One of the most characteristic features of medieval literature is the richness and variety of the symbols it uses. Sometimes, these symbols are easy to recognize and interpret. Gawain's pentangle emblem is an obvious symbol, and the poet actually steps forward to explain its significance for the audience, bringing the narrative to a screeching halt in order to do so. Other symbols have meanings that will still be familiar even to modern readers. It is not particularly difficult to see how the fox may symbolize cunning and treachery, or how the deer may stand for fear or shyness. But in other cases, the meaning is not so easy to pin down: What about Gawain's armor, or the birds that decorate both knights' garments? Readers may not even feel certain that a particular item is symbolic at all.
Part of the difficulty in interpreting medieval literature comes from the fact that modern readers are unfamiliar with the cultural and intellectual background that a medieval audience would have brought to their understanding of a symbol. Some of this background has simply been lost to history, and scholars may have only scattered clues to help them understand a symbolic reference. Furthermore, a single symbol could easily have several contradictory meanings. A lion, for example, may represent Christ, St. Mark, or the devil, depending on the context in which it appears.
