparison of these two analyses reveals a change in medieval identity over time. By examining how the monster is portrayed in both Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, this study clarifies the development from shame culture to guilt culture, and the transition from heroic code to chivalric code.