In this passage from The Awntyrs off Arthur, the reader is presented with a knight's rare moment of self-awareness, in particular of the wrongful use of chivalry; here Gawain, the archetypal English romance hero, articulates the anxieties of his peers, listing the priorities of knightly life (‘fonden to fight’ and ‘wynnen worshipp’) and its associated social repercussions (unlawfully despoiling others, both at home and abroad, of their possessions). The ghost of Guenevere's mother replies to this by drawing attention to the sin of covetousness which is displayed by the very leader of the knights, King Arthur himself, a sin which is going to be punished when the Wheel of Fortune turns again. In romances, such strikingly harsh words are hardly ever uttered by the knights themselves; it is rather hermits or monks who admonish the Grail knights to pursue spiritual perfection and leave their sinful earthly inclinations. Indeed, the disparity between the ideals of chivalry presented in romances, and the reality of lived knighthood the author of Awntyrs clearly refers to, reminds us how problematic the understanding of chivalry and Christianity could be for medieval audiences – and is still for modern readers. The chivalric ideals usually referred to in the romances are prowess in arms, loyalty, generosity and courtesy, service to women and the dispossessed, alongside personal piety and fellowship among the members of the chivalric community. Such ideals may be seen, for example, in the symbolism associated with Gawain's pentangle, described at length in the sophisticated fourteenth-century romance Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. ‘Trawþe’ features prominently in this poem, and even though its translation into modern English has proved difficult, its meaning includes loyalty and faithfulness, truth and pledging one's word in the chivalric fashion.