Gawain and the Green Knight
On New Year's Eve, a mysterious green knight challenges King Arthur's court to a beheading game.
Introduction#
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight tells one of the most famous adventures of Sir Gawain, one of King Arthur’s bravest knights. A tale of courage, honor, and testing of virtue, it begins with the sudden arrival of a mysterious Green Knight at Arthur’s New Year’s feast. The knight issues a challenge unlike any other: a beheading game that will test the courage and integrity of those who dare to accept it.
The Challenge#
The story begins at King Arthur’s court during a New Year’s feast. Suddenly, the doors fly open, and in rides a mysterious knight, entirely green: green in body, clothing, and even on his horse. In his hand he carries a mighty axe and issues a startling challenge: any knight may strike him with the axe once, on the condition that the Green Knight may return the blow a year and a day later.
None of Arthur’s warriors rose to the challenge. Arthur was about to do it himself when Gawain stepped forward and took the axe. Confident that the Green Knight would not survive the blow – and would thus be unavailable for the second part of the challenge – Gawain swung the axe and chopped off the Green Knight’s head. The Green Knight, however, calmly picked up his head by the hair, and calmly told Gawain to meet him in a year and a day in the Green Chapel.
The Quest#
As the next New Year’s approached, Gawain rode north to find the Green Chapel, much to the distress of his comrades who expected never to see him again. He lodged for Christmas with a lord who had a castle called Hutton near the Green Chapel. When the lord offered him lodging, the two knights agreed that for the three days that Gawain was there, each knight would give to the other whatever he had obtained that day.
On the first day, the lord went out hunting while Gawain hung around the castle. While the lord was gone, his wife tried to bed Gawain, but succeeded in only getting a kiss. When the lord returned, he presented Gawain with a freshly killed deer; true to his word, Gawain gave to the lord the kiss he had received from the lord’s wife. The second day went much the same, Gawain received a brace of kisses which were also passed on.
On the third day, the lord’s wife gave up on trying to seduce Gawain, and presented him with her girdle, which she said would protect him. When the lord came home, Gawain gave him the kiss but kept the girdle.
The next day, Gawain left the lord’s residence for the Green Chapel. He met the Green Knight there and prepared to receive his blows, kneeling. The Green knight gave him two feinted blows and lightly nicked his neck on the third one.
The Green Knight then revealed himself to be Gawain’s host: the lord of the castle Hutton, named Bertilak of the High Desert. He explained that the two feinted blows were for the days that Gawain faithfully turned over the kisses, and the nick was for not turning over the girdle. The Green Knight then told Gawain that he had been sent to Arthur’s court by Morgan le Fay – whose enchantments had spared Bertilak’s life after the decapitation – as a ploy to distress Guinevere. Gawain returned to Camelot, where he was honored for his adventure.
The Medieval Poem#
The tale survives in the 14th-century Middle English poem, Sir Gawayne and the Greene Knight, published in a modern edition by J.R.R. Tolkien. The poem concludes with the phrase:
Hony soyt qui mal y pense
“Shame on him who thinks evil of it.”
This motto later became associated with the Order of the Garter (an order of chivalry founded in 1348 by King Edward III).
Symbolism and Imagery#
The Green Knight is often depicted with a distinctive shield, usually incorporating green hues and natural motifs, reflecting his supernatural and wild character. Scholars have suggested the Green Knight may echo the Green Man, a figure associated with nature and fertility in medieval iconography. The story itself has parallels in Irish legend, where Cú Roí stands in for the Green Knight and Cú Chulainn for Gawain. A later poem, The Grene Knight, offers a similar tale, renaming the Green Knight as Bredbeddle.
Legacy#
Gawain and the Green Knight remains a touchstone of Arthurian romance, illustrating ideals of honor, courtesy, and knightly virtue, while blending supernatural challenge with moral testing. Its themes continue to influence literature, art, and modern interpretations of Arthurian legend.
Sources#
Sir Gawayne and the Greene Knight | 14th century Middle English poem; edited and published by J.R.R. Tolkien
Le Morte Darthur | Sir Thomas Malory, 1469-1470
The Grene Knight
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: A Critical Edition | B.E. White
Arthurian Romance and the Irish Tradition | R.L. Green
