Part 4

"Forsooth," quoth the other, "since thou speakest so boldly, I will no longer delay" (ll. 2273-2304). Then, contracting "both lips and brow," he made ready to strike, and let fall his axe on the bare neck of Sir Gawayne. "Though he hammered" fiercely, he only "severed the hide," causing the blood to flow. When Gawayne saw his blood on the snow, he quickly seized his helmet and placed it on his head. Then he drew out his bright sword, and thus angrily spoke: "Cease, man, of thy blow, bid me no more. I have received a stroke in this place without opposition, but if thou givest me any more readily shall I requite thee, of that be thou sure. Our covenant stipulates one stroke, and therefore now cease."

The Green Knight, resting on his axe, looks on Sir Gawayne, as bold and fearless he there stood, and then with a loud voice thus addresses the knight: "Bold knight, be not so wroth, no man here has wronged thee (ll. 2305-2339); I promised thee a stroke, and thou hast it, so hold thee well pleased. I could have dealt much worse with thee, and caused thee much sorrow. Two blows I aimed at thee, for twice thou kissedst my fair wife; but I struck thee not, because thou restoredst them to me according to agreement. At the third time thou failedst, and therefore I have given thee that tap. That woven girdle, given thee by my own wife, belongs to me. I know well thy kisses, thy conduct also, and the wooing of my wife, for I wrought it myself. I sent her to try thee, and truly methinks thou art the most faultless man that ever on foot went. Still, sir, thou wert wanting in good faith; but as it proceeded from no immorality, thou being only desirous of saving thy life, the less I blame thee."

Gawayne stood confounded, the blood rushed into his face, and he shrank within himself for very shame. "Cursed," he cried, "be cowardice and covetousness both; in you are villany and vice, that virtue destroy." Then he takes off the girdle and throws it to the knight in green, cursing his cowardice and covetousness. The Green Knight, laughing, thus spoke: "Thou hast confessed so clean, and acknowledged thy faults, that I hold thee as pure as thou hadst never forfeited since thou wast first born. I give thee, sir, the gold-hemmed girdle as a token of thy adventure at the Green Chapel. Come now to my castle, and we shall enjoy together the festivities of the New Year" (ll. 2340-2406).

"Nay, forsooth," quoth the knight, "but for your kindness may God requite you. Commend me to that courteous one your comely wife, who with her crafts has beguiled me. But it is no uncommon thing for a man to come to sorrow through women's wiles; for so was Adam beguiled with one, and Solomon with many. Samson was destroyed by Delilah, and David suffered much through Bathsheba. 'It were indeed great bliss for a man to love them well and believe them not.' Since the greatest upon earth were so beguiled, methinks I should be excused. But God reward you for your girdle, which I will ever wear in remembrance of my fault, and when pride shall exalt me, a look to this love-lace shall lessen it (ll. 2407-2438). But since ye are the lord of yonder land, from whom I have received so much honour, tell me truly your right name, and I shall ask no more questions."

Quoth the other, "I am called Bernlak de Hautdesert, through might of Morgain la Fay, who dwells in my house. Much has she learnt of Merlin, who knows all your knights at home. She brought me to your hall for to essay the prowess of the Round Table. She wrought this wonder to bereave you of your wits, hoping to have grieved Guenever and affrighted her to death by means of the man that spoke with his head in his hand before the high table. She is even thine aunt, Arthur's half sister; wherefore come to thine aunt, for all my household love thee."

Gawayne refuses to accompany the Green Knight, and so, with many embraces and kind wishes, they separate--the one to his castle, the other to Arthur's court.

After passing through many wild ways, our knight recovers from the wound in his neck, and at last comes safe and sound to the court of King Arthur. Great then was the joy of all; the king and queen kiss their brave knight, and make many enquiries about his journey. He tells them of his adventures, hiding nothing--"the chance of the chapel, the cheer of the knight, the love of the lady, and lastly of the lace." Groaning for grief and shame he shows them the cut in his neck, which he had received for his unfaithfulness (ll. 2439-2504). The king and his courtiers comfort the knight--they laugh loudly at his adventures, and unanimously agree that those lords and ladies that belonged to the Round Table, and each knight of the brotherhood should ever after wear a bright green belt for Gawayne's sake. And he upon whom it was conferred honoured it evermore after.

Thus in Arthur's time this adventure befell, whereof the "Brutus Books" bear witness (ll. 2505-2530).

I need not say that the Brutus Books we possess do not contain the legend here set forth, though it is not much more improbable than some of the statements contained in them. If the reader desires to know the relation in which this and the like stories stand to the original Arthur legends, he will find it discussed in Sir F. Madden's Preface to his edition of "Syr Gawayne," which also contains a sketch of the very different views taken of Sir Gawayne by the different Romance writers.

Into this and other literary questions I do not enter here, as I have nothing to add to Sir F. Madden's statements; but in the text of the Poem I have differed from him in some few readings, which will be found noticed in the Notes and Glossary.

As the manuscript is fast fading, I am glad that the existence of the Early English Text Society has enabled us to secure a wider diffusion of its contents before the original shall be no longer legible.

We want nothing but an increased supply of members to enable us to give to a large circle of readers many an equally interesting record of Early English minds.

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NOTE: The Old English "yogh" characters have been translated both upper and lower-case yoghs to digit 3's. There are Unicode allocations for these (in HTML Ȝ and ȝ) but at present no font which implements these. Substiting the digit 3 seemed a workable compromise which anybody can read. The linked html "Old English 'yogh' file" uses Ȝ and ȝ representations, and is included for users with specialist fonts.

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SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNY3T.

Siþen þe sege & þe assaut wat3 sesed at Troye, [Fol. 91a.] Þe bor3 brittened & brent to bronde3 & aske3, Þe tulk þat þe trammes of tresoun þer wro3t, 4 Wat3 tried for his tricherie, þe trewest on erthe; Hit wat3 Ennias þe athel, & his highe kynde, Þat siþen depreced prouinces, & patrounes bicome Welne3e of al þe wele in þe west iles, 8 Fro riche Romulus to Rome ricchis hym swyþe, With gret bobbaunce þat bur3e he biges vpon fyrst, & neuenes hit his aune nome, as hit now hat; Ticius to Tuskan [turnes,] & teldes bigynnes; 12 Langaberde in Lumbardie lyftes vp homes; & fer ouer þe French flod Felix Brutus On mony bonkkes ful brode Bretayn he sette3, wyth wynne; 16 Where werre, & wrake, & wonder, Bi syþe3 hat3 wont þer-inne, & oft boþe blysse & blunder Ful skete hat3 skyfted synne.

II.

20 Ande quen þis Bretayn wat3 bigged bi þis burn rych, Bolde bredden þer-inne, baret þat lofden, In mony turned tyme tene þat wro3ten; Mo ferlyes on þis folde han fallen here oft 24 Þen in any oþer þat I wot, syn þat ilk tyme. Bot of alle þat here bult of Bretaygne kynges Ay wat3 Arthur þe hendest; as I haf herde telle; For-þi an aunter in erde I attle to schawe, [Fol. 91b.] 28 Þat a selly in si3t summe men hit holden, & an outtrage awenture of Arthure3 wondere3; If 3e wyl lysten þis laye bot on littel quile, I schal telle hit, as-tit, as I in toun herde, 32 with tonge; As hit is stad & stoken, In stori stif & stronge, With lel letteres loken, 36 In londe so hat3 ben longe.

III.

Þis kyng lay at Camylot vpon kryst-masse, With mony luflych lorde, lede3 of þe best, Rekenly of þe rounde table alle þo rich breþer, 40 With rych reuel ory3t, & rechles merþes; Þer tournayed tulkes bi-tyme3 ful mony, Iusted ful Iolilé þise gentyle kni3tes, Syþen kayred to þe court, caroles to make. 44 For þer þe fest wat3 ilyche ful fiften dayes, With alle þe mete & þe mirþe þat men couþe a-vyse; Such glaumande gle glorious to here, Dere dyn vp-on day, daunsyng on ny3tes, 48 Al wat3 hap vpon he3e in halle3 & chambre3, With lorde3 & ladies, as leuest him þo3t; With all þe wele of þe worlde þay woned þer samen, Þe most kyd kny3te3 vnder kryste seluen, 52 & þe louelokkest ladies þat euer lif haden, & he þe comlokest kyng þat þe court haldes; For al wat3 þis fayre folk in her first age, on sille; 56 Þe hapnest vnder heuen, Kyng hy3est mon of wylle, Hit were now gret nye to neuen So hardy a here on hille.

IV.

60 Wyle nw 3er wat3 so 3ep þat hit wat3 nwe cummen, Þat day doubble on þe dece wat3 þe douth serued, Fro þe kyng wat3 cummen with kny3tes in to þe halle, Þe chauntre of þe chapel cheued to an ende; 64 Loude crye wat3 þer kest of clerke3 & oþer, Nowel nayted o-newe, neuened ful ofte; [Fol. 92] & syþen riche forth runnen to reche honde-selle, 3e3ed 3eres 3iftes on hi3, 3elde hem bi hond, 68 Debated busyly aboute þo giftes; Ladies la3ed ful loude, þo3 þay lost haden, & he þat wan wat3 not wrothe, þat may 3e wel trawe. Alle þis mirþe þay maden to þe mete tyme; 72 When þay had waschen, worþyly þay wenten to sete, Þe best burne ay abof, as hit best semed; Whene Guenore ful gay, grayþed in þe myddes. Dressed on þe dere des, dubbed al aboute, 76 Smal sendal bisides, a selure hir ouer Of tryed Tolouse, of Tars tapites in-noghe, Þat were enbrawded & beten wyth þe best gemmes, Þat my3t be preued of prys wyth penyes to bye, 80 in daye; Þe comlokest to discrye, Þer glent with y3en gray, A semloker þat euer he sy3e, 84 Soth mo3t no mon say.

Bot Arthure wolde not ete til al were serued, He wat3 so Ioly of his Ioyfnes, & sum-quat child gered, His lif liked hym ly3t, he louied þe lasse 88 Auþer to lenge lye, or to longe sitte, So bi-sied him his 3onge blod & his brayn wylde; & also anoþer maner meued him eke, Þat he þur3 nobelay had nomen, ho wolde neuer ete 92 Vpon such a dere day, er hym deuised were Of sum auenturus þyng an vncouþe tale, Of sum mayn meruayle, þat he my3t trawe, Of alderes, of armes, of oþer auenturus, 96 Oþer sum segg hym bi-so3t of sum siker kny3t, To Ioyne wyth hym in iustyng in Iopardé to lay, Lede lif for lyf, leue vchon oþer, As fortune wolde fulsun hom þe fayrer to haue. 100 Þis wat3 [þe] kynges countenaunce where he in court were, At vch farand fest among his fre meny, in halle; [Fol. 92b.] Þer-fore of face so fere. 104 He sti3tle3 stif in stalle, Ful 3ep in þat nw 3ere, Much mirthe he mas with alle.

VI.

Thus þer stondes in stale þe stif kyng his-seluen, 108 Talkkande bifore þe hy3e table of trifles ful hende There gode Gawan wat3 grayþed, Gwenore bisyde & Agrauayn a la dure mayn on þat oþer syde sittes Boþe þe kynges sister sunes, & ful siker kni3tes; 112 Bischop Bawdewyn abof bi-gine3 þe table, & Ywan, Vryn son, ette wit hym-seluen; Þise were di3t on þe des, & derworþly serued, & siþen mony siker segge at þe sidborde3. 116 Þen þe first cors come with crakkyng of trumpes, Wyth mony baner ful bry3t, þat þer-bi henged, Nwe nakryn noyse with þe noble pipes, Wylde werbles & wy3t wakned lote, 120 Þat mony hert ful hi3e hef at her towches; Dayntes dryuen þer-wyth of ful dere metes, Foysoun of þe fresche, & on so fele disches, Þat pine to fynde þe place þe peple bi-forne 124 For to sette þe syluener, þat sere sewes halden, on clothe; Iche lede as he loued hym-selue Þer laght with-outen loþe, 128 Ay two had disches twelue, Good ber, & bry3t wyn boþe.

VII.

Now wyl I of hor seruise say yow no more, For vch wyȝe may wel wit no wont þat þer were; 132 An oþer noyse ful newe ne3ed biliue, Þat þe lude my3t haf leue lif-lode to cach. For vneþe wat3 þe noyce not a whyle sesed, & þe fyrst cource in þe court kyndely serued, 136 Þer hales in at þe halle dor an aghlich mayster, On þe most on þe molde on mesure hyghe; Fro þe swyre to þe swange so sware & so þik, & his lyndes & his lymes so longe & so grete, 140 Half etayn in erde I hope þat he were. [Fol. 93.] Bot mon most I algate mynn hym to bene, & þat þe myriest in his muckel þat my3t ride; For of bak & of brest al were his bodi sturne, 144 Bot his wombe & his wast were worthily smale, & alle his fetures fol3ande, in forme þat he hade, ful clene; For wonder of his hwe men hade, 148 Set in his semblaunt sene; He ferde as freke were fade, & ouer-al enker grene.