Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Synopsis

Preserved on a single surviving manuscript dating from around 1400, composed by an anonymous master, sir gawain and the green knight was rediscovered only 200 years ago, and published for the first time in 1839. One of the earliest great stories of english literature, after beowulf, the poem narrates the strange tale of a green knight on a green horse, who rudely interrupts the round table festivities one yuletide, casting a pall of unease over the company and challenging one of their number to a wager. The virtuous gawain accepts, and decapitates the intruder with his own axe.