The story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight has its foundation in Arthurian legend as formulated and passed down by the pagan oral tradition. In its written form, however, the tale bears the marks of Christian influence – it contains numerous scriptural and doctrinal references to Christianity. Since the author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is unknown, it is difficult to determine with any certainty the extent to which he was responsible for the incorporation of Christianity into the legend. For all we know, the story may have been "Christianized" in its oral form long before the poet set it into writing. The poet himself supports this possibility by writing in the opening lines that he will tell "anew" the tale "as I heard it in hall." If this is the case (and even if it is not), it is distinctly possible that the heroes of the Arthurian tradition represent in the written form a pagan interpretation of Christian ideals, rather than an externally imposed Christianization of pagan codes of behavior. While it could certainly be argued that the poet portrays Sir Gawain as a good Christian hero in an attempt to infuse the story with Christian values, the critical tone of the narrative seems to suggest a different conclusion – that by critically editorializing the paganized form of Christianity embodied by Sir Gawain, the poet is trying to correct what he sees to be the flaws of that form. From the perspective of this conclusion it is clear that the poet only "Christianizes" the traditional legend to the extent that he criticizes the pagan interpretation of Christianity that is inherent in the behavior of its heroes. Those who would argue that the poet intends to portray Sir Gawain as the perfect Christian hero would point to the descriptions of his chivalric qualities. The poet does indeed describe Gawain's Christian virtues generously; he even makes a special aside early in the second fit to describe the significance of the pentangle embossed on Gawain's shield, and to explain "why the pentangle is proper to that peerless prince." The author then delves into a lengthy enumeration of Gawain's Christian virtues. What is more, the fact that he uses the pentangle – a pagan symbol – to do it would seem to suggest that the author does indeed intend to add a Christian interpretation to the pagan legend he is retelling. Taken in its larger context, however, this passage takes on a different significance. In further examination of the poet's descriptions of Sir Gawain, it becomes apparent that the knight's seemingly perfect Christian behavior is superficial. A contrast can be observed between his "Christian" words and actions and his decidedly un-Christian motives. One theory is that, by emphasizing this contrast, the poet intends to denounce the pagan "misunderstanding" of the Christian message.