Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Tales of chivalry and knightly ventures were stories that many a boy in a medieval hall dreamed upon. To be strong and pure of heart, to have no fear, to be a servant of God and to be willing to lay down one’s life in defence of those who cannot defend themselves – that is chivalry. It is scarce wonder that chivalry is so highly prized a code today as it ever was in the time of armoured knights thundering down the lists, lances lowered in the joust. There is such a tale which I look at today. An old English poem from the fourteenth century, composed by an unknown soul somewhere in the Midlands, it tells of the perilous quest of Sir Gawain – a Knight of the Round Table in the court of King Arthur – and his trials of faith and honour along the way. The poem has a very strong message of its own, which can be seen only through the story as a whole, which I present to you here in its shortest form.

The Green Knight warns Sir Gawain
From the original manuscript

One Christmas when Arthur ruled the Britons, there was magnificent feasting and joy, and ‘the most famous knights in the annals of Christendom’ jousted and sparred and made merry. Then on New Year’s Day, suddenly a strange visitor entered Camelot. A vast knight clad entirely in Green, the size of several men, astride a mighty green stallion, wielding a great axe, demanded to speak with the noblest among the crowd. So rose Arthur, as the rest of the hall stood transfixed in fear at the sight of the strange knight. The Green Knight then issued his famous challenge: that any man there who dared to call himself brave should come forth and strike off the Knight’s head with his mighty axe. The Green Knight vowed he would kneel and not flinch and receive the blow, on the sole condition that he may give a stroke in return. The hall was struck dumb by the Knight’s challenge, as he drew himself up and taunted Arthur:

“What? Is this Arthur’s Hall?

And these the knights whose renown hath run through many realms?

Where are now your pride and your conquests,

Your wrath, and anger, and mighty words?

Now are the praise and the renown of the Round Table overthrown by one man’s speech,

Since all keep silence for dread ere they have ever seen a blow!”

                                                                - THE GREEN KNIGHT TAUNTS ARTHUR

The Knight’s taunts were intolerable to the chivalric knights, shaken awake by the insults to their majesty. Young Sir Gawain, the cousin of Arthur, begged the King to allow him to accept. Arthur relented and sent forth Gawain. After telling the Knight his name, and swearing to uphold the agreement, Gawain took the great axe and with one swift blow severed the stranger’s head. After a moment of exultation from the court, all looked in horror as the headless knight strode across the hall to claim his head. The head then spoke and warned Gawain to find the Green Chapel and remember his vow, before the Knight rode off into the night.

Almost a year passed and Gawain remembered his vow and, renowned as the most virtuous of all Arthur’s Knights, he prepared to seek the Green Chapel, despite protests from Sir Lancelot and Sir Bedivere. He took up his armour, sword, spear and shield, mounted his horse Gryngolet and rode forth from Camelot. Sir Gawain spent many days wandering the cruel wilderness of Britain, at times fighting Giants and Dragons, in search of the one who would certainly deliver his own death blow. Then one day he reached a castle, whose lord was a man with a large red beard and possessing a kindly spirit, received Sir Gawain as an honoured guest. Gawain’s humility and piety were met by the lord’s kindness as a host, and earned him the deep respect and admiration of all there, - including the lord’s wife. Gawain tells them of his vow and how he must reach the Green Chapel soon, as New Year was almost upon them. The lord laughed and told him to stay a while, for the Chapel was but two miles away.

The land of Britain around the Green Chapel
Photograph by David Green

So Gawain stayed in the comfort of the castle, and the lord made a wager with Gawain – that tomorrow he would go hunting and whatever he won on it he would present to Gawain, whilst Gawain would remain in comfort in the castle and present to the lord what he had won that day. The knight accepted, and the next morning it began. The lord hunts many deer and brings them back to the castle, but Gawain awakes to see the lord’s wife sitting on his bed and the two talk for hours with Gawain resisting with the utmost courtesy her depraved advances (I am reminded of the tale of Sir Galahad from Monty Python and the Holy Grail...). As promised, the lord gives the deer to Gawain, and Gawain kisses the lord on the cheek. Amused, the lord makes the same challenge for tomorrow. The next day, the lord, after a long day of hunting, brings back a mighty boar. The lord’s wife once again tries to tempt the gallant knight, who once again politely refuses to capitulate (The confrontation in the knight's mind is not all so different from that in the mind of Macbeth, when he is torn between his duties to King Duncan and to his wife). The lord gives Gawain the boar, and the knight gives the lord two kisses. The lord offers the challenge one more time before Gawain leaves for his quest, promising him a guide to the Green Chapel on New Year’s Day. This time, the lord’s hunt is arduous, returning only with a fox. The lord’s wife however, makes one last attempt to tarnish the knight, and offers him her ring. Sir Gawain refuses, as he has nothing suitable to offer in return. Instead she offers him her green silk girdle, which will render the wearer protection from even the mightiest foe. Seeing the potential value of such an item in light of what is to come, and feeling a sudden fear of death, the knight accepts her gift. The lord returns and offers Gawain the fox, and in return the knight kisses him three times – but does not give him the girdle.

Tintagel, the legendary site of Camelot
Photograph by Manfred Heyde

The next day, after bidding the kindest of farewells, Sir Gawain and his guide leave for the Green Chapel. As they draw nearer, the guide desperately attempts to dissuade the knight from his doom, offering to keep his retreat secret. Gawain politely refuses, as his code of chivalry and honour would curse him if he were to make this choice. He continues alone, until he reaches a place serenaded by the sound of an axe being sharpened. The Green Knight is there, ready to honour their agreement. Sir Gawain bravely kneels and requests his death blow. The Green Knight brings the axe down once, and Gawain flinches, and the axe stops above his neck. The Green Knight rebukes his cowardice, and Gawain begs that he offer another blow, promising to be brave. The Green Knight swings again and deliberately misses. Gawain angrily asks why he holds back, and asks if it is not him who has fear in his heart. A third time the axe swings down, and this time the blade makes a slight cut into Gawain’s neck. Sir Gawain jumps to his feet, pulls on his helmet and in a rage reminds his foe that the pact was for one stroke, not three. The Green Knight suddenly laughs and throws off his fearsome visage. He applauds Sir Gawain’s chivalry, the greatest in the world, and declares him the most virtuous man alive. He reveals himself to be the lord of the castle where Gawain stayed, and that it was he who tasked the lady with attempting to seduce him. Gawain was honest with him on the first two days, but on the third he did not offer the lord the silk girdle, and was therefore punished by the wound on his neck. Sir Gawain is overcome with shame and humility, and prays to God for his forgiveness. The Knights part company, and Gawain returns to Camelot, where he tells Arthur he will forever bear the green girdle as a sign of his failure to keep his promise with the lord. The Knights of the Round Table declare as one that they will from this day forth all wear a green silk girdle, to honour Sir Gawain, who was truly the perfect Knight. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a moral story, warning us of the price of straying from the good path, and the value of keeping one's word. Yet at the same time it is a surprisingly effective story, presenting moral dilemmas and temptations for the hero along the path.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a masterpiece of English medieval lore, and at only 2530 lines long, readily available at Amazon:

United Kingdom

Penguin Classics:
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Penguin Classics)
(A translation which focuses more on ease of understanding than poetry)

Oxford World's Classics:
Sir Gawain and The Green Knight (Oxford World's Classics)
(A good compromise between the poetic and prosaic)

Simon Armitage CBE's Translation:
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
(A translation which retains the poetic meter of the original, translated by a poet!)

United States

Penguin Classics:
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Penguin Classics)
(A version which focuses more on ease of understanding than poetry)

Oxford World's Classics:
Sir Gawain and The Green Knight (Oxford World's Classics)

Simon Armitage CBE's Translation:
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (A New Verse Translation)
(A translation which retains the poetic meter of the original, translated by a poet!)