Gawain (Knight)

Gawain of Orkney was the eldest son of King Lot and Morgause (sometimes Anna), the half-sister of Arthur.

In Welsh tradition, he hears the name Gwalehmei "Hawk (or falcon of May)" and is the son of Anna and Llew ap Kynfarch.

The early portraits of Gawain depict a valiant knight endowed with a supernatural strength taht increases with height of the sun. Aside from his solar power, his pre-Christian origins aare also reflected in his charge as "Knight of the Goddess." Knowing this, it is not surprising that the Faery are drawn to Gawain. It would seem that he is their favoured knight whom they artfully test throughout his adventures.

Gawain's original courteous manner is sometimes disregarded and he is portrayed as a disrupter rather than leader who is overly fond of womena nd wine. Despite this fall from grace, Gawain generally maintains his close reltionship with his uncle, the High King.

(Not mentioned here is that Gawain takes on most of Arthur's challenges like with the Green Knight for example. I'll assimilate this with other posts about Gawain)

From Ferguson, Anna-Marie. Keeper of Words. 1995 Llewellyn Publications. St. Paul, Minnesota. (205)