Gawain and Cincinnatus: BEST BUDDIES (if they lived in the same century)

     In Livy's Ab Urbe Condita, the revered historian of Rome recounts the story of retired  consul Cincinnatus:  In a battle against the Sabines and the Aequians, much of the Roman army had been trapped in the Alban Hills and were attempting to fight off a siege. As often they do in desperate times of war, the senate allowed the consul to choose a dictator, to whom absolute power over Rome, her senate, and her army would be granted. Cincinnatus, as the story goes, was plowing his fields one day when a group of senators came to him bearing news that the consul had nominated him to be Rome's dictator. Cincinnatus threw down his plow, had his wife bring him his senatorial toga, and returned to Rome. The following day, he called for every man of military age to report to the Campus Martius, and with Rome's finest soldier as his second-in-command, he led his newly-assembled army to the hills, where the battle was easily won. The Aequians begged for mercy, and wanting to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, Cincinnatus let them live so long as they submitted to him. Victorious, Cincinnatus returned to Rome and gave up his dictatorship, returning to his fields 16 days after he had left.
     The truth of the story of Cincinnatus, along with many of Livy's other stories, is questionable, but in this highly-romanticized tale (for it is only that, a tale, as Ab Urbe Condita was commissioned by Emperor Augustus to boost morale and public support, so much of its content could very well be gross exaggeration), the reality of the man and his story do not matter. What Livy's Cincinnatus gives us is a portrait of an ideal leader: a man that is stronger than the absolute power that tempts him, revered enough to be chosen for a daunting task, skilled enough to succeed in this undertaking, yet humble enough to act only in the best interest of his country and return to a modest life after grand victory. Livy created a character perfectly sound in mind and body, worth of the respect of all who may come in contact with his story, to whom any Roman may aspire the same way the "Gawain" poet created a character whose values and abilities any Middle English reader could strive towards.
     In"Sir Gawain and the Green Knight," Gawain is the epitome of bravery, chivalry, honor, and all that is good in a knight. He values his duty to Arthur and the Round Table over his own life, accepting what seems to be a suicide mission and, more importantly, carrying it out until the end. Despite the temptation of a conniving woman, despite the opportunity to flee his undertaking and imminent death, Gawain time and time again proved his worth and his steadfastness, succumbing not to whatever easy solution he was presented. Despite praise and scores of people encouraging him, Gawain remains modest about his position, never boasting. Like Cincinnatus, Gawain epitomizes perfection in the eyes of his audience.