Treason in Arthurian legend the Green Knight before “Gawain can return to his proper place in Arthurian society”. Treason is committed by Gawain against the Lord and therefore he must be physically punished, as one would be during the Middle Ages for crimes of treason. In this case, however, Gawain's punishment is not death but simply a nick on his neck. This permits Gawain to be punished, but not killed, while still demonstrating the importance of honesty. Gawain's instinct is to act duplicitously but he is chastised for these instances. Treason in Arthurian legend The concept of treason can be dated back to the
The Sword in the Stone (novel) rather limited, although what it did take from the Arthurian legend was accurate. It was awkward to treat this as the first part of a more serious treatment of the Arthurian legend. It is also possible that White felt in a darker mood after the Second World War. It has also been said that due to wartime censorship, the publishers did not want to print some of White's more strident anti-War sentiments (which are very prevalent in "The Book of Merlyn"). Walt Disney made an animated movie adaptation of "The Sword in the Stone", first released on 25 December 1963