As Bercilak left the castle on his daily hunt, his wife once again appeared in Gawain’s chamber. As before, they talked, played word games, and enjoyed their time together; as before, Gawain spurned Lady Bercilak’s amorous intentions out of respect for his host. But as they talked, she explained that she knew a way for Gawain to guard himself against the Green Knight: she held out a green baldric edged with gold for him to wear around his waist. This, she said, would magically protect him from the Green Knight’s blow. Gawain did not at first accept this gift, as magical protection would be dishonourable for a knight facing his plight; but then he thought of his time with Lady Bercilak and pondered that it would be a fine thing to survive his encounter at the Green Chapel and see her once more.
He accepted the baldric, and Lady Bercilak left him with a kiss on each cheek. When the lord of the castle returned from the hunt with a fox, in return Gawain kissed both his cheeks but did not surrender the baldric. Later in the morning, lord, lady, and the wizened crone watched Gawain leave for the Green Chapel. The lord and lady wished him luck; the old crone said nothing but looked content for the first time since Gawain arrived.
The hazy midwinter sun held no warmth as Gawain followed the path he had been told about. Deeper into the valley he rode, and deeper the snow became. Eventually, he dismounted and led his horse through the deepening whiteness. Approaching the chapel, he felt weak and he watched the Green Knight emerge to greet him. The green head was back atop the green body, and in his hand he held the same sharpened axe that Gawain had swung at Camelot one year past.
He gestured Gawain to kneel before him. Even though he wore the green baldric that Lady Bercilak promised would protect him, Gawain had to fight hard to prevent himself from turning and fleeing. But his knight’s duty meant that he must accept the challenge or shame his king. He pretended to be fearless, afraid to show his dread.
Gawain knelt and the Green Knight swung the axe at his exposed neck. A hair’s breadth from the flesh, the Green Knight stopped the blade, and Gawain flinched. The Green Knight mocked him, reminding the Knight of the Round Table that he himself had neither flinched nor fled a year before. Gawain responded that if his head fell from his shoulders, he could not stoop down to put it back on.
Regaining his courage, Gawain knelt once again. The Green Knight swung the axe a second time, and a second time he stopped a fraction from Gawain’s neck. He mocked once again and Gawain shouted at him to strike a third time and be done with it. The blade fell through the air a third time and nicked the back of Gawain’s neck, but left nothing more than a flesh wound. Gawain sprang up: he had survived the challenge and now intended to fell the Green Knight in a duel.
But before him stood Bercilak, not the Green Knight. Gawain lowered his sword and Bercilak explained that he had been a bespelled prisoner of Morgan le Fay, the foul sorceress sworn to oppose Arthur and his knights. Bercilak had been tricked by her and cursed to perform as the Green Knight, sent to Camelot to humiliate Arthur and his cowardly servants. She had not expected any knight to search for the Green Chapel after seeing the headless Green Knight stride from Camelot, but once Gawain set off, she resided at Bercilak’s castle in the guise of his wife’s mother. The curse now broken by Gawain’s determination to serve his king regardless of his own death, she would by now have fled and Bercilak was no longer held in her power.
In the bleak midwinter Gawain approaches the Green Chapel, beckoned forth by the Green Knight. Gawain’s heraldry in the poem is clearly described, differing from the usual coat of arms allocated to him. By Alan Lathwell.
Gawain asked Bercilak why he had delivered three blows. Each had been given as a result of Gawain’s deceit and disregard shown to his host: one swing for each morning Gawain had spent with Lady Bercilak. The final blow would not even have cut into Gawain’s neck if he had been honest and offered the green baldric to Bercilak in exchange for the fox. But if Gawain had not refused Lady Bercilak’s amorous advances, the end result would have been far bloodier.
When Gawain returned to Camelot, Arthur decreed that green baldrics were to be worn forever after by the Order of the Round Table, as a reminder of a knight’s duty to be honourable and chivalrous.
* * *
Gawain (also known as: Gawaine; Gauvain; Walewein; Gwalchmai) was one of the greatest and most loyal Knights of the Round Table, serving Arthur faithfully from Arthur’s wedding day to Gawain’s death in the catastrophic civil war culminating with Arthur’s fall.
Gawain was Arthur’s nephew (a son of King Lot of Orkney and Arthur’s half-sister Morgause) and acted as his champion before and after Lancelot; alongside Lancelot and Tristan, Gawain is the most prominent of Arthur’s knights in medieval and modern literature. Gawain’s character most usually defines love, valour, and courtesy – the ideal knight and a protector of women – but some stories cast him as a boorish or uncouth knight.
Gawain is a favourite hero of the brutal adventures so beloved of Middle English literature, and also features in Scottish, German, and Dutch tales. He dies fighting for Arthur against the treacherous Mordred in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s work, and by Lancelot’s sword in other versions including Malory’s; shortly before his death, he writes a letter to Lancelot asking the errant hero to return to aid Arthur and forgiving him for slaying Gawain’s brothers Gareth and Gaheris.
Gawain features in some early Welsh Arthurian traditions as a hero named Gwalchmai, who is the son of Arthur’s sister and one of his leading warriors. It has been suggested that the origin of Gawain may have been as a pre-Christian sun god, as his strength is noted as growing towards noon and declining as the sun’s strength weakens through the afternoon.
Gawain, incidentally, is mentioned in passing in the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail, as one of the knights slain by the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog’s ‘nasty, big, pointy teeth’!
The surviving manuscript of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was written around 1370–90, probably in the British West Midlands. Gawain was a popular Arthurian character in Britain and featured in a number of stories from the British Isles in the 14th century. The language of the poem is rich and rewarding, heavy in medieval symbolism and period detail, and like many other Arthurian tales the work is an instructional piece on knightly virtue.
The story has been shown on film several times: Gawain and the Green Knight (1973), Sword of the Valiant (1983), and TV movie Gawain and the Green Knight (1991).
GAWAIN AND THE LOATHLY LADY
Deep in the wild forests far north of Camelot, Arthur had outpaced his hounds and fellow huntsmen. But as he stood over the carcass of his newly slain stag the silence of the forest was broken as a huge knight clad in black armour rode before him, crashing through the undergrowth to holler a battle cry. Caught off guard and equipped for hunting rather than battle, Arthur was at the black knight’s mercy and was knocked to the ground.
Pinned down by the tip of the black knight’s black lance, Arthur could do little but yield. Holding Arthur in place with the lance’s sharp tip, the knight revealed himself to be Gromer Somer Joure. Gromer hated Arthur as the king had confiscated much of his land as a punishment and awarded it to Gawain. This giant of a knight gave Arthur two choices: to die now with a single lance thrust to his heart, or to answer a riddle.
‘King Arthur findeth ye old woman in ye hut.’ By Howard Pyle, demonstrating his masterful command of Ye Olde English.
Arthur chose the latter, and Gromer asked: ‘What do women most desire?’
That was all. Gromer told Arthur to seek him out a year from this day and to answer correctly or forfeit his life. With that, he turned his horse around and cantered away.
Shaken but still alive, Arthur slowly rode back to his hunting lodge, his mind no longer on the stag he had killed. Upon his return, Gawain was the first to notice that all was not well and asked Arthur what had happened. With the day’s strange event explained to him, Gawain immediately offered his services to Arthur and they agreed to travel far and wi
de across the kingdom to find an answer to Gromer’s riddle.
For nearly a full year both Arthur and Gawain rode throughout the land, seeking audience with wise men, hermits, wizards, and the eldermen of every village they visited. Both kept a parchment listing the answers they were given, although few of the men they questioned had a likely answer. Downhearted, Arthur and Gawain returned to Camelot to compare notes.
MORDRED
Mordred, best known as Arthur’s evil nephew, is actually revealed in most versions of Arthurian legend to be Arthur’s son: his mother was Arthur’s half-sister Morgause, who knowingly or accidentally seduces her brother to conceive Mordred. Mordred arrives at Camelot at the age of 14 and becomes a Knight of the Round Table. Carrying out his duty as one of Arthur’s knights, Mordred and his brother Agravaine reveal the love affair between Guinevere and Lancelot, leading to civil war and Arthur’s eventual downfall. Left in charge of Logres when Arthur’s army marches on Lancelot, Mordred usurps his uncle, leading to the death of both at the battle of Camlann.
A few days before the full year passed, Arthur prepared himself for the journey to meet Gromer and deliver his answer. He could not answer the riddle, but as an honourable knight he could not go back on his word. He rode to meet Gromer, accepting his fate.
Passing through the same forest as he had a year before, Arthur rode past an old hag, who called out to him. She called out, saying that she could tell him what women most desire. In return, she said as she absent-mindedly scratched her behind, Gawain must ask her to marry him.
Arthur turned in his saddle and looked at this hag. She wore foul tattered robes, squatted with the stature of a swollen toad, and the features of her face seemed to pull in different directions all at the same time: so much so that her eyes appeared where a mouth could be expected, and her fish-like lips spread elsewhere. Gawain was a brave knight of stout constitution, and Arthur needed an answer… so he nodded his agreement to the marriage. The hag told him: sovereignty. Women, she proudly announced, most desire to choose their own destiny and be not ruled by men.
This was not an answer that Arthur had previously heard, so he thanked her and went on his way. Arriving at Gromer Somer Joure’s castle, Arthur first delivered the many ideas accrued over the year. This was fruitless … wise men were clearly not wise about women. Gromer tired of Arthur’s list and drew his sword. The king had one last answer to try – that given to him by the crone – and he offered this to the huge knight advancing blade-first towards him.
Gromer stopped, sword mid-swing, and then lowered the blade placidly; Arthur had solved the riddle. A knight of his word, Gromer spared Arthur’s life and gestured to the king to leave.
Returning to Camelot, the old hag was waiting for Arthur and introduced herself as Lady Ragnell. Arthur took her to meet Gawain, and broke the news as gently as he could; Ragnell prettied herself by wiping the drool from her face. Gawain, brave Gawain, looked aghast but announced that he was relieved for Arthur’s safety and indebted to the lady for saving his king, so much so that he would marry her even if she was a fiend so foul as the devil himself.
Count des Broches fights against King Nabor and Gawain, from Romance of Lancelot of the Lake, 1344. It was not unusual for the Order of the Round Table to fight on opposing sides in friendly tournaments, and Gawain was a highly sought-after warrior. (Alamy)
Ragnell flashed her brown teeth in a smile of sorts and the wedding was organized. Gawain upheld the brave and courteous traditions of the Order of the Round Table throughout the ceremony and without flinching kissed his ogre of a bride in front of a horrified congregation. He led her by the hand to their wedding feast, where Ragnell proceeded to devour several large, roasted hogs. Her belching made the tables shudder and lifted tapestries from the walls. Gawain, Arthur, and a handful of the most chivalrous knights treated Ragnell as a lady, but inwardly they all felt the revulsion shown outwardly by other guests at the feast.
Gawain had been secretly dreading the end of the feast but once again led his wife by the hand… this time into their bedchamber. Gawain could hardly look at Ragnell as she wrenched at her ill-fitting gown, but she reminded him of his duty as a husband, and of the oath he had sworn to serve Arthur. Summoning up his courage for king and country, Gawain embraced Ragnell; but she felt different. He cautiously opened one eye and saw that he held not the monster he had married, but a woman more beautiful than any he had seen before.
Ragnell explained that this was her true form; her stepmother was an evil sorceress who had transformed her into a vile hag as a curse. She told Gawain that this bespelling meant that she could keep her true, radiant appearance either by night as he lay with her or by day when she accompanied him around Camelot … but never both.
PERCEVAL
Perceval (also known as: Parsifal; Percivale; Peredur; sometimes named as a son of Gawain but more often the son of King Pellinor) was the original hero of the Grail Quest according to Chrétien de Troyes’ Perceval and the authors who completed the story after Chrétien’s death. He was raised by his mother in the wilds of Wales, unaware of knights and chivalry until he first laid eyes on a knight. From that day, he determined to himself to become a knight and travelled to Camelot, proving to be one of Arthur’s greatest knights. After the Grail Quest ended, Perceval took up holy orders.
Perceval continues to appear as an important character in Arthurian legend after his introduction by Chrétien and is a popular character in medieval European stories, but the Vulgate Cycle and Malory’s renderings of the Grail Quest cast Galahad as the ultimate hero, relegating Perceval to a supporting role. In Welsh legend, he is named Peredur, tentatively identified as a quasi-historical northern British leader from the post-Roman period.
Gawain needed to decide: should he see her beauty at night, by himself, or worry more about how others at Camelot perceived himself and his wife? Noble as ever, Gawain decided that the decision was not his to make, instead asking Ragnell: ‘Which would you choose, my lady?’
‘Sir Gawaine the Son of Lot, King of Orkney.’ By Howard Pyle.
By asking her to choose for herself, Gawain had offered Ragnell that which women most desired: sovereignty. Granting her the right to decide her own mind broke the curse altogether, so that Lady Ragnell would never again appear as an old hag with the stature of a swollen toad and the oddly placed lips of a fish. Gawain’s honourable behaviour towards his wife, and his loyal gesture of marriage on behalf of his king, meant that he went to bed a happy and relieved man and happily strode out with his beautiful new wife when morning came.
* * *
The loathly lady was a literary device popular in a number of medieval stories. The tale told here is based on the 15th century The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Lady Ragnell, which did not appear in Malory’s Le Morte Darthur. The surprisingly modern and humorous plot can also be read in Geoffrey Chaucer’s ‘The Wife of Bath’s Tale’ from his Canterbury Tales, John Gower’s ‘Tale of Florent’, and the 18th-century ‘The Marriage of Sir Gawain’ as reinterpreted by Bishop Thomas Percy. A modern parallel may be drawn to Dreamworks Pictures’ animated fantasy movie Shrek (2001).
THE WINCHESTER ROUND TABLE
A magnificent Round Table hangs in the Great Hall at Winchester (Hampshire, England); it weighs more than a ton and has a diameter of nearly 20 feet. The table is believed to have been built during the reign of Edward I in the 13th century for a tournament celebrating the engagement of one of Edward’s daughters; the décor as seen today was added in the reign of Henry VIII in the 16th century and includes a Tudor rose. The Winchester Round Table places the king and 24 knights around it, and includes a portrait of King Arthur.
This grand Round Table hangs in the Great Hall of Winchester castle. It was possibly built in the reign of Edward I (1272–1307). (Alamy)
In some versions of the adventure Ragnell gives birth to a son of Gawain’s named Gingalain or Gyngolyn (originally written by Renaut de Beaujeu as Le Bel Inconnu or The Fair Unknown); Roger La
ncelyn Green’s version names the child as Perceval, who became one of the Knights of the Round Table and a hero in the Grail Quest.
Ragnell lived with Gawain for seven years but then disappeared from Camelot forever: possibly to bring Perceval up uncorrupted by courtly life. The role of the evil stepmother is on occasion recast as Morgan Le Fay, Arthur’s half-sister and rival.
EREC AND ENIDE
Guinevere’s expression was one of shock: never before had a mere dwarf felt it appropriate to reprimand the Queen of Logres. She was riding with a small group of courtiers, when the vile little man, who rode beside a knight clad in beautiful blue and gold armour and an elegant lady, had ridden forward ordering the party from Camelot to clear the way for his lord and lady. He slashed at one of Guinevere’s maids with a barbed whip as he pushed his mule into the royal crowd, and cursed at the queen when she stood her ground.
Erec, a young squire who had spent three uneventful years at Arthur’s court, also felt the truculent little man’s whip tear across his face when he attempted to intervene in defence of Guinevere. Incensed by the horrible little rogue’s behaviour and sensing his chance to prove his worth to the king, the unarmed Erec galloped in pursuit when the dwarf and his companions rode on without pause.
Following the three riders into a walled citadel where the blue and gold knight was receiving an exalted welcome, Erec rode through the streets anonymously and found lodging for the evening with a poor yet honourable old knight and his daughter. Although she was dressed in a meagre gown, the daughter was wonderfully pretty, and she blushed when she noticed Erec staring at her, such was her purity. He fell in love with her at that moment; her name was Enide.
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