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Article: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, line 1771.
- Article from:
- The Explicator
- Article date:
- June 22, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1995 Heldref Publications. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Images of embroidery, though not as pervasive as knot imagery, occur at two levels in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: external and internal. When Gawain arrives at Castle Bercilak, the servants remove his armor ("dispoyle," literally "dismantle" but also related to "unstitch") and set him to bask before the fire wearing a cloak "enbrauded ful ryche" (line 879). Bercilak's tunic is "blande al of blaunner" (1931) - that is, embroidered with a fancy trim. All of these "embroideries" refer to external trappings, specifically, clothing. The first time embroidery imagery is used in an internal context occurs during Lady Bercilak's third visit to Gawain's chamber. Her plain ...