Gawain was often seen as the perfect Arthurian knight in Middle English and Middle High German
literature and yet the way he is perceived differs in both cultures. While a lot of research
literature approaches the topic from a literary angle this book reveals the differences in the
depiction of the hero from a linguistic point of view. The semantic features of nouns and
adjectives used to describe the protagonist in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by the
Gawain-Poet and Parzival by Wolfram von Eschenbach are analyzed and discussed. It is
investigated whether the authors focus on different aspects of Gawain's personality.
Furthermore the question arises if some expressions only occur for a distinct user like the
hero the narrator or minor characters and whether there are expressions linked to a certain
event in the story. The findings of this study will thus offer further insights into the
characterization of Gawain.
