As the Ferryman of Canguin led Gawaine into the castle proper, they passed a one-legged man sitting on a bunch of rushes (Owen’s translation) or gladioli (Cline’s) at the foot of the stairs. His missing limb had been replaced with one either made of or coated with silver, decorated with bands of gold and jewels.
He sat silently whittling on an ashwood stick. After passing him, the ferryman told Gawaine that this one-legged man enjoyed a rich income from his various great properties, and that Gawaine would have heard some disturbing things had the ferryman not been present when they encountered him.
This curious silver-legged man plays no further role in what Chrétien left us, but he has clearly provided delightful fodder for Chrétien scholars. Is he an otherwordly figure? The shadow of an old Pagan god? Does his missing leg somehow connect him with the maimed Fisher King? Might some old scribal error or mistranslation even have transferred the silver, gold, and jewels to his artificial leg from a chessboard he originally had?