JIAS 2023; 11(1): 60–82 Arielle McKee* Petrine Failings and Broken Pentangles: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’s Chivalric Felix Culpa https://doi.org/10.1515/jias-2023-0004 Abstract: In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, supernatural testers disrupt both Arthur’s court and the interlocked perfections of the Pentangle, weighing Gawain and finding him wanting. Gawain’s failure, moreover, foregrounds the human need for grace and forgiveness, demonstrating both the impossibility of human perfec- tion and the humanity of imperfections redeemed. This essay explores the semi-ty- pological relationship between Gawain and St Peter, arguing that the likenesses between the Arthurian knight and Christ’s disciple effectively reinforce the poem’s message that failings are inevitable in a post-lapsarian world, but that those errors can yet be mercifully and graciously redeemed. Gawain’s fairy-wrought ‘fall’ from excellence is, it turns out, a happy one – a chivalric felix culpa that makes room for the forgiveness and recovery of knightly failings. Résumé: Dans Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, des défis surnaturels viennent perturber la cour d’Arthur et la perfection de l’encastrement du Pentangle, pesant Gauvain et le jugeant insuffisant. L’échec de Gauvain met de surcroît en avant le besoin humain de bénédiction et de pardon, démontrant tant l’impossibilité d’une perfection humaine que l’humanité des imperfections rachetées. Cet article explore la relation semi-typologique entre Gauvain et saint Pierre, soutenant que les simi- larités entre le chevalier arthurien et le disciple du Christ renforcent efficacement le message du poème. Selon ce dernier, les échecs sont inévitables dans le monde d’après la chute, mais ces fautes peuvent être rachetées par la Miséricorde et la Grâce. La « chute » féerique de l’excellence de Gauvain est finalement heureuse – une felix culpa héroïque laissant place au pardon et à la rédemption des erreurs chevaleresques. *Corresponding author: Arielle McKee, Gardner-Webb University, E-Mail: amckee2@gardner-webb.edu I would like to offer the utmost thanks to Richard Trachsler, Johnny McFadyen, and the anonymous reviewers, whose feedback on and support of this piece have made it stronger and clearer in every way. In addition, my thanks to Brittany Claytor, Aidan Holtan, Kaye P. McKee, Dorsey Armstrong, and Michael Johnston for providing feedback, offering edits, and acting as sounding boards (and, hat tip Johnston, for the ‘Gawain id est Petrus’ line).