greatest Irish hero, Cu Chulainn, who was the son of the Sun god Lugh. (A “son of god” would usually symbolize the god’s younger version). In the tale of Culhwch and Olwen, Gwalchmei was the hero who “never returned without fulfilling his quest” – the quest being the completion of the Year’s full circle, as represented by Gawain’s wanderings. It was known that Gawain’s greatest strength in duels would always be shown at noontime, when the sun is at its highest point in the sky. In the Mid English poem, then, Sir Gawain represents the mythological figure of the Sun god.
III. The Course of Seasons
The seasonal atmosphere of the poem is strongly marked, a fact that adds to the character of the hero as a seasonal Sun god. Thus, the poet describes what happened with Sir Gawain after the Green Knight had left the festivities, and before he sets on his quest for the Green Chapel; Gawain is given “a year and a day” for this purpose, as the Irish year is counted: 13 months of 28 days plus one day to complete the official number of 365 days.
These are the seasons mentioned in the original poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: It begins with the festivities on New Year Day because, although the Sun god is born on Christmas eve, the lengthening of the days becomes evident only around New Year Day. After that comes the season of late winter called Lent, when the earth is bare and the sun is cold and ineffective. As the days get longer and the sun gets stronger, what happens in the poet’s words is that: “The cold withdraws itself, the clouds uplift, and the rain falls in warm showers on the fair plains.” That is when the Hawk of May spreads its wings and flies to the sky. Then, “the