SIR GAWAIN AND KING KNIGHTS
King Arthur's court is having a party for New Year's Eve, but right in the middle of the fun, a huge green
figure walks in and scares everyone. This green knight tells the court that he wants to play a game where
he and one of the other knights will exchange axe hits. The picked knight will get hit first, and he will
have to wait a year for the Green Knight to hit him back. When their guest makes fun of them for being
weak, the knights don't say anything, but Arthur steps up and offers to be the knight. The king is getting
ready to take the blow from Sir Gawain's axe when he stops him and offers himself instead. The Green
Knight was standing still when Gawain hit him and cut off his head. The court is shocked when the knight
gets up from the floor and tells Gawain to find him at the Green Chapel. He then gets on his horse and
rides off. The court returns to normal after that strange event. The seasons change until early fall, around
Christmas when Gawain has to leave for his trial. Gawain sets off nervously, wearing the best armor from
the court, which includes a sword with a Christian pentangle on it. He is going through wild land and is in
a lot of danger. Finally, on Christmas Day, when Gawain is cold and almost giving up, he prays to Mary
for help, and in the distance, a castle appears. She sneaks into Gawain's room after her husband has left
and seduces him. Gawain tries hard to be good and charming without giving in to his feelings. As they talk,
they joke around and then talk about hunts, which connects the activities of play and courtship. The lord
hunts a deer on the first day, and the lady gives Gawain one kiss. When the men get together for dinner,
the lord gives Gawain the meat, and as agreed, Gawain gives it to the lord in exchange for the kiss. The
lord trades a boar for two kisses on the second day. The lady kisses Gawain three times, and the lord kills
a fox on the third day. Besides that, she asks Gawain for a love gift. She starts giving him gifts of her own
when he says he has nothing to give. He says no until she offers him a GREEN GIRDLE and says it will keep
the user from dying. Gawain agrees because he thinks the girdle might keep him safe from the Green
Knight. To keep it from the lord, he hides it under his clothes. The knight comes out and makes two false
attacks. The first one is meant to scare Gawain, and the second one is meant to praise him for not
moving. The third blow hits, but it only hurts Gawain. The Green Knight then tells Gawain that his real
name is BERTILAK, that he is the LORD OF THE CASTLE WHERE GAWAIN HAS BEEN STAYING, and that he
has been trying to help Gawain. He says that Gawain has been punished with this third strike because he
lied when he hid the green girdle on the third day of the hunt. He also says that the old woman at the
castle is a witch named MORGAN LE FAYE. She is the MASTERMIND BEHIND THE "BEHEADING GAME,"
and she wants to test King Arthur's court. After failing, Gawain wears a green band around his arm to
show how ashamed he is. He then goes back to Camelot, where he is greeted with cheers. When he tells
King Arthur about his sins, he is very humble, so King Arthur tells the court to WEAR GREEN BANDS AS A
SIGN OF UNITY.