Student Question
In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, how does the opening about nation-building relate to the poem?
Quick answer:
The introduction to the preface of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight lends credibility to the tale by providing a history leading up to the time period in which Arthur lived. The answer above is summarized from my book, "The Road To Canterbury: A Guide To The Tales And Poems Of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales".
If you read the beginning of the preface to Gawain's tale, you will note that the narrator begins his story in the past, laying the ground work of events that transpire before Arthur's time.
Not only does this provide the story with roots, but it makes it seem more plausible as the narrator gives a credible history as to how the world arrives at a place where Arthur and his many adventures take place. By giving a history, it makes the story more plausible.
For example, if a story is written where a magical kingdom appears from nowhere, the reader has a sense he is reading a fairytale. However, if a story is written with a sense of history, the stories are more believable. (Giving the history does not make the Arthurian legends true, per se, but lends a sense of authenticity to the stories).
To add a sense of...
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reality to the tale, the narrator starts with the famous battle of Troy, between the Greeks and Trojans. This famous battle is believed to have actually taken place. Providing information about this widely-accepted occurrence in history also provides a sense ofrealism. It gives one the feeling that the information to follow is based on fact. The narrator describes the war's aftermath—how the world begins to rebuild after the hostilities that went on for so many years.
The introduction to the story tells of the reconstruction of civilization: including the building of major cities such as Rome, Tuscany, and ultimately Britain. The description of the founding of the kingdom of Britain provides the pathway through the generations that leads up to the birth of Arthur, and, later, his place in history as the greatest of all British Kings. For years, many people believed the stories of Arthur's heroic and honorable feats.
Providing a history of how his country and he came to exist, makes the stories more believable. There are, of course, indications that Arthur did, in fact, exist, but that he lived long before the medieval period, so he would have been dressed in skins rather than armor— but he was still an excellent warrior, highly admired by his people.
Any time we try to make something real, whether a character in a story, or even find the certainty that an event took place, the act of including history of some kind gives credibility to the person or event by looking back to history for its beginnings.
How does the opening about nation-building relate to the rest of the poem?
The author (whose name is unknown) wanted to root this Romance in the context of British literature and history. The first reference to Troy traces back the legend of the beginnings of England to Aeneas. In Geoffrey of Monmouth's The History of the Kings of England, Book 1 notes that Brutus, great-grandson of Aeneas, is banished and directed by the goddess Diana to settle on the western ocean (Atlantic). He settles in England. Monmouth's text then traces Brutus's ancestors eventually leading to King Arthur. The poet who wrote Sir Gawain and the Green Knight knew of this lineage and such is the connection between Troy and Britain.
Thematically, there is a similar trope of seduction in the Trojan and British works. Paris was seduced by Helen (or vice versa) which led to the Trojan War. Gawain is seduced by The Green Knight's wife. And there is the legendary affair between Guinevere and Lancelot. Note how seduction or adultery in these three stories leads to trouble for each empire/nation. Gawain is eventually forgiven and redeemed by his fellow knights. This is an important Christian theme common to some of the lore about Arthur.
Brutus, Arthur, Gawain, and others are legendary figures in Britain's history and literature. Regardless of how much is fictional about them, they are symbolic figures in Britain's history. The identity of any nation is usually built upon such figures. When one thinks of British mythology, one thinks of King Arthur and his knights (including Sir Gawain). So, think of it in this way. England was literally built by ancient ancestors and rulers, and its identity was formed by these stories and histories. Gawain's story is about faith, fault, and redemption. It is important for its Christian themes and connection to Arthur and Arthur's lineage, which the author traces back to Troy. England is symbolically built on these histories/stories.
Don't forget these kinds of stories were still largely performed (sung) in banquet halls throughout the country. The traveling performer would have acted as both an entertainer and an ambassador for the peaceful unity of his country as he traveled. (It obviously didn't work, as England was wracked with wars both then and later, but I suppose it was worth a try.)
The opening sets the poem in both a historical and literary context.
Historically, the connection between the English Kings and the Trojan War is one that was very important to royalty as a means of conferring validation to their claim to the throne. This may be relevant to the patronage that the poet received at the time.
In addition, the opening sets the poem in a literary context as an English Epic, drawing on the tradition created by both the Iliad and Odyssey.