pentangel

pentangel

Middle English

Noun

pentangel (plural pentangels)

1. pentangle
   • Late 1300s, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight 2.6 (transl. by W.A. Neilson 1999, Cambridge, Ontario: In Parentheses Publications)

     THEN þay schewed hym þe schelde, þat was of schyr goulez

     Wyth þe pentangel depaynt of pure golde hwez.

     He braydez hit by þe bauderyk, aboute þe hals kestes,

     Þat bisemed þe segge semlyly fayre.

     And quy þe pentangel apendez to þat prynce noble

     I am in tent yow to telle, þof tary hyt me schulde:

     Hit is a syngne þat Salamon set sumquyle

     In bytoknyng of trawþe, bi tytle þat hit habbez,

     For hit is a figure þat haldez fyue poyntez,

     And vche lyne vmbelappez and loukez in oþer,

     And ayquere hit is endelez; and Englych hit callen

     Oueral, as I here, þe endeles knot.

     Then they showed him the shield, that was of sheer gules, with the pentangle painted in pure gold. He took it by the baldric and cast it about his neck; and it became the hero passing fair. And why the pentangle pertains to that noble prince I mean to tell you, though it should delay me. It is a sign that Solomon set formerly as a token of truth, by its own right, for it is a figure that holds five points, and each line overlaps and locks in another; and throughout it is endless; and the English call it everywhere, as I hear, the endless knot.