Gringolet
In Arthurian legend, Gringolet is Sir Gawain's powerful war horse.
Derivation of name[edit]
Israel Gollancz in the early 20th century suggested that Gringolet was derived from the giant Wade's magic boat, Guingelot or *Wingolet – one form of magical transport (horse) being substituted for an earlier one (boat).[1] More generally accepted is the suggestion by the prominent Arthurian scholar Roger Sherman Loomis that the French name Gringalet derived from either the Welsh guin-calet ("white and hardy"), or keincaled ("handsome and hardy")[2] – linked to a wider Celtic tradition of heroic white horses with red ears.[3]
Appearances[edit]
His earliest appearance is in Chrétien de Troyes' Erec and Enide; in that poem he is borrowed by Sir Kay to joust against Erec. Even Gringolet cannot prevent Kay from losing to the protagonist. In the Lancelot-Grail Cycle, Gawain wins Gringolet from the Saxon king Clarion;[4] a different story of the acquisition is given in Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival, where the horse bears the mark of, and comes from the stable of, the Grail castle – part of the gradual displacement of Gawain by Percival and the story of the grail.[5]
In the Middle English poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain sets out atop Gringolet in search of the Green Chapel.[6] Lines 600–604 of the poem describe Gringolet's ornate appearance in being readied for the journey:
- The bridle was embossed and bound with bright gold;
- So were the furnishings of the fore-harness and the fine skirts.
- The crupper and the caparison accorded with the saddle-bows,
- And all was arrayed on red with nails of richest gold,
- Which glittered and glanced like gleams of the sun.
Gawain's attachment[edit]
Gawain is always shown as attached to Gringolet, caring for his horse, and talking to it as to a beloved pet or companion.[7] When (in The Awntyrs off Arthure) Gringolet (here called "Grissell") is killed beneath him in combat, Gawain is seized with battle fury, and runs mad, his strength amplified, until nightfall.[8]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ I. Gollancz, 'Gringolet, Gawain's Horse cla', in Saga Book of the Viking Club 5 (1907) pp. 106–7
- ^ Roger Sherman Loomis, Arthurian tradition & Chrétien de Troyes (1949), pp. 158, 159 (books.google). Loomis defers to the suggestion by Tolkien *Gwyngalet 'white-hard'", and cites Heinrich Zimmer for the other etymology.
- ^ H. M. Mustard trans, Wolfram von Eschenbach: Parzival (New York 1961) p. 183n
- ^ Rupert T. Pickens (transl.), Lancelot-Grail, vol. 2: The story of Merlin (Woodbridge, Suffolk 2010), pp. 365–365.
- ^ H. M. Mustard (transl.), Wolfram von Eschenbach: Parzival (New York 1961) pp. xli, 287
- ^ J. R. R. Tolkien trans, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (London 1995) pp. 34–36
- ^ E. Kooper ed., Arthurian Literature (1999) p. 125
- ^ Matthews, J. (2003). Sir Gawain: Knight of the Goddess. Inner Traditions. p. 117. ISBN 9780892819706.
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