ABSTRACT
Over fifty years ago John Speirs wrote that 'medieval romances are at the end of a process of evolution from myth or ritual to romance'. Underpinning this analysis and providing a context for the study, is an awareness that aspects of medieval life have received wide-ranging spiritual, artistic and commercial interest in recent years. While diverse opinions abound as to the meaning, origin and matter of medieval romances, there is general agreement that romances are, by their very nature, religious texts, with significant pagan mythic overtones. A year passes and Gawain rides out to face his own beheading test. He journeys through the winter landscape until at last, almost magically, a castle appears in the frozen woods. Here he is offered hospitality for the few days before New Year. The welcome and the discussion of the ritual's purpose reinforce the values of the gathered women.
