One thing to discuss in the hunting scenes of SGGK is the progression of animals which are hunted: deer, boar, and a fox. Books about animals were very popular throughout the Middle Ages, and there are some good web sites that can tell us what attributes where associated with different beasts.
This site gives general overviews, and has some nifty manuscript illuminations; it also contains descriptions of gems (remember how often the text calls Gawain a pearl?). Some other medieval bestiaries have been edited and one of them is available as an etext through Carnegie Vincent Library (if anyone wants to work on a topic like this for a paper).
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