As Bewmayne continues on his quest, he encounters the Green knight, the brother of Black Knight. According to historical records, the color green is associated with the life of sensations. It also is a symbol of nature-not only growth , but also decay. (Fontana, 67) Malory likely uses Bewmeynes' defeat of the Green Knight to illustrate the knight's victory and control over physical sensations. Temperance is an important element of Arthurian chivalric code. Therefore, the ability to control physical sensations of the body (i.e., sexual desire, hunger, thirst, etc) is important for the medieval knight. Bewmaynes' mastery in this area is actually illustrated further on in the tale when Bewmaynes battles and defeats Sir Persant. Grateful that Bewmaynes had spared his life, Persant invites Bewmaynes and the damsel to his pavilion for refreshment. Afterwards, to further illustrate his appreciation for Bewmaynes' mercy, Perchant sends his beautiful young daughter to Bewmaynes' bed with the following instructions:
...lye down by his syde and make hym no strange chere but
good chere, and take hym in your armsys and kysse hym
and loke that this be done, I charge you, as ye woll have my
love and my good wylle.
Though Bewmayne has an opportunity to gratify his senses by taking pleasure with the woman, he refuses. His choice not to "defoyle" the maiden is exemplary.
The Red Knight, brother of Green and Black knights, is the third and last of the colored knights that Bewmaynes encounters in his journey. The color red in this scene symbolizes the test of Bewmaynes' physical prowess. Historically, the color red has been regarded as the color of war. It was the color of Mars, the mythological God of war and of Jupiter, the greatest of all the Roman Gods. It was also the color of masculinity. ( Fotana, 67) Not surprisingly, Mallory makes this the most intense and longest of the battle scenes:
...and cam togydir all that they myght dryve. And aythir horsis
felle to the erthe. Then they avoyde theire horsis, and put their
shyldis afore hem and drew their swerdys, and eythir gaff other
sad strokes now here now there, trasyng, traversyn, and foynyng,
rasyng, hurlyng lyke two borys , the space of two owrys....
