HURTON AJJEL hastaughtEnglish, Classics,andComparativeLiteratureat universitiesintheUnitedStates,Israel, andCanada.HisbooksincludetranslationsofBeowulf,Horace:Odes,Epodes, Epistles,Satires,TheCompletePoetry andProseofChairilAnwar,Fromthe Vietnamese:TenCenturiesofPoetry, TheCompletePoetryofOsipEmilevich Mandelstram(withAllaBurago),and PoemsFromtheOld English;severalcriticalstudies,IntroductiontoPoetry,How toReadaPoem,TheDevelopmentof ModemIndonesianPoetry,andThe ForkedTongue: StudyoftheTranslationProcess;andMiaPoems,avolume ofhisownpoetry.Mr.Rafelpracticed law on WallStreetandtaught intheFord Foundation'sEnglishLangageTeacher TrainingProjectinIndonesia. SIRGAWAIN andtl1e GREENKIGHT Trcm|dIcd, cnd wlth an JnIrodwIkn, UUR1CN RFEL Atrordb_ Nci/ O. l:cs AMENTORBOOK D&V M&WC LWWMWNA DIVISION OFPENGUIN BS USA INC.,NEW YORK PUBLISEDIN CANADA BY PENGUINBOKS CNADA LIMITED, MRKHM.ONTARIO COPYRIGHT1970BYBURTONRFL AFERWORCOPYIGH 1970 BY NEWAMRICAN LIBRARY,A DIVISION OFPENGUINBOKSUSAINC. Alrightsresered LibraryofCongressCatalogCardNumber:72-132049 l MENTORTRADEMARKREG.U.S.PAT.OF.ANDFOREIGN CU REGISTEREDTADEMRK-MARCAREISTADA HCHOEDREDEN,T,U.S.A. SIGNT,SIGNE CLASSIC,MENTOR,ONX,PU,MERIDIA andNALBoKsaepublishedintheUnitedStatesby NewAmercaLibrary,adivisionofPenguinBoksUSAInc., 1633Broadway,NewYork,NewYork1019, inCanadabyPenguinBookCanadaLimited, 2801JohnSteet,Markham,OntarioL3R1B4 FISTIG,NOVEMBER,1970 PR I TUNITED STATSOF AERCA for Stefan Contents r 1u1n 1ndlnc rccn nnf:AnIntroduction,byBurtonRafcl Vbc!cctcU Bibliography 43 btGawain andthcLrccnKnight 45 Mterword, by NeiD.Isaac2SirGawainandthe GreenKnight: AnIntroduction Writersneed a very great dea of luck,sometmes, for theirworktoattractandtoholdgeneraattenton.Akinds of accidentscananddohappen,eithertomaeawriterknown,ortopreventb fombeingkown. GeofeyChaucerhadmoreluckthamost:m South EatMidland(London)dialectbecametestandad form of the language,and Chaucer thereby bcae"the frther of English poety"(the words are John Drden's). Chaucer'simmediate descendants,though,theso-called Scottsh Chaucrias, had the illuck to write in feenthcentuyScots-adwhooutsidetheuniversities(and Scotland)todaykowstheworkofRoberHenryson Wilam Dunbar,or Gavin Douglas? UScotlad, at least, thereareextinsicreasonsforstudyingtheolderScots poet.Butterearenoextricreasonsofanygreat force for studyng a fourteenth-centuryromance,written isomeobscurenorth-countrydialect(eventhe precise natureoftheGawain-poet'sdialectisstlundecipherable), by an unnown pet who may(or may not)have asowrittenthreeotherratherlessinterestngpoms boundintothesamemanuscrptvolume.Chaucer ithe star of a geattraditon;HensonandDubararepar of twotaditions,lhal of EnglishandthatofScotpo9 10Introduction etry;buttheGawain-poet'stradition,thoughbevery probably bad one,i unnown tous,andalmostcertaily unknowablebyus,attsdistanceintime. YetSirGawainand theGreen Knight(thetitleinot theauthor's,butbasbeengenerallyagreeduponsince thepoem'sreappearance,in1839)isaverygreatpoem, equaltothemasterworksofChaucerortothebestof theoldEnglishpoems,includingBeowulf.Itisdiferent fromtheseothermasterpieces,butitisdiferentfrom everythingelseinEnglishliterature.TheGawain-poet candoanincrediblenumberofthingsinbrilliantstyle. Hissensibilityisbothdelicateandpowerul,asu his language;hecansinglikeachoirboyorlieanangry blacksmith;becandrawcharacterssovividlythatthey breathe,becapaintpicturessovitallythatonesees them,almost feelsthem.Hecanweaveacompelligand tghtlyorganiedplotoutofdisparateandsometimes fragleelements;becanbpassionatelymoral;becanbe wickedlycomic(thissideofmworkbasbeenleastwell appreciated,todate).Considerthefollowingpassage, thedecapitationofthegreenmanbyGawain,iKg Arthur'scour: Gauan gripped tom a,andgederesbitonhnt, pe kay fot on pe folde bebeforesette, Let bitdoun ly;tly on penake, pat pe scbarp of pe schalkscbyndered pe bones, Adscbranpurzpescbyregrece,andscbadebiti twynne, pat pe bit of pe broun stel botonpegrounde. pefayrebede fopebalce bittopeerpe, pat fele bit foynedwyth her fete,pere bit forth roled; pe blodbrayd fropebody,patblykked onpegrene; And nawperfalteredne felpe fekeneuerpebelder, Bot styply bestart forth vponstyfschonkes, And runyschlybe raztout,pereasrenkkezstoden, Laztto his lufybed,andlyftbit vpsone; And sypen bozez to hisblonk,pebrydelbe cacbchez, Steppezintostelbaweandstrydezalofte, P.nd his bed by pe hereinmbondebaldez; Introduction11 And as sadly pe segge hym i his sadel sette Pnon vnhaphad hym ayled, pazhedlez he were i stedde. He brayde his bulk aboute, pat vgly bodi pat bledde; Moni on of hym had doute, Bi pat mresounz were redde. Chosenalmostat random,this neatly illustatesmany of myclaimsfortheGaain-poet-butwhocanreadit, today?Idecided to tanslate thepoem,thoughIdonot approveoftaslatngmostMiddleEnglishverse,ater assigningasectionofit,itheorignal,tostudentsia graduateseminarimedievalterature,studentswho had alreadyspent more tan a ful semesterreading,also itheorignatexts,thieenth-,foueenth-,andffteenth-enturylyrcs,fourteenth- andffteenth-centur prose,andverseromancesofthetirteenthadfourteenthcentures.Thestudentswerecompletelyfoored. Itwasaverygoodclass,butthoughtheyworkeat Gaainwtaw theycould,afterlonghours,just barely decipher it; worse still,appreciationwaparalyzed bythe drainng efor. Gawain hefted the ae,swungit high both hands, balancig his left foot i font of mThen quickly broughtit down.The blade Cut through bones and Uand fair Wite fesh,split the geen man's neck So swftly that itsedge slashed the gound. And the head fell to the m, rolled On the foor, and te kights kcked it with thei feet: The body spued blood, geaming Red on green sk-but the geen man stood Amoment,not staggerig,not fag, tensprang strong legs and roughly reached trough thrashing Feet, claimed mlovely head, And carng it to mhorse cught the bridle, Stepped i the str ps ad mounted,holding His head by itslong geen har,sittng High and steady i the saddleas though nothing 12Introduction Had happened. But he sat there headless, for everone To see, Twistinghisbloody,severed Stump.Andtheknightswereway, Afraidbefore heever Opened thatmouthtospeak. (Lines 421-43) Delicay:the color alteration, fst whte and geen,then -afterthedecapitaton-redandgreen;theprecise, balancedcarewithwhichdetailsaremarshaled.Power: theforcefuevocationofthechopped-ofhead,rolling wildlyonthe foor;thegreen man,headless,shovinghis wayafterhishead,andclaimingitlikearnawayfootbal;hisweird,dramaticpose,headess,bloody,"holding/Hisheadbyitslonggreen hai."Themusicmatches thedominanttone,ineachcase;thecharacterofthe greenmaniswonderfulyvivid,asarethecharactersof theterrifed knightsoftheRoundTable,frantcallykickingatthechopped-fheadaitrollsattem.Andal thetimethestorylineismovingforward,whiesimutaneouslythere iasubtlelayingdownoftheelementsof thepoem'ssymbolicmorality-asIshalindicatelater on.Andthecomedy:thechopped-f-head-as-football, butwildanddangerousfootball;thegreenknightgrimacigandmakingfercefacesattheknights,bynow frightenedhalfoutoftheirwits;themacabrejokeofthe greenknght"twistighisblody,severed/Stump"for "everyonetosee,"tomakesurethatnoonemissesany of the fun.Itioftenblackhumor;thereisalsoaserious side,eventothefunniestparts-butweknowthatkd ofthingfomShakespeare.Isthereagorierplaythan Hamlet?Isthereafunnierplay?Eachoftheelements, thehighdramaandthecomedy,isinitsplace,andeach ismoreefectiveforitsjuxtapositionwiththeother, heightened,deepened.Andtheuncertaintyisan integral patofthisintensication:youneverknow,amere readerorspectator,whetheritwillbehighdramaor comedywhichdevelopsoutofaparicularscene.Hamet rolligiOphela'sgave,ideed,is apassionatemiture Introduction13 of both.SirGawainand the GreenKnightu not Hamlet, nordoIwanttoclaimforitthatultimatedegreeofpassion;notrulymedievalpoetcandothekindsofthings Shakespearedoes.ButGawainisgreatpoetry,itisunqualifedlyamasterpiece.Anditneedstranslation, thoughChaucerdoesnot,andevenLangland'sPiers Plowman can be deciphered withabitof help.Or,toput itabitdiferenty,itu timethattheGawain-poet'sluck turned. Thereisnoinformationwhatever,ofanykindwhatever,as to whoteGawain-poetmighthavebeen.Afew things areclear,butonlyafew,fromthepoemitself.He knewbothFrenchandFrenchpoetry,andbothwere importanttoh:hequiteprobablylivedin(orcame from;there isno wayoftelling)thenorthwestprovinces, buthisculturalbackgroundwasnotintheusualsense provincial.Heknewagooddealabouttheology,and caredabouthisChristianity.Hewaspersonalyfailiar withmuchofaristocraticlife-warfae,armor,hunting, chivalriccodesofbehavior,protocol-andmaywel,I suspect,havebeen himselfeitheranaristocrat,or,Ithink alittlelesslikely,mayhavebeensomeoneattachedto anaristocratichouseholdinagentlemanycapacity-a tutor,say,or aprivate secretary. Everythingelseisthevaguestspeculation,aboutas idleastheBacon/ShakespeaeortheEarlofOxford/ Shakespearenonsense.Therearenohardfacts:the single surviving manuscriptisnottheauthor'sowncopy, andthereisnowayofknowinghowmaycopiesaway fromtheauthor'sowncopyitis.Themanuscriptisa typicalscribaljob,oneofthe"publications"ofarural scriptorium-thatis,acomerciacopyinghouse,which "published"booksintheonlywaythenknown,by makinghandcopies.Thescribeithiscaseisneitherbetter norworsethanothercommercialpractitioners.Someof hismistakesareobvious;somearenotobvious,andifuriating;andinallcasesthetextualscholarshavebeen squabbling,andwil contnuetosquabble,formany 14Introduction yearsaboutwhatthetruereadingshouldbe.Sholarly editinghasproducedagenerallyreadableandreliable text, however, and tere isubstantiaageement evenas tothemeaningofmostdfcultpassagesandwords. (Most, but not all, aI shal indicate later.) Incidentaly, one slightyunusua feature ofthe manuscript iits illutration(unusual because they are not par of the written page,butaredoneonseparatesheets).Theseil ustrationsarefutherindicatonofthe"hack"quaityofthe provincialscrptorumwhchproducedtheb k,since they bearvery little resemblancetothemattersupposed to beillustated(e.g.,thegeenknigt'sbeardishown anolongerthanGawain's,andhishairinolongerandhisfaceandhairarenotevengreen,thoughgreen i one of the colors used!). Thereinom dateforthepoem,either,norany solidwayofarrivingatone.Sometmebetween,say, 1350and1400, is aboutwhen theevidenceofthehandwriting,and otherfeatures of thesamesort,wouldseem toindicate.Again,somepeoplearemorecertainabout this thantheyhaveanyrighttobe:"Thelatest pssible dateiobviouslythatofthemanuscript[tueenough], whichcanhardlybelaterthan1400[purefudge:iti notlely,asfaaanyonecannowknow,tobelater than1400, but there ialot that noone now kows and muchthatnoonew everkow];butitiplainlynot theauthor'sorignaandthereinowayoftellinghow oftenor at what interalt mayhavebeencopied."(Sir Gaainand theGreen Knight, ed. J.R.R.Tolken and E. V.Gordon, 2nd ed., ed. Norman Davis,Oxford U.P., 1967,p.X) Tereiaslghtlystangesenseof unreality,tomymind,ineventhekndofapparently modestformulationwhchsays,forexaple,that"the archtecture,the costume, the armour,soaccuratelydescribed,areappropriatetoadatebetween1360and 1400."(LauraHbbardLoomis,asquotediMarie Borof,SirGaainandtheGreenKnght:AStylitic andMetricalStudy,YaeU.P.,1962,p.220)Theyare "appropriate," that i,i it can safely be assumed that the Gaain-poetlookedoutofthewindow,aitwere,ad Introduction15 simplydescribedwhathehimselfsawin hisownday-todayexistence.EvenwiththestrictlyminimalunderstandingthatwehaveofGawaininitsliterarycontext, however,itisclearthattherearebackward-looking, archaizigelementsinboththepoemandthecultre whchproducedit."By1390theidealsin. . SirGawane...wereperhapsconsciouslyold-fashioned.They wereevenbecomngalittleisular.... ItisChaucer, notthe author ofSir Gawayne,whocouldhavebeenappreciatedicontemporaryParis."(GervaseMathew, "IdealsofKghthoodiLate-Fourteen-CenturyEngland,"iTwentiethCenturyInterpretationsof Sir GawainandtheGreenKnight,ed.DentonFox,Prentice-Hall,1968,p.72)Idonotmeantoarguethe 1360-1400date,butonlytobesuspiciousofanything soheavilydeductive:thatthe"appropriate"caninfact bewronghasbeenshown,recently,evenwithregardto themucholdercultureofclassicalGreece.(SeeGerald E.Else,TheOriginandEarlyFormofGreekTragedy, HarvardU.P.,1965, p.6n.8.) Author,date,dialect:alltheseareuknown,butwe have not done, thereumore that ismysterious about the poem.BeforetheNormanConquest(1066,andal that),whentheEnglishlanguageandEnglishculture generally weremuch closertotheirbasicIndo-Germanic roots,poetyhadbeencomposedaccordingtoahighly developedaterativeprosody.Thatu, theheavily stressednatureofEnglsh,evenmoreobviousiOld thaniModemEnglish,encouragedthescop(theonly adequatetranslationi"bard")toworkoutanorganizingprincipleforpoetrywhichinvolvedacontinuous series ofmatchedalliterations. Oft manhagaare gebideth, metudesmiltse,peahpehemodcearig. . ThesearethefrsttwolinesoftheOldEnglishelegy "TheWanderer";moreorlessliterally,theyread: "Oftenthelonelyonepraysformercy,/thegaceof God,whlesadlyhe ..."(InmyPoemsFromtheOld English,UnversityofNebraskaPress,1960,theselines 16Introduction aretaslated:"Thislonelytravelerlongsforgace,/ ForthemercyofGod;giefhangson/Hisheart...") ThedetailsofU versicaton,anditsrelatonipto thatofSirGawainanth Green Knight,aediscussed itheAfterword.Whatneedtobesaid,here,isthat OldEngishprosodydisappears,orseemstodisappar, withtheNormanConquest. Whenpoetryreappearsi thelaterformofthelanguagewhichweca MiddleEglish,theprosodyiobvioulyverydilerent. Tefst poemiCarletonBrown'sEnglishLyricsofm Xlllth Centur,OxfordU.P.,1932, reads: Nougoth sonne vderwod, -mereweth,marie,pifare Rode. Nougopsonnevnderte, -me rewep,marie,Pi saneandpe. Nowgoesthesun undertheforest(wood), ImouMa,yourbeautface. Nowgoesthesununderte tee, I mourn,Mary,tyson adtee. Probablywriteni1239, littlelyricisaniabic tetraeterrhymngquatain,withanAABBrhyme scheme.ThealteratonofrewethandRode,ilne2, ioramenta,raterthastuctural.And kndof prosoy,these knds of poetc fors, ae plainly whatwe recogea Englihprosody,Engishpoetcfors,fom ChaucertoYeats.ThisitheprosoyofSpener,of Shaespeare,ofDonne,ofMilton,Dyden,Pope, WordsworKeats-fviua yeveronebeforeWord WarI, andof many petsstlwritngtoday. Butit inottheprosody,ortepoetcfor,usedby theGaan-poet.He iclearlyawareofthenewerprosody;tiplainfomthesocaled"bob-and-wheel," thefve-lnerhymedtagattheendofeachstropheof Sir Gawain: i stedde. He brayde hisbul aboute, patvglybodipat bledde; Introduction17 Moni on of hymhaddoute, Bipathisresounzwereredde. Eveninthebob-and-wheel,however,alliterationistoo strong,toobasicreally, tobesimplyornamental: brayde/bulk/abouteisfollowedbybodi/bledde,andin thelastlinebyresounz/redde.Andinthemainpartof each strophe(Iuse "strophe" rather than "stanza," since thelengthvariesfromasfewasI2 linestoasmanya 37,andsincethepoetseemstofeelfreetovarythe lengthashepleases)itisverydefnitelyalliteratinthat makes the linework,thatholdsittogether: Gauangrippedtohisa,andgedereshitonhylt, pe kay jotonpe folde he before sette... GawainisnotatalanisolatedexampleofMiddleEnglshaliterativeverse.Piers Plowman,too,worksona alliterativeratherthanameter-and-rhymepatter: Ina somereseyson,whansoftewasthesone, Yshopmeintoshrobbis,asyashepherdewere, jabitasanermite,vnholyofwerkes... (jHenryW.Wells'translation,TheVisionofPiers Plowman, SheedandWard,1935,"Inasummerseason whenthesunwassoftest,/Shroudedinasmock,ia shepherd'sclothing,/Inthehabitofahermitofunholy living... ")Thisisneitherthesamedialectnorexactly thesameallterativeprosodyasthatofGawain(again, thisissomethingwhichisdiscussedintheAfterword). Whatisremarkableisthatatleasttwoextraordary fepoets, andagreatmanylesserones(someofwhose workhassurvved,thoughitisnotalwaysworhreading),werewritingiastylethoughttohavebeendead foralmostthreecenturies.(Lalamon'sBrut,written about1200,ismuchcloserto the OldEnglish,imetric, language,andspirit.)Mis-christened"thealliterativerevival,"thisrenaissanceofaprosodicphoenixcannot reallybea"revival."Old Englishprosodyplainlydidnot die,butratherwentunderground,tosurfaceoncemore, astheEnglishlanguageitselffallysurfaced,afterits 18Introduction longdominatonbyNormanFrench,inthefourteenth centuy.ConsiderhowChaucerseparates"norther" menfrom"suther"men;southererswrteashehimslwrites,butnorthererswrteinthestrange,provincial, faintlyludicroualiterativemode: Buttrustethwei,IamaSouthrenman, Ikannatgeeste"r,ram,D," bylettre, Ne,Gotwoot,holdeIbutlitelbettre. ("Geeste"meanstotellatale;thepassageoccursinthe Parson'sPrologue,lines42-44.)Thiskindofeasyfamatwitha norther,aliteratvestyleseemstome almostconclusiveevidence-andnotce,too,that"r, ra,r"iexplicitlyjuxtaposedagaist"."And considertefollowingpassagefomthatstillmuchmunderstoodstory,"TheKight'sTale."U partfourof thepoem,asthetouamentireadytobegn,Chaucer makescheer,subtlem ofteinsttutonofkighthood,notdirectly,butbymakingm ofalliterativepoety. himnd,adinhisaudience's,aliterative prosodyiautomatcallyassociatedwithmoribund,anachronsticchivaicvauesandcustoms: ...gooththesharpesporeintothesyde. Therseenmenwhokan justeandwhokanrde; Thershyverenshaftes uponsheeldes thikke; Hefeeleththurghtheherte-sponthe pr e. Upspryngensperes twentyfotonhigte; Outgoonthe swerdesasthe slverbrighte; Thehelmestheytohewenandtoshrede; Outbresttheblodwithsterestremesrede; Withmyghtymacesthebonestheytobreste. Hethurghte thikkeste ofthethrongganthreste; Ther stomblensteedesstrange,anddoun goothal; He foynethonhisfeetwithhis tonchoun, Andhehymhutlethwithhishorsadoun . .(Fragment I,lins 2603-2616) Whateverthem sigcanceofthis,in"TheKight's Tale"itself,IthikitshowsthatChaucerhasnotonly Introduction19 heardof alliteratveverse, buthasheard(orread)the tg itself. And,fher, he expect m (London)audiencetohavethesame kdoffamarit.Thatkdof generallyshaed, easyknowledgedoesnotB] It, withamorbudmetcsprungsuddenlytolife.As Roger Sherma Loms putsit,"the Alliterative Revival ..migtbeteredmoreaccuratelytheAlliterative Survval."(TheDeelopmentofArthurianRomance, HaerTorchbooks,1964,p.147) There ino way of tgthismuch further,stll:not enoughi(ormayeverbe)knownabouttheculture fomwhchGawain emerged,andin whchthe Gawainpoetwasnurtured.Butthedifcultycausedbythe "missigm" doesnotpreventanthropologistfrom notngthediferencebetweenPithecanthropusandthe gorilla. ("Do not tr to make anape out of Pithecanthropu,"saysWilamHowells, "orPithecuthropusmay makeamonkeyoutofyou."Mankind SoFar,Doubleday,1945,p.137) TheGaain-poetwrites,sometmes,thewaylate-medieva aists pait,ortapestry-makersweave. With the New Yeardrawingclose, courter Andladiessat to adoublefeast; Mass had been sungi the chapel,the kng Ad mkigts came to the hall,and priests And laymencalled"NoellNoell" And shoutedand sag, andnoblesran With NewYear'spresentsitheihands, noisily Passinginacrowd, calling"Presents! Present!" and loudly disputing gfts, Wile ladies laughed when kses were lost (Ad whoever won themfound it had to weep), Andtl dinnertmecametheyranandlaughed . (Lins 60-71) There ia sense of great vitality,afeeling of enthusiastic :otion,butalwaysdomiatedbythepoet'staslucent way of seeing. This passage is not cinematic, in our twen-20Introduction tieth-centurysense,thoughitthrongswithmotionand thevoicesandtelaughteraredistinctlyaudible.Itis not ciematic because the principle ofsubordination,the tickofseeingthingsonly ilinearperspective,inot uualtothelate-medievalsensibilty.Itu liketheDue deBerry's Book of Hours:theforegroundisrich,vital, butthoughthebackgroundisclearlythebackground, thoughthebasiclawsofperspectveareusualytaken intoaccount,thebackgroundinotsimplybackground, is not inthat sense subordinated.The paintersof RenaissanceItaly,whentheyopenedawindowbehindaportaitfgure,andshowedawindingroadupam, and lttle treesandhouses fading intothedistance,werein factsubordinating;theirbackgroundisimpossibleto confusewiththeirforeground.D theDuedeBerry's BookofHoursthereineitherconfusionnorequivalence,butratherakindofsiultaneity,akindofnonlnearperceptionoftwo-rmore-worldsattesame time.Forbeyondthebackgound,thereisusualyanotherbackground,usuallyarchitecturalratherthan human-andbeyond thatsecondbackgroundthereu a third,thedecorativeastrologicalworkenscrolledacross thetopofthepage.Thereisomethingverylkethisin thepassagefomGawain:we seethecourtiersandthei ladies,whoaretheforeground,butthepriestsarethere too,andthelaymenareteretoo,andwhenthenobles rthroughthecrowd,shoutng"Presents!Presents!" the crowd isomehowparticularizedtoo.Thetwentiethcentuy camera can seeonly the perspective,canseeonly thesubordination,onlythemotonthroughtieor throughspace.Forthecameratosee,tof,awhole scene,thecameramuststop(asitdoes,withmarvelous poigancy,attheendofElviraMaigan:tlmtfrozen moment in time,which one knowsis notactuallyfrozen, powerfully evokes whatte passage of bchas brought, andwhatithasdestoyed).ButtheGawain-poetsees boththeperspectveandthestais,themotionandthe imperishable,fed things. The horses ran,when they could,on the gravel Introduction21 Pat. Morning slid past and was gone. The whole brave compay came riding to Herot, Aious to celebrate Beowuf'ssuccess . . .(Beowf,lines916-919, mytranslation,NeAmerican Library,1963) Aparfromtediferencesoftoneandgeneralstyle, whichare largediferences,thediferencebeteenlittle scene fom Beowulf,andthesimilarlyfestvescene fom Gawain,seems tome isome sensesthediference betweentheabstractandtheparticular.TheBeowulfscopisinterestediqualite,states;themovementshe seesaelargeones,evengoupones.Evenideadly hand-to-had combat,Bewulfseemslessanembattled man than a stugglingw , fghtinghard againstanother equa ydeterminedbutlesspowerfullyfousedw.Beowneedsonlytobeif fou"Holy/God, whosenthmvictory,gavejudgent/Fortthand right,RuleroftheHeavens,/OnceBeowulfwasback onhfeetandfghtng"(lines1553-1556)-andthe battleis agoodasover.U tesensefor which battleis battle,for theGaain-pet,battleisnot battle,iBeowulf.Itis,asIsaidbefore,somethingmuchmoreabstact,somethingnolessrealbutageatdealless partcular. AndtheGaain-poet'svisualparcularityisusually even more tapestry-like than myfrstexample.Conider .A beard Asthickasabramble-bushgewfomhchi Ad fell i font a fa a the hai Uback, hair and beardcut At the elbow,lke a kng's hooded cape Enclosing his nek and half ha; And mhorse's mane hung long, combed And curled, braided stad for stand Withgold tread,a stand of geen har, Another of gold; and mforelok, and his tail Were braided to match,boundi place 22lntroduGtion With ageen bad, doted with precious Stoneste length ofthatfowing tail, Then laced with anelaborate knot,ad stung With dozens of bright gold bells that rang As he rode... (Lines 181-196) Thisisincomparablyvisual.PerhapsthemostipressivethingIcansayaboutit-andIamtalkngfom experience,notfromtheory-isthatitcangivetoa twentieth-centurysensibilty,orientedtovisualimages, a satsfaction very like that given by, say, the vivid miniatures of theDue de Berry'sBook of Hours.(I mean that part of theBook of Hours whichwas executedi1413-1416.Therestofthework,completedithe1480'sby adiferent artist,isstillverybeautiful, butimuchless particular;intheinterveningmorethanhalfacentury, themedievaesthetichadfadedverfast,ialla form.)Thepoemis fullofbrightlycoloredmniatures, oreinthefrsthaltanthesecond-butsee,forexample,theextraordinarysceneoflines1694-1698,or theintenseweatherpictureof lines2000-2005: Theworldwasbeautifl,hungwithfrost, andte hugered sunrosethroughclouds Andcame,whiteadgleaing,tothesky. Besidesawoodtheyunleashedtheirhounds. . . ..Butstormscrackledthroughthe world, Cloudstbledt:teirbittercold Ontheearth,north-winds freezngthepoor; Snowshiveredintheair,andanals Shook;thewindwhistledfromthehills Anddrovesnow-drift downithevalleys . . . Evenithesecondhalfofthepoem,whenthescenes havebeensetandthestoryle,quitenaturally,tends todominate,thepoet'sneedtosee,hisitenselyvisual sensibility, is unmstakable. I have said a good dea abouttheGawain-poet's tech-Introduction23 nique and about his late-medieval sensibility. I have said veryltte,stll,abouthispoem-andthedelayisnot accidenta.Sir GawainandtheGreen Knightiacomplexandabriliantpom,butitisespecialycomplex andbrillantonthesurface;ithasamuchinterioras any other geat poem, but ithas rather more exterior.It cannot be approached therefore, by fousing on its meaing-noteventothedegreethatsuchaapproachcan bevalidforpoemslikeBeowulf,say,orThePomof the Cid,or LChanson de Roland.It isneiterpossible noris it sensible to try to say,simplyanddrecty,what SirGawainiabout.LarryD.Benson,whoseArand Traditionin Sir Gawain and theGreenKnght(Rutgers U.P., 1965)ifa and awaythe best book on the poem, shows m very neatly,in discussing the greenness ofthe geen knight:"The geen skin ipuzg because that is what the poetintendeittobe."(p.91)Benongoes on:"Ititheambiguityofthegreenessandtherelevanceofitsambiguousimplicatontothechlenger's characterthat maintain the balance of attractveness ad feaess . . . "(p. 92)The key words ae "abiguty" and"balance."The Gawain-poet,asI suggested earlier, is interestedin porayig akind ofsimutneity,aknd ofnonlinear perception oftwo-rmore-worldsat the same tme. Benson is worth citng at some length, on U:Tsfnasceneionlyanextensionoftherecur entalteratonofromanceanduromantc elementthatrepeatedyundercutstehighserousness of te na atve . .The Green Kight . hasan atttude of his own,unromantcraterthan ant-romantcinitrefualtotakeromanceseriously. . . Thepoem ithus both atagcromance withthesadmorathatperfectonisbeyondour gaspadanunromantccomedywiththehappy poitthat iamanaimshigenoughhe cacome aneaperfetonasU worldallows. (pp. 242,243) And Benson shows,tomymind,asingularlysure touch whenhe obseres, inhis m paragaph, tat"whatever 24Introduction deeperconcersithastouchedandhoweverseriousit almostbecomes,SirGawainispredominantlyafestive poem."(p.248) Oneofthechiefthingsthatthepoemisabout,one oftheGawain-poet'scentraconcers,isknighthood. The fact that heknowsas much aboutit as he does,and canmarshalhisexpert'sknowledgewithaneasyconcision,is one kindof proof thatbetakesknighthoodserously. He would not bother with the details of armor(in factheobviouslytakesanalmostnostalgcrelishin them) ,andinwhatordereachcarefullydescribedand labeledpatisputon,andjustbowitisputon,ifhis concerwasnotfundamentallyserious.Butneitheris beuncritcal.Ihavealreadyindicatedthatherather makes mof the knights of the Round Table.It'salmost worse thanthat:he showstheknightsascourly,highly verbal,sociallyaccomplishedmenwhoneitherenjoy norinfactoftenengageinknightlycombat.Heshows thegreatKingAthur"boisterousandmerryasaboy . . Hisbloodranyoung,andhisbrainwasrestless." (Lines85,87)Evenhishero,"Gawainthegood," fghtsh reabattlesinbed-whichbadbecomepretty much Gawain'scontemporaryreputation.("Tosum up: itheromances,proseaswellasverse,Gawainisthe casual,good-naturedandwel-manneredwooerofalmostanyavailablegirl.. ..Gawainasaloverfollowed awell-defnedpatter:whenhemetanunattachedgirl he madeloveto her; ifsherebufe himbedeparted;if, asmoreoften,shewelcomedhisattentions,beasodeparted,butnotassoon."B.J.Whiting,"Gawain:His Reputation,HisCourtesy,andHisAppearancein Chaucer's Squires Tale,"i Denton Fox,op.cit.pp. 74, 75.The knight-rapist of"TheWifeofBath'sTale,"incidentally,isimanyotherversionsofthesamestory identedasSiGawain. )Gawainisbrave,andheis chivalric,andastheGawain-poetportraysh heis essentiay moral,but the very plethora of talkabout hs immense knightly reputation servestoundercut,infact, our belief in the reaity of that reputation. WhatGawaidoes,really,issomethingmuchmore Introduction25 lkewhataChristamaryrmightbeexpetedtodo, ratherthanatypicalknghtlyperformance.Heswings oneitialaxestoke,atapassivetarget;exceptforthe hastilydismssedcombatswithdragons,satyrs,trolls, andthele(allcra edintolines716-725 ) ,alof themmetwithbytheway,onh waytothegeen chapel, Gawain neverfghtsagain.Whathedoehaveto doiswaitforandm aboutdeath,andstrugglewith earthlytemptations.Nordoesheovercomethosetemptation:the resemblace to a martyrceases,atthspoint. Gawaimaages,butjustbarely,tokeepfommakig lovetohhost'sbeautandall-too-willingwife;he preservesakindofformachastity,thoughhelooks ratherbedraggledaboutit,bythethirddayofthebeautifullady'sseductivevamping.Buthedoesnotmaage tokeepfomcheating,tokeepfom-ihistertreacheryadbetrayal,whentheladyofersm a magcbelt,capable(shesays)ofpreservinghislife whenhewil fallybowhis head to the greenma's axe. Hesuccumbsquiteexpeditiously,andknowsit:when thehostrets fomhis day's hunting, onthatthird day, thereisnoneedtoseekGawaiout,astherehasbeen before.Gawainiswating,eagertopassonthekisses thehost'swifegavehthatmorg-butequaly eagernottopassonthebelt.More:Gawaipractcally rushesfomthesceneofhisfal(his be)tomakeconfession-afterhidingthemagicbelt"inasafeplace,/ Coveringitcarefullysohecouldfnditlater."(Lies 1874-1875)Terehasbeenacertaiamountofloose taaboutm confession:didGawainconfessabout the belt,ordidn'the?Wastheabsolutionvald,orwasit abinitioinvald?Andtherehasbeentheusualwearsomeparadeofecclesiasticaleag,noneofitrelevant-forteelementaryttwouldseemtobethat Gawain confesses becausehe hasaoverwhelmgneed to,becausehe hasaoverwhelming-andquitejustifed -senseofguiltandsin.Heofcousedoesnottellthe confessingpriestaboutthebelt:hemghtotherwisebe instructedtoreturittothelady,ortoadmittohishost thathehasaccepteditadbobligedtopassitback, 26Introduction alongwiththelady'skisses,aspartofm exchange-ofwn gsbagain-andhadn'theandthelady,to whom hewasoblged,as kightand as ma,"ageedthatonly JSheandGawainwouldsharethesecret/orever"? (Lies1863-1865) Buthefndsrelefin confessigand beingtoldthat"hissoul/Wasanointedsocmpletely cleanthattheDay/OfJudgentcouldhavecomewith the and been welcome."(Lines1882-1884) It does not matterthatthisisnot"tue":truth ihowonefeels it, atheGaan-petkowsad tomanyof mctc donot-andothelevelforwhchGawai neeedtis absolutonititadvalidandarelief,itieverythngheexpecteditwouldbe.Hedosnotwanttodie: thatiprimary.U hehaalreadycheatedonthebasic codeofhprofessional, kigtyexstence,aheclearly has,whatdoesitmatterthatinasensehehasnow cheatedonGo?Andindeed ithereaydiference? Integtisintegity:onceitiforfeited,itisforfeited. Period.Teprofofthepudding,Ithk,ithatafter m confesionGawaiiuproariouslyhappy;tepoet goefaoutofhisway,tangeigtm linesforthe descriptontoreprthathherowasnow"mang merr/A neverbeforeinthathouse"(Lines1886-1887),andthatallthehost'smennotcedadwere deligtedattheirguest'sfowingjoy.Gawainhasbeen politelymerry,before hehasd thewineand toldtejokes-butnowforthettmehheartii it.Havingfalenatlast,heihappy:"Nowleaveh ithatcomfort,whereloveh comethm!"(Line 1893;myitaic),thepetassuresus,ashetfom Gawaintothehost(anditithetraditionaydeceitul fox that the hos i huntg). "Comfor," yes,but''where lovehadcometoh"?Thepotkowsperfectlywell thatitwasnotlovebutthesafetofhnekthathad cometoGawai:telineiblatantlyironic,ands servesfthertoudercuttehero'smoralstanding. Whichis onyetaotherlevelwhatthepoemiabout -nlyononelevel,sinceasIsad isnotapoem capableofbeinganalyzedonanybutamulttudeof levels,alatthesametme."Gawain,ina reversalof Introduction27 thepatterofromanceslikeCaradocandPerceval, startsaaperfectknightandmovesdownward,ending wheretheheroesofthoseromancesbegan,asanimperfect'folchevalier'whoistheobjectoflaughterrather thanadmiration."(Benson,op.ct.p.242)Whenthe chastened,repentat,super-ChristianGawainreturnsto KingArhur'scourt,groaningandmoaningabouthis sinfulness,andproclaiingthatthebeltis"themarkof mysi"andtathethereforewillweaitaslongashe lves,heconcludeswith whatseemsalmostOldEnglish gnomicwsdom:"Foramanmayhideaninjurytohs soul,/Buthe'llneverberidofit, it'sfastenedforever." (Lies2511-2512)Onecanalostbegintobelievei Gawain'svirtueandrepentance,uncritically-butthen thekingandthewholecoutpathimontheback,and laugh,andsaythey'llallwearbeltsofrepentance.And theydo.AndsomuchforGawaintakinghimselfquite soseriously,orourdoingsoeither. Gawainisbynomeansananti-hero.Whenthegreen knightwatcheshimspoutngandwavinghissword,after thetestisover,"heledwhathesaw."(Line2335) Gawainibraveandeagerandaert-andyet,atthe sametime,he'smakinganawfulfoolofhimself.The frantcmotionshemakes,histumbling,half-stutterig words of warg,are deftly cntrasted withthepeaceful digityofthegreenman,unperturbed,leaningonhis geataeandwatching,listenng.Andyetthegreen man,too,hasnomorallyabsolutegroundtostandon. Hecomesatheemissaryofapractitionerofblack magic,thewitchMorganaleFay;hsheadisneverin danger, becauseoftheguaranteesofthatmagic;andh mssionisnotaterriblynobleone,ashehimselfdescribesit,beingpartlydesignedtotestthevirtueofthe knightsoftheRoundTable,partlydesignedtofrighten Guenevereoutofherwits(becauseofanancientjealousy between thequeen and Morgana).The green knight canbecourtly,chvalric,dignifed;hecanalsoberude, bat,andexceedinglymelodramatic.Hepartakes, inshort,ofthedelcate,deliberateambiguityofthe wholepoem.Heispartlyhuman,payforceofnature; 28Introduction heipartlymoral,partlyamoral.(Benson'sanalysis, op.cit.pp.56 f.,isbothbril iantlyperceptveandful of leag usefullyappled.)LikeGawain,he can speak withdignityandwithRgtonhside;butasolike Gawain,hecansem,whetherageenmaorashost, considerablylessthanaidealsymbolofTruthad Goness.Indeed,thosemoragcapitalletersseem ditnctlyoutofplaceanywherein poem;itadits poetarefartoosubtle,toohumaninthemostcivilized sense,toindulgeinsuchlackofbaance. I donotmeanthattheGawain-petwasnotabelievingChristan,orthathispoeminotbasica yaChristanpom.Hewasanditis.Thedesciptonofthe pentanglestaronGawain's shield(Lines619 f.)shows apassionateChtianit,andasIhavealreadysaid Gawain'sactionasa knight,andthewholetestingtae whichuderlestheplotofthepoem,havea deeply Christanframework.Butthepoetkeepsthngsalways ibalace:ihetellsu,inthepentangepassage,that Gawainenjoys"feedomfomsi"(Line652),itis necessarytolookbacktotheobservatonithesame longpasage,thatGawainis"asgoodasanykighti anygeamg/Caste/Adworthyofthatstar."(Lines 634-636)Thatis,Gawainishuman,noteithermythical orsantly;h"feedomfomsin"isthereforetobe understoodasrelatve,justlkeevergelseinthe poem.GawapraystoMary,onhjoureyinsearch ofthegreenchapel, adaterhe hastheetmes"shaped thesigofthecross/AdcaledChristinm need" (Lines761-762),heisgantedthevisionofthehost's castle,"theloveliesteverowned,"andheisjoyful,and tha"fortheanweringofhisprayer."Butthe castleisalsothesceneofhisdestinedtemptaton,and ofhdestnedfall.U suchapossibilitcouldbeimagined,Gawai wouldclearlyhavebeenbetterofsleeping inditchesthaluuriatnginthehost'swhitesheets, withorwithoutthehost'swhte-sknnedwife.TheGawain-ptplainlykows, andjustasplainlykows thathalmostHegel-likeperceptonoftheantithesi Introduction29 concealedwithinthesynthesisistheonlysanewayto seethings.Adheisphenomena ysane. Heis,infact,sopowerfulaliterarmindthatwhat couldbeamerematterofphilosophy,withalesser writer,istransformedforhimintoavitalmatterof literarytechnique. ThebalanceIhavespokenofisa structuraldevice,iSirGawain.Themostfamous,and mostwidelycommented-onexample,istheateraton ofthehost'shuntingandGawain'sbeinghunted.There isnoneedtopressrelentlessly,assomecommentators havedone,forexactresemblancesbetweeneachofthe animalsbeinghuntedbythehost,andtheparticular nature,daybyday,ofGawain'stemptations.Thatkind ofdoggedparallel-huntigmakesaboutasmuchsense asmeasuringthe host's weaponsagainstGawain'swords, orthehost'shorseagainstGawain's-butthiskindof thingisabsurdonitsface.Butthestructuralbalancing isveryclear.Onthelady'sfstvisittoGawain, thefrst day,thescenestartswithabriefrecoupofthehost's deer-hunting-"Sothelordplaysattheedgeofthe wood"-andthenimmediatelymovestoGawain,who "liesinalovelybed."(Lines1178,1179)Fourteen linesfurtheron,wearetoldthattheladytiptoedinto Gawain'sroom,cametowhereheseemstoliesleeping, "andgently /Satattheedgeofthebed.. ."(Lines 1192-1193).Herhusbandhuntsattheedgeofawood, sheattheedgeofabed:theparallelistooplainfor comment. Onthesecondday, whiletheboarisbeing bombardedwitharrowsandbothered,butnothurtby them,thesceneshiftsbacktoGawainbeingbombarded bythelady:"Andsoshetestedhim,pushedand probed,/Tryingtotempthim..."(Lines1549-1550) Theclearestparallel,alreadynoted,isbetweenthe "thieving"foxhuntedonthethirddaybythehusband, andthetreacherousGawanbunted-andcaught-by thewife.Thehosthasbroughtinnoblegame,before, gamewithrichsuppliesofmeat,toshowforthechase; thistimehebringsonlyhonortoexchangewithGawain -forthefox'stailisdistinctlyahonorifcratherthan anedibletrophy. Andtomatchhonor,Gawanbrings, 30Introdution forthefrsttie,dishonor.Andyetnotabsolutedishonor:thegeenknighthelfu him,after thetial, tatheisstll"apeal/Toap comparedtoother kights."Gawainfell,but"Notforabeautbelt,or U lust,/Butforloveofyourlife.Icahardlyblame you."(Lines2364-2365,2367-2368)U isalibaance;nowthathehasfal en,indeed,Gawaincamake areaconfession-nottoapriest,buttoteforceof naturethatthegreenmanhererpresent. "Ohkight:Ihumblyconfess Myfaults:blessme Withthechancetoatone. I'lltytosinless." (Lines 2385-2388) Ihavehardlymentonewhatseemstometemost tuphataspectoftheGaain-poet'sripe,civied baance,namelym wit.Ipervadestheentrepoem, light,dry,andplainlyrelatedtothngsFrench.Even when thepoet uses something lie theOld Engishlitotes (ironicstatementssuggestngtheoppositeofwhatthei wordsseemtosay), hehadesitveryverydif erently: whentheladiesofArhur'scourtarepursued,ad caught,andkissed,theylaughatthekssesthey've "lost/ (Andwhoeverwonthemfoundithardtoweep) . . "(Lines69-70) Moreusually,thepoet'switr lke delicatelybarbedcommentonArthur:"5 the fealesskingstodinfontofhistable,/Tagofelegant tries." (Lines107-108) Arthuri fearless,hedoes stand,hedoschatbladly:thepoint,thebarb,liesin theslymixtueofopposites,thebravekngstadingnot inbattebutathisdinnertable,adtgnotofhigh moratyandcouragebutofsophitcatednothgs. Whenthe kightsofU RoudTablearefabbergasted bythegenkight,"Andwereafaidtoanwerh,thengaspedathisvoice/Andtembled,sittgmotonless ithatnoble/Ha silentastones,acorpses. . . " (Lines241-243),thepoetslylyexplainthesilenceas perhapsaact,ipart,of"courtesy,todohonor/To Arthur,whosewordsshouldcomefrst."(Line248-Introduction31 249)Thishasbeentakenwithdeadlyseriousness :the poet,saysAbertB.Friedman,"attributesthecour's speechessfrighttotheirabsorptonintheappeaance ofthemonster;furthermoreheexcusestheknights'silencebysayingitwasnotentirelyfearthatkeptthem silent but politenesssomewhat:protocoldemandedtat onlythe kinganswer."("MorganleFayiSirGawain andtheGreenKnight,"inRobertJ.Blanch,ed.,Sir GawuinandPearl:CriticalEssays,IndianaU.P.,1966, p.137)Nonsense:as the geen kight crelly tels them, ''yousit thereshakng-at words! "(Line31 5) The signifcantthing,themorallyandthedramatcallysigcant thng,isthattheknightsareafraid,and kghtsare notsupposedtofeelfea.Aur,askg,andGawain, as the heroof the poem, rseabove their fear:"No one's afraid of your nonsense"(Line325) ,Arthursnaps, but I hope noone i taken in bythat kind of disclaier. Not only ae the knights describeda scared witless, not only aretheydescribedaskicknginpanic,whenthegreen man's decapitatedhead rolsnearthem,buteven in Pa Twoofthepoemwearetoldthat"themen/Ofthe RoundTablesatsilentattheirmeat,stufed,/Now, withgmbusiness."(Lies492-494)Thetwowho rseabovefearhaveadierentreaction:"Arthurad Gawaingned/Attejoke,andlaughedatthegeen man."(Lines463-464)ButArthurandGawainare immediatelydistguishedfromeveryoneelseatthe court,adonthebasiofaltheevidenceinthepoem, quiteproperlydistinguished:" . . . thosewhohadseen hi/Knewmiracleshadbeensent."(Lines465-466) My favorite among the Gawain-poet's barbed passages is one inwhichGawainispermitted tottheweapon ofwitonhistormentor.Thegreenknighthasbegnto swing hisaxe,Gawain hasfinched,and nowthegeen manistoyigwithhi."Youtalktoolong,"Gawain replies,"Perhapsyou'vefrightenedyourselwiththese threats?"(Lines2300-2301 ) Thereissomethingquite magnifcentaboutthefghtened,yetnowcontolled hero,fnalythemasterofhisfear,tauntng histaunter. Andthegreenman,whoknowscouragewhenhesees 32Introduction it,immediatelystopsclowningand,infact,getsitover with.Isupposemynextfavoriteisthesceneinwhich Gawainsuddenlyhearstheloud,menacingroarofthe huge grindstonewhichispreparinganaxeforhisneck -buttherereallyisnoendtoalistoffavoritewitty passages,inapoemsometimessofrothythattherehave beencriticswhocalledit"acomicpoem-bywhichI meanotso muchapoemfullofmandgames(though itisthat ) , asapoemwhichendshappily. . . "(J.A. Burrow,AReading of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Routledge& KeganPaul,1965, p.1 85) Thereisakid of guesomefasciationinsettingagainstthis fairlybasic perceptiontheso-calledcriticalinteligencewhichdeclaresthattheGawain-poet"iascivdasChaucer, butsterer,muchmoreofamoraist,agreatdealess ofahumorist.ButthereishumorofasortinhispresentatonoftheGreenKnig!Jt'splay-actiginArthur'shall, andinsomeofGawain'sruefulremarks. . . "(Dorothy Everett,"TheAlliterativeRevival,"inDentonFox,op. cit.p. 22)Thesamecritic-adIshallreturtothe Gaain-criticsasagroup,shortly-hasjustbeforethis whopperrefered,incredibly,to"theblusteringwords ofGawainashehearstheGreenKnightwhettinghis axebehindtherock."( Ibid.atp.21 ;myitalics)Blustering?"'That'smeantforme,'saidGawain,/'Akind ofgreeting.ByChrist,I'llgeethim/Better./God'swill bedone! ' . . . "(Lines2205-2208 )Blustering?Asthe Gawain-poet'schronologcal contemporary,Chaucer, put it,attheendofTroilus and Criseyde:"Go,litel bok,go, . . . prey IGodthatnonmyswritethe,/Nethemysmetre fordefauteoftonge./Andredwhersothawbe,orelles songe,/Thatthawbeunderstonde,GodIbisechel" (Book V, lines1786,1795-1798)I haveusedtheTolkienandGordontext ofthepom (op.cit.),asre-editedin1967 byNormanDavis.Ihave feltperfectlyfree,however,todisagreewiththeeditors, withorwithoutcontraryauthoritiesinhand.(Benson, op.cit.,wherehehascommentedondifcultwordsand Introduction33 phrases,iasuperiorlexicaaswellasacriticalgude; MarieBorrof'sSirGawainandtheGreenKnight:A StylisticanMetricalStudy,op.cit.,though becauseof its aoucedconcersitshouldbeastlbetterhelp withdisputedwordsandphrases,ioftendeplorably isensitve. )Testangepositonswhichteeditors oftenasume,ibothlteraryandtechnicalmatters,do notinspieoverwhelmingconfdence. discussingline 1284, e.g., they say:"Uline 1284 were taken, as it sometmesi,aspartofthelady'stougt,itwouldiply thatshe knewthatGawaiwas obligedto facethe blow fromtheGreenKght.Thestorym presentedha givenhernoopprtunitytoknowthis,sothatitwould beaseriousfawinthehadlgoftheplot."(p.1 10; my italics)But the pet has just fnished tellingus,three linesearler,that"Tillthemiddleofthemorgthey spokeofmany /Thigs, theladypretendingtolove him. . . "(Lines12801 28 1 ;italicsadded)Theeditors areconceredlestthey"spoilthesuspense";Iwould have them, myself,moreconcered with notspig the poem.Silarly,whenthehost'swifeoglesandtempts Gawain,andthekightisbothtemptedandwar,the editorssayoftheexpressionwithhymseluen,inlne 1660,tatit"mustmea'withhimself,ihsmind,' not'angathself'-forwhichhehadnocause." (p.1 18 )Itanslate "angy with hiself," here; it seem tomeplaithatGawaialreadyhasmore thanenough causetobeanoyedathisowperformance.AdaI suggested,theeditorsaremorethafallible,evenin techcamatterswhere,presumably,theirgipshould befrmest.Theysay-teoneexamplew beenough, Ithnk-that"astgfeatureofthebobinGawain isthatitseldomaddsanythg essentialtothemeaning, andioftendistnctlyredundant..Itipossiblethat m elementofthestanawasanafterhoughtofthe author's,adthatthebobswereaddedafterthepoem wascomplete,withafewadjustent."(p.152)Te bob-thati,theone ortoword lnewhichimediatelyprecedes thefour-line''wheel,"andthemainmOton ofwhichis(a)tobreak the rhym,and(b)toset 34 Introduction therhymewordforthewheel-isaftera alineofone ortwowords;onlyonceithepoemdoesithaveas manyastreewords.Toaskhighdraaofitisasking rathera lot,especiallyconsideringitsimporantrhyme andrhycafunctions(the latterquiteneglected,and perhapsunperceived) . Butevenapartfromthebob's brevity,itissimplynottruethatit"seldomaddsanything essentatthemeanng" :theweaselwordis plainly"essential. "Note:inline245,thepoettellsus inthebobthatArthur'skghtsweresilentinhyJe, "suddenly"; thebobofline274informsusthatthe greenmanaskshissport(gomen)biryJt,"asamatter ofright,asaprivilegeoftheChristmasseason";andin line338thebobtellsusthatthegreenmanignores Arthur'swarlikepreparationsashe wouldignoreamanservantbringinghimadrnkofwyne.Theexamples couldbemutipliedtenfold,andtheypointclearlytothe factthattheeditorshaveconcentatedmuchmoreon thearcanetradeofeditingthantheyhaveonthemuch simplerandmoredirectoccupatonofunderstanding,of readingthepoemasthepoettriedtohaveusreadit.I d notmeantobeungrateful,ortobitethehandthat feedsme,butI'mafraidthatJohnSpeirsis(fora change)rightwhenhegroansthattheTolkien/Gordon/Davistext"merely slavishlyreproducesthedefciencies,confusionsandinconsistenciesofthecopyist's spellingintheCotton NeroL manuscript."Heisright, too,whenheattacksthebook's"lengthy,mostlyirrelevantnotes."( "SirGawainandtheGreenKght,"in DentonFox,op.cit.p.79)Especialyinitsnewpaperbackincaaton,however,thsistheeditionmostlikely tobeusedbystudentsallacrosstheworld,anditis handyandcheapand,asfarasitgoes,generallyreliable. ItisnodefenseofTolkien,Gordon,andDavis,but mostliterarycriticismofmedievalpotrysufersfrom justtheirkindof"lengthy, mostlyirrelevant"insensitivity toapoemasa poem.I have referred,severaltimes, toDentonFox'shandy,briefcompilatonofGawain criticism.Itis handy,anditissometieshelpful,though theedtor'sgenerallysensibleintroductionobserves, Introduction35 earlyon,that"ThefactsabutteMiddleEnglishalliterativetaditonarewellknown, i somewhatba g"! (p.2)But tecrtcs'attenton-spa isomehow lted bytheischolarshp,oralterativelybyteirdesireto assertsmeinterretive claim.Ihavealreadyreferredto DorothyEverett'sessay,"TheAlliteratveRevival";it inotm asbadasthepassagesIhavecited.Nori DonaldR.Howard's"StrcteandSymmetinSir Gawain,"thoughheicapableofsaygthat"thelord's [host's]replesonreceivigthekissesaerchlyambiguous,forit isneverwhollyclearwhetherornothe kows what hiswehasbeenupto."(p.54)Butasthegeen kigtlatertellsGawai,"Iknowitm, knight,/The kssesyoutook,andgave,adall/Youdid,andhow shetempted you. . . "(Lines2359-2361 )Onemustbe waryofcritcswhosemidsstrayseasilyfromliterary fact. Andthereisevenmoreneedtobewaryofthe criticsithelonger,butmuchmoreofensiveBlanch compilaton(op.cit.).AlbertB.Friedman,referedto earlier,canwrite: "Toiplythatourpoet,foralhis moralearestess,couldfndanytingfoolishithe casualchalengesadjoustgs,whichareamongthe chiefhappeningsinromances,istofoistuponhan Ariostolikeattudethatwouldhavedisqualedmfomwritgu poem."(pp.137-138) ButaDenton Foxnotes,"Aherowhoseonlymartalexploitofany imporanceitochopofaproferedheadatthebgningofthepoem,andwhoseonlyamorousexploit ito refuealady'soferoflove,isinstagcontastto tetyicalheroofa MiddleEnglshromance...a glorious,andslightlyrdiculous,hero."(Op.cit.pp.5, 12)WasCaucer"disquaedfromwriting"Troilus andCrisede-whateverthatmightmean-becausehe explcitlymocks"thecasualchallengesandjoustgs, whichaeamongtechefhappeningsinromaces,"in his"TheKght'sTale"?Simarly,%. Friedmacan say,soberly,thatthehost'swfe"forcesGawatoaccept"thebelt,andthat"Gawainacceptsitonlybecause ofitsallegedmagicalpropertiesantobequitofthe 36Introduction naggingimportunitiesofhishostess."(p.145;my itaics)Ica onlygape:wherehasthemanbeen? AlanM.Markman's"TheMeaningofSirGawain andtheGreenKnight,"whichfolowstheFriedman essay,assersthat"theprimarypurposeofthepoemis toshowwhatasplendidmanGawainis."(p.161)Uthelightof thepoemitself,thisisobviouslyawonderful conclusionindeed,butsinceMr.Markmanfrequently rewritesthepoem,itbecomesadangerousconclusion foranunsuspectingstudent.Gawain,saysMr.Markman,is"the ideal feudalChristianknight. . . Ithevery frstplaceweshouldnotice[his]physicaftnessfor knighthood.Thoughoutthefeudalagethearmored cavalryman hadto possessstengthand endurance,"etc., etc.(p.162)"Hisaglityiplacinghimselfiposition toattackaftertheGreenKnighthadlightlywounded monthe neck. . . demonstatestheskillat armswhich thefeudalagedemandedoftheknight."(p. 163)And thefactthatthepoetismaking m ofGawain,veryjolly funindee,inthisexactpassage?Gone,allgone,asifit hadneverbeen. RichardHamiltonGreenfollowsMr.Markman's lumpypageswith"Gawain'sShieldandtheQuestfor Perfecton."Oneexpects,atonce,ahigh-tonedreading ofthepoem,withliberalshavelings-inoficonographic leag,andMr.Greendeliversasexpected.SirGawainpresentsuswith"aidealsocietyinamarvelous worldwherethevirtuousherorepresentsthetemporal andspirituaideal,fatteringandencouragingthose whosemodelheismeanttobe.[Exactly,thatis,asDon Quixotedoes.]. . . Thisshieldanditsdeviceconstitute aniconographicalitanceofextraordinaryimportance inthelateMiddleAges,uniqueinitscombinationof rarity,elaboration,andfocapositionintheworkasa whole.FortheMiddleAges,thebasicfguativemeanigsofarmor,andespecialyheletandshield,were foundiEphesian,chapter6. . . "(pp.177,181)But wordshaveceased tohave real meanings,here.Howcan acriticwriteofapoem,isoshellshockedastateof scholarlydementia? Introduction37 ThenfollowstheDonaldR.Howardessay,alsoreprintedintheFoxcolection,adafterthiscomes ChalesMoorman'sincredible"MythandMedievalLiterature:SirGawainandtheGreenKnight."Itwouldbe hardformetofairlycharacterizeMr.Moorman'sweird analysis;thehearofitisthefolowing,whichspeaks, unfortunately,foritself: TheGawainpoet,Imaintain,ispresentingus, withinadeliberatelylimited form,amicrocosm,or bettersaid,asemi-allegoricalpresentatonofthe wholehistoryandmeanngoftheRoundTable. Morganattemptsreform;Gawainfailsinkeeping faithwithBercilak;teacherousGuinevereremains alive.Theformofthepoemisthusquiteconsciouslylimitedintmeandinspaceinorderto facitateaunifedandcompletepresentationof the progressofthe RoundTable;onlyinasingle,completeadventurecouldthepoetachieveayunifed desig which would refect the whole ofthetragedy. Inthissensethepoemissemi-allegoricalin method. . .(p.230-andnotawordofitisinvented) Mr.Burrow'sAReading. . ., referredtoearlier,i lessharmftdthanthesortofthingjustcited.Ithasa dutiful,grade-schooltone:"Themostremarkablefeatureofm description, itseemstome, isitsrichness andvarietyofsuggestion....Thefstviewofany herohelpstoestablishoursenseoftherelationshpexistingbetweenhimandthesocietytowhichc belongs (Hamletprovidesanobviousexample) , andthisrelationshipisusuallyamatterofsomeimportance . . . . It iasU theGreenKnightoferspeacewithonehandand warwiththeother."(pp.13,8,1 7) Butheisalso capableofsayingthatGawai's"proposalisdebated by thenoblesbeforeitisaceptedbytheking"(p. 11;my italics) , whenasthepoetindicates,thecourt,stunned andincapacitatedfordecision-makingofaykind, 38Introduction merelybuzesamomentandthenagrees,yes,yes,oh quiteright. Thekightswhispered,buzed, Thenall Ia voice said it was ForGawain;thekingshould hat. (Lines362-365) AndMr.Burrowlistentohimselfwithsolitteattentonthathecansay,atonemoment,"Theseelaborate exchanges suggest thatGawaiisenteringintoasolemn quasi-legalagreement"(p.23) , andlateronthat"Gawain'soathtotheGreenKightisnotentrelysolemn, andthiscastsashadowofdoubtacrosshisobligatons" (p.161 ) . Hecatelus,astonishingy,that"When GawanreachestheGreenChapel,forexample,heis deckedoutlikeasavagewthtalismansofeverydescripton."(p.178 )Itseemsmoreusuallydul,only academica ypompous,toobservethat"Thegeography ofArthurianromancei,likeits historyanditschronology,notoriouslyirresponsible"(p.176),but itseemsto methatthisinolessdangeroustothestudent-who afterallreadscriticsm inorder tolear,to beinformed, tobeenlightened.(Isuspect,afterseveraldecadesof reading sortofthig,thatmost ofthesectcpublishiordernottoperish. )Whattrueleagisthere isomethinglikethefollowing:"Iinotdifcult,for example,tohearthevoiceofthePreacherithespeech whichhe[thegreenkight]makesaferproposingh gaeandreceiving no reply. . .Uthese wordsonesees thecu,foramoment,exactlyasone might seeitia MoralitPlay,aTragedyofPrinces,ora'ubisunt' lyric. . . "(p.26) PedantyrmadcanIhopebedismissed,with simplereplicationoftwonotesfromtheTolken/Gordon/Davistext,thosetolie879,bleeaunt,and tole 23 16,spenne-fote: bleeaunt.Herearichfabric,butinlie1928appliedtoagarment.Theetymologyandsense-developmentareuncertain.Theformbliutwas usedin Introduction39 Frenchasearlyasthetwelfthcenturyforalong over-tunic,wornbybothsexes( seeespecially J.Evans,Dress in Medieval France,pp.5 f.and pis. 7,1 0);itdoesnotseemtohavebeenusedfora fabricas wel.In Anglo-Notmantheending wasreplacedby-ant,-aunt,propertothepresentparticiple( e.g.bliauntintheAnglo-NormanBevisof Hamptonlines738, 745 ) , perhapsinpartbecause uand n were indistinguishableinmostmanuscripts. TheformwithnappearsalsoiWelshandMiddle Low German,but HighGermanandIcelandichave thatwithoutn.MiddleEnglishusua yhasthe-ntype,buttheotheralsooccurs,e.g.blyotinParlementofThreAgesline482.Wecannottellhowfartheshapeofthebleaunt infourteenth-century Englandpreservedthatofthe telfth-centuyFrenchbliaut.J.L.Nevinson,i Medieval England chapter IX,writes : "Asmight b expected,therearearchaisms inSirGawainandthe GreenKnightsuchasthetrailingbliautworidoorswithasurcoatandahoodhangingonthe shoulder"(p.308 ) .Yet from his attitude toarmour andarchitecture thepoetseemsunlikelytohaveintended archaism in costume.Itmaybethat theword had acquired amore generalsense of"robe,"which it mghteasilydofromtheuseof the cloth for mantles,ashere;cf.alsoSirTristemlne410: "U o robe. . . ofablihad braun. " spenne-fote.O.E.D.has"withfeetclosetogether," derivingspennefromOldNorsespenna,averb, "clasp";seespenetandspenneinglossary,ad note online1074.J.H.Smt(M.L.N.xli[1934], 462-463 )shows that jumping with the feet together isstandardpracticeinthebroadjump,andcites Frenchparallelswith iointlespiezandthelike.Yet similarwordsmeaning"kick"existincontinenta Germaniclanguages-MiddleDutchspinnevoeten, LowGermanspinnefoten,ModemFrisianspin40Introduction foetsje-whlchitwouldseemcanhardlybeunconnected,thoughnorelatonisapparent. Totback,brefy,fompedantrytopoetry.No onecan produce,i modem English,exactsoundequivalentsoftheGaain-poet'sruggedNortherspeech. Quat!hitclateredinpeclyf,ahitcleueschulde, Asone vponagyndelstonhadegoundenasype. What!hitwharredad whette,awaterata mulne; What!ht ruschedand ronge,rawpetohere. What!Itclatteredonthecli ,asi Tosplitit,likeagrndstonegndingascyhe. What!Itwhirredlikewateratam.Wat!I rushedandit rag,anditsang Mierably. (Lines 2201-2205) TemodemEnglishisinevitablymoreefete:wehave lostonekdofmusic,andleaedanother.Onedoes whatonecan. Thebob-ad-wheelhasbeen,inaboutequalproportons,adelightfulchalengeandanaficton.Mypractcehasbeentocomeacosetothe rhymgpatterof theoriginalasIcould,butneverknowinglytosacrice otherqualtiestotherhymepatter.(Ihavebeeneven feerwiththemeter. )Ihaverungawholesriesof variatonsontheGaain-pet'srathersimplerhymng -evergfom fve(orevensi)consecutverhymes ofthesamesound,tothekindof part-rhyme,verymuch rimefable,ofsaylies1 74-178, whererider/decisive/ bridleformonerhyme,andhorse/caughtupanother. Iaproudestofsuchsequencesasthatinlines55-59, wheretheGaain-poet'spatteriquitecloselyfollowed,castle/vassals/surpasshimrhymingitheoddnumberedles,andearth/worthitheeven-numbered ones;themetrc,too,itheGaain-poet's,orsometing closetoit. Asalways,Ihavetackedtheorgnaasclosely aI could;mytaslatonhasthesamenumberoflinesa doestheMiddeEnglishpoem,thesamestophicdv-Introduction41 sions,thebb-and-wheelatthesamepoints,anditalso folowsthemanuscriptdivisionintofourparts(which Ihappentothinkaintegraladdramaticdivisionof thepoem) . Themetricused,exceptforthebob-andwheel,isafour-stressline,withvariablenumbersof unstressedsyllables-manymoreunstressedsyllables, overal,thanIhaveused in myOldEnglishtranslations. Thistoofollowsthepracticeoftheoriginal,iwhich unstressed syllablesareconsiderablymore frequentthan inOldEnglishpoetry.Noonequiteunderstandsthe MiddleEnglishalliterativeline;Ihopemyechoingof it is-atleastinthistwentiethcentury-somewhateasier tofollow. Ihaveoccasionally,andalwayssilently,wovenfootnotes intothetext: Ido notbelieve in footnotingpoems, whereit is humanly possible to avoid so doig. NordoI thikthattheoccurrenceintheoriginalmanuscriptof Gawayn,Gawayne,Gawan,Gawen,Gauayn,Gauan, Wawan,Wawen,Wowen,andWowaynimposesonme anyobligationwhatever.GawaiisGawain,here, throughout. TheeasyavailabilityofthepaperbackTolkien/Gordon/Davistext,plusthe penaltycostsinvolvedisetting MiddleEnglishintype,havemadeitimpossibletoset theoriginalandmytranslationonfacingpages.Iwish it had not been impossible. -BurtonRafel March1 968-December1 969 NatanyaandHaifa,Israel Austin,Texas SELECTED BI BLI OGRAPHY SeveralbookscitedonyitheAterord arehereicluded;however,inal caesthe annotatonsarebythetanslator. Bensn,LarryD.,Art andTraditionin Sir Gawain and theGreenKnight,RutgersUnversitPress, 1965. Sensitveandleaeddiscussionofsources;litera conventionandcharacteration; style; naratveand descriptivetechniques;meaning.Thebookimodestintonebutrichlyinformative;muchthebest study in print. Blach,RobertJ.,ed., SirGawainandPearl:Critical Essas,IndianaU.P., 1966.Verymuchamed bag:siessays, someofthemhorrendouslyawful, smespottyinteligent.Not recommended. Borrof,Marie,SirGawainandtheGreenKnight:A StylisticandMetricalStudy,YaleU.P.,1962.A ratherponderous, wordy, andfrequentlyinsensitive studyofdifcultmatters;sometmesuseful, butto beconsutedwithcauton,despitetheheavyscholarly apparatu. 43 44Selected Bibliography Burrow,J. A.,AReadingof SirGawainandtheGreen Knight,Routledge& KeganPaul,1965. Literary criticismonaverylowlevel,thoughsometimes dullyefective.Notrecommended. Fox,Denton,ed.,TwentfethCenturInterpretations of SirGawainandTheGreenKnight,Prentice-Hall, 1 968. Abriefbutsometimesrewardingcollection; someofthe essaysareatbestspottilyintelligent,but theselectionisdistinctlysuperiortothatinthe Blanchcompendium.Recommended,withduecauton. Howard,DonaldR.andChristian Zacher,eds.,Critical StudiesofSirGaainandtheGreenKnight,UnversityofNotreDamePress,1968. Useful;fuller thantheFoxcollection;sometimesabitpedantic. Kttredge,GeorgeLyman,AStudyofGawainandthe GreenKnight,PeterSmith,1960(frstprintedin 1 91 6) .Ahighyspeculative,well-writtenstudydevotedexclusivelytoliterarysources,actual,possible,adimaginary.Ofmoderateinterest,iused bothspariglyand appropriately. Longnon,Jea,adRaymondCazelles,eds.,TheTres Riches Heuresof Jean,DukeofBerry,GeorgeHraziller,1 969. NodirectconectionwithSirGawain andtheGreenKnight,butmanyoftheillustrations -beautifullyreproduced-arevividevocationsof thespirit,andoftenmuchof thedetail,ofthepoem. Loomis,Roger Sherman,The Development of Arthurian Romances,HarperTorchbooks,1964.Biasedand crotchety,butclearand,forthebeginner,modestly inormative;deeplytraditional,hostiletomuchin contemporarycriticism.Recommended,ifusedwith duecaution. Savage,HenryL.,TheGawain-Poet:StudiesinHis Personalityandfackground,UniversitofNorth CarolinaPress,1 956. Asetofcrotchetyhistorical essayshavingnoprovenconnectintotheGawainpoetandnorelevancewhatevertothepoem.Not recommended. SI RGAWAINANDTHE GREENKNI GHT PARTONE Oncethesiegeandassault haddoneforTroy, Andthecitywassmashed,burnedtoashes, Thetraitorwhose trickshad taken Troy FortheGreeks,Aeneasthenoble,wasexed ForAchilles'death,forconcealinghiskiller,3 Andheand histribemadethemselveslords Ofthewesterislands,rulersofprovinces, Andrich:high-handed RomulusmadeRome Outofnoting,builtit highandblessedit With hisname,thenameweknow;andTirrus10 FatherofTuscanfoundedtowns; AndtheLombardsplantedaland;and Brutus Splitthesea,sailed fromFrance ToEnglandandopenedcitiesonslopes Andhls, 13 Wherewaandmarvels Taketurnswithpeace, Wheresometimeslghtning trouble Hasstruck,andsometimessoftease. Andnoble Brutus'Britaingrewrich 20 Ibattle-bold knights,wholovedtofght And fought,andoften brought pain to thei people. Far more than i any landinte world WonderfulthingshavebeenworkediEngland. But ofmherkingsAuwaalways23 Mostglorious,asthetalestell-andkowing Astange adventure,toldof Au Andhisknights,assurpassinglystrangeatale As evenBritain hasspawned,I'll tellit Hereandnow,asI'veheardittold,Bo Uyou'd like tolisten tothepoemI'll read Spun Outofancientstories Setdownbyhonest men 49 50Sir Gaan an the Green Knight u Withboldwords And faithful pens. At Christmasthe king heldcourtat Camelot, Suroundedbygraciouslords,worthy KnightsoftheRoundTable,brothersinars, 4 Revelinginthat rich pleasure.Noble Knightsday after dayrode I toueys, jousted gallantand well, Then gallopedtocourt,andsang,and dancedForCamelot'sChristmasfeastwas ffteen 45 Days,asm offoodandlaugter Asfeastingcouldbe made,loudandhappy Andglorioustolistento,noisydays, Dancing nights,lordsad ladies Rejoicing in their rooms,and in Arthur's castle, soComgtogetherintheheightofdelight, ThemostfamouswarriorsofChristour King, Andtheloveliest ladiesintheworld,adArthur Thenoblestofrulers,reigninginhscourt. It wasspringtieinCamelot, inthe Christassnow, " Itatcastle Mostblessedonearth, Withthebestofvassals Andakingofsuchworh That notimewsurpassh.6WiththeNewYeardrawingclose,courters Andladiessattoadouble feast; Masshadbeen sunginthe chapel,theking And his kights came tothe hal,and priests Ad laymencaled"Noel!Noel! " 65Adshoutedandsang,andnoblesran WithNewYear'spresentsintheirhands,noisily Passing iacrowd,ca ng"Presents! Presents! " andloudlydisputinggts, Whileladieslaughedwhenksseswere lost 10(And whoever won them found it hard toweep),And udinertime came they ra andlaughed; Then they washedandsatatthatstatelytable, Thenoblest nearesttheir lord,and hisqueen, Sir Gawain an theGreen Knight51 Gueneverethegay,seateditheirmidst : Arrangedaroundthat pricelesstable 75 Fringedwithsilk,withsilkhung Overtheirheads,andbehindthemvelvet Carpets,embroideredrugs,studded Withjewelsasrichasanemperor'sransom-Andthequeen80 Watching withshining Grayeyes,seemed Asbeautifulalady Asamancouldhaveseen. Yet Arthur,boisterousandmerryasaboy,85 Refusedtoeattiltheothers wereserved: His bloodranyoung,andhisbrainwas restless, And he likedtobegay,he hatedlying Aboutorsittinglongatatime. Andapointofhonorheldhimback,9 Avowhehadtakenadmeanttokeep, Nottobeseatedatafestivetable Untilhe'dbeentoldataleofadventures Ormarels,somemightystorytoremember Ofprinces,ofbattles,of perilsor wonders,95 Oracourlyvisitorhadbeggedsomeknight Ofthe RoundTabletoriseandrideicombat Fightforhislife,maagainstman, Asfatedetermined.Whereverheheld His court the king was ruled bythiscustom,100 Wheneverhesatwithhis knightsaroundmAndfeasted. Hisfaceproud Heremainedonhisfeet, Andh laughterwasloud105 AshewaitedhisNewYea'steat Sothe fearlesskingstoodi frontofhistable, Talkingofeleganttifes.AndGawain ThegoodsatbesideGuenevere,andAgravane Ofthehardbandsonherotherside,110 BothArthur'snephews,fathfulknights, And Bishop Bawduneat the king'sright 52Sir Gawain an theGreen Knight AndUrian'ssonYwainwithh,Thiscentral tablesathighinluxury 115Andaroundthemlesserknightsinrows. Withafaringcrackoftrumpetsthe feast Began,trumpetsallhung with brightbanners, Andm beat,andgloriousbagpipes Rumbledandshiedtheirquick-steptunes, 120And heartsbeatquick withthe music.At thesignal Raeanddelicatedisheswereserved, Andvenisoningeatslabs,andsomanyplatters That there was almost noplacetoset themin font of Theguests,brothsandstewsinoverfowing 12 Abundance. A ateas they pleased Andas muchatheywanted, Adozendishesapiece, Andbeerandwinefowed fee. 130I've nothing more to tell of their feasting: Anyfool knows with what splendor they were fed. Andtosend the prince tohdiner, adiferent Soundapproached-thetrumpetsandpipes Were barelystill,the drums sient, 135The frstdishesset in place, When a ghastly knight sprang through the door, Huge,taler than men stand,so square Andthick fomneckto knee,thighs So broadaround,legsso long, 14He seemed half anogre,agant, Butclearlythebiggestcreatureinthe world And the farest,the gayest for hissize,asm thewaist, asfatinthebelly,ashisback Andchest were grim and immense, from cheek 145To chin fe ad elegant, withaneasy Grace, Ad stunning thecourt Withthecolorof hrace: A fery,snortng 150 Fellow,and his hands were green,and h face. SirGawainandthe Green Knight53 Andhisaror,andhisshirt,weregreen,allgreen: Ashorttight tunic,worn close,ad amerry Mantle,sewn-i withfurthatrippled As he rode,tried richat theedgeswith bright White ermine,both hismantleand thehoodthown155 low On hisback,belowhis fowing hai; Andhissmooth-webbedstockings,stretchedtaut on hislegs, Were green,allstriped withembroideredsilk, And hisshining spurs weregold,andhewore No shoes,rode peacefully tothat prince'scourt.160 Everythingabouthwasan elegantgreen, From the coloredbandson hisbelttothejewels Set i his clothesand hissaddle,woven Around with silk designs :birds Andbutterfiesfew intatembroidery,beautfully165 Workedand fne, decorated in green And withgoldscatteredacrossthem.Hishorse's Armor wasenameled,and the saddleand its straps And the bit in itsteeth were geen,andthe stirrups Forthat knight's feet were green,andhissaddle170 Horn,andtheshining l eatherhung Fromthesaddle,glitteringand gleaming withgreen Stones,and hisstalliontoo,as green Asitsrider, Ahugehorse, 175 Headstrong,decisive Andquick,butcaughtup By hishand'stouchonthebridle. His clothesand hisaror were glorious,thisgreen Knight,hishair the color of hishorse180 Andwaving downhisshoulders.Abeard Asthickasabramble-bush grewfromhischin Andfelinfront asfarasthe hair jback,hairandbeardcut At the elbow, likeaking's hooded cape185 Enclosinghisneckandhalfhisarms; And his horse'smane hung long,combed 54Sir Gawain and theGreen Knight Andcurled,braidedstrad forstrand Withgoldthread,astrandof green hair, 190Anotherofgold; ad hisforelock,andhistail Were braidedto match,bound i place Wit a geen band, dotted with precious Stonesthe length ofthat fowingtail, Thenlaced with anelaborateknot,andstrung 195Withdozensof bright goldbellsthat rang 20 Ashe rode-andrider,andhorse,stranger Thananything seen onearth,before Thatday. Heseemedto glow Likelightning,they say Who were there:whocould know The forceofhisblows? And yet he wore no helmet,no mail-shi, No neck-armor,nothingagainststeelorarrow, 205Norcarrieda shield norswungaspear, Had onlya branchof holly i one hand (Hollythatgrowsgeenestwhenthewoodsare bare) And an axe i the other,monstrous, huge, Aviciousweapon four feet wide, 210Haeredof greensteel,andofgold, With apolished blade,abright cutting Edge,andlong,andstroppedlikea razor Ready toshear,andhishad held it By athick staff,strong andstraight 215Andwound round with ironat the end; Itwas carved with lovely geen symbolsand designs Andhung bya straprun thoughthe head And down the handle,looped around And tied with delicate tasselsandembroidered 220Buttons, geenand rich.Thisknight Stalkedithedoorand thoughthe hal ToArthur'shightable,aaidof noone, Greeting noone,igoring themall. And when he spoke:"Where,"be said, 22s"Lte lord ofthscompany?I'd like tosee h Sir Gawain and the Green Knight55 I personand exchangesomewords."Hestared At theknghts, Rollinghiseyesup Anddown,thenstopped And squinted, bunting the knight230 Ofnoblestrenown. And they themselvessat andstared, Wondering, bewildered, what it meantthata knight And h horsecould have suchacolor,could grow Pgeen a gass,orgener!and glow235 Brighter than emerald enamelandgold. Ad those who were standing watched,andwalked Carefuly near h,not knowing what he'd doThey'dalseen wonders,but nothinglike th. And some said he was witchcraft,a phantom,240 And wereafraid toaswerh,thengaspedat his voice Andtrembled,sitting motionlessinthat noble Hall,silent asstones,ascorpses ; Aspeechwassweptawayasi sleep Haddropped 245 Fromthe sky-butsome Surelystopped Their tonguesin courtesy,todo honor ToArthur,whosewordsshouldcome frst. AndArthurstood watching the strange arrival 2so Andgeetehgavely(forheknew nothingof fear) Andsaid,"Sir, youare welcome in my house, For I amAhurand I rule this court. Stepdownfomyourhorseandstay,letmepray you, Andwhateveryou'vecomeforcanbetalkeof255 afterward." "No, God help me," said the geen man,"I have No interest in lingering here!Yet you Andyourcourtaresofamous,prince,adyour castle 56Sir Gawan and the Green Knight Andyourknightsarepraisedsowidely-theproudest, 260 Theboldest soldierstosit onahorse, The bravest and best of men,eager To compete in noble games-and your courtesy Is told insuchterms,that Icame tosee Uthesetalesweretrue.Youcan surelytell 265By mbranch here inmyhandthatI'vecome mpeace,notseeking,notgvingofense: Had I ridden with mymen,intending to fght, I've ahelmet and mail-shrt athome,and ashield Andasharpspear,shining bright, 270Andother weaponsmeant for war. I intend no war,what Iwear iin peace. And uArthur ias brave ashfae, in the name Of mChtmasseason you'll gant methe sport I'vecome for." 21'AndArthur replie, "Yourwishisdone,sir. If you'vecome tofght We'llfghtandnot r,sir." "No,not fghting:believeme,prince. 280Thesebenchesare flled withbeardlessinfants. Wearig myarmor,riding towar, There'snomucleinthishalltomatchme.It'sa game Iwanttoplay,a Christassport For theseason.Your court sings of its daring: 285If they'ldare it,anyof these eager knights, Rise so boldly,so ferce,so wild, And givea blow and take a blow, I'll ofer noble axe andlet them Swing its weightas they like,and I'll sit 29Withoutarorandinvitethemtostrikeasthey please. Anyone with the nerve to try it,tae This axe, here.Hurry,I'm waiting! Take it and keep it,my gft forever, And give me a well-aied stroke,andagree Sir Gawain andthe Green Knight57 To accept another in payment,whenmytum295 Arrives, But not now:ayear And aday willbe tie Enough.So:ianyonehere Able torse?" 3oo Hhe'd stunnedthemat frst,they sat stiller,now, Awho followed Ahur,noble And knave. That kght swiveled in hissaddle, His eyes rolling ferce andred, And hewrinkled his bristling brows,gleaming305 Green,and switchedhis beardfromside Toside-And no one rose-And he reared Like a lord,and yelped,and laughed,andsaid: "Hah!Is this Arthur's house, hailed Across the world,that fabledcourt?310 Where have your conquests gone to,andyour pride, Where iyour anger,and thoseawesome boasts? And now the Roud Table's fameand its feasting Are done,thrown down at the soudofone man's Words-ad you sit there shaking-atwords! "315 Adhe laughedso loudthat Arthurwinced, Hfair facefoodedhotwith shame, Andhischeeks; He fared asangryaswind, 320 Adall his people Burned.Ad the bold king Strode toward thegeen Kight:"By God,fellow,this is foolish Stuf-but you'veaked for foly,and folly You'llget!No one'safraidof your nonsense: 325 For God'ssake,givemeyouraxe,I'llgrat Your request! " Lightandfast,heran And claspedthegeenknght'shand.And proudly The geen ma dismounts. AndArthurlifts The axe,and whips it about,gipping it 330 Firm i m fsts,g, determined. That haughty knight stood hugeat hisside, A head and more the tallest inthe hal; 58SirGawainandtheGreenKnight Strokinghisbeard,hisfaceset 835Andstill,hequietlypulleddownhiscoat, AsindiferenttoArthurswishinghisae Asifthekingwereawaitercarrying 84 Wine. Gawainwasseatednear Thequeen;heleaned Forward: "Hearme, Mylord.Letthischallengebemine." ThenGawainbowedtotheking."Releaseme, Myliege,fromthisbench,andletmecometoyou, 845Permitmetorisewithoutdiscourtesy, Andwithoutdispleasingyourqueen.Letmecome Tocounselyou,hereinyournoblecourt. Itseemswrong-veryoneknowshowwrongWhenachaengelikethisringsthroughyourhal 85oTotakeityourself,thoughyourspiritlongs Forbattle.Thinkofyourboldknights, Burstingtofght,asreadyandwilling Asmencanbe:defertotheirneeds. AndIatheslightest,thedullestofthemal; 855My lietheleast,mydeathnoloss -Myonyworth isyou,myroyal Uncle,almyvirtueithroughyou. Andthisfoolish busiessftsmystation, Notyours :letmeplaythisgreenman'sgame. s6oU Iasktooboldly,maythiscourtdeclaeme Atfault." Theknghtswhispered,buzzed, Thenall Inavoicesaiditwas ForGawain;thekingshouldhalt. ThenArthurorderedhisknighttorise, AndGawainroseandcamequickly Totheking,andkneeled,andacceptedthegeen man's AxeaArthur yieldedit,lifting 870HishandstobringGodtoGawan,commanding Thatheartandhandmustbesteadyandstrong. Sir Gawain andthe Green Knight59 "Becareful,cousin,"saidtheking,"tostrike But once;ofer exactly what he asks And hisstoke willbeeasier tostand."Axe I hand Gawain approached the green man,375 Who waited patient,calm,unmovig. Thenhe spoke to theknight:"Before we proceed, Friend, weoughttomakeeverything clear. And Iask you,frst,your name:speak it Openly,adspeakthe truth." "In truth3BO It isGawain who ofersthisstoke,andagrees, No matter whathappens,toaccept astroke From you,in exactlyayear, with whatever Weapon youchoose fom you,andonly Fromyou!"385 Thegreenmansmiled: "SiGawain,noonecoulddo What you'll do,and delightme More-nomanalive. "ByGod,"he swore,"SiGawain,I'mglad39 TohavewhatIwantedat your hands.You'vespoken Our bargain beautifully,and spokenitfair, Andomitted nothing Iaskedthe king Except,knight,your word toseek me Yoursel,to come to me there where Iam,895 Athome on thiseath,andto take the same Reward you'll gve me today in thiscourt." "And where w you be?"asked Gawain."Where Is your home?By God,I've never heard Ofyour castle, or you,or your court,or your name. 40Tel me,teach me,gve me yourname, And I'll come to you,howeverhard the road, Wherever youare:Iswear on myword. " "That'soathenough,atChristmas,"saidthegreen man, "I need no more.Onceyou've swung myaxe45 Neatlyand well,there'll be timeto tel you Wheremyhomeisandmyhouse,andtotellyou my nae, And you'll test mycastle,andme,and keep 60Sir Gaain an the Green Knight Yourword.And perhapsI'llsaynothing,once 410 You'vestruck,whichisbetterforyou,youcould stay 415 Herewith your kingandnot hunt my doorButstop! Take mygoodaxe Andshow me achop." "Exactlyas you ask," Said Gawain, ready tostrop. Stismiling, the greenman bowed,and bent Hisheadabit,baringm neck, His lovely long hairtossedback,leaving 420The naked feshopen,exposed. Gawain hefted the axe,swung it high In both hands,balancing hleft foot in front of him, Then quickly brought it down.The blade Cutthrough bonesand skin andfair 425Whitefesh,splitthegreen man'sneck Soswitlythatitsedgeslashedthegound. Andthe headfelltothe earth, rolled Onthefoor,andtheknightskickeditwiththeir feet: The bodyspurtedblood,gleamng 430Red on green skin-but the geenmastood Amoment,not staggering,notfaling,thensprang Onstrong legsand roughly reached through thashing Feet,claimedhislovelyhead, And carrying it tohis horse caught thebridle, 435Steppedinthestirrupsandmounted,holding His head by itslonggreen hair,sitting High and steady in thesaddleasthough nothing Hadhappened.Buthesatthereheadess,forevery-one Tosee, Twisting hisbloody,severed Stump.Andtheknghtswere wary, Afraidbeforeheever Openedthat mouth tospeak. SirGawain and theGreen Knight61 Andheheldthat head high,slowlytug ItsfacetowardArthurandthenoblestofhis443 knghts, And it lifteditslidsand stared with wide eyes And moved its lipsandspoke,saying: "Gawain,be ready to rideasyoupromised; Hunt me well untiyou fdme-Ayou swore to,here in thshall,heard450 Bythese knghts. Find thegreenchapel,come To take what you've gven,a quick and proper Greeting fora New Year'sDay.Manymen Know the knight ofthe geenchapel : Seek me,andnothing can keepyoufromme.455 Thencome!orbe calledacowardforever." With a violent rushhe mmcthe reins And galloped fom the hall,hisheadinhishands; His horse's hooves struck fre onthe stone. And where he rode to noone knew,460 No more tanthey'dknown fromwherehe came. Ad then? ArthurandGawain grinned Atthejoke,andlaughedatthegreen man, Thoughthose whohadseen him45 Knew miracleshadbeensent. Ahur'sheart whrled in wonder, Yet he showed nothg,tured to his beautiful Queenandspokecourteously,butloud: "My love,let nothingof thisdisturb you.470 These arethingsrightadproper ForChristmas,andforcourtlyladiesandtheir knights, Mimingandplays,carolsand laughter. But now Icandine,Iadmitit;the marvel Iawatedhascome."Thenheglancedtoward473 Gawain: "Sir,"he saidslowly,"hang up Youraxe:ithascut enough forone nght." And servantshungit high against 62Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Atapesty,a tophy foreveryonetostareat, 480Trueevidenceof mavelous tgs. Then kights and ladies reted to table, And Arthurand Gawain,andgoo men servedthem Double portions,as ra demanded. They ate and drank and listened and watched 485 Andthedaywasdelight,andwaslong,andwas fally 490 Done. And now,Gawain:U.Danger isyourstoovercome And thisgame brings you Danger.Can thegame be won? PARTTWO The geen man began Athur's New Year Withthe marvelshe lovedtohearof.But themen Of the Round Table sat sientat their meat,stufed, Now, with gim business.Gawain Enjoyed the begng of that game,inmkig's495 Court, but noone would laughattheend-Formenmaybecheerful,mulng theirwine, Buta yearrunfast,andalwaysrdiferent; Startand fnish are never thesae. SoChtmasgoes by,and allthe swift year,500 Eachseasonracingafter the other: Chstmas pursued byuncomfortable Lent, Tryingmen'sfeshwithsimplefood And with fsh; thenfair weatherfghtswith foul, CloudsHthe sk,the cold shaway,505 Ra fa sclear i warmshowers, And the fatearhopensitofowers And feldsandplainsgow thickadgreen, Birdsstarttheirnestsandsinglikeangels For love of softsummer,creepingacross510 Theslopes; And hedgerowsswelltall, And blossomsblowopen, Ad gloriouswoodsareal Echoig joyandhope. 5 And after summer's softwinds,Zehyrs Whistles quietly with seedsandherbs, Sprouting delight plants,painted Wet with dewfalling fomleaves, Waiting tobewarm i the brightsun. 520 Then autumn comes rushing,callingtheplants To watch for winter,to gow whe theycan; And he dries the eathanddrivesdust Swirlig tothesky,andwildwind 65 66Sir Gawain and the Green Knight 525 Runtowrestlewiththesun; leaves Are thrown fom treesandledead on the gound, And geen gass withers.And everg Slender and newripensandrots, Anda year runs away in passing days, 530And winter windsback,as winter must Justso. Till the Michaelmasmoon Promisessnow-AndGawainsoon Recalswhat he hastodo. But he stays with Arthur uAll-Saints Day. And the kig makesa feast inmhonor,the cour And theirladiesmerryaroud the Round Table, Graciousknightsadlovelywomen 540Grieving forloveof Gawain,but laughing And dgmnae,smiingandjoking While their heartssank gayandcold.AndGawain Feasts,thensadlyapproacheshis uncle Andspeaksof hjouey,andbluntlysays: 545"Lord of my life,Iask your leave. You know mypromise:I'venopleasurein retelling it, Spelling mytroubles,exceptjustthis: Tomorrow Igotothe geen man andmaxe, Tomorrow without fail,as God gudesme." 550And the best of Arthur's kights came to him, Iwain,andEric,admaymore, Si Dodinel de Sauvage,the Duke of Claence, Lancelot,and Lionel,andLuca the Good, Sir Bars, and SirBedivere-stongmen,both-mAndotherproudknights,withMadarde Ia Port. They cametothe kig,all of them,to counsel Gawai, but their heartswee heavy.Usecret Thoughts,thatday,Arhu'shall Rang withsilentlament,sorrow 560For so goodamanasGawa,onso hard Aquest. ButGawainonlysmed: Sir Gawainand the Green Knight67 "ShouldIwastemytime Withfear?Whetherpleasantorwild, Fate mustbe put to thetest."565 So he rested thatday,then rosethe next morg And atdawncalled for his armor. ltwasbrougt, Butfrsta rch redrugwasspread On the foor:gold armor gleamedwhere it lay. ThenGawainsteppedforward,tooksteelihis570 hands, And overa doublet of Tharsiasilk Fasteneda hood,tiedatthe neck And led inside withthck fur.Thenhammered Steelshoeswere set on his feet,and his legs Wrappe allaround wthwell-hingedmetal,575 Witharmoredknee-plates,polished bright And fastened tight bygolden cords ; Thigh-plates,elegant andthick,closed Around hisstongmuscles,and werelaced Inplace.And then hma-shirt, metal 580 Woven lie silk,hungshimeringonhischest, And polishedarm-pieces,andbeautifully bent Elbow joints,andsteelgloves, And allthe equipment he needed,andowned, Forthatride,585 Draped with heraldicdesigns-Andgoldspurson hisfeet, Andhgoodswordathisside, And a sashbeltedneat. And Gawain's gearshone rich,thesmallest590 Lacesand loops glowing with gold. Ready i armor, he stoodat te alta Formassto be chanted,thencametothekig And the assembledknghtsofArthur'scourt, Andtook courteous leaveoflordsandladies,595 Whokissedhim,commendedhimtoChrst,then walked him Therewhere Grngoletstood ready,hissaddle Ogleamig leather,hung with gold, Studde with new nals,and astripedbridle, 68Sir Gawain and theGreen Knight 60Trimmedand tied withgold.AndGrngolet's Breast-plates,andshining saddle-skirts, And tail-armor,and the cloth on his back, matched Hissaddle-bows,al setona background Of rich gold nailsthat glittered likethesun. 605ThenGawai ltedhslined helmet, Sewn like steel,andqicklykissed it; It sat high on hisheaei,clasped behind, With delicate embroidered silkon the neckband, Decoratedwith jewelsalong itslength 610Andwithbirdsstitchedon theseams,parrots Perchedamongpainted purplefowers, 615 Andturledoves,and lovers'knots So thick that ladiescouldhavesewnthemforseven Winters. And around the top Ofhshelmetwere acrop Of diamonds,brownandwhite,sprinled I amagic knot. Thentheycarriedinh shield,stripedwithbright red; 620A pentanglestar,painted pure gold, Shoneat its center.He swigs it by the belt, Thentosses itacross hisneck.And the sign Ofthatstar,itsperfect points,ftted That prince,ad I'lltellyouhow,thoughit hold up 625Thistale.SolomonshapedthatstarTrianglesblendedin triangles-asasybol Of truth, for eachof itsangles enfolds Theother,adfastenstheother,fve Inallandeverywhereendless( andeverywhere 630In England calledthe ite knot) . And Gawain wears itby right, on hisbright Armor,faithful fve waysandeach way Fivetimes,anobleknight,aspure Agold,asgoodasany knight in any gleaming wCas And worthyof that star, The noblest of men inasking Sir Gawain and the Green Knight69 Andtelling,thehardest Forwordstobafe. Hisfvesenses were fee ofsin;60 His fve fngers never failed him; And ahis earthly hopewasin Christ's Five woundsonthecross,asourcreedtellsus; And whenever he stood i battle his mnd Was fed,abovea things,on the fve65 Joyswhich Mary hadofJesus, From which all his courage came andwas why Thisfarknighthadherfacepainted Insidehisshield,tostareat Heaven's Queenandkeephiscouragehigh.650 And the fthof hfves was loveadfriendship Forothermen,adfreedomfomsin, Andcourtesythatnever failed,andpity, Greatestofknightly virtues-andthese noble Five were the frmest of all in hissoul.65: Andallthese fves met inoneman, Joinedtoeachother,each without end, Set in fve perfectpoints Wholly distinct,yet partof one whole Andthat whole seamless,each angle open660 Andclosed,wherever it endor begn. Andso the pentange glowedon hisshield, Bright re goldacrossbrightredstripes, Theholypentangle,ascarefulscholars Call it.665 AndGawain wasready, Andhislance steady In frontof h, wishedthemall Farewell,andthenrodefromthat hall. He spurredhhorseandrodestronglyaway; 670 Sparks few fom the stones.And Arhu's Courtwatchedhim,andsighed,al Camelot Sadat his fate,mensaying One to the other :"By Christ, whatacrme To lose Gawain,whose lifewasso noble! 675 Howmanymenon mearthcanmatch h? 70Sir Gawain an theGreenKnight Better tohavebeenmore prudent,tohavemade h A dukebefore mcould happen.Heseemed A brilliant leader,andcoud havebeen, 60Ad had better been thanthis-hishead Lopped ofbyanelf,and only for pride. Wat king haseveralowe such games, Playingsuchstupid sportat Chistmas!" Warmtears rolled in theireyes 68,As they watchedthat lovely knight rding Away. Andhe neverdelaye Rode onhisway; And books say 690Thathe rode wheremengoastray. And he rodethrough England,SiGawain,onGod's Behaf, though the ride was hadly ahappyone. He was often alone, at night,in places Where the pathahead of h could pleasenoone. 695Only his horse rode with h,through woods And m,and the only voice he heard WasGod's,utihe reached the north Of Waes.The AngleseyIslandswerealways To his left; he fordedriversnear the highlands, 700Crossingat Holy Headandlanding mthe wilderessofWialForest,where fewmen Lived whomGod ora good macould love. AndGawaasked,a he rode,i ayone He methad heardof agreen man,oa green 705 Chapel,anywherenearby,andeveryone Saidno,never in theirlives,neitherseen 710 Nor heard of a ma whomheaven had colored Green. Gawain'spath Wound throughdrearyscenes, Adhisheadleae Firstthisway,thenthat,ashehunted that chapel. He clmbed over clifs in many strage lands, Nowhere nearhome,frendlessnow. Sir Gawainand the Green Knight71 Andat everyfordovereverystream715 Hefoundhimselffacigenemiesso foul And wild thatthey forcedhim to fght for his life. He met so manymarvelsin thosehills It is dicultto tellatenthofit-ragons Attacked him,andsometieswolves,and satys,no And forest trolls,runingout of rocks, And bulls,and bears,andivory-tuske boars, And giant ogesleapig fomcrags. Hisstrengthsavedhim,andhiscourage,andmfaith In God:be couldhavedieda dozentimes725 Over.Andthefghtingwasbard,butthefoul Winterwasworse,socoldthatrain Froze before it could fall to earth; Sleepig inhisarmor,sleet came close To klg him, lyig on open rock730 Whereicyriverschargedfrommountains Andoverhbeadiciclesbung, Sharpand bard.Udanger and hardship Gawainstayedalone, rding untilChristma Eve,735 WhenheprayedtoMary To end hisgief, Toguide hisweary Stepstorelief. Next morg,morecheerful,he rodedownam74< Toadeepforest,incrediblywild, Setintomountainsandsurrounded byhundreds Of huge gayoaks.Haeland hawthor Were snaledandtangledtogether,andshaggy Mosshung everywhere in ragged clumps;745 And sadbirds satonthe bare Branches, piping pitl yin the cold. Gawa hurried his horse, crossed swamps And miresandbogs,acresofmud, Afraid,now,that he'd lost achance 75o Ofhearing Christmasmassand honoring Mary'sson,born toend 72Sir Gawain anthe Green Knight Oursorrow; andsighing,hesaid:"OhLord, Oh Mary,gentlest Motheranddear, 755 I beg you to send me some lodgg, to letme Hear mass before morg; Iask meekly, And i proof prayswiftlymypater,myave, My creed." He prayedahe rode, 760 Andweptformisdeeds, And shaped thesignof thecross And calledChrist in hisneed. Teetmes heshaped that sign,andsuddenly, On a mabovea feld,setdeep 765 Among massive trees,hesaw amoat Adacastle-the loveliet ever owned, In the middleofameadow,wtwoodsadlawns And a thick palisade fence,andgrass Andgoundsr gmorethantwomiles.And Gawain 770Staredat those stone wallsglittering Through tal whiteoas,toweringaround Asteepmoat,andremovinghishelmet Gave courteousthankstoJesusandJulian, Patronoftravelers,forthekdnesshe'dbeen shown, 775For theanweringofhprayer."Lord,grant me Good lodgng! " he cried,andspurrngGringolet With his gilt heelshe hurriedalong The pathadluckiyaimedatthemain Gate and qucklycame totheend 780Ofthebrdge. Andwaited,theedge Of the moatinfrontof hi,thegates Bolted tght,thebridge Up,the wallscut hugeandstraight. 785 He sat on hhorse,whohad halted on the bank Of the deep double ditch i which The wallswereset,towering imense Out of thewater,hard stone Hewed ithenoblest style,topped SirGawain anthe Green Knight 73 With rows of battlements,and turrets,andbeautiul790 Towers forsentries,andlovelyloophole Widows,shuttered now-he'd never Seen a better forress.And beyond The wallshe coud see a high-roofed hall, Ad pinnacled towersalong it, ftted795 Tothewalls,carvedandcraftedbyingenious Hands. And high on those towers he saw Ahostof chalk-whitechneys,gleaming Bright in the sun-andeverywhere the stone Painted and cut, bowmen's notches800 And watchmen's places scatteredacross The castle,so it seemedscissoredout of paper. And resting on Grigolet,Gawain thought it A pleasant place to lodgein,while the holiday Ran-i ever he coud manage toget805 Inside. He called,andaporter Quickly appeared,polite, Standingon the wide Wall and greeting the knight in goodorder.810 "Goodsi,"saidGawain,"wouldyoucarrymy words To the lord of this house, ask hfor shelter?" "By Peter, I can spea hisheart:you're welcome Here,"said the porter,"foras longas you like." He bowed, went down the walland came back815 Inamoment, with men to greet SirGawai. They dropped the drawbridge,came courteouslyout Ad knelt i thesnow, welcoming on their knees That noble knight,honoring hran; They begge h to ride on that broad bridge 820 And he raised them with a hand and rode across. They held his saddle,and helped him down, And ran to stable hishorse.Andsquires And knights swarmed fromthecastle,happy Toescort so excellentasoldier to their hall ;szs Whenhe liftedhisvisortheyhurriedto take Hhelmet from hs hands,anxious toserve h; 74Sir Gawain an the Green Knight And theytookhissword,adhisshield.Andone Byonehegeeted thema ,courteous, 830 And proud men pressed forward,gladathiscoming. Stli his armor they led h to the hall, Wherea huge fre crackled onthe heath. Adthelordofthatcompanycamefommchamber To honorGawa, the guest ihis hal: 835"Everg here is yours,use it Ayou please; accept itasyourown,for aslong Asyoulike." AndGawai replied: "Thank you.MayChrist 840 Rewardyou."Andlikebrothersthey kissed Adembracedandwereglad. Ad Gawain watchedhisgacioushost And judged h a worthy knight,tall Ad strongadexperienced,i the primeof life; 845 Hbeard washeav,abeaver-colored, Hface as red asfe,andmoreferce; He stood mand forbidding on thicklegs; But mword were courtly,and Gawainthought h Worthy tolead a host of good warriors. 850And the lord of that castle ledh aside, Commanded a man toserve h well, And others ledGawain to a glorious bed a noble room, hung with strips Of shinigsilk,tmmedwithgold, 855Witha bedspreadsewn inthesoftestfur, Gleagermine,ad around h curtains On red-gold rings,wt a rope to pull, And silk tapestiesspread onthe walls Ad foors,redad white silk. Then hisman 860Removed hisarmor,ad mmail-shirt,pleased To work wtso noblea kight.Andhequickly Brought h rch robes,ad Gawain Chose whichheliked,andchangedhisclothes, And wore that lovelylong-skirtedgown-Sir Gawain and the Green Knight75 And allatonceitseemedtobeSpring,865 Ashfaceshone,adthatfairrobe Glistened with color,andGawain walked, Gracious, among waiting knights,andthey thought, Each of them,that Chist hadmade no better Man.870 Watever hisland, He seemeda matchless Prnce,meattoattack In the center of battle. In font of the feplace,wherecoals glowed, 85 Theysetha coveredchair,itscushions Quiltedandbeautifullyworked,embroidered Usilk; anda brown mantle,richly Sewn,and bright,agaycloak Furredwiththe thickest skins, wasthrown 880 Onhisshoulders; hishood,too,wasermine; Ad Gawan sat in that splendid place And soon was warm,andhis spiits rose. Along table was laid on trestes, Anda white cloth hung on it,andacrossit885 Anothercloth,andsilverspoons, Anda salt-dish.He washed and went to his meat. And men hurriedto waiton h,brought him Savor stews,ad broths,seasoned And hot,alldouble-sizedportions,andfsh 890 Ofeverykind-bakedandbreaded, Grilled on charcoal,boiled,and inspiced Soups-adsaucessweetto the tongue. AndGawain called ita feast,graciously Prased their table when they begged