Treason in Arthurian legend his unwillingness to reveal the affair to Arthur and his concealment is a violation of Arthur's trust. Gawain is duplicitous throughout Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. He is tempted by the wife of Bertilak, a lord who offers his home to Gawain. While Gawain eventually learns the harms of duplicity, Gawain violates “his responsibility to honor the host-guest relationship”. Gawain keeps the magical girdle, refusing to honor his agreement with Bertilak that he will give everything Lady Bertilak gives to Gawain to the Lord. Instead, Gawain hides the girdle. This treason against the Lord necessitates a physical punishment from
Treason in Arthurian legend Treason in Arthurian legend The concept of treason can be dated back to the early Roman republic, but was defined by nebulous criteria. Frederic William Maitland, author of The History of English Law Before the Time of Edward I, has said that "treason is a crime [with] a vague circumference and more than one centre." Early French and Anglo-Saxon laws for the prosecution of persons deemed traitorous were inspired by, and in some cases, directly pulled from, late Roman and Germanic conceptions of the crime. It would be the common laws of this time period which would most directly influence