Extreme Emotions: Sir Gawain and the Carl of Carlisle and the Danger from Within

Abstract

Sir Gawain and the Carl of Carlisle (SGCC) has often been considered a romance that displays tensions between the aspirations of the lower classes to higher social station and the resistance of the nobility to any such move. Here such tensions are expressed through the Carl’s change in behavior so as to be a fitting companion in King Arthur’s court. By using a combined approach (the history of emotions and book history), I examine how the protagonist’s mastery of his audience’s emotions in SGCC does not reinforce social boundaries, but rather shows the dangers associated with practising excessive violence by knights and churls alike.