Sir Gawain and the Green Knight [Revised]

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SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT

SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT

Revised edition

Translated and Edited by WILLIAM VANTUONO

University of Notre Dame Press Notre Dame, Indiana

University of Notre Dame Press Notre Dame, I ndiana 46556 www.undpress.nd.edu All Rights Reserved

Copyright © 1999 by University of Notre Dame

Published in the United States of America This ebook has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this book do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Gawain and the Grene Knight. English & English (Middle English) Sir Gawain and the Green Knight I translated and edited by William Vantuono. p.

cm.

Includes bibliographical references (p. ).

ISBN 978-0-268-01767-5 (alk:. paper) ISBN 978-0-268-19150-4 (hardback) 1. Gawain (Legendary character) Romances. Poetry.

3. Arthurian romances.

PR2065.G3A387

2. Knights and knighthood

I. Vantuono, William, 1927-

1999

821'.l-dc21 99-26262

oo

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

To

Ornella, Bill & Karen, Jim & Rosanne, and Alyssa & Stephanie

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS When I had difficulty with technical matters involving the use of software in my computer, my son, Bill, was ready to help me. My thanks go to him. I also wish to thank the many professors and editors with whom I corresponded in order to secure articles and books related to my work. All of them gave their time generously to grant my requests. Their names follow: MarkAdderley, David Aers, John J. Anderson, Malcolm Andrew, Richard W. Barber, Geraldine Barnes, Robert J. Blanch, Charlotte Brewer, Derek Brewer, Marie Borroff, Martin Camargo, James P. Carley, Joanne A. Charbonneau, Catherine S. Cox, Andre Crepin, Carolyn Dinshaw, Rebecca M. Douglass, Thomas J. Farrell, Robert F. Fleissner, Eugenie Freed, Robert Graybill, Sunhee Kim Gertz, Loren C. Gruber, Victor Yelverton Haines, Janet E. Halley, Mary Hamel, Richard Hamer, T.F. Hoad, Delmar C. Homan, Klaus Jankofsky, Clare Kinney, Katherine C. Kurk, Lauren Lepow, Arthur Lindley, Roy M. Liuzza, Kevin Marti, Hiroyuki Matsumoto, Elisa Narin, Eric W. Naylor, Florence Newman, Liam 0. Purdon, Thomas J. Reigstad, Felicity Riddy, George Rigg, R.A. Shoaf, Robert Snyder, Walter Srebnick, Sharon Stevenson, Henry R. Stewart, Catherine Brown Tkacz, Raymond Thompson, Sylvia Tomasch, Raymond P. Tripp, Faye M. Vowell, Julian N. Wasserman, Victoria L. Weiss.

CONTENTS Preface Introduction The Manuscript The Poet, His Poems, and Their Dates The Poet's Audience The Structure of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Theme, Characterization, and the Poet's Purpose Preface to Text, Translation, and Notes Text Translation and Notes Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Text, Translation, and Notes) Illustration (Folio 94b) Illustration (Folio 95) Beginning of Text, Translation, and Notes Illustration (Folio 129) Illustration (Folio 129b) Illustration (Folio 130) Commentary Appendices Verse Dialect and Language Sources and Analogues Abbreviations For Grammatical Terms and Other Terms For Languages and Dialects For Periodicals, Dictionaries, and Serial Volumes Bibliography I Bibliography II Bibles Concordance, Dictionaries, Grammars, and Index of Names Facsimile of the Manuscript Hunting Treati~es Texts and Translations Celtic

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xi xiii xiii xvi xx xxii XXV

xxxix xxxix x1

1 2 3 4

144 145 146 147 255 255 262 264 271 271 272 272

275 313 313 313 314 314 314 314

French German Greek Italian Latin (Non-Religious) Latin (Religious) Old English and Middle English Yearly Bibliographies and Other Bibliographical Listings

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314 316 316 316 317 317 317 320

PREFACE The purpose of this work on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is to offer a Middle English text, a Modern English Verse translation, and extensive scholarly apparatus. My first edition and translation was in Volume 2 of The Pearl Poems: An Omnibus Edition (1984). That was followed by Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: A Dual-Language Version (1991). The present work is a culmination of what has preceded in my research on this romance. The heart of the book is the text, with translation on facing pages and notes at the bottom of the pages. The translation keeps as close to the original as possible without sacrificing the poem's essential meaning and mood, and the notes reveal the literal sense of the Middle English vocabulary wherever changes were made, for a translator, to achieve poetic effect, must frequently employ words with denotations different from the original vocabulary. Thus, by comparing the Middle English original, the translation, and these notes, scholars can learn about the old language, the content of the poem, the poet's artistry, and the process of translation. My aim has been to compose a complete Gawain, and so the important sections that surround the text, translation, and bottom notes are extensive. The Introduction discusses the manuscript; the poet, his poems, and their dates; the poet's audience; the structure of the romance; and theme, characterization, and the poet's purpose. The variorum-type Commentary covers scholarship on Gawain well into the 1990s. Appendices cover verse, dialect and language, and sources and analogues. References in this book are brief: name of author, year of publication, and, if needed, page number(s). For full listings, the reader is directed to Bibliography I, a section containing approximately 1000 items. Bibliography II, of about 160 items, contains listings of bibles, a concordance, dictionaries, grammars, an index of names, the facsimile of the manuscript, hunting treatises, and texts and translations of Celtic, French, German, Greek, Italian, Latin (non-religious), Latin (religious), and Old English and Middle English. This Bibliography II concludes with references to yearly bibliographies and other bibliographical listings. It is hoped that this work on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight will satisfy not only scholars confronted with the tasks of studying and teaching

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medieval literature but also any reader who finds enjoyment in the perusal of literary masterpieces.

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INTRODUCTION The Manuscript Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, preceded by Pearl, Cleanness, and Patience, appears in the unique Cotton MS. Nero A.x. Article 3, a quarto volume of vellum, measuring about 7 x 5 inches, with writing by one handsmall, sharp, and irregular-resembling printing rather than penmanship. Wright (1960) 15 dated it not later than A.D. 1400. The dialect is Northwest Midlands (see the Appendices, p. 262.) There are twelve illustrations in the manuscript, four for Pearl, two each for Cleanness and Patience, and four for Gawain. Gollancz (1923) 9 called their workmanship "crude." Greg (1924) 227 also expressed a negative opinion regarding their quality. Mathew (1948) 356 and (1968) 117, who believed both text and pictures were copied from a repertory book commissioned by a magnate of wealth, considered the pictures clumsy copies of larger illuminations in a contemporary manuscript de luxe. However, Lee (1977), observing that Cotton Nero A.x. is one of the earliest literary manuscripts to be illustrated, gave more credit to the artist by suggesting that the painting was done by a second hand, that of an amateur who spoiled the draftsman's work (18-19). She maintained that the illustrator "represented well the primary 'instruction' of each poem" and gave the modern scholar the "rare opportunity of seeing the first critical judgment of these poems, a medieval mind reacting to a medieval work" (43-44). The illustratins for Gawain, one before the poem and three after it, do depict important scenes: the beheading in Arthur's hall, the temptation of Gawain, his meeting with the Green Knight at the Green Chapel, and his return to Camelot. Horrall (1986) 195-98 also opposed critics who considered the illustrations inferior and not well adapted to the poems. With reference to Doyle (1982) 92, she argued, p. 192, that the manuscript may have been copied in two stages, the script in the last quarter of the fourteenth century and the pictures later, perhaps early fifteenth century. "The pointed shape of Gawain's helmet or bacinet in GGK 3 and 4 indicates a style popular in the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries, but less popular after c. 1410-20" (194). Though there is no record of the manuscript until it appeared in the library of Henry Savile (1568-1617), Gawain must have been known well before then. Robbins (1943) showed that gentleman author Humfrey Newton

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(1466-1536), who lived in the Hundred of Macclesfield in Cheshire, may well have had an intimate acquaintance with the romance. (See also Robbins [1950] and Cutler [1952] on this connection.) Newstead (1967) 57 observed that The Grene Knight, composed "in the South Midland dialect about 1500, ... appears to be a condensed version of [Gawain] with none of the literary distinction that marks its model." Putter (1995) 192, after noting there is mention of a work called 'the Greene Knight' in Sir John Paston's inventory of books compiled around 1479, disagreed with the hypothesis of Madden (1839) 352 that this reference is to The Grene Knight which existed in some form before 1479. For Putter, "a far simpler explanation is that John Paston owned Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." Henry Savile (1568-1617) of Banke in Yorkshire collected manuscripts, many from Northern monasteries. His cataloguer described the one containing Gawain as "an owld hoke in English verse beginning 'Perle plesants to princes pay' in 4° limned." Gilson (1908) 135 and 209, in noting this information, erred in printing Paper instead of pay and said he had not been able to find this "copy of the Pearl described as written on paper." Gollancz (1924) 3-4 pointed out the error, recalling there is only one known MS, and it is on vellum. As Salter (1983) 199 noted, the monograph of Andrew Watson (1969), The Manuscripts of Henry Savile of Banke, has superseded Gilson's work. The MS passed from Savile to the noted bibliophile Sir Robert Cotton (1571-1631). Richard James, his librarian, described it as "Vetus Poema Anglicanum, in quo, sub insomnii figmento, multa ad religionem et mores spectantia explicantur." He apparently did not read past Pearl and bound the MS between two unrelated Latin works. Margaret Williams (1967) 6 noted that the "books were catalogued according to their places in one or other of fourteen presses, surmounted by busts of Cleopatra, Faustina, and twelve Roman Emperors." The MS with the Pearl poems became Cotton Nero A.x. Cotton's collection, enlarged by his son Thomas, was given to the British nation in 1700. The 958 volumes were transferred to Ashburnham House. A fire there in 1731 destroyed 114 books and damaged 98, but fortunately Pearl, Cleanness, Patience, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight survived. In 1753 the Cotton collection was taken to the British Museum. In 1964 the Pearl group was rebound separately as Cotton Nero A.x. Article 3. The first printed passage of Gawain, lines 20-36, appeared in Volume 1, pp. 187-88, of Thomas Warton's The History of English Poetry, edited in 1824 by Richard Price. Because of failing health, Price could not fulfill his intention of publishing the whole poem. Robert Ackerman (1976) 6 noted that Madden came across it in 1829, wrote to Price, learned that he was not working on it, and then began his own work which culminated in the edition of 1839 for his Gawayne anthology. As Gretchen Ackerman (1990) 37 commented, Madden's edition "introduced GGK to a world of readers who have never allowed it to be forgotten."

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Faces, Hands, Sketches, and Names in the Manuscript Faces: Vantuono (1984) 1.355 noted two faces, the first one outside the illuminated T starting line 121 (f. 44b) in Pearl and the second inside the illuminated G starting line 661 (f. 52) of Pearl. Freed (1991) 125-26 noted the "tonsured human face" inside the illuminated T starting line 619 (f. 103) of Gawain and commented on how it looks "solemnly leftward into the line in which the pentangle is first mentioned [620]. Evidently the scribe was lending his support to the poet in his emphasis on the significance of the symbol." Reichardt (1992), in his discussion of these three faces and another one inside the illuminated T starting line 841 (f. 54b) of Pearl, related their placement and expressions to symbolic meanings and content. The first on f. 44b is the only one that faces away from the text, a fact which "may be taken as visual representation of the dreamer's mournful solitude" in the opening stanzas of Pearl (25). The second inside the illuminated G of Grace in Pearl gazes with "rapt attention" toward three lines of script (661-63) which "express in succinct form the dynamics of penance" (25-26). The third on f. 54b points to the Jerusalem Lombe of Pearl (841); its serious expression hints "at the medieval mode of devotional reading known as lectio divina" (26). Reichardt, pp. 27-28, gave two possible interpretations for the fourth face inside the illuminated T starting line 619 of Gawain: (1) It looks at the word pentangel (620), but the "dour features" may indicate a reader's knowledge that the Lamb of Pearl is a divine exemplar of perfection, while the pentangel is only a human exemplar; (2) It registers sadness for Gawain who will fall short of pentangular perfection. Reichardt, who saw these faces as "readers" of the manuscript's texts, concluded that the scribe and limner knew the poems well or at least worked under the supervision of someone who did. Hands: Vantuono (1984) 1.355 noted a hand, with index finger pointing, in the upper left margin of f. 53b, the middle left margin of f. 59b, and the middle left margin off. 66b. Blanch & Wasserman (1995) 120 & 172 said these hands are clearly directive, "authorial or at least scribal," and noted that such marginal hands are relatively common in manuscripts of that time. The placement of these three hands indicates that a maker of this MS knew the poet's intentions. The index finger of the first hand on f. 53b points to My makeleJ 1.Ambebeginning Pearl 757, Jesus the Lamb whose death saved mankind. The second hand on f. 59b is alongside Pearl 1201-2, the first two lines of the last stanza with its opening reference to Christ the Prince, but in this instance the index finger points straight up, as if to heaven. This last stanza speaks of salvation with Christ in heaven for precious perleJ vnto his pay (1212). The index finger of the third hand on f. 66b points to line 416 of Cleanness, describing Noah's Ark of Salvation during the flood, as it Drof vpon fte depe dam.

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Sketches: On the theme of salvation through the risen Christ, the following sketches at the bottom of f. 90b of Patience are significant: a tombstone, the head of a skeleton, and the head of Christ above the skeleton's head. (Other sketches to the right of the tombstone are difficult to determine. They may be of fish, of a lamb, or of both.) The script of this folio (lines 24782) describes Jonas in the belly of the whale; the last line begins Jonas' prayer to God for pity. The sketches seem to illustrate Christ's rising from the dead. In biblical exegesis, the Old Testament Jonas in the belly of the whale for three days and three nights prefigures the New Testament Christ who descended into hell for three days and three nights. (See Vantuono [1984] 2.212.) Names: Brett (1927) 452 believed the Hugo de written atop the opening f. 95 of Gawain is in a fifteenth-century hand; the hand appears to be different from the scribe's, but the color of the ink is the same brown the scribe used. Greenwood (1956) 12 pointed to this name in a study that attempted to identify the Pearl-poet as Hugh Masey. McColly (1988), in arguing that Hugh Calveley, a Cestrian knight, was the model for the Green Knight/Bercilak, suggested that the words Hugo de in the manuscript refer to Calveley. Vantuono (1975) 537-38 noted the name J. Macy in red ink among the ornamental designs beneath the illuminated N of f. 62b in Cleanness, and the name Macy in red at the left-hand bottom off. 114 of Gawain.

The Poet, His Poems, and Their Dates The Gawain-poet, or the Pearl-poet as many scholars call him, has been the subject of much controversy in attempts to identify him. Guest (1838 [revised 1882]) 459-62, Madden (1839) 302-4, McNeil (1888), Neilson (1900-01 & 1902), and Mackenzie (1933) pointed to the Scottish poet Huchown. Morris, in his second edition of Early English Alliterative Poems (1869), pp. v-ix, and MacCracken (1910) disproved this theory. Gollancz, in the introduction to his 1891 edition of Pearl, named Ralph Strode, but Carleton Brown (1904) refuted that theory. Gosse (1923) 182 called the identification "pleasing" but "pure guesswork." Nevertheless, Medcalf (1973) 673-74 advocated Gollancz' theory. Cargill & Schlauch (1928), seeing Pearl as an elegy written in 1369 on the death of Margaret, granddaughter of King Edward III, and daughter of John Hastings, Earl of Pembroke, argued in favor of John Donne or John Prat, two of Hastings' clerks. Reisner (1973) revived the theory about John Prat. Chapman (1932) suggested John de Erghomme, an Augustinian friar of York, but Everett (1932) 104-5 counteracted his supposition. Savage (1938) surmised Gawain was written either for the marriage of Enguerrand de Couey and Isabella, eldest daughter of Edward III, in 1365, or

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around the time of Coucy's return to France in 1376. In his book on the Gawain-poet, Savage (1956) 213-17, noted the possibility of the poet's being a Homby (especially William or Robert), member of a Lancashire family connected with John of Gaunt and Couey. Greenwood (1956) 3-16, in favoring Hugh Masey, focused on the Hugo de written atop f. 95 of Gawain, the name 'Thomas Masse' found in the British Museum MS. Harleian 2250 containing Saint Erkenwald, numerology in Pearl, and play on mascelleJ in Stanza-Group XIII of Pearl. Nolan (1971) supported Greenwood on numerology and identified John de Masey, rector of Stockport in Cheshire, who died in 1376. Section XV of Pearl, with six stanzas instead of five, ends at line 912: "Let my bone vayl, neuer],elese." Since in the medieval alphabet the initials for Johan Masey (/ = 9 and M = 12) merge into 912, she asked, "Does the numerical signature/ M combined with the prayer conceal a plea for favour by the poet addressing a patron" (298)? In the same article, Farley-Hills (1971) 301-2 noted that Hoccleve praises a 'maister Massy' in a poem written between 1411-1414. Peterson (1974a) argued for an anagram/. d. Masse in Saint Erkenwald and then associated Hoccleve's 'maister Massy' with John Massey of Cotton in Cheshire (1974b). Turville-Petre (1975) 129-33 opposed Peterson, saying 'maister Massy' was William Massy, John of Lancaster's General Attorney, not a poet. In the same article, Wilson (1975) 133-43 argued against Nolan and Peterson. Farley Hills (1975) answered Turville-Petre's argument. Vantuono (1975), noting the name J. Macy among the ornamental designs beneath the illuminated Non f. 62b of Cleanness and Macy at the bottom off. 114 of Gawain, identified John de Masey of Sale, rector of Ashtonon-Mersey in Cheshire between 1364 and 1401. Adam (1976) saw an acrostic signature/ Masi in the anomalous stanza 76 of Pearl (lines 901-12). Peterson (1977a), in arguing against Turville-Petre and Wilson, again wrote in favor of John Massey of Cotton. Wilson (1977), in defense of his position, added a note to Peterson's article. Peterson (1977b) 21-23 restated his argument. Vantuono (1981) presented more evidence in favor of John de Masey of Sale, who relates well to the time, the place, and the poet's career. This Masey is named in documents as both priest and civil servant between 1377 and 1389, and in his poems the poet shows a knowledge of law, as well as theology. Sale and Ashton-on-Mersey in Northern Cheshire are close to the Dunham-Massy estate, a center for cultural activity in the fourteenth century and in the fifteenth century under the Booths. The wyldrenesse of Wyrale, mentioned in Gawain 701, is a place the poet knew, a forest one passed through to reach the Delamere Forest on the way eastward to Dunham-Massy. Kooper (1982) 161-62 found that by discounting the 'bob' in Gawain (written always in the margin and never given a line of its own in the MS), line 101 in stanza five (line 106 in the editions) contains the word mas which, combined with CI (the Roman numeral for 101), produces the name Masci.

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Both Pearl and Gawain contain 101 stanzas. The poet, to reach that total in Pearl, apparently added the sixth stanza 76 in Group XV deliberately; all the other groups in Pearl have five stanzas. Kooper, p. 166, recalled Greenwood (1956) who had also noted the 101 (Cl) relationship to the last two letters of Masci. Greenwood, p. 11, unwittingly gave additional support for John de Masey of Sale when he bolstered his theory about a pun on mascelleJ in Pearl by relating it to the coat of arms of the family of Sale: "ARGENT A CHEVRON BETWEEN THREE MASCLES SABLE (to be seen in the Derby Chapel of Manchester Cathedral, and the Brereton Chapel, Cheadle)."

The Poems and Their Dates

Most scholars place Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Pearl after Cleanness and Patience in order of composition, and there is general agreement that Gawain was written during the reign of Richard II, 1377-1399. Tolkien & Gordon (1925) xxi, after noting details of costume, armor, and architecture, wrote, "The criteria, such as they are, point to a date in the last quarter of the fourteenth century, the latest possible date being determined by that of the manuscript, c. 1400." Davis (1967) xxv added, "Perhaps the repeated emphasis on complex design and lavish display is enough to imply a date towards the end of the century." . Nevertheless, Eadie (1986) 577, in arguing that the poet's model for the Green Knight was drawn from the early fifteenth-century Livre de la Mutacion de Fortune by Christine de Pisan, theorized that Gawain was composed c. 1414. Cooke (1989) would date Gawain as early as c. 1350. He compared descriptions to illustrations in the Luttrell Psalter, c. 1320-40, and argued, p. 37, that the poet of Wynnere and Wastoure, c. 1353, in referring to Brutus and Troy at the start of that poem, borrowed from the opening of Gawain. Burrow (1971), in Ricardian Poetry: Chaucer, Gower, Langland and the Gawain Poet, favored the traditional view when he noted that the evidence for dating the works of these authors points to the last years of King Edward III and the reign of King Richard II. In the later part of the fourteenth century, "English poetry seems to have enjoyed one of its periods of florescence" (1). Blanch & Wasserman (1995) 4- 7, who said the "late fourteenth-century Gawain-Poet" wrote Purity (Cleanness), Patience, Gawain, and Pearl in that order, saw the poems as a temporal continuum spanning the course of history. Cleanness "begins with the eternal world of the heavenly kingdom," illustrated in the Parable of the Wedding Feast, and covers biblical history from Genesis to Baltassar's Feast in the book of Daniel. Patience narrates the story of Jonas, "thereby extending the poet's historical account into the time of the later prophets." Gawain begins in the pagan past at the fall of Troy and moves to

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the "Christian age of the recent past as embodied by Arthurian Camelot." Pearl "completes the historical progression by locating its narrator in the historical present" and then describing the New Jerusalem, the celestial city, the "site of the parabolic feast found at the outset of Purity". The "continuum is thus brought full circle." Blanch & Wasserman strengthened their argument for order of composition by noting that Cleanness, Patience, and Gawain, in that order, follow the opening Pearl in the manuscript. Thus "the laste [to be written] schal be the fyrst [in the manuscript]." That one man wrote all four poems is generally accepted. The following edited the four together: Cawley & Anderson (1976), Moorman (1977), Andrew & Waldron (1978), and Vantuono (1984); the following translated the four together and included Saint Erkenwald: Gardner (1965), Williams (1967), and Finch (1993); · book-length studies of the four poems are by Moorman (1968), Spearing (1970), Wilson (1976), Davenport (1978), Johnson (1984), Stanbury (1991), Prior (1994), and Blanch & Wasserman (1995); among writers of articles or parts of books who favored common authorship are: Brewer (1966 & 1967), Spearing (1966), Burrow (1971), Vantuono (1971), Muscatine (1972), Hieatt (1976), Clark & Wasserman (1978), Brewer (1983), Stanbury (1987), and Horgan (1988). Finch (1993) 2 noted that the "idea of common authorship, more or less originated by Carl Horstmann in his 1881 Altenglische Legenden (265-75), has been disputed." Fuhrmann (1886) favored common authorship. Clark (1949, 1950a, 1950b, and 1951) opposed the concept, but, as Loomis-HZ (1959) 5 stated, his reasons are "more ingenious than convincing." Kjellmer (1975) and Tajima (1978) tried to disprove that one man wrote all four poems by comparing language and syntax. Derolez (1981) refuted Kjellmer, as did Cooper & Pearsall (1988) 371- 72 in a computer-assisted study. Lawton (1982) 9 said the debate on common authorship "arrives not at a conclusion but at a series of cruces , of style, language and treatment of theme, which sum up the whole problem of the nature of Middle English alliterative poetry." Thus "the debate should be kept open." Among scholars who employed computers, McColly & Weier (1983) included Saint Erkenwald with the four poems but reached no definite conclusion. However, Cooper & Pearsall (1988) measured stylistic features of alliteration, syntax, and word-frequency in Cleanness, Patience, and Gawain against Morte Arthure, The Parliament of the Three Ages, and The Siege of Jerusalem, concluding, pp. 384-85, that none of the three Gawain poems is by the author of any of the other three poems, the three Gawain poems clearly distinguish themselves as a group from the other three, and the clustering and overlapping of so many metrical and stylistic features in Cleanness, Patience, and Gawain cannot be explained, except in terms of common authorship. Blanch & Wasserman (1993) 407-10 urged that Cleanness, Patience, Gawain, and Pearl be studied as a unit, and then they met that goal themselves

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by studying the four poems together in every chapter of their book, From Pearl to Gawain: Forme to Fynisment (1995). Including Saint Erkenwald in the canon is controversial. Benson (1965b) questioned the attribution, and not all editors of that poem are in agreement. For example, Savage (1926) liii-lxv maintained that it was written by the Gawain-poet, Morse (1975) 45-48 agreed with Benson, but Peterson (1977b) 15-23 argued that one man wrote all five poems. Fowler (1984) stated: Saint Erkenwald seems "to share some of the characteristics of the other four poems" (194). Schmidt (1984) also attributed the five to one man and favored the idea that he was a Massey who had read Piers Plowman. The poet, in writing about the salvation of the just pagan in Erkenwald, was influenced by Langland's discussion of Trajan at the end of the B-Text, Passus XII. "The 'London' setting of St Erkenwald is consonant with the poet's knowledge of the 'London' author Langland" (155).

The Poet's Audience Other scholars, besides Schmidt, have proposed a London connection for the poet at some time in his career. Michael Bennett (1979) said "if an aristocratic patron for the Gawain-poet is pre-supposed there is no more credible candidate than Richard II himself" (63). Bennett theorized that Gawain was written for the Cheshire retainers of Richard. Pearsall (1982) 52 noted the weakest part of his argument is the "attempt at an individual attribution-to one Richard Newton, whose family documents show him to be the author of some doggerel which Bennett unfortunately asserts (p. 69) to have 'definite stylistic affinities' with Gawain." (See also Bennett [1981] & [1983] for similar studies.) Salter (1983) argued that though alliterative poetry was especially fostered in the West and Northwest, it was "certainly not an alien or despised form of composition in East Anglia or in London" (81). Both the Gawain-poet and Chaucer "were consciously enlarging and enriching the English poetic language: they responded to the same sort of stimuli, exerted . . . by books, patrons, and a growing sense of national achievement and identity" (82). The tone and matter of Gawain leave little doubt about its aristocratic audience, but that the poet wrote the romance for King Richard II and his court is questionable, especially in view of the possibility of implied criticism in Gawain against Richard who was born in 1367, came to the throne as a boy in 1377, and reigned until 1399 when he was deposed by Henry IV of Lancaster. Schnyder (1959) 19 argued that the poet's depiction of King Arthur in lines 85-99 leaves one with the "impression of an immature ruler ." John Fisher (1961) 151, referring to Schnyder's comment, suggested application of it to the contemporary English court by comparing the description of Arthur as

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childgered (86) to the way Gower scolds Richard II in Vox Clamantis VI:555. At Camelot the Green Knight sees about him only berdleJ chylder (280). Arthur accepts his challenge of beheading, but it is Gawain who carries it out and later, in searching for his rival, travels through the northwestern regions of the Wyrale (701) in Cheshire and then arrives at Bercilak's Castle Hautdesert. The innocent knight learns his lesson of humility from a noble group with wisdom and maturity in places far removed from Camelot. Lepow (1986) contrasted Arthur's court with Bercilak's and associated them with fourteenth-century English life. Bercilak's world of high virtue transcends the "naive, even simplistic world of Camelot." The Gawain-poet leads one to conclude that "the historical northerners felt superior in knowledge and style not only to the literary Camelot, but also to its close cousin, the royal court of Richard II" (200). With reference to Hulbert (1931) 412, Lepow argued that Gawain contributed "to a cultural development independent of [Richard's] court" (206). Vantuono (1984) 1.xxvii-xxviii suggested the Gawain-poet was familiar with the Dunham-Massy estate in Cheshire and could recall Remy Grosmont, first Duke of Lancaster. This Remy was the grandfather of Henry IV who became king in 1399. Thiebaux (1970) noted the possible influence of Le Livre de Seyntz Medicines, written by Henry Grosmont in 1354, in which there is the allegory of the fox hunt, and, in pointing out that one of his titles was Seigneur de Bruggerak, supposed the duke may have been a model for Bercilak. Loretta Wasserman (1980) also related Le Livre to Gawain. Henry "likens the subtlety of vices to a nest of foxes which have taken up residence in holes in the heart, whence they must be ferreted by hounds and foresters. It is such a cleansing of the heart that Gawain undergoes" (90). Around the middle of the fourteenth century, the line of barons of Dunham-Massy came to an end, and Remy took possession. His connection with the Barony of Dunham suggests that the estate was a center for cultural activity in the fourteenth century, just as it was in the fifteenth century under the Booths. The fact that Remy died in 1361 does not preclude a date after 1377 for the composition of Gawain, for the poet may have been looking back to former days of glory. (For an account of how Dunham-Massy passed to the Booths, see Ormerod [1819], Volume 1, pp. 526-30.) McColly (1988) related Gawain to contemporary English life by proposing models for three characters in the poem: King Richard II for Arthur, Robert de Vere for Gawain, and Hugh Calveley for the Green Knight/Bercilak. He compared the childgered Arthur with "his 3onge blod and his brayn wylde" (89) to Richard who was impulsive and subject to fits of passion. The surname of de Vere, Richard's kinsman, "is encoded explicitly" in 866: ver by his uisage, interpreted by McColly, p. 81, as "fur by his face (or de Vere by his appearance)." In 1387-88 Richard II was in conflict with lords appellant in the provinces. De Vere, as justiciar of Chester, was loyal to the

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prideful king but was convicted of treason not only for political reasons but also for leaving his wife of the royal family and taking a Bohemian woman to Cheshire as his mistress. McColly, after noting that Gawain is admirable in spite of his fault, said if the exiled de Vere was a model for Gawain, "the intention must have been to put de Vere in a favorable light" (88). Sir Hugh Calveley, a Cestrian knight and a warrior of great size and strength, was associated in France with Louis of Chalons, a French captain known as the "Green Knight." McColly, p. 86, noted the Hugo de written atop the first folio of Gawain, a pun on the name Hugh in the phrase hoge ha]Jel (844) describing Bercilak, and a reference both to Calveley's manor of Lea in Cheshire and to the second element in his surname in the phrase in lee ' in land, in castle' (849, 1893). Crediting Edward Wilson (1979), McColly also discussed the Stanley family of the Wirral in Cheshire, with whom Calveley was associated, and concluded that the poet's original audience was Hugh Calveley, the Stanleys, and other Cestrians for a poem that "was fundamentally a commemoration of Calveley and Robert de Vere in relation to crucial events of 1387- 88" (90).

The Structure of Sir Gawainand the GreenKnight The last line, before the final 'bob and wheel' , echoes line one almost word for word: "Sipen pe sege and pe assaut wat3 sesed at Troye" (1)-" After pe segge and pe asaute wat3 sesed at Troye" (2525). Secondly, the poet refers to Brutus and his founding of Britain (14-15) and again names Brutus, who ho3ed hider fyrst (2524), at the end. Thirdly, the mentioning of King Arthur and the aunter at start (26-29) and finish (2522) once more demonstrates the poet's attention to symmetry, for having opened with references to Troy, Brutus, and Arthur in that order, he concludes with them in reversed order. Madden (1939) established a four-part structure for Gawain, basing his divisions on the placement of the four largest illuminated letters at lines 1, 491 , 1126, and 1998. Most editors and scholars have adopted this structure, especially since there is an open space before 491, 1126, and 1998, but, as Laurita Hill (1946) 69 observed, in noting only one open space before 1157 of Cleanness, "This criterion applied to the MS. as a whole would result in a two-fold division of [that poem] despite the fact that the poet has said, 'l>us vpon prynne wyses I haf yow pro schewed,' I. 1805; and the same standard would leave Patience and Pearl with no divisions at all." Hill suggested a nine-part division, bringing into consideration the placement of the other five illuminated letters at 619, 763, 1421, 1893, and 2259. (Bloomfield-HZ [1961] 51, Tuttleton [1966], and Blenkner [1977] supported this structure.) Randall (1957) noted not only the striking balance at beginning and end but also the elements of a triptych throughout the entire poem. Dendinger

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(1970) , following Randall's lead, divided Gawain into three parts, suggesting, p. 368, that the second begins "with the first of the evening festivities (at Castle Hautdesert] and the third with the final ride to seek the chapel. The breaking points of such a division would come at about lines 841 and 1997. Michael Robertson (1982) argued for a division into groups of eleven stanzas, but his plan leaves two stanzas, 23 and 79, standing alone before and after his five groups of eleven in the middle. He noted that the number 11 is associated with sin and hell because it oversteps 10, the perfect number, and his 55 stanzas in the center relate to 5, a number of incorruptibility. Thus the product of 11 and 5, the 55 stanzas at the poem's center, lock together truth and transgression, and his divisions "suggest that the two views of Gawain, and the meaning of the poem as a whole, are inextricably linked" (784). Sargent (1984) opposed Robertson and presented his own theory of "Skewed Symmetry" in Gawain, which supports the four-part structure in that "each of the first three of the traditional four sections of the poem finds its counterbalance in the fourth " (141). Camargo (1987) pointed to the framing pattern, known as "ring structure," which is obvious in the opening movement of Troy to Brutus to Arthur and the closing movement of Arthur to Brutus to Troy. Oral traditional narratives with this framing pattern frequently enclose a triad-in Gawain the three days of testing, "the events of which are further divided into a trinary pattern of hunt, attempted seduction , and hunt" (124) . The following chart is presented as a guide for the study of Gawain: PROLOGUE: Troy, Brutus, & Arthur (1-36) BODY, PART ONE: From Camelot to Castle Hautdesert (37-762) (1) The Green Knight's Challenge & the Beheading (37-490) (2) Passing of Seasons, All Saints' Day, & Arming of Gawain (491-618) (3) The Pentangle & Gawain's Journey to Find the Green Chapel (619-762) BODY, PART TWO: From Castle Hautdesert to the Green Chapel (763-2159) (1) Arrival, Festivities, & Proposal of Exchange of Winnings (763-1125) (2) Three Hunts, Three Temptations, and Three Exchanges (1126-1997) (a) Deer Hunt, Temptation, Conclusion of Hunt, Exchange (1126-1411) (b) Boar Hunt, Temptation, Conclusion of Hunt, Exchange (1412-1689) (c) Fox Hunt, Temptation, Conclusion of Hunt, Exchange (1690-1997) (3) Arming of Gawain & His Journey to the Green Chapel (1998-2159) BODY, PART THREE: From the Green Chapel Back to Camelot (2160-2521) (1) Finding the Green Chapel & the Green Knight (2160-2258) (2) Culmination of Challenge (2259-2478) (3) Return to Camelot (2479-2521) EPILOGUE: Arthur, Brutus, & Troy (2522-2530)

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This chart is not presented as a claim to capture the poet's plan precisely at every point, but its tripartite divisions accord with the way he often organized his work. (See, for example, Vantuono [1984], "A TripleThree Structure for Cleanness, and Vantuono [1995] xxvii, Introduction to Pearl:An Edition with Verse Translation.) The seven line numbers in boldface and underlined indicate seven of the nine illuminated letters. Only the two illuminated letters at 1421 and 1893 do not appear, and they are discussed below. After the two stanzas of the Prologue, there are 99 more, and included in the last one is the nine-line Epilogue. The product of nine is three times three, numbers which relate to the poet's construction of multiple triads. The main lines lead from the Green Knight's challenge at Camelot to the scenes at Castle Hautdesert to the culmination of the challenge at the Green Chapel. Barnet (1956) observed that this triple structure is echoed even in minor details of the poem. Not only do the two challenge scenes frame the action at Hautdesert, but the dual character of Green Knight/Bercilak also fits the pattern, since he is the challenger at start and finish and the friendly host in between, as Randall (1957) 162 noted. The two stanzas of the Prologue and the 30 stanzas of Part One of the Body total 32. The opening line of Part Two not only begins stanza 33 but also focuses on the number three in the verse itself: "Nade he sayned hymself, segge, bot prye" (763). Part Two begins with the arrival of Gawain at Bercilak's castle on Christmas Eve. Three days of festivity follow. Then, as Haines (1971) argued, the poet, apparently with skillful deliberation, avoids mentioning December 28, thereby making the three hunts, temptations, and exchanges of winnings occupy the last three days of the year. In the temptation scenes, Bercilak's wife kisses Gawain once on the first day, twice on the second day, and three times on the third day. Gawain gives these kisses to Bercilak in exchange for the spoils of the hunt, but on the third evening he withholds the green girdle the lady had given him. In this tripartite division-Part Two (2a, b, c)-illuminated letters are not at the start of all three hunts. The one at line 1126 begins the deer hunt, and the next one at line 1421 is close enough to 1412 where the boar hunt begins (the poet sometimes anticipated near the end of one stanza the action of the next), but there is no illuminated letter at 1690 where the fox hunt begins. Instead the decorated N of Now (1893) is placed between the third temptation scene and the conclusion of the fox hunt. This N, however, does begin a significant section (stanzas 76-79, lines 1893-1997) in which Gawain breaks faith with Bercilak in the third exchange (stanza 77) by withholding the girdle. The passage comprising lines 1998-2159 fits well as the third section of Part Two, since it parallels the third sections describing Gawain's journeys in Parts One and Three, and there is a decorated majuscule at line 1998. There is no illuminated letter at 2160, but this line marks a good point to begin Part Three in which Gawain keeps his appointment with the Green

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Knight at the Green Chapel. The ninth and last illuminated letter at line 2259 starts the central portion of Part Three. Here the sequence involving the number three corresponds to the triple patternings of plot development in the middle of Part Two. The Green Knight raises his axe thrice, does not strike Gawain the first two times, and only nicks his neck with the third swing. He then explains that the first two threats brought no harm because Gawain kept the Exchange of Winnings agreement on the first two nights, but "At pe prid pou fayled pore,/And perfor pat tappe tape" (2356-57). In the third section of Part Three, Gawain returns home, completing the journey he had begun in the third section of Part One. The Epilogue, which recalls the Prologue, completes the circular structure with its many triads.

Theme, Characterization, and the Poet's Purpose Multiplicity of Viewpoints There has been a multiplicity of viewpoints on Gawain scholarship, and it is doubtful that there will ever be a consensus of opinion on the theme of the poem, an analysis of its characters, and the best approach to take in order to determine the poet's purpose. In combining fantasy and realism, Gawain is a romance with anti-romantic elements, it praises court life with an undercurrent of satire against a declining chivalric ideal, it calls up from the mythic past the shadows of archetypal figures, yet inspires modem psychoanalytic interpretations, and it entertains while teaching a moral-religious lesson. The poet fulfilled the twofold purpose of medieval literature: to entertain and to teach at the same time, but the tendency of some scholars to emphasize either the lighthearted aspects or the didactic has led to what Kane (1976) decried as a proliferation of diverging criticism, centering on at one extreme a "form of 'play' in the sociological sense; at the other a deeply symbolical spiritual document" (26). (Blanch [1983]~Reference Guide Introduction-noted Bloomfield-HZ (1961), Ackerman (1968), and Howard (1971) "collectively span the terrain of Gawain scholarship through 1968" (3), and he then gave a brief, chronological overview of studies between 1969 and 1977.) Kindrick (1981) 5 observed that there are opinions about theme that cover the downfall of a corrupt society (Moorman-B [1956]), the vindication of chivalric values (Markman-B [1957]), the evils of surfet (Solomon-HZ [1963]), and Gawain's feelings of guilt (Manning-HZ [1964]). The hero is either absurd or a model of nearly perfect manhood; Arthur is either childishly petulant or the greatest king of Britain; the Green Knight/Bercilak figure, a doublet in itself, is either wildly destructive or kind and benelovent; his wife, considered by some to be a doublet of Morgan le

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Fay, is either an evil temptress or a benign tester; and Morgan is either a loathly witch seeking Camelot's ruin or a goddess who takes part in teaching her nephew Gawain an important lesson about life. Hanning (1982) remarked that the difficulty of interpreting Gawain "becomes not only a hallmark but a main theme of the poem" (5). The poet's descriptive art is comparable to society's decorative impulse which "wholly or partly conceals primary levels of experience or meaning beneath an artfully applied surface, be it of paint, rhetoric, game, or ritual" (6). Hanning skillfully highlighted the ambiguities in Gawain but could not tell us if, in the final analysis, the poet made a positive statement about life or a negative one, or if the characters should be praised or condemned. Moral-religious interpretations abound. Lawton (1983) 92, without denying the entertainment value of Gawain, said the poet presents "a plot which like that of other alliterative poems takes a serious delight in merveilles and is based on the conflict of good and evil, moral dilemmas, and man's incapability to live up to his high Christian ideals." Blanch & Wasserman (1984), in noting the importance of Gawain's promises, for there were penalties for violation of the spoken bond in medieval society, related legality to Christian morality-violation of contracts with man to breaking faith with God. (See also Blanch (1983] and Blanch & Wasserman (1986] for similar studies.) In contrast, Mathewson (1990) opposed critics who downplay the lighthearted, playful dimension of the poem and emphasize instead "doom and gloom ... a puritanical sobriety" (223). He urged that Gawain be studied as a Christmas poem. Phelan (1992), in The Christmas Hero and Yuletide Tradition in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, focused on the "discovery and establishment of the importance of the Christmas context of the poem" (xii). Wasserman-MC (1986) 116-18, in outlining various approaches to teaching Gawain, concentrated on the chivalric, the festive, the mythic, and the moralistic. The chivalric and the festive call forth lighter interpretations. The mythic and the moralistic are heavy in content. Blanch & Wasserman (1993) 403-6 discussed trends in scholarship based on semiotics, feminism, and the community. The following study begins there before dealing with romantic comedy and game, myth and psychology, and morality and religion.

Semiotic, Feministic, and Communal Approaches Semiotics: Benzon (1977), in discussing the "Semiotics of Ontology," said Gawain's "irreversible" act of accepting the girdle from Lady Bercilak "divides the moral universe into a higher and a lower order. He accepted the girdle because he feared for his life; it would have been higher not to fear. But it would have been much lower to . . . have had intercourse with the lady." In the end, Gawain's judgment of himself is as extreme as his devotion to the

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human and secular chivalric code. If there is the "danger of idolatry" in following that secular code too rigorously, "there is the danger of chaos in following no code at all. Without a code, cosmos becomes chaos" (290). Newman (1989-1990) argued that the pentangle and the green girdle call for semiotic analysis because they are called 'signs' or 'tokens' by the poet. The testing of trouthe throughout the poem "consistently demonstrates the ambiguity of signs and their moral danger, that is, the potential of signs to conceal rather than reveal realities and for signs themselves to become a means of subverting trouthe" (126). The pentangle does not remain an unambiguous sign for Gawain's character because a token "is only as stable as its referent, and Gawain, being human and hence mutable, changes" (134). The girdle, too, is ambiguous. For Gawain, it "suggests the irreversibility of [his] fall from innocence," but when the Arthurian court "co-opts the symbol to refer to the 'renown of the Round Table' (2519)," its individual meaning for the hero "is obscured by its societal interpretation" (137-38). Newman's interpretation of the pentangle differs from those of Arthur (1987) and Shoaf (1984), to whom she refers at the beginning of her article. Arthur saw the pentangle as a stable sign because of the similarity between it and its referent, Eternal Truth. The fact that Gawain breaks trawjJe with Bercilak does not change what the pentangle signifies. Shoaf argued that the pentangle represents chivalric perfection. Feminism: Sheila Fisher (1988) wrote about the "marginalized" female characters in Gawain. Queen Guenevere, in the beginning, is "marginalized to such an extent that she is buried in the plot of the poem," and Morgan le Fay "is marginalized within the narrative by being placed at the end of the poem" (135). In the middle, Bercilak's wife, who is never named, is contained in castle, closet, and bedroom (137-38). Fisher argued that the poem "tries to revise Arthurian history in order to make it come out right" (129) ... it provides a model of masculine behavior by which the Round Table might have been saved" (138), for if Guenevere "had been the static and silent queen, then the Round Table would not have fallen" (146). In her analysis of "Taken Men and Token Women" (1989), Fisher argued that women in the poem may be marginalized "tokens," but they still dominate. Bercilak, under the control of Morgan, is "taken" by her, Gawain is "taken" in by Bercilak's wife when he accepts the girdle, and Guenevere's static portrait is the sign of a woman's "proper placement as tokens within the aristocratic world of romance" (73). Geraldine Heng (1991) took a different approach. She included in her study the supernatural figure of the Virgin Mary. Gawain is contended over by her and Lady Bercilak, "in a drama that is suddenly elsewhere-no longer between the sexes but within the psychomachia of a feminine narrative" (502). As signs, the pentangle is masculine and the girdle is feminine. Gawain is

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marked over twice by them. By the girdle, he is re-marked, re-signed "in a kind of double writing, or writing double, by the feminine, in the style and signature of the feminine text" (509). Heng (1992), in analyzing the "Forms of Seduction" in Gawain, opposed critics who see Lady Bercilak as the eternal female temptress. There is an alternative mode of sexuality. "Gawain's and the lady's speech convene a literal seduction-quite literally a seduction in and of language, devising conditions in which desire can be most intensely actuated and sustained" (102). The biological act of sex ends, but the erotics of voice-the language of desirenever ends. Lady Bercilak is a masterful character, representative of as much as can be known about the female and her power. The game in the bedroom is a "genuine competition of wills and discourses," won by the female over a "tractable knight whose obediences to a lady's wishes can be formally enforced through the sagacious application of discursive pressure, and who will move, however reluctantly, in directions of the Lady's preference" (116-17). Communalism: (q. the section on "The Poet's Audience," pp. xx-xxii, where Michael Bennett's works are cited.) In Community, Class, and Careerism: Cheshire and Lancashire Society in the Age of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (1983), Bennett wrote about the "veritable flowering of literary culture in Cheshire and south Lancashire, the heartland of the dialect area, in the late fourteenth century" (231), but he argued that the Gawain-poet's works "were conceived, developed, and probably first composed in a more metropolitan setting," and, because there were so many local men in the royal service, "the household of Richard II is the most likely milieu" (233-234). Prior (1994) 14-15 argued against such a London connection, noting that the language of the manuscript has an old-fashioned and provincial air, "suggesting a certain distance from London and from much that in Chaucer's time constituted the cosmopolitan and the urban." Like most scholars, she favored a "courtly audience with leisure to enjoy these poems ... in the fourteenth-century equivalent of a country retreat, but still versed in the latest styles and manners." The poet's original audience "may well have been an actual court, an aristocratic one that included nobles." Knight (1986), in "The Social Function of the Middle English Romances," did not debate the issue of a London connection but dealt instead with the two courts of Camelot and Hautdesert. For him, the latter is "marked by vigour and natural activities against which even the Christmas sport of Camelot seems both artificial and immature. An alternative must imply critique" (115). At the end, the key critique of feudal and chivalric values "is Gawain's own dissent when the court interprets his journey as a success but he insists it is a failure" (116). Aers (1988), in analyzing "Community, Virtue, and Individual Identity" in Gawain, opposed scholars who emphasize Gawain's fault and

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detect underlying satire against either the Arthurian or a contemporary court. He saw only praiseworthy qualities in the Camelot community. Gawain is the honourman who represents its heroic virtue and identity, and at Castle Hautdesert, the "fusion of courtly and heroic traditions found at Camelot is reaffirmed" (162). Christianity is completely integrated in both court cultures. The hero's slight failure is understandable, since he feared for his life. He is troubled over it only because as a chivalric hero, he wanted to avoid public shame (168-69), but Arthur and the court embrace him, giving no indication that anything is wrong with the community, its way of life, or its hero (174). The honouring of Gawain is "simultaneously an affirmation of the solidarity in the upper-class community," an affirmation projected into a future "which includes the poet's present" (175).

Romantic Comedy and Game Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is multi-dimensional and, therefore, open to various interpretations, based on elements of fantasy and realism, romance values and irony, myth and psychology, and moral concerns and entertainment values. Characters keep their Christian obligations in the midst of festivity, heroic adventure, and playful game, and at the center is Gawain, the pentagonal knight who, at the end, wears the green girdle as a sign of his breaking trawpe with his host Bercilak. Silverstein (1984), in seeking some common ground for interpretation, called Gawain a "comedy of manners." If the story ends happily, the plot is a comic one, "if the issues tum on social principle and habits, then . . . the poem is a comedy of manners," and "if the poem touches its characters with serious considerations integral to its plot, . . . that does not transform it, as some readers would wish to do, into a tragedy, almost" (13). Ray (1926) considered Gawain an honorable man, for, in his encounters with Bercilak's wife, he emerges triumphantly, and "when, in the end, the Green Knight inflicts a slight wound on him, pointing out the equally slight lapse of which he has been guilty, the rueful remorse and shame of the hero complete our affection for him" (5). Ray's early view is still held by most "Game and Play" interpreters, whose starting point is the entrance into Arthur's court of the Green Knight, with his proposal for a "Christmas game" (283). Leyerle (1975) studied the various categories of gomen 'game', such as joy, pastime, polite accomplishment, hunting, amorous play, tournament, jest, action, plot, and quarry. For him, gomne3 "present a remarkably complete summary of the poem" with its elements of "The Beheading Game, The Temptation, The Hunts, and The Exchange of Winnings" (50). He recognized serious play, fitting the "pattern of the game of love and the game of death" (63), and he thereby reconciled the

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moral weight of the poem with the various categories of gomen, but he called Gawain's fault "tiny ... arising from his desire to save his life" (57). Torrini-Roblin (1984) added the element of gab as another model for "Play" in medieval literature. Gab, as seen, for example, in Le Voyage de Charlemagne a Jerusalem et a Constantinople, connotes "mockery" in a context of boasting, relates to gomen, and is employed in Gawain in the words of the Green Knight at Camelot: "Bot, if pou be so bold as alle bume3 tellen,/l>ou wyl grant me godly }:>e gomen pat I ask" (272-73). Later, after calling Arthur's knights "bot berdle3 chylder" (280), the mysterious challenger again belittles the stunned and silent court, calling into question the renown of the Round Table: "Where is now your sourquydrye and your conquestes,/Your gryndellayk, and your greme, and your grete wordes" (311-12)? Torrini-Roblin thus concludes, p. 40, that the type of game called a gab should be considered in interpreting this romance. (For other studies of game and play in Gawain, see Cook [1963], Stevens [1972], and Blanch [1976].) Prior (1994), a recent advocate of interpreting the romance without heavy moralization or allegorization, argued, in Chapter Five of The Pearl Poet Revisited, that Gawain is courtly and chivalric, with its focus on love and courtoisie. It develops the hero's quest, and highlights game and magic. Though there are no armed battles, there is the historical element in the Prologue and Epilogue. Prior downplayed the moral-religious elements in the poem and concluded that "the very nature of romance as art and game renders it incapable of arriving at any solid conclusions about moral issues" (127).

Myth and Psychology Game turns to violence and impending death when Gawain beheads the Green Knight, sees the torso pick up the severed head, and hears the mouth tell him to keep the promise to appear for a return blow at the Green Chapel next New Year's morning: "l>erfore, com, o}:>errecreaunt be calde" (456). Thus the fantastic comes into play, giving rise not only to mythic studies but also to psychological probing of Gawain's mind, especially when, during the next Christmas season, he comes to Castle Hautdesert and meets there Lord Bercilak, the Green Knight in normal guise, Bercilak's wife and Morgan le Fay. Myth criticism includes folklore, folk ritual, and vegetation myth. E.K. Chambers (1903) 1.185-86 identified the Green Knight with the Green Man or village "wild man" who is the victim of a mock beheading ceremony in medieval folk drama and art. Nitze (1936) interpreted Gawain as a vegetation myth. He argued that "scholars should divest themseves of the idea that because the author of GGK . .. does not mention a 'fertility myth' it follows that his story has nothing to do with one" (351). Speirs (1949), following Chambers, equated the Green Knight with the

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Green Man of May Day village festivals, a descendant of the Vegetation or Nature God whose death and resurrection "mythologizes the annual death and re-birth of nature" (277-78). Berry (1949-50) also discussed pagan seasonal myths and the Green Knight as an "embodiment of the Life Force" (171). (See Utley [1960] 86-92 for a summary of mythic approaches.) Derek Brewer (1976) saw in the plot of Gawain a correspondence to the rite de passage of anthropological thought, a "symbolic representation of the emergence of the young adult in reaction against and partial reconciliation with his parents" (569). The Green Knight/Bercilak is an ambivalent father-figure, Lady Bercilak is the seductive and regressive aspects of the mother-figure, and Morgan le Fay is the hostile aspect of that image. Brewer (1980) 90-91 observed that once the Green Knight-symbolic of the regressive and oppressive aspects of nature, death, and the family-has been successfully resisted, he is not dangerous anymore but friendly to Gawain at the Green Chapel. Brewer (1981) 250-52 again argued that stories like Gawain must be read symbolically in order to perceive the hero's struggle against parental images to gain independence. Rudnytsky (1983) compared Gawain to Oedipus, "unwittingly engaged in a pursuit of his own origins." Bercilak and the Green Knight are the same because "they represent twin faces of the father-his benign and punitive aspects-initially perceived as separate but ultimately merged into one" (37475). Lady Bercilak ("good mother") and Morgan ("bad mother") are "two aspects of a single character" (376-77). Rudnytsky claimed Gawain's destructive tendency toward the Green Knight (father-figure) and his desire for the wife (mother-figure) dominate the poem, not the hero's disloyal act due to fear for his life. (See also Rudnytsky [1994].) Wrigley (1988), following Brewer and Rudnytsky, said the function of the initiation rite seen in Gawain is "to help the boy to overcome his Oedipal emotions, to part from his mother and to come to terms with his father, and so with life" (127). Freeman & Thormann (1988) theorized that "the poem evokes pleasure when it represents the fulfillment of infantile wishes" (389). In the temptation scenes, the "paradox of courtly love allows the pre-Oedipal dynamic between father, mother, and son to be lived out in a structured, conventional behavior acceptable to the conscious mind and compatible with repression. In the mode of courtly love, speech is the sexual activity" (392). As with many facets of Gawain, mythic/psychological approaches often lead to controversy. Lewis-HZ (1962) refuted Speirs (1949) who said the Green Knight/Bercilak figure was influenced by the annual seasonal spirit. Bercilak is vivid and concrete; so to expect that the "eniautos daimon should help us to understand [him] is to expect that the unknown should illuminate the known" (63). D.W. Robertson (1963), stressing the moral import of medieval literature, challenged psychological interpretations (see pp. 34, 36, & 161). Manning-HZ (1964) 279 disagreed with Robertson's comments about

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the nonpsychological nature of medieval literary art. He analyzed Gawain "in archetypal terms as a story about the ego's encounter with the shadow" (281), based on the concept that man is inclined to evil. After discussing the hero's "psychological" sense of guilt, he concluded that the poem is a "Christian declaration of man's imperfection" and thus "does not contradict Robertson's views about the nature of medieval literature" (294). Among other scholars who combined morality with psychology, Hollis (1981) criticized Gawain for regarding the abstract vices of cowardice and covetousness like ominous characters in a morality play, alien forces outside himself, attacking his perfect nature. At the Green Chapel, after the Green Knight tells Gawain he failed because he feared for his life, Gawain hurls the green girdle toward the challenger and says: "For care of py knokke, cowardyse me ta3t/To acorde me wyth couetyse, my kynde to forsake" (2379-80). For Hollis, the ultimate irony of the poem is that "Gawain never really comes to terms with the cause of his failing; he is too busy defending his knightly integrity to acknowledge, more than passingly and somewhat distortedly, that it is and incomplete definition of his nature" (279). Like Hollis, Patrick (1983) combined moralistic and psychological concerns, but she viewed Gawain favorably. It is King Arthur and his court (the geocosm) who, in the opening scenes at Camelot, are dominated by worldly pleasure and lack "spiritual and moral maturity" (29). After the passing of the seasons (500-35), which shows the mutability of all physical forms (the macrocosm), when Gawain (the microcosm) journeys in search of the Green Chapel and eventually withdraws into Castle Hautdesert, there is for him a "progression toward self-knowledge which from either a psychological or Christian point of view is necessary to spiritual well-being" (30-31). At the castle, Gawain resists the sexual lures of Lady Bercilak, but in accepting the green girdle from her and concealing it from the lord, he commits his act of vntrawfae. When he is made aware of this failure at the Green Chapel, he is greatly disturbed. Carmichael (1987) argued that he is too unyielding at the end, "a slightly neurotic figure who, with his insistence on symbolic disjunctive purity, becomes a comic blocking figure . . . slightly absurd" (28). Instead of accepting Bercilak's praise (2362-68), he blames himself excessively (2374-84), expressing "inappropriate remorse" (35). Although after the beheading scene at Camelot, realism generally prevails in Gawain, the supernatural maintains its hold in the character of Morgan le Fay, a dominant figure in myth and folklore. She seems to play such a "minor" role in the plot that early commentators, like Hulbert (191516) 454 and Kittredge (1916) 136, considered it a flaw in the plot when the Green Knight reveals so "suddenly" at the end (2456-62) that Morgan sent him to Camelot "to assay the surquidre" of the Round Table and to try to frighten Guenevere to death. Edith Williams (1985), in discussing Morgan as a trickster archetype

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from Celtic mythology, refuted Hulbert and Kittredge, saying that if we, like the fourteenth-century audience, know about her machinations from other sources and see her as an archetypal figure, her behavior will strike a chord of recognition in our psyches. Like Manning-HZ (1964), she applied Jungian theories to the romance. Morgan represents the "shadow which stands nearest the threshold of consciousness and contains that darker side of self which we prefer not to see," but, however malevolent her initial intent may have been, "it has an ultimately salutary effect on Gawain because it presses him into the discovery of his own humanity" (39). Williams concluded, pp. 53-54, that a mythic/psychological approach to a study of Gawain is worthwhile and may be applied on a moralistic level. Schmidt (1987) criticized commentators like Speirs and Brewer for their dependence on "Latent Content" as opposed to the "Testimony in the Text." While admitting there is symbolism in Gawain that goes beyond the literal level, he held that these "symbolic suggestions" do not "justify recourse to the concept of a latent content in the full sense that Brewer intends, a sense greatly indebted to the Freudian theory of the structure and meaning of dreams" (147). Schmidt argued for the "primacy of the moral, religious, and theological dimensions of the poem over the psychological and the anthropological" (165).

Morality and Religion

Scholars who concentrate on morality and religion in Gawain explore biblical connections and sometimes employ patristic exegesis. Idealistic chivalry, game and play, and myth and psychology are usually considered inconsequential, but even among these interpreters, there is disagreement on crucial points, such as the degree to which the chivalric code is praised or condemned, if Gawain's sin is mortal or venial, if he has truly advanced in Christian spirituality, and if Arthur's court at the end realizes the moral import of the hero's experience. Longo (1967) wrote about the knight's "Christian Quest for Perfection." "Caritas and humilitas are the final goods which Gawain avows from his specific sin of superbia vitae and the general flaw of cupiditas. The lesson of his fortunate fall becomes the hope for the Christian Everyman" (84-85). Christophersen (1971) analyzed the "Englishness" of Gawain, noting its kinship with Anglo-Saxon poetry, its descriptions of natural scenery, and the test of character in a poem that "contains symbolic and allegorical elements" and "is clearly and consciously concerned with moral values" (53). The protagonist "has grown as a character by the acquisition of ... humility. 'When pride shall prick me for my prowess in arms,' says Gawain towards the end (1. 2437), 'the sight of this girdle shall humble my heart'" (54). Barron (1980a) also discussed the "Englishness" of Gawain: its national

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consciousness and realism rooted in native tradition. The core of the theme is "the nature of trawpe and man's comprehension of it" (19). In "Knighthood on Trial: The Acid Test of Irony" (1981), he argued that the poem's ironies expose "human fallibility, self-deception, [~d] moral blindness" (193). In contrast to Longo and Christophersen, who spoke of the hero's newly-acquired humility, Barron (1980b) concluded that Gawain has not advanced in self-knowledge, the acceptance of human limitations, or the "understanding of the relation of fallible man to an all-forgiving deity" but the signs of contrition in him "give hope for the future" (144). Kindrick (1981) studied the conflict between two value systems: shamehonor, concern for reputation, and guilt-innocence, which shows the individual moved not by outside forces but by "an internalized sense of ethics" (8). Arthur's acceptance of the Green Knight's challenge at Camelot and Gawain's coming forth on the king's behalf (316-61) are motivated by the threat of dishonor, but a year later, after breaking trawpe with Bercilak, Gawain's account of this failure to King Arthur and his company (2489-2512) reveals the hero's guilt-innocence ethical values in contrast to the reactions of Camelot's courtiers (2513-18), who seem to evaluate the experience "in a lighter fashion" (30). Kindrick concluded that Gawain's appraisal of his own experience should be given primary consideration, for the "poem argues that concern for reputation must not be permitted to dominate personal integrity" (32). Whereas early commentators like Ray (1926) and recent critics like Leyerle (1975) called Gawain's nirt in pe nek (2498) slight in correspondence to his tiny fault, Reichardt (1984) argued that it constitutes a "fissure in the integrity of the knight's own soul" (159). With reference to the Church Fathers and the scheme of body-soul correspondences, he noted that the human will is associated with the neck and the neck with the vice of willful pride. Gawain's accusing himself of cowardice and covetousness (2374, 2508) shows the "moral chaos that results from the interruption of reason's proper dominion over the lower faculties of the soul" (157). Gawain fails, but most moralists believe that when he repents, he progresses spiritually. King Arthur and his courtiers, however, remain trapped in a life-style that is false and frivolous, and some scholars, such as Moorman-B (1956) 234-35, have even interpreted Camelot's reaction to Gawain's experience as a foreshadowing of the tragic dissolution of the Round Table society. Lynn Johnson (1984), studying Gawain against the background of cyclic, degenerative, and regenerative time, said Camelot, due to its luxury, worldliness, and laxity, will fall like Troy and Rome. The poet "writes about a city whose fame includes its destruction" (48). In contrast, Gawain's spiritual progression from ignorance to knowledge shows the possibilities of man's regeneration in time" (56). Clark & Wasserman (1986) stated: "The thematic signature that stamps Sir Gawain ... proves to be the poet's preoccupation with judging the com-

XXXlV

munities of men with which he deals in order to effect the separation of the saved from the damned" (5). Gawain is saved, but Camelot is doomed. The hero occupies the position of the elect in a decaying world, where "salvation is clearly the property of the few rather than the many" (15). In the end, the court's adoption of the green baldric is an "essentially thoughtless act, something more akin to fashion than true penitence" (17). Ruth Hamilton (1987) also stressed Camelot's clinging to superficial values. Gawain undergoes an inner, substantial change, having come "at least to a limited realization of the dangers of trusting chivalry alone," but the "court's laughter and imitation [2513-18] show that its members are "only interested in the appearance, the form, the outer token" (116). Unlike Hamilton and other critics who view Gawain positively and Camelot negatively, Barnes (1993) criticized both in arguing that the poet employed a "reversal of 'counsel and strategy' from formula for success into recipe for failure" (124). Arthur and his courtiers show deficiency in judgment in their handling of the Green Knight's challenge. Gawain fails in judgment when he accepts the girdle from Lady Bercilak, and when he learns of his failure, he measures it "by the standards of Arthurian chivalry," not realizing that it is really "a serious lapse of religious faith" (135). Finally, the judgment of Camelot involving Gawain's experience is "bereft of a code of ethics" (136). Thus, even among scholars who emphasize morality and religion in Gawain, controversy prevails in regard to theme, characterization, and the poet's purpose. Some see Gawain's fault as major, some minor; some say he has progressed spiritually, and some say he has not; and some praise the court while others condemn it. Gerald Morgan (1991), who relied heavily on scholastic philosophy and the writings of Saint Thomas Aquinas, was completely positive in concluding that both Gawain and the Arthurian court are admirable. In the end, the members of the Round Table understand his minor failure and, by wearing a green baldric, share in his humanity. Thus, the romance "justly takes its place ... among 'pe Brutus boke3' (2523) as a witness of the nobility of England in the days of King Arthur" (169). Employing allegory on a large scale is an extreme form of applying spiritual symbolism to the romance. For Haines (1982), the starting point in Gawain is the naming of Felix Brutus (13), which relates to the concept of the felix culpa 'fortunate fall', a paradoxical doctrine whose liturgical source goes back to the Garden of Eden. Just as Adam's fall-the culpa-eventually leads tofelicitas 'good fortune' in the coming of Christ and his redeeming grace for the salvation of mankind, Gawain's fall is fortunate because it gives rise to a better knight who, through the redeeming grace of Christ, rejects pride and embraces humility. The scar on Gawain's neck and the green girdle he wears, "Abelef, as a bauderyk, bounden bi his syde" (2486), remind him of his sin but signal new life in Christ-"joy in penitential humility" (105).

XXXV

Haines applied this doctrine favorably to Camelot. King Arthur's culpa in accepting the Green Knight's challenge (323-28) eventually leads to felicitas. Arthur is like Adam, and his guilt is corporate, for the whole court is drawn into it, but, at the end, when the members of the Round Table agree to wear a baldric of bright green, this gesture signifies "that the court is sharing in Gawain's penance" (119). They may be laughing "because they have reached a stage of insight at which humility and penance become a source of joy" (120). (See also Haines [1974] and [1976].) It is difficult to be convincing on all points when attempting to apply to Gawain the fourfold scheme of biblical exegesis-literal, allegorical, tropological, and anagogical-but a simplification of that scheme may be used in the following way: Gawain's adventure is just that, literally an adventure, and the poet, in writing about it, develops some allegory, particularly the two opposing symbolic referents, the pentangle that represents the perfection Gawain as a Christian knight is supposed to embody (620-65) and the green girdle that leads him into sin but then reminds him to avoid sin in the future (2433-38). Gawain learns a moral lesson, the tropology of the poem, a lesson the poet directs toward his audience, and those who learn it in life on earth will achieve salvation in heaven-the anagogical: "Now pat here pe croun of porne,/He bryng vus to his blysse. Amen" (2529-30). One may read Gawain, then, both literally and, to some extent, allegorically and relate this double approach to the poet's entertaining and teaching simultaneously. Astell (1985) studied the poem's instructive value. "Through the mediation of the 'I' the audience gradually finds itself within the poem at the level of its tropology." The medieval preacher/rhetor "strove to accomodate himself to his audience" (190), and so did the Gawain-poet. In combining fantasy and realism, he describes at the start the splendors of Camelot, the Green Knight's appearance there, and his survival of the beheading to delight and amaze the audience, while also instilling fear, and near the end, Gawain's living in a fantasy world by thinking the "magical" girdle can save his life is a prelude to his realistic appraisal of his failure. "Lo, per pe falssyng" (2378), he says of the device. "Al fawty is my fare" (2386). By first capturing attention with entertaining events, the poet thereby teaches more easily the lesson his protagonist learns. As Astell (1985) 192 said, he employs the narrator "as a means of educating his audience toward humility." Conclusion: However, a lesson learned does not necessarily denote a happy ending, and scholars often argue about whether the poet's chief thematic concern is to make a positive statement about life or a negative one. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is pure gold as a work of literature, but gold is reserved for heaven. In its development of a philosophy of life for this earth, the poem may be compared to a double-headed coin, minted with glistening silver on one side and dullish bronze on the other, representing two

xxxvi

sides of humanity, and, as one reads the verses, the coin continually turns over, reflecting brightness and darkness in the characters and the theme. Among Britain's kings, Arthur is the hendest (26), the comlokest (53), the hy3est mon of wylle (57), but one must wonder if the "proud will" here is intended as a virtue or a vice, for the king is later called sumquat childgered (86), with a brayn wylde (89). In the beginning, the Green Knight is an aghlich mayster (136), half etayn (140), mocking Arthur's court, calling its members bot berdle3 chylder (280), and insulting them by laughing loude (316) when they hesitate to accept his challenge, but in the end he is benevolent in praising Gawain: "As perle bi l>e quite pese is of prys more,/So is Gawayn, in god fayth, bi oper gay kny3te3" (2364-65); and in between, as Lord Bercilak, he is the cheerful host, but with a hospitality that masks the ominous testing of the hero: "3e schal lenge in your lofte, and ly3e in your ese" (1096), and go to eat "wyth my wyf, pat wyth yow schal sitte" (1098). Just as the Green Knight has been compared to both Christ and the devil (see 136-50n in the Commentary), his wife has been called a benign "tester instead of a temptress, and a charitable lover instead of a merely erotic lover" (Haines [1982] 142), an "instrument of lechery" (Pace [1967] 165), and even a doublet of the sorceress Morgan le Fay (Loomis-HZ (1959) 14-15). She is seductively appealing, but she also shows concern for Gawain, thinking of "l>e dunte pat schulde hym deue;/And nede3 hit most be done" (1286-87). The venerable Morgan le Fay is he3ly honowred (949), but also a loathly figure, 3ol3e (951), with blake bro3es and naked lyppe3 (961-62). She, along with Lady Bercilak, entertains Gawain, who was never more courteously received "Bitwene two so dyngne dame" (1316). She devised the scheme that placed Gawain in danger of death, but she is his aunt, and, at the end, Bercilak urges the knight to return to her: "J>erfore, I epe pe, hapel, to com to py naunt;/Make myry in my hous. My meny pe louies" (2467-68). Even the guide who directs Gawain to the Green Chapel turns from helping him to tempting him, for his words invite cowardice: "J>eplace pat 3e prece to ful perelous is halden;/l>er wone3 a WY3ein pat waste, pe worst vpon erl>e," (2097-98 ... "Com 3e pere, 3e be kylled" (2111). Thus the coin keeps turning over and over, flashing bright silver at times and dull bronze at others. Before going on his mission, Gawain is in mournyng (543) but then displays god chere (562). On his journey, "His cher ful oft con chaunge" (711), and, at Castle Hautdesert, too, he is subject to mood changes. He is Jul glad (1079) when Bercilak tells him to stay at the castle, and he makes merry with the ladies on the three days of the hunts (see 1313-18, 1560, and 1885-88), but "ful lyttel he slepes" (2007) before his encounter at the Green Chapel. He is the knight of supreme courtesy, that fyne fader of nurture (919), but forgets his good breeding when blaming women for afflicting men (241428). He is the pure Christian knight but finds it difficult to resist the lady's

xxxvii

lures, must check himself often, concerned about the "meschef 3if he schulde make synne" (1774), and though he is pledged to Mary and Christ (642-50), he accepts the "magic" girdle and conceals it from Bercilak because he considers it ajuelfor faejoparde (1856) when he must meet the Green Knight. The coin continually turns, reflecting lightness and darkness, but on which side does it rest in the end? Or does it rest on one side? Perhaps the theme of Gawain is like life on earth, a combination of bright silver and dull bronze, but never the pure gold reserved for heaven. Perhaps the poet deliberately developed ambiguity in his characters to show a human condition that is closer to life than any idealized creation could be, for no mortal is either all good or all bad. Then if we should not view the double-headed coin resting flatly, with either the silver side or the bronze side up, let us see it on a circular edge, defying gravity in leaning to one side, and let it lean in a way that makes the bright side prevail. Arthur, though· he is accused of angarde3 pryde (681), is still gracious, a ryche, ryal kyng (905), and though he may not comprehend the depth of Gawain's experience, he sincerely, at the end, "comforte3 pe knY3t" (2513). The Green Knight/Bercilak, though he threatens harm, still teaches humility to Gawain, who says: "And pus quen pryde schal me pryk for prowes of armes,/l>e loke to pis luf-lace schal lepe my hert" (2437-38). Bercilak's wife, though in league with her husband and Morgan, still enjoys Gawain's company and is concerned about him: "l>a3 I were burde bry3test," she thinks, "l>e lasse luf in his lode for lur pat he so3t" (1283-84). Morgan le Fay, despite her ominous machinations, really wanted only Guenevere to die (2460); she is still pe goddes (2452), fae auncian lady (2463), Arthur's half-sister and Gawain's aunt, and the plot she set in motion did launch her nephew on a journey that makes him a better man: "And pus he corrunes to pe court, kny3t al in sounde" (2489). The guide, though he tempts Gawain to forsake his mission, still admires him as a man "vpon lyue pat I wel louy" (2095), and before parting he exclaims: "Now fare3 wel, on Gode3 half, Gawayn penoble" (2149)! Gawain fails in trawfae but rises above the sterotyped figure who can do no wrong. He conquers in the end by admitting his wrong and realizing that confessing sin with the intention of avoiding it in the future will keep it from becoming rooted in his soul, "For non may hyden his harme; bot vnhap ne may hit,/For per hit one3 is tachched, twynne wil hit neuer" (2511-12). Even critics who consider the courtiers' reaction to Gawain's revelation a sign of future tragedy, their laughing loude perat (2514) insensitive, and their wearing a green baldric a sham may look further, past the downfall of Camelot, and contemplate the bright side, for at the conclusion of the Arthurian cycle, the wounded king is carried off in a boat to A valon to be healed, and there are many who believe in his return-in hope, and salvation, and a new beginning.

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PREFACE TO TEXT, TRANSLATION, AND NOTES Text

The text of this edition first appeared in Volume 2 of The Pearl Poems: An Omnibus Edition (1984). It was done in three main stages: (1) Transcription of the facsimile of the MS, published by the Early English Text Society in 1923; (2) Study of the original MS in the British Library, aided by a grant of $600.00 in 1977 from the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia; (3) Collation of my text with those of earlier editors (listed on p. 147). In studying the original MS in the British Library, I used an ultraviolet lamp to clarify many letters and words that are faded or stained. Folios are numbered according to the new foliation, starting with recto 95, which was 91 before the MS was rebound in 1964 in the British Museum (it had been bound between two unrelated manuscripts). There are nine illuminated letters in the Gawain part of the MS (see pp. xxii-xxv for discussion). The scribe did not use capitalization consistently. For example, Ennias (5) begins with a majuscule, but all the other proper nouns in that stanza begin with miniscules. Most lines start with miniscules; a majuscule usually begins a stanza. I have used capitalization according to Modem English practices. Punctuation, lacking in the MS, has been supplied. The spellings have been retained, except for i-1 to j-J when the latter sound is intended. The scribe's long/ does not always represent either the pronoun 'I' or the sound of j. For example, / wyis in line 264 of the MS is spelled iwyis in this edition. Contracted forms in the MS have been expanded. For example, the form wt is written wyth, since it appears more often (a check of the first 200 lines showed wyth spelled out about twice as many times as with). The ampersand & is written and, the crossed q is written quoth rather than quod, since cope appears in line 776, and the sign 9 is always expanded to -us, though some editors expanded it to -s in some instances (see the note to line 920 in the Commentary). The scribe used many abbreviations (see Madden's text of Gawain [1839] for the printing of such forms). The acute accent to mark a final weakly stressed e is added to words likejolile (42). In the MS, numerous compounds are not joined, syllables of words are separated, and words frequently run together. In the text of this edition, all forms are printed as they would be in Modem English. For example, child gered (86) appears as childgered, de bated (68) as debated, and fiftendayes

XXXIX

(44) as fiften dayes. The scribe often placed the indefinite article a with the following noun or modifier as in aselure (76), which is separated to a selure. The following 20 emendations of the MS have been made: of of alderes to Of alderes 95; syluener to sylueren 124; pe proude to jJe proude 168; as as to as 182; hawbrgh to hawbergh 203; hys to hys 336; say to Sayn 774; sle3e3 to sle3e 893; scheder to schede3 956; nerci to merci 1037; jJat pt to jJat 1255; gaway to Gawayn 1376; 4 minims+orsel to morsel 1690; to to to to 1712; lanpe or laupe to lampe 2010; mot to not 2131; welcon to welcom 2240; jJy jJy helme to jJy helme 2247; he he to he 2305; with wyth to With 2426.

Translation and Notes

The translation keeps as close to the original as possible. The use of words with denotations different from the poet's does not change the essential meaning and mood of the poem. The notes list the literal sense of the Middle English vacabulary wherever changes that are not easily recognizable have occurred; thus one may examine the process of translating the original work into Modern English verse. Wherever extensive changes have been made, a literal rendering of the line or lines involved is provided. The punctuation of the translation sometimes differs slightly from that of the Middle English text. The reason for any change is usually evident. For example, line 43: "Sy}:>enkayred to }:>ecourt caroles to make," has no comma within the line, but the translation: "Carried on then at court, carols performing," does to set off the concluding phrase more clearly. Inversions like 'carols performing' are used occasionally to keep more closely to the Middle English alliterative pattern. Literal meaning is more often lost in the translation of the rhyming 'bob and wheel'. For example, in the first one (lines 15-19), the rendering of 15, 16, and 18 is literal, but line 17: "Prevailed during many a ploy" is different from "At times have existed therein," and line 19: "Took turns as in sieges at Troy" is different from "Very swiftly have shifted since then." However, the literal translations are provided in the notes at the bottom of page 4. Thus the reader may see that ploy (17) and Troy (19) were employed to rhyme with joy (15). To keep this rhyme scheme, literal meaning had to be sacrificed, but the essential meaning and mood of the passage has not been altered. In fact, the reference to "sieges at Troy" in line 19 recalls line 1. If a ch~ge is obvious, no note is given. For example, readers comparing text and translation will recognize that in line 14, Modern English 'then' replaces Middle English he. Middle English words not needed in the translation are sometimes omitted. Note, for example, the omission of Pat were and Pat my3t be beginning lines 78 and 79. In line 79, the addition of 'great' in the translation is also easily recognizable; therefore, no note is given.

xi

SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT

Folio 94b, reproduced by permission of the British Library: Two scenes are combined. Pictured at the top behind the high table are Gawain with the axe, Arthur handling a knife, Guenevere, and a fourth figure, who, Gollancz ( 1923) 11 supposed, is Agrauayn a la Dure Mayn (line 110), holding a weapon resembling a scimitar. At the bottom are the Green Knight on horseback, holding up his severed head (lines 444-47), and Gawain, with the axe, standing beside the horse. The illustrations in the manuscript are colored green, red, blue, yellow, brown, and white.

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.. Folio 95, the first 26 lines of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, reproduced by permission of the British Library: The old folio number 91 is visible, but it has been crossed out. In this edition, the folios are numbered according to the new foliation; therefore, the text of Gawain starts with f. 95.

SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT PROLOGUE:TROY, BRUTUS, AND ARTHUR f. 95 1

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Sipenpe sege and pe assaut wat3 sesed at Troye, l>e bor3 brittened and brent to bronde3 and aske3, l>e tulk pat pe trammes of tresoun per wro3t W at3 tried for his tricherie, pe trewest on erthe. Hit wat3 Ennias peathel and his highe kynde, l>at sipen depreced prouinces and patrounes bicome Welne3e of al pewele in pe west iles. Fro riche Romulus to Rome ricchis hym swype, Wyth gret bobbaunce pat bur3e he biges vpon fyrst, And neuenes hit his aune nome, as hit now hat; Ticius to Tuskan and teldes bigynnes, Langaberde in Lumbardie lyftes vp homes, And fer ouer peFrench flod Felix Brutus, On mony bonkkes ful brode, Bretayn he sette3 wyth wynne, Where werre, and wrake, and wonder Bi sype3 hat3 wont perinne, And oft hope blysse and blunder Ful skete hat3 skyfted synne. Ande quen pis Bretayn wat3 bigged bi pis burn rych, Bolde bredden perinne, baret pat lofden, In mony turned tyme tene pat wro3ten. Mo ferlyes on pis folde ban fallen here oft l>en in any oper pat I wot, syn pat ilk tyme. Bot, of alle pat here bult, of Bretaygne kynges, Ay wat3 Arthur pe hendest, as I haf herde telle. Forpi, an aunter in erde I attle to schawe, l>at a selly in si3t summe men hit holden, And an outtrage awenture of Arthure3 wondere3. If 3e wyl lysten pis laye bot on littel quile, I schal telle hit as-tit as I in toun herde, wyth tonge, As hit is stad and stoken In stori stif and stronge,

3 TRAMMES devices ... WR03T contrived 4 TREWEST truest man 5 ATHEL noble .. . HIGHE mighty 11 TICIUS TO Ticius [travels) to 17 At times have existed therein, 19 Very swiftly have shifted since then. 20 BURN RYCH noble man

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SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT PROLOGUE: TROY, BRUTUS, AND ARTHUR f. 95 1

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After the siege and the assault had ceased at Troy, The city battered and burned to brands and ashes, The fellow who fell into folly and treason Was tried for his treachery, though truly a hero. It was excellent Aeneas and his illustrious offspring, Who then conquered provinces and patriarchs became Of well-nigh all the wealth in the western domains. After rich Romulus to Rome rapidly rides, With great splendor that city he settles at once, And names it in his own name, as it is now called; Ticius in Tuscany establishes dwellings, Longobardus in Lombardy lifts up homes, And far over the French sea Felix Brutus, On many banks very broad, Britain then settles with joy, Where war, and wrack, and wonder Prevailed during many a ploy, And often both bliss and blunder Took turns as in sieges at Troy. And when this Britain was built by this battler brave, Bold warriors lived therein, who loved combat, Who tackled troubles in many turning times. More marvels have marked this magnificent domain Than in any other that I know, since that early time. But, of all who breathed here, among Britain's kings, Arthur was always the hardiest, as I have heard tell. Therefore, an event on earth I intend to describe, Which some men consider a miraculous sight, And an amazing adventure among Arthur's wonders. If you will listen to this lay but a little while, I shall tell it as truly as it was told in town, with tongue, As it is fastened strong In measures neatly sprung,

22 TENE l>AT WR03TEN who wrought woe 23 FOLDE HAN FALLEN land have occurred 24 ILK same 25 BULT settled 26 HENDEST most valiant 28 SELL Y miracle 31 ASTIT at once 33 STAD AND STOKEN set and fastened 34 STIF firm

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Wyth lei letteres token, In londe so hat3 ben longe. PART ONE: FROM CAMELOT TO CASTLE HAUTDESERT 3

l>is kyng lay at Camylot vpon Krystmasse, Wyth mony luflych lorde, lede3 of pe best, Rekenly of pe Rounde Table, alle po rich breper, Wyth rych reuel, ory3t, and rechles merpes. l>er toumayed tulkes bi tyme3 ful mony, Justed ful jolile, pise gentyle kni3tes, Sypen kayred to pe court caroles to make, For per pe fest wat3 ilyche ful fiften dayes, With alle pe mete and pe mirpe pat men coupe avyse, Such glaum ande gle, glorious to here, Dere dyn vpon day, daunsyng on nY3tes. Al wat3 hap vpon he3e in halle3 and chambre3, With lorde3 and ladies, as leuest him po3t. With all pe wele of pe worlde pay woned per samen, l>emost kyd knY3te3 vnder Krystes seluen, And pe louelokkest ladies pat euer lif haden, And he, pe comlokest kyng, pat pe court haldes; For al wat3 pis fayre folk in her first age, on sille, l>ehapnest vnder heuen, Kyng, hy3est mon of wylle. Hit wer, ere now, gret nye to neuen So hardy a here on hille.

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Wyle Nw 3er wat3 so 3ep pat hit wat3 nwe cummen, l>atday doubble on pe dece wat3 pe douth serued. Fro pe kyng wat3 cummen wyth kny3tes into pe halle, l>e chauntre of pe chapel cheued to an ende, Loude crye wat3 per kest of clerke3 and oper, 'Nowel' nayted onewe, neuened ful ofte; And sypen riche forth runnen to reche hondeselle, 3e3ed '3eres-3iftes' on hi3, 3elde hem bi bond, Debated busyly aboute po giftes. Ladies la3ed ful loude, po3 pay lost haden,

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35 LEL correct ... LOKEN fixed 36 As [it] has been long in [this] land. 43 SYl>EN KA YRED then proceeded 46 GLAUM ANDE GLE merrymaking and music 49 AS LEUEST HIM J>03T as [it] seemed most delightful to them 51 KYD illustrious

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Its letters locked in song, When formerly sweetly sung.

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PART ONE: FROM CAMELOT TO CASTLE HAUTDESERT 3

This king lived at Camelot at Christmas time, With many loyal lords, leaders of the best, Readily of the Round Table, all those rich brethren, With rich revelry, aright, and reckless mirths. There tourneyed true knights on numerous occasions, Jousted full jollily, these jubilant gents, Carried on then at court, carols performing, For there the festivity was the same fully fifteen days, With all the meals and the mirth that men could devise, So grand and gleeful, glorious to hear, Dazzling din in the day, dancing at night. Happiness was entirely at its height in halls and chambers, With lords and ladies, where delight prevailed. With all the wealth in the world they dwelled there together, The noblest knights beneath Christ himself, And the loveliest ladies living on earth, And he, the most gracious king, who commands the court; For all these fair folks were favored by youth, and skill, The luckiest on land, With the proudest king of will. Never, before now, in a band, Were such hardy ones housed on a hill.

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With the New Year still young, having newly come, That day on the dais were they doubly served. After the king had come with courtiers to the hall, The chanting in the chapel having achieved its end, Loud cry was there cast by clerics and others, 'Noel' named anew, nobly proclaimed; And then rich men rushed forth to render their presents, Yelled 'New Year's-gifts' at Yuletide, yielded them by hand, Debated busily about those gifts. Ladies laughed loudly, despite losing the game,

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54 IN HER FIRST AGE in their early adulthood 55 SILLE firm foundation 56 The most blessed under heaven, 58 It would be, until now, great trouble to name 59 HERE group 61 DOUTH assemblage 63 CHAUNTRE chanting of mass 67 ON HI3 clearly

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And he pat wan wat3 not wrothe; pat may 3e wel trawe. Alle pis mirpe pay maden to pe mete tyme. When pay had waschen worpyly, pay wenten to sete, Pe best burne ay abof, as hit best semed, Whene Guenore, ful gay, grayped in pemyddes, Dressed on pe dere des, dubbed al aboute, Smal sendal bisides, a selure hir ouer Of tryed Tolouse, of Tars tapites innoghe, Pat were embrawded and beten wyth pe best gemmes Pat my3t be preued of prys wyth penyes to bye, in daye. Pe comlokest to discrye Per glent wyth y3en gray. A semloker pat euer he sy3e Soth mo3t no mon say.

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Bot, Arthure wolde not ete til al were serued. He wat3 so joly of his joyfnes, and sumquat childgered; His lif liked hym lY3t. He louied pe lasse Auper to lenge lye or to longe sitte, So bisied him his 3onge blod and his brayn wylde; And also anoper maner meued him eke, Pat he, pur3 nobelay, had nomen. He wolde neuer ete Vpon such a dere day er hym deuised were Of sum auenturus pyng, an vncoupe tale Of sum mayn meruayle, pat he my3t trawe, Of alderes, of armes, of oper auenturus, Oper sum segg hym biso3t of sum siker kny3t To joyne wyth hym in justyng, in joparde to lay, Lede lif for lyf, leue vch on oper, As fortune wolde fulsun hom, pe fayrer to haue. Pis wat3 kynges countenaunce, where he in court were, At vch farand fest among his fre meny in halle. Perfore, of face so fore, He sti3tle3 stif in stalle; Ful 3ep in pat Nw 3ere, Much mirthe he mas wyth alle.

74 GRAYl>EDplaced 75 DRESSED arrayed ... DERE splendid 76 BISIDES at the sides 77 TRYED chosen ... TARS silk from Tharsia 83 SY3E saw 86 JOYFNES youthfulness ... SUMQUAT CHILDGERED somewhat childish 87-88 His vitality suited him aptly. He enjoyed to a lesser degree/Either to remain lying or to sit too long,

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And he who won was not wroth; that may you well believe. They made all this merriment to the meal time. When they had washed worthily, they went to their places, The noblest knights seated higher, suitably arranged, Queen Guenevere, so graceful, glistening in the middle, Placed properly on the dais, adorned all around, Fine fabrics enclosing her, a canopy above Of precious silk from Toulouse, and Tharsian silk tapestries, Embroidered and embellished with the best gems, Proved of great price for purchasing with pennies, any day. The most splendid gem to be seen There glistened with eyes of gray. That he ever gazed on fairer queen Surely no man could say.

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But, Arthur would not eat till all were served. He was so jolly and joyful, like a jubilant child, Lighthearted and lively, and liking neither To linger nor lie, nor too long to sit, So roused was he by his young blood and restless brain; And also another manner moved him always, Which he, as a noble, had nourished. He would never eat At such a festive time until he had been told Of some adventurous thing, an unusual tale Of some major marvel, which he might believe, Of chieftains, of chivalry, of enchanting adventures, Or until some soul besought him for some steady knight To join with him in jousting, in jeopardy to lie, Set life against life, each one allowing the other, As fortune showed favor, the fairer gain to have. This was the king's custom, at court at all times, At each fancy festival among his free company in the hall. Thus, with firmness and no fear, He stands there straight and tall; Fully alert in that New Year, Much mirth he makes among all.

89 BISIED HIM did bestir him 90 EKE as well 91 NOBELAY noble rank ... NOMEN adopted 96 SEGG man 99 WOLDE FULSUN HOM would aid them 101 FARAND splendid 103-4 Therefore, with bearing so proud,/He stands firmly in [his] place;

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Thus per stondes in stale pe stif kyng hisseluen, Talkkande bifore pe hY3e table of trifles ful hende. There gode Gawan wat3 grayped Gwenore bisyde, And Agrauayn a la Dure Mayn on pat oper syde sittes, Bope pe kynges sister sunes, and ful siker kni3tes. Bischop Bawdewyn abof bigine3 pe table, And Ywan, Vryn son, ette wit hymseluen. l>ise were di3t on pedes and derworply serued, And sipen mony siker segge at pesidborde3. l>en pe first cors come with crakkyng of trumpes Wyth mony baner, ful bry3t, pat perbi henged, Nwe nakryn noyse wyth penoble pipes. Wylde werbles and WY3twakned lote, l>at mony hert ful hi3e hef at her towches. Dayntes dryuen perwyth, of ful dere metes, Foysoun of pe fresche, and on so fele disches l>at pine to fynde pe place pe peple biforne For to sette pe sylueren, pat sere sewes halden, on clothe. Iche lede, as he loued hymselue, l>er laght wythouten lope; Ay two had disches twelue, Good ber and bry3t wyn hope.

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Now wyl I of hor seruise say yow no more, For vch wy3e may wel wit no wont pat per were. Anoper noyse, ful newe, ne3ed biliue, l>at pe lude my3t haf leue liflode to each; For vnepe wat3 penoyce not awhyle sesed, And pe fyrst cource in pe court kyndely serued, l>er hales in at pe halle-dor an aghlich mayster, On pe most in pe molde, on mesure hyghe, Fro pe swyre to pe swange so sware and so pik, And his lyndes and his lymes so longe and so grete. Half etayn in erde I hope pat he were, Bot mon most I, algate, mynn hym to bene, And pat, pe myriest, in his muckel, pat my3t ride; For of bak and of brest al were his bodi sturne,

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107 STALE place ... HISSELUEN himself 108 HENDE pleasant 109 GRAYl>ED placed 111 SIKER dependable 112 Bishop Baldwin of higher rank holds the place of honor, 113 HYMSELUEN him 114 DI3T arranged ... DERWORl>LY splendidly 119 WY3T rapid 122 FELE many 123 l>ATPINE that [it] was difficult

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So stands that sturdy king, securely in command, Talking before the high table of trifles on hand. Good Gawain sat gallantly beside Guenevere, And Agravain of the Hard Hand on that other side sits, Both the king's sister's sons, and scrupulous knights. Bishop Baldwin abides above on the bench, And Ywain, Urien's son, ate with him heartily. These dined on the dais, were decently served, And many true subjects were served at the side-tables. Then the first course came with cracking of trumpets With many banners, full bright, that thereby hung, And novel noise of kettledrums with the noble pipes. Warblings, wild and wonderful, awakened sounds, So that many heavy hearts heaved high at their strains. Dainties were distributed, very delicious meats, Plenty of fresh food, and such favorite dishes That pandemonium prevailed to find places before the people To set the silver bowls, that held savory stews, on the cloth. Each person desiring to delve Devoured the food and broth; Each two had dishes twelve, Bright wine and beer with froth.

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Now about their service I will say no more, For each man may well know that nothing was lacking. Another noise, indeed new, drew near soon enough, So that the lord might have leave to not lag at his dinner; For scarcely had the turmoil ceased for a time, And the first course at the court kindly been served, There hurries in at the hall-door an awesome master, The most powerful in the domain, in appearance tall, So square and so solid from strong neck to waist, Both his loins and his limbs so long and so large. Half monster on earth I imagine he were, But a man must I, nevertheless, maintain that he was, The most merry and mighty who ever might ride; For although in back and in breast his body was huge,

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124 SERE various 126 LOUED HYMSELUE himself desired 127 There took without reluctance; 128 AY always 129 BOl>Etoo 133 LIFLODE TO CACH to take food 137 MOLDE land .. . MESURE stature 138 SWYRE neck 141 MYNN declare .. . BENE be 142 AND l>AT and at that . .. MUCKEL size

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Bot his wombe and his wast were wor]:>ilysmale, And alle his fetures fol3ande in forme ]:>athe hade, ful clene. For wonder of his hwe men hade, Set in his semblaunt sene; He ferde as freke were fade, And oueral enker-grene.

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Ande al gray]:>edin grene ]:>isgome and his wedes: A strayt cote ful stre3t, ]:>atstek on his sides, A mere mantile abof, mensked wythinne Wyth pelure pured apert, ]:>epane ful clene Wyth bly]:>eblaunner, ful bry3t, and his hod bo]:>e, l>at wat3 la3t fro his lokke3 and layde on his schulderes, Heme, wel-haled hose of pat same grene, l>at spenet on his sparlyr, and clene spures vnder Of brY3t golde, vpon silk hordes barred ful ryche, And, scholes vnder schankes, ]:>ere]:>eschalk rides; And alle his vesture uerayly wat3 clene verdure, Bo]:>e]:>ebarres of his belt and o]:>erbly]:>estones, l>at were richely rayled in his aray clene Aboutte hymself and his sadel, vpon silk werke3. l>at were to tor for to telle of tryfles ]:>ehalue l>at were enbrauded abof, wyth bryddes and fly3es With gay gaudi of grene, ]:>egolde ay inmyddes. l>ependauntes of his payttrure, ]:>eproude cropure, His molaynes, and alle ]:>emetail anamayld was ]:>enne, l>e steropes ]:>athe stod on stayned of ]:>esame, And his arsoun3 al after, and his a]:>elscurtes, l>at euer glemered and glent, al of grene stones. l>e fole ]:>athe ferkkes on, fyn of ]:>atilke, sertayn, A grene hors, gret and ]:>ikke, A stede ful stif to strayne, In brawden brydel quik; To ]:>egome he wat3 ful gayn.

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W el gay wat3 ]:>isgome, gered in grene,

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145 FOL3ANDE [were] corresponding 146 CLENE perfectly 147 HWE color 148 Set in his outward appearance; 151 GRAYl>EDwere set ... GOME man 152 STRAIT close-fitting .. . STRE3T straight 153 MENSKED adorned 154 PURED APERT trimmed skillfully ... CLENE elegant

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Yet suitably slim were his stomach and waist, And all his features followed the form that he had, full clean. With wonder men pondered that sight, His striking hue on that scene; He acted like an elvish knight, Overall a vivid green.

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All colored in green were this giant and his clothes: A well-tailored tunic tucked to his sides, A fair mantle above, marked brightly within With fur fashioned neatly, and finely wrought lining Of beautiful ermine, full bright, on his hood, too, That was set back from his locks and laid on his shoulders, While well-stretched hose of that same green hue Clung to his calves, with clean spurs beneath Of bright gold on silk borders barred full richly. Thus, shoeless under shanks, the sturdy knight rides, And all his good vesture was verily clean green, Both the bars of his belt and other gleaming stones That were richly arranged in his royal array, Around himself and his saddle, on precious silk works. It were too trying to tell of trefoils the half That were embroidered above, with birds and butterflies In gleaming green designs, with gold in the midst. The pendants of the breast-plate, the precious crupper, Each bridle-bit stud with brilliant enamel, The stirrups that he stood on, stained the same way, All the saddlebows and splendid saddle-flaps Always glittered and gleamed, all with green stones. The steed that he straddles, so striking to see, one to maintain, Was green, great and quick, A strong beast to restrain, In embellished bridle slick, For the knight indeed a great gain.

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Most gallant was this creature, geared thus in green,

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157 HEME proper 167 GAUDI designs 169 METAIL metal 173 FERKKES travels ... FYN entirely ... ILKE same hue 174 SERTAYN certainly 175 l>IKKEstout 176 STEDE steed . . . STRAYNE steady 177 QUIK prancing 178 GAYN suitable 179 GOME knight

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And pe here of his hed of his hors swete. Fayre, fannand fax vmbefoldes his schulderes; A much herd, as a busk, ouer his brest henges, l>at, wyth his hi3lich here pat of his hed reches, Wat3 euesed al vmbetome, abofhis elbowes, l>athalf his armes pervnder were hatched in pe wyse Of a kynge3 capados pat closes his swyre. l>e mane of pat mayn hors much to hit tyke, Wet cresped and cemmed, wyth knottes fut mony Folden in wyth fildore aboute pe fayre grene, Ay a herle of pe here, anoper of golde. l>etayl and his toppyng twynnen of a sute, And bounden hope wyth a bande of a bry3t grene, Dubbed wyth fut dere stone3, as pe dok lasted, Sypen prawen wyth a pwong, a pwarle knot alofte, l>er mony belle3, fut brY3t, ofbrende golde rungen. Such a fole vpon folde, ne freke pat hym rydes, W at3 neuer sene in pat sale wyth sy3t er pat tyme, wythY3e. He toked as layt, so ly3t; So sayd al pat hym sy3e. Hit semed as no mon my3t Vnder his dyntte3 dry3e. Wheper, hade he no helme ne hawbergh nauper, Ne no pysan ne no plate pat pented to armes, Ne no schafte ne no schelde to schwue ne to smyte; Bot in his on honde he bade a holyn bobbe, l>atis grattest in grene when greue3 ar bare, And an ax in his oper, a hoge and vnmete, A spetos sparpe to expoun in spelle, quoso mY3t. l>ehede of an eln3erde pe large lenkpe bade, l>egrayn al of grene stele and of golde hewen, l>ebit bumyst bry3t, wyth a brod egge As wet schapen to schere as scharp rasores. l>e stele of a stif staf pe stume hit bigrypte, l>atwat3 wounden wyth ym to pe wande3 ende, And al bigrauen wyth grene in gracios werkes; A lace lapped aboute, pat louked at pe hede, And so after pe halme hatched fut ofte,

180 SWETE matching 194 l>WARLE complicated 197 SY3T ER sight before (clearly) 199 He appeared like lightning, so swiftly; 201 MY3T might

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With the hair of his head like the hair of his horse. Long, spreading locks surround his shoulders; A huge beard, like a bush, hangs over his breast, Which, with the fair hair that falls from his head, Was clipped round about, right above his elbows, So that half his arms thereunder were enclosed in the manner Of a king's hooded cape that covers his neck. The mane of that mighty horse was much the same, Well curled and combed, with many clustered knots, Folded in with gold filament around the fair green, Always a fine strand of hair affixed with the gold. The tail and tight forelock, entwined the same, And both bound by a band of very bright green, Were adorned with dear stones, where the shortened strands fell, Then tied with a thong, a thick knot on top, Where many bright bells of burnished gold rang. Such a steed upon earth, or earthling who bestrides him, Was never seen in that hall by stunned humans in dread. He flew in like a flash of light, All who saw him said. It seemed that in a fight, His opponent would be dead.

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Nevertheless, he had no helmet nor hauberk either, Nor any breast-plate nor broad metal that pertained to arms, Nor any spear nor shield for shoving or smiting; But in his one hand he had a holly spray, That is greatest with green when groves are bare, And an axe in the other, a huge one and foreboding, An awe-inspiring axe to describe in speech, whoever could. The massive length had the head the measure of an ell, The spike hewn entirely from green steel and gold, The blade burnished brightly, with a broad edge As well shaped for shearing as a sharp razor's tip. The handle of a strong staff the stem knight did grasp; It was wound with iron to the wand's end, And all engraved in green with gracious designs. A cord curled around, connected at the head, And then along the handle was handsomely looped,

202 Survive beneath his strokes. 208 VNMETE superior HALCHED FUL OFTE looped very often

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209 SPETOS terrifying

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Wyth tryed tassele3 perto, tacched innoghee On botoun3 of pe bry3t grene, brayden ful ryche. l>is hapel helde3 hym in and pe halle entres; Driuande to pe he3e dece, dut he no wope. Haylsed he neuer one, bot he3e he ouerloked. l>e fyrst word pat he warp, "Wher is," he sayd, "l>e gouemour of pis gyng? Gladly I wolde Se pat segg in sy3t and wyth hymself speke raysoun." To knY3te3 he kest his Y3e, And reled hym vp and doun; He stemmed and con studie Quo wait per most renoun.

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Tuer wat3 lokyng on lenpe pe lude to beholde, For vch mon had meruayle quat hit mene my3t l>at a hapel and a horse my3t such a hwe lach, As growe grene as pe gres, and grener hit semed l>en grene aumayl on gold, lowande bry3ter. Al studied pat per stod and stalked hym nerre, Wyth al pe wonder of pe worlde what he worch schulde, For fele sellye3 had pay sen, bot such neuer are. Forpi, for fantoum and fayry3e pe folk pere hit demed. l>erfore, to answare wat3 ar3e mony apel freke, And al stouned at his steuen and stonstil seten In a swoghe sylence pur3 pe sale riche, As al were slypped vpon slepe, so slaked hor lote3 in hy3e. I deme hit not al for doute, Bot sum for cortaysye; Bot let hym pat al schulde loute Cast vnto pat wy3e.

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l>enn Arpour bifore pe hi3 dece pat auenture byholde3, And rekenly hym reuerenced, for rad was he neuer, And sayde, "Wy3e, welcum iwys to pis place. l>ehede of pis ostel, Arthour, I hat. Li3t luflych adoun and lenge, I pe praye, And quatso py wylle is we schal wyt after." "Nay, as help me," quop pe hapel, "he pat on hy3e syttes,

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224 WARP uttered 227 [a] matter STONSTIL SETEN sat motionless

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With splendid tassels on it, tied securely On buttons of bright green, embellished full richly. This lord hurries in and enters the large hall; Driving to the high dais, danger he feared not. He greeted not a soul, but arrogantly surveyed them, And spoke sharply at first, saying: "Where is The governor of this group? Gladly would I See that sire with sight and speak to him with crown." On knights he cast his eyes, And rolled them up and down; He ceased and did surmise Who held there most renown.

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There was looking at length at that lord so bold For each man did marvel at what it might mean That a human and a horse could have such a hue, To grow green as the grass, and greener it seemed Than green enamel on gold, glowing more brightly. All standing there studied him and stepped even closer, With all the wonder in the world at what he would do, For many marvels had they seen, but such never before. Therefore, as illusion and enchantment the folk there deemed it, And many noble knights neglected to answer, All stunned by his speech, stone-still in their places, In a swooning silence in that splendid hall, As if all had slipped into sleep, their sounds having slackened, in a hurry. I judge it not all for fear, But partly due to courtesy; Now let him whom all revere Speak to clear the mystery.

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Then Arthur beholds that marvel before the high dais, And greeted the knight fittingly, for never fearful was he, And said, "I salute you, sir, in this place. I am Arthur, the king, the head of this household. Alight willingly and linger, as long as you wish, And whatever your desire is we will discover after." "Nay, as he who sits on high may help me," said the knight,

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249 Speak to that knight. 253 HAT am called 254 I l>EPRAYE I beseech you

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To wone any quyle in pis won hit wat3 not myn ernde; Bot for pe los of pe, lede, is lyft vp so hy3e, And py bur3 and py burnes best ar holden, Stifest vnder stel-gere on stedes to ryde, l>ewy3test and pe worpyest of pe worldes kynde, Preue for to play wyth in oper pure layke3, And here is kydde cortaysye, as I haf herd carp, And pat hat3 wayned me hider, iwyis, at pis tyme. 3e may be seker bi pis braunch pat I here here l>atI passe as in pes and no plY3t seche, For had I founded in fere in fe3tyng wyse, I haue a hauberghe at home, and a helme hope, A schelde and a scharp spere, schinande bry3t, Ande oper weppenes to welde, I wene wel, als; Bot for I wolde no were, my wede3 ar softer. Bot, if pou be so bold as alle burne3 tellen, l>ouwyl grant me godly pe gomen pat I ask, bi ry3t." Arthour con onsware, And sayd, "Sir cortays knY3t, If pou craue batayl bare, Here fayle3 pou not to fy3t."

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"Nay, frayst I no fy3t, in fayth I pe telle; Hit arn aboute on pis bench bot berdle3 chylder. If I were hasped in armes on a he3e stede, Here is no moo me to mach, for my3te3 fo wayke. Forpy, I craue in pis court a Crystemas gomme, For hit is 3ol and Nwe 3er, and here ar 3ep mony. If any so hardy in pis hous holde3 hymseluen, Be so bolde in his blod, brayn in hys hede, l>atdar stifly strike a strok for anoper, I schal gif hym of my gyft pys giserne ryche, l>is ax, pat is heue innogh, to hondele as hym lykes, And I schal bide pe fyrst bur, as bare, as I sitte. If any freke be so felle to fonde pat I telle, Lepe ly3tly me to and lach pis weppen. I quit-clayme hit foreuer; kepe hit as his auen;

257 QUYLE length of time

261 WY3TEST bravest

264 HATI WAYNED has sent

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FOUNDED journeyed ... FE3TYNG WYSE fighting fashion 271 WEDE3 garments 272 BURNE3 people 275 CON ONSWARE did answer 276 CORTAYS courteous 278 FAYLE3 l>OUNOT you will not fail 279 FRA YST seek 280 HIT ARN there are

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"To linger for long in this place was never my purpose; But since the praise of you, prince, is pushed up so high, And your castle and your courtiers are considered best, Strongest under steel-gear on steeds to ride, The wisest and the worthiest of the world's offspring, Gallant to gambol with in other grand sports, And chivalry is shown here, as I have heard tell, I have been drawn here, indeed, at this time. You may be sure by this branch that I bear here That I pass then in peace and no peril seek, For had I come in company to clash with you, I have a hauberk at home, and a helmet too, A shield and a sharp spear, shining bright, And other weapons to wield, I know well, also; But since I wish no war, what I wear is softer. So, if you be as bold as all battlers say, You will grant me gladly the game that I seek, by right." Arthur then did say, "Now, sir noble knight, If you crave a single fray, Here you will have your fight. "

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"Nay, I call for no clash, clearly I tell you; Round about on these benches are beardless children. If I were arrayed in armor on a high steed, Here is no man to match me, so mighty am I. Therefore, I crave in this court a Christmas game, For it is Yule and New Year, and young nobles are here. If anyone in this house holds himself so hardy, To be so bold with his body, in his brain so wild, Who dares to strike stiffly one stroke for another, I shall give him as my gift this gleaming weapon, This axe, that is heavy enough, to handle as he likes, And I shall abide the first blow, my body unarmed. If any mortal is so manly to manage what I say, Come quickly to me and grasp this weapon. I quitclaim it forever; he may keep it as his own;

281 HASPED enclosed 282 FOR MY3TE3 FO WAYKE due to [my] powers to enfeeble foes 284 3EP agile nobles 286 BLOD life ... BRAYN IN HYS HEDE reckless in his mind 288 GISERNE gisarme 289 HYM LYKES [it] pleases him SIITE am situated 291 FREKE man ... FELLE bold ...

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290 AS BARE while unarmed ... FONDE try

And I schal stonde hym a strok, stif on pis flet, Elle3 pou wyl di3t me pe dom to dele hym anoper, bar lay, And 3et gif hym respite A twelmonyth and a day. Now hY3e, and let se tite Dar any herinne 03t say."

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If he hem stowned vpon fyrst, stiller were panne Alle pe heredmen in halle, pe hy3 and pe lo3e. l>erenk on his rounce hym ruched in his sadel, And runischly his rede y3en he reled aboute, Bende his bresed bro3e3, blycande grene, Wayued his berde, for to wayte quoso wolde ryse. When non wolde kepe hym wyth carp, he co3ed ful hy3e, Ande rimed hym ful richly, and ry3t hym to speke: "What! Is pis Arpures hous," quo}:> pe hapel penne, "l>at al pe rous rennes of puf3 ryalmes so mony? Where is now your sourquydrye and your conquestes, Your gryndellayk, and your greme, and your grete wordes? Now is pe reuel and pe renoun of pe Rounde Table Ouerwalt wyth a worde of on wy3es speche, For al dares for drede wythoute dynt schewed!" Wyth pis he la3es so loude pat pe lorde greued; l>eblod schot for scham into his schyre face and lere. He wex as wroth as wynde; So did alle pat per were. l>ekyng, as kene bi kynde, l>enstod pat stif mon nere,

15

Ande sayde: "Hapel, by heuen, pyn askyng is nys, And as pou foly hat3 frayst, fynde pe behoues. I know no game pat is gast of py grete wordes. Gif me now py geseme, vpon Gode3 halue, And I schal baypen py bone pat pou boden habbes." Ly3tly lepe3 he hym to and la3t at his honde;

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294 STONDE HYM await from him 296 to lay [him] on bier, 299 AND LET SE TITE and let [me] see immediately 300 [It] anyone herein would dare say something. 302 HEREDMEN noblemen 304 RUNISCHLY fiercely 305 BLYCANDE glistening 306 FOR TO WAYTE QUOSO WOLDE RYSE observing [it] anyone would rise 307 WOLDE KEPE HYM WYTH CARP would provide him with [an] answer ... HY3E loudly 308 RY3T HYM proceeded

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And firmly on this floor I will not flinch from the stroke, Provided you will grant me the power to give him another, to slay, And yet give him respite A twelvemonth and a day. Now hurry! Do not sit, Whoever would dare to play."

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If he had stunned them at first, stiller were then All hardy men in the hall, the high and the low. The tall knight on his steed turned in his saddle, And rudely rolled his red eyes around, Arched his bristling eyebrows, bright and green, And tossed his beard in that brief time of waiting. When no one dared answer, he shouted dauntlessly, And raised himself up regally, not reluctant to speak: "What! Is this Arthur's house," the knight hollered then, That all powers praise in principalities all over? Where are your great pride and past conquests, Your fierceness, and your fury, and your false boasts? Now are the revelry and the renown of the Round Table Overwhelmed at a word from one wise man, For all withdraw in dread without dealing a blow!" With this he laughs so loudly that the lord was offended; The blood shot for shame into his shining face without cheer. He waxed as wroth as wind; So did all who were near. The king unkindly grinned, And at that man did leer,

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And said: "Sir, by heaven, your speech is arrogant, But since you have sought folly, find it you shall. I know no man who fears your menacing words. Give me now your great axe, on God's behalf, And I will grant the wish that you have requested." Lightly he l~aps toward him and latches at his hand;

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310 Of which all the boasting has spread through so many realms? 312 GRETE WORDES great words 314 OUERWALT overturned ... WY3ES man's 315 DARES tremble 318 LERE cheeks 320 l>AT l>ERWERE who were there 321-22 The king, just as daring by nature/Then stood near that strong man, 323 ASKYNG IS NYS request is ridiculous 324 l>E BEHOUES [it] behooves you 325 GAST afraid ...

GRETE great 327 BONE petition

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l>en feersly pat oper freke vpon fote ly3tis. Now hat3 Arthure his axe, and pe halme grype3, And stumely sture3 hit aboute, pat stryke wyth hit po3t. l>e stif moo hym before stod vpon hy3t, Herre pen ani in pe hous by pe hede and more. Wyth stume schere per he stod; he stroked his berde, And wyth a countenaunce drY3e he dro3 doun his cote, No more mate ne dismayd for his mayo dinte3 l>en any bume vpon bench hade bro3t hym to drynk ofwyne. Gawan, pat sate bi pe quene, Tope kyng he can enclyne. "I beseche now, wyth sa3e3 sene, l>is melly mot be myne.

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"Wolde 3e, worpilych lorde," quop Gawan to pe kyng, "Bid me bo3e fro pis benche and stonde by yow pere, l>atI wythoute vylanye mY3t voyde pis table, And pat my legge lady lyked not ille, I wolde com to your counseyl bifore your cort ryche; For me pink hit not semly, as hit is sop knawen, l>er such an askyng is heuened so hy3e in your sale, l>a3 3e 3ourself be talenttyf, to take hit to yourseluen, Whil mony so bolde yow aboute vpon bench sytten, l>at vnder heuen I hope non ha3erer of wylle, Ne better bodyes on bent per baret is rered. I am pe wakkest, I wot, and of wyt feblest, And lest lur of my lyf, quo laytes pe sope; Bot, forasmuch as 3e ar myn em I am only to prayse. No bounte bot your blod I in my bode knowe; And sypen pis note is so nys pat no3t hit yow falles, And I haue frayned hit at yow fyrst, folde3 hit to me, And, if I carp not comlyly, let alle pis cort rych, bout blame." Ryche togeder con roun, And sypen pay redden alle same To ryd pe kyng wyth croun, And gif Gawan pe game.

331 l>AT STRYKE WYTH HIT l>03T he who intended to strike with it ing

336 MATE discouraged

337 BURNE knight

342 This contest may be mine. pleased

347 RY CHE royal

344 BO3E move

335 DRY3E unchang-

341 WYTH SA3E3 SENE in plain words 346 L YKED NOT ILLE would not be dis-

350 Though you yourself may be desirous, to take it upon yourself,

22

Then fiercely that other fellow on his feet alights. Now Arthur has his axe, and the handle grips, And sternly stirs it about, desiring to strike. The strong man before him stood on high, Higher than any in the house by a head and more. With stem visage he stood there, stroking his beard, And with a devilish countenance he drew down his coat, No more subdued nor dismayed by the mighty swings Than if any battler on a bench had brought to him a drink of wine. Gawain, who sat by the queen, To the king then did incline. "I beseech you, sire, to lean, And make this contest mine.

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"Would you, worthy lord," said Gawain to the king, "Bid me step from this bench and stand by you there, So that I void of villainy might vacate this table, And if my liege lady would allow my idea, I would come to your counsel before your great court; For it seems unsuitable, as it is certainly known, When such a petition is presented so proudly in your hall, That you deign to do it, though desirous you may be, While many brave beings sit about upon benches, Willing and able, I believe, beneath the heavens, Bold bodies on the battlefield where combat is begun. I am aware of my weakness, my wisdom so feeble, And loss of my life least important would be; I only am honored because you are my uncle, And no virtue but your blood prevails in my body. Since this matter is so foolish that it should not fall on you, And I have sought it from you sincerely, it should shift to me, And, ifl speak unjustly, the court shall judge, without blame." Wise men did whisper and frown, And then advised all the same To relieve the king with crown, And give Gawain the game.

352 Of whom I believe [there are] none under heaven more ready in intention, 354 WOT know 355-56 And least important [would be] loss of my life, [if] anyone would seek the truth;/Furthermore, I am only to be praised inasmuch as you are my uncle. 359 FRA YNED requested 360 RYCH settle [it] 362 Nobles did whisper together,

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l>en comaunded pe kyng pe knY3t for to ryse, And he ful radly vp ros and ruchched hym fayre, Kneled doun bifore pe kyng and cache3 pat weppen, And he luflyly hit hym laft, and lyfte vp his honde, And gef hym Godde3 blessyng, and gladly hym biddes l>at his hert and his honde schulde hardi be hope. "Kepe pe, cosyn," quop pe kyng, "pat pou on kyrf sette, And if pou rede3 hym ry3t, redly I trowe l>at pou schal by den pe bur pat he schal bede after." Gawan got3 to pe gome wyth giseme in honde, And he baldly hym byde3; he bayst neuer pe helder. l>en carppe3 to Sir Gawan pe kny3t in pe grene: "Refourme we oure forwardes er we fyrre passe. Fyrst I epe pe, hapel, how pat pou hattes; l>at pou me telle truly as I tryst may." "In god fayth," quop pe goode kny3t, "Gawan I hatte, l>at bede pe pis buffet, quatso bifalle3 after, And at pis tyme twelmonyth take at J:>eano}:>er, Wyth what weppen fo J:>ouwylt, and wyth no wy3 elle3 on lyue." l>at o}:>eronsware3 agayn: "Sir Gawan, so mot I }:>ryue, As I am ferly fayn l>is dint }:>at}:>ouschal dryue. "Bi Gog," quo}:>}:>eGrene Kny3t, "Sir Gawan, me lykes l>at I schal fange at J:>yfust pat I haf frayst here; And J:>ouhat3 redily rehersed, bi resoun ful trwe, Clanly al J:>ecouenaunt }:>atI J:>ekynge asked, Saf }:>atJ:>ouschal siker me, segge, bi pi traw}:>e, l>at J:>ouschal seche me }:>iself,whereso J:>ouhopes I may be funde vpon folde, and foch J:>esuch wages As pou deles me today bifore pis yplace? I wot neuer where J:>ouwonyes, bi hym pat me wro3t, Ne I know not pe, kny3t, py cort, ne pi name. Bot, teche me truly perto, and telle me howe pou hattes, And I schal ware alle my wyt to wynne me peder,

367 RUCHCHED HYM FAYRE moved nimbly 372 KEPE l>E watch yourself ... ON KYRF SETTE make one cut 373 REDE3 HYM RY3T deliver it right 374 SCHAL BEDE is to offer 376 HE BAYST NEUER l>E HELDER he was dismayed none the more 377 CARPPE3 speaks 378 REFOURME shall renew 379 HAl>EL sir 380 TRYST MAY may be sure

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Then the king commanded Gawain to rise, And he readily rose up and rapidly strode, Kneeled quickly before the king and grasps that weapon, And Arthur willingly relinquished it, and lifted his hand, And gave him God's blessing, and gladly advises That his heart and his hand be hardily maintained. "Take care, cousin," said the king, "that you cut just once, And if you swing it swiftly, I certainly believe That you shall abide the blow he bargained for after." Gripping the great axe, Gawain goes to the giant Who boldly bides there, not one bit dismayed. Then that shocking green man speaks to Gawain: "Let's recall our agreement before we go further. First I must ask you, earthling, how you are called; You must tell me truly if I am to trust you." "In good faith," said the good knight, "my name is Gawain, Who will bear down for this buffet, whatever befalls after, And at this time in a twelvemonth take from you another, With what fierce weapon you wish, and from no other warrior alive." That creature answers again: "Sir Gawain, so may I thrive, Happy am I among men, Since this stroke you seek to drive. "By God," said the Green Knight, "Sir Gawain, I am pleased That I shall force from your fist your furious blow; And you have readily rehearsed, and reasonably well, All that clear covenant that I requested from the king, Save that you shall assure me, sir, on your honor, That you shall seek me yourself, wherever you suppose I may be found in the field, to fetch such wages As you deal me today before this dear company." "Where would I find you?" said Gawain. "Where is your abode? I may never discover where you dwell, when that day comes, Nor do I know you, knight, your name, or your court. So teach me truly, and tell me how you are called, And I shall busy my brain to bring myself there,

381 HATIE am called 382 BEDE l>E will give you 386 Ol>ER other 388-89 As I am extremely happy/About this blow that you shall strike. 390 ME LYKES [it] pleases ·me 391 FANGE receive ... l>AT what .. . FRAYST sought 392 BI RESOUN with statements 393 CLANLY perfectly 396 l>E for yourself 399 BI HYM l>AT ME WR03T by him who made me

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And pat I swere pe forsope, and by my seker trawep." "l>at is innogh in Nwe 3er; hit nedes no more," Quop pe gome in pe grene to Gawan pe hende. "3if I pe telle trwly, quen I pe tape haue And pou me smopely hat3 smyten, smartly I pe teche Of my hous, and my home, and myn owen nome. l>enmay pou frayst my fare and forwarde3 holde, And if I spende no speche, penne spede3 pou pe better, For pou may leng in py londe and layt no fyrre; bot slokes. Ta now py grymme tole to pe, And let se how pou cnoke3." "Gladly, sir, forsope," Quop Gawan; his ax he strokes. The Grene Kny3t vpon grounde graypely hym dresses, A littel lut wyth pe hede; pe lere he discouere3. His longe, louelych lokke3 he layd ouer his croun, Let pe naked nee to pe note schewe. Gauan gripped to his ax and gederes hit on hy3t; l>ekay fot on pe folde he before sette, Let hit doun ly3tly ly3t on pe naked, l>atpe scharp of pe schalk schyndered pe bones, And schrank pur3 pe schyire grece, and scade hit in twynne, l>atpe bit of pe broun stel bot on pe grounde. l>e fayre hede fro pe halce hit to pe erpe, l>at fele hit foyned wyth her fete pere hit forth roled. l>eblod brayd fro pe body, pat blykked on pe grene, And nawper faltered ne fel pe freke neuer pe helder. Bot, styply he start forth vpon styf schonkes, And ruyschly he ra3t out pereas renkke3 stoden, La3t to his lufly hed and lyft hit vp sone, And sypen bo3e3 to his blonk; pe brydel he cachche3, Steppe3 into stel-bawe and stryde3 alofte, And his hede by pe here in his honde halde3; And as sadly pe segge hym in his sadel sette, As non vnhap had hym ayled, pa3 hedle3 nowe in stedde.

413-14 Now take your grim weapon to yourself,/And let [me] see how you strike. 416 STROKES rubs 417 HYM DRESSES places himself 418 LUT bowed ... DISCOUERE3 reveals 420 NOTE purpose 421 GEDERES raises 422 FOLDE ground 423 NAKED naked neck

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I swear to you surely, and on my secure honor." "That is enough on the New Year; it needs no more," Said the knight in the green to the noble Gawain. "If I would talk to you truly, after I take the tap And you have smitten me smoothly, I shall swiftly inform you Of my house, and my home, and my own name. Then you may test my attack and maintain the agreement, And if I spend no speech, you will speed the better, For you may linger in your land and look no further; but you delay. Now your weapon you need To begin this gruesome play." "Gladly, sir, indeed," Said he who there held sway.

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The Green Knight to the ground quickly gets down, Leaning low with his head; he has the flesh show. His long, handsome locks he laid over his crown, To let the neck's nape appear nude for the purpose. Gawain gripped his axe and guides it on high; His left foot on the floor he set firmly in front, Let the axe alight swiftly on the skin of the neck, So that the sharp blade split the bones of the man, And sank through the fair flesh, and severed it in two, Since the sharp, shiny steel stuck in the ground. The fair head fell to the floor of the hall, Where frantic folk rolled it forth with their feet. The blood spurted from the body, a bright red on the green, But the freak neither faltered nor fell none the more. Then steadily he started forth upon stiff shanks, And rapidly he reached out where ranting men stood, Took hold of his handsome head and held it up quickly, And then hurries to his horse to handle the bridle, Steps into the steel-stirrup and straddles on top, Holding his head in his hand by the hair. Now the severed body sat so staunchly in the saddle, As if no misfortune had afflicted him, though headless now, but not dead.

426 BIT cutting edge 427 FRO l>E HALCE from the neck 428 l>ATFELE HIT FOYNED so that many kicked it 429 BLYKKED glittered 430 FREKE knight 432 l>EREASRENKKE3 where men 434 CACHCHE3 seizes 437 SADLY firmly . . . SEGGE knight 439 IN STEDDE in [his] place

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He brayde his bluk aboute, l>at vgly bodi pat bledde; Moni on of hym had doute Bi pat his resoun3 were redde.

f. 101

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For pe hede in his honde he halde3 vp euen, Toward pe derrest on pe dece he dresse3 pe face, And hit lyfte vp pe y3elydde3 and loked ful brode, And meled pus much wyth his muthe, as 3e may now here. "Loke, Gawan, pou be graype to go, as pou hette3, And layte als lelly til pou me, Jude, fynde, As pou hat3 hette in pis halle, herande pise kny3tes. Tope Grene Chapel pou chose, I charge pe, to fotte Such a dunt as pou hat3 dalt; disserued pou habbe3 To be 3ederly 3olden on Nw 3eres mom. l>e kny3t of pe Grene Chapel, men knowen me mony; Forpi, me for to fynde if pou frayste3, fayle3 pou neuer. l>erfore, com, oper recreaunt be calde pe behoueus." With a runisch rout pe rayne3 he tome3, Hailed out at pe hal-dor, his hed in his hande, l>at pe fyr of pe flynt fla3e fro fole houes. To quat kyth he becom knwe non pere, Neuer more pen pay wyste from quepen he wat3 wonnen. What penne? l>e kyng and Gawen pare At pat grene pay la3e and grenne; 3et, breued wat3 hit ful bare A meruayl among po menne.

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l>a3 Arper, pe hende kyng, at hert hade wonder, He let no semblaunt be sene, bot sayde ful hy3e Tope comlych quene wyth cortays speche: "Dere dame, today demay yow neuer; Wel bycommes such craft vpon Cristmasse, Laykyng of enterlude3, to la3e and to syng, Among pise kynde caroles ofknY3te3 and ladye3. Neuerpelece, to my mete I may me wel dres, For I haf sen a selly I may not forsake." He glent vpon Sir Gawen, and gaynly he sayde,

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442 Many a one had fear of him 44 7 MELEO spoke 448 GRAYl>Eready ... HETIE3 promised 452 DISSERUED deserved 453 3EDERL Y 30LDEN promptly repaid 455 FRA YSTE3 try 456 RECREAUNT coward ... l>E BEHOUEUS [it} will be fitting for you

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He twisted his torso around, That ugly body that bled; Many there in fear were found By the time his statements were said.

440 f. 101

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As he holds the head in his hand up straight, Toward the dearest on the dais he directs the face, And it lifted up the eyelids and looked about steadily, And mystified them with its mouth, as you may now hear. "Be sure, Gawain, you are geared to go, as you said, And also to search faithfully until you find me, sir, As you have vowed in this hall, these knights having heard. To the Green Chapel you must go, I command you, to receive Such a stroke as you have dealt; indeed, you are required To yield after Yule on New Year's mom. Many men know me, the knight of the Green Chapel; So you will never fail to find me if you follow my advice. Come, therefore, or consent to be called a cowardly man." With a rugged tug he turns the reins, Hurried out by the hall-door, his head in his hand, So that the fire from the flint flew from the horse's hooves. To what country he galloped none there could know, Any more than they were aware from where he had come. What then? The king and Gawain there At that green one grin again; Yet, all clearly did declare It a marvel among those men.

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Though Arthur, the gracious king, at heart had wonder, He let no semblance be seen, but said full loudly To the comely queen with courteous speech: "Dear lady, never be alarmed today; Such games are customary during Christmas time, Staging of interludes, laughing and singing, Among these classic carols of courtiers and ladies. Nevertheless, to my meal I may well direct myself, For I have witnessed a wonder I willingly admit." He glanced at Sir Gawain, and gleefully he said,

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460 BECOM went 461 WYSTE knew 464 LA3E AND GRENNE laugh and grin 465 BREUED declared ... BARE clearly 471 CRAFT activity 472 LAYKYNG performing 473 KYNDE appropriate 475 FORSAKE deny 476 GAYNLY fittingly

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"Now, sir, heng vp pyn ax, pat hat3 innogh hewen;" And hit wat3 don ahof pe dece, on doser to henge, l>er alle men for meruayl my3t on hit loke, And, bi trwe tytel perof, to telle pe wonder. l>ennepay ho3ed to a horde, pise burnes togeder, l>e kyng and pe gode kny3t, and kene men hem serued Of alle dayntye3, double, as derrest my3t falle; Wyth alle maner of mete, and mynstralcie hope, Wyth wele walt pay pat day til worped an ende in londe. Now penk wel, Sir Gawan, For wope pat pou ne wonde l>is auenture for to frayn l>atpou hat3 tan on honde.

This hanselle hat3 Arthur of auenturus on fyrst In 3onge 3er, for he 3erned 3elpyng to here. Tha3 hym worde3 were wane when pay to sete wenten, Now ar pay stoken of sturne werk, staf-ful her hond. Gawan wat3 glad to begynne pose gomne3 in halle, Bot pa3 pe ende be heuy, haf 3e no wonder, For pa3 men ben mery in mynde quen pay han mayn drynk, A 3ere 3ernes ful 3erne and 3elde3 neuer lyke; l>e forme to pe fynisment folde3 ful selden. Forpi, pis 3ol ouer3ede, and pe 3ere after, And vche sesoun serlepes sued after oper. After Crystenmasse com pe crabbed Lentoun, l>at frayste3 flesch wyth pe fysche and fode more symple; Bot penne pe weder of pe worlde wyth wynter hit }:,repe3. Colde clenge3 adoun, cloude3 vp lyften, Schyre schede3 pe rayn in schowre3 ful warme, Falle3 vpon fayre flat; flowre3 pere schewen, Bope grounde3 and pe greue3 grene ar her wede3. Brydde3 busken to bylde, and bremlych syngen For solace of pe softe somer pat sues perafter bi honk; And blossume3 holne to blowe Bi rawe3 rych and ronk.

478 DON placed ...

DOSER wall-tapestry ...

HENGE hang

DERREST MY3T FALLE as might befit [the] noblest people

480 TYTEL evidence

483 AS

484 MANER types

485

WORl>ED arrived

488-89 That you shrink not from danger/In seeking this adventure

491

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AUENTURUS marvels

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"Now, sir, hang up your axe, which has adequately hewn;" And it was displayed above the dais, on durable tapestry, Where all men might look with amazement upon it, And, by the true mark of it, tell the marvel. These persons then proceeded promptly to the table, The king and the good knight, and gallant vassals served them With all dainties, doubly, dispensed to the noblest; With all favorite foods, and fine minstrelsy too, That day they passed in delight until the end drove near on land. Now think well, Sir Gawain, How this danger to withstand, For you truly must maintain What you have taken on hand. This fantastic adventure Arthur observed on the first Of the young year, for he had yearned to hear proud talk. Though words were wanting when they went to their seats, Now they are faced with a grim task, their hands cram-full. Gawain was glad to begin those games in the hall, But if the end be heavy, you should have no wonder, For though men are merry in mind when they mix strong drinks, A year slips by full swiftly and never yields the same; The beginning and the end accord hardly ever. Therefore, this Yule yielded, and the year after, And each season separately ensued one after the other. After Christmas came the crabbed Lent, Which forces fish on the flesh, and food more simple; But then the weather of the world with winter struggles. Cold no longer clings, clouds lift up, And the rain sheds sheerly in showers full warm, Falling upon fair fields; flowers there appear, And grounds and groves are greenly clothed. Birds busily build, and blissfully sing, Since the solace of the soft summer ensues thereafter on each bank; And brilliant blossoms bloom By hedgerows rich and rank.

493 HYM for them 497 HAN have 499 The beginning very seldom accords with the end. 500 OUER3EDE passed by 503 FRAYSTE3 tries 505 COLDE CLENGE3 ADOUN ice melts down 508 [And] green are their adornments in both [the] fields and the groves. 509 BUSKEN hasten 512 BOLNE TO BLOWE swell in order to bloom

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l>ennote3 noble inno3e Ar herde in wod so wlonk.

f. 102

23

After pe sesoun of somer wyth pe soft wynde3, Quen 3eferus syfle3 hymself on seeleue3 laucen fro pe lynde and IY3ten on pe grounde, And al grayes pe gres pat grene wat3 ere. l>enne al rype3 and rote3, pat ros vpon fyrst, And pus 3irne3 pe 3ere in 3isterdaye3 mony, And wynter wynde3 a3ayn, as pe worlde aske3 no sage. Til Me3almas mone Wat3 cumen wyth wynter wage, l>enpenkke3 Gawan ful sone Of his anious uyage.

24

3et, quyl Al Hal Day wyth Arper be lenges, And he made a fare on pat fest for pe freke3 sake, Wyth much reuel and ryche of pe Rounde Table. Kny3te3 ful cortays and comlych ladies Al for luf of pat lede in longynge pay were, Bot, neuerpelece, ne }>elater pay neuened bot merpe; Mony, joyle3 for pat jentyle, jape3 per maden. For aftter mete, wyth moumyng, he mele3 to his eme, And speke3 of his passage, and pertly he sayde: "Now, lege lorde of my lyf, leue I yow ask. 3e knowe pe cost of pis cace; kepe I no more To telle yow tene3 perof, neuer bot trifel. Bot, I am boun to pe bur barely tomorne, To sech pe gome of pe grene, as God wyl me wysse."

520

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514 NOBLE INNO3E many splendid SIS WLONK lovely 517 SYFLE3 HYMSELF blows himself 518 Very delightful is the vegetation that grows out of them, 519 DONKANDE moistening 524 FOLDE earth 527 ERE before 529 3IRNE3 speeds by 530 WYNDE3 A3A YN returns again 533 WAGE pledge 535 Of his difficult voyage.

32

Then melodies immune to gloom Are heard in woods not dank.

514 f. 102

23

After the season of summer with the soft winds, When Zephyrus whispers wantonly on seeds and herbs, Gorgeous is the growth that covers the ground, When the drenching dew does drop from the leaves, To bide a blissful blush from the bright sun; But then autumn hurries in and hardens it quickly, Warns it before the winter to wax full ripe. It induces with drought the dust to rise From the face of the fields, to fly very high. Wrathful wind from the sky wrestles with the sun; The leaves loosen from the linden trees and alight on terrain, And the grass, previously green, turns completely gray. Then all that had richly risen ripens and rots, And the year yields again its yesterdays many, As winter winds return, since the world requires no sage. While Michaelmas moon Was coming with winter's wage, Gawain then thinks full soon Of the task he must engage.

24

Yet, with Arthur he stays until All Saints' Day, When the king honored the hero with an excellent feast, With much rich revelry of the royal Round Table. Courtiers full courteous and comely ladies Were sighing in sorrow for the sake of that soul, But still they made merry, masking their feelings, And many, joyless for that gentleman, joked and laughed. After the meal, in mourning, he reminds his uncle Of his perilous passage, and plainly he said: "Now, liege lord of my life, I ask leave of you. You know the cost of this case; I care not To tell you the troubles involved, in no way but trifles. I am bound for the blow, briskly tomorrow, To seek that green creature, as God will guide me."

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537 FARE banquet ... FEST festival ... FREKE3 knight's 540 LEDE man 541 NE l>E LATER not the less readily ... NEUENED proclaimed 542 JAPE3 l>ER MADEN told jokes there 543 MELE3 talks 544 SPEKE3 speaks 546 KEPE desire 548 BARELY absolutely 549 GOME knight

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550 f. 102b

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l>enne pe best ofpe bu13 bo3ed togeder, Aywan, and Errik, and oper ful mony, Sir Doddinaual de Sauage, pe Duk of Clarence, Launcelot, and Lyonel, and Lucan pe gode, Sir Boos and Sir Byduer, big men hope, And mony oper menskful, wyth Mador de la Port. Alle pis compayny of court com pe kyng nerre For to counseyl pe kny3t, with care at her hert. pere wat3 much deme doel driuen in pe sale, pat so worthe as Wawan schulde wende on pat emde To dry3e a delful dynt and dele no more wyth bronde. l>e kny3t mad ay god chere, And sayde, "Quat schuld I wonde? Of destines derf and dere, What may mon do bot fonde?" He dowelle3 per al pat day and dresse3 on pe mom, Aske3 erly hys arme3, and alle were pay bro3t. Fyrst a Tule tapit tY3t ouer pe flet, And miche wat3 pe gyld gere pat glent peralofte. l>e stif mon steppe3 peron and pe stel hondele3; Dubbed in a dublet of a dere Tars, And sypen a crafty capados, closed aloft, l>at wyth a bry3t blaunner was bounden wythinne. l>enne set pay pe sabatoun3 vpon pe segge fote3, His lege3 lapped in stel, wyth luflych greue3, Wyth polayne3 piched perto, policed ful clene, Aboute his kne3 knaged wyth knote3 of golde; Queme quyssewes pen, pat coyntlych closed His thik, prawen py3e3, wyth pwonges to tachched, And sypen pe brawden bryne ofbry3t stel rynge3, V mbeweued pat wy3 vpon wlonk stuffe, And wel bornyst brace vpon his hope armes, Wyth gode cowters and gay, and gloue3 of plate, And alle pe godlych gere pat hym gayn schulde pat tyde; Wyth ryche cote-armure, His gold spore3 spend wyth pryde,

550 B03ED came 555 MENSKFUL noble knights 560 DELFUL terrible 563 QUAT why .. . WONDE fear 565 FONDE endure 570 HONDELE3 handles 572 CRAFTY well-designed 574 SEGGE FOTE3 knight's feet 575 LAPPED covered 577 KNAGED fastened

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550 f. 102b

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Then the best ofthe borough bustled together, Ywain, and Eric, and others full many, Sir Dodinal de Sauvage, the Duke of Clarence, Lancelot, and Lionel, and Lucan the good, Sir Bors and Sir Bedivere, big men both, And many other marvelous men, with Mador de la Port. All this company at court came near the king To counsel Gawain, with care in their hearts. There was much secret sorrow suffered in the hall, Since worthy Gawain should go on that mission To abide a bitter blow and strike no more with sword. The knight still made good cheer, And said, "I shall trust the Lord; Through destinies dread and severe, With God, I shall accord." He dwells there all that day and dresses on the morn, Asks early for his arms, and all of them were brought. A silk tapestry from Toulouse was spread on the floor, And great was the gilded gear that glistened upon it. The strong man steps thereon and seizes the steel; He was adorned in a doublet of dear silk from Tharsia, And then a colorful cape, closed on top, Which with ermine bright was bound within. Then they set the sabbatons securely on his feet, Locked his legs in steel, with splendid greaves, With poleyns applied thereto, polished full clean, Nestled around his knees with knots of gold; Then they added special armor, which snugly enclosed His thick, tough thighs, with thongs attached, And then the clinging cuirass of clamped steel rings, Wrapped around that warrior over woven cloth, And well burnished braces on both his arms, With good and gleaming elbow-pieces, and gloves of plate, And all the finest fittings that would favor him far and wide; With heraldic coat richly made, Gold spurs fastened with pride,

578 QUEME QUYSSEWES appropriate plates ... COYNTLYCH fashionably 579 l>RAWEN sinewy 580 BRAWDEN linked ... BRY3T bright 581 WY3 knight ... WLONK magnificent 584 GODLYCH GERE excellent equipment 585 at that time 586 RYCHE royal

35

Gurde wyth a bront ful sure Wyth silk sayn vmbe his syde.

589 f. 103 26

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When he wat3 hasped in armes, his harnays wat3 ryche; l>elest lachet ouer loupe lemed of golde. Al harnayst as he wat3, he herkne3 his masse, Offred and honoured at pe he3e auter. Sypen he come3 to pe kyng and to his cort-fere3, Lache3 lufly his leue at lorde3 and ladye3, And pay hym kyst and conueyed, bikende hym to Kryst. Bi pat wat3 Gryngolet grayth and gurde wyth a sadel l>at glemed ful gayly wyth mony golde frenges, Ayquere naylet ful nwe, for pat note ryched, l>ebrydel barred aboute, wyth brY3t golde bounden; l>e apparayl of pe payttrure, and of pe proude skyrte3, l>e cropore, and pe couertor acorded wyth pe arsoune3, And al wat3, rayled on red, ryche golde nayle3, l>at al glytered and glent as glem of pe sunne. l>enne hentes he pe helme and hastily hit kysses; l>atwat3 stapled stifly, and stoffed wythinne. Hit wat3 hy3e on his hede, hasped bihynde Wyth a lY3tly vrysoun ouer pe auentayle, Enbrawden and bounden wyth pe best gemme3 On brode sylkyn horde, and brydde3 on seme3, As papjaye3 paynted peruyng bitwene, Tortors and trulofe3 entayled so pyk As mony burde peraboute had hen seuen wynter in toune. l>ecercle wat3 more o prys, l>at vmbeclypped bys croun, Of diamaunte3 a deuys, l>at hope were bry3t and broun. Then pay schewed hym pe schelde pat was of schyr goule3, Wyth pe pentangel depaynt of pure golde hwe3. He brayde3 hit by pe bauderyk, aboute pe hals kestes; l>at bisemed pe segge semlyly fayre. And quy pe pentangel apende3 to pat prynce noble I am intent yow to telle, pof tary hyt me schulde. Hit is a syngne pat Salamon set sumquyle

588-89 [He was] girded with a very trustworthy sword/By [a] silk sash around his side. HONOURED celebrated 597 GRAYTH ready 599 NOTE RYCHED business prepared

36

593

And sword with very sharp blade, He was ready for that ride.

589 f. 103 26

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When he was clasped in good armor, his gear was elegant; The littlest latchet on a loop was illumined with gold. All harnessed as he was, he hears his mass, Offered in honor on the high altar. Then he goes to the king and to his companions at court, And lovingly takes his leave of lords and ladies; They kissed him and escorted him, commending him to Christ. By then Gringolet was groomed and girded with a saddle That gloriously gleamed with many gold fringes, Studded very recently for that steed's journey, The bridle barred about, with bright gold bound; The apparel of the breast-plate, of the prized saddle-flaps, The crupper, and the caparison accorded with the saddlebows, And all arrayed on red background were beaming gold nails, So that all glittered and glowed like the gleam of the sun. Then he handles the helmet and hastily kisses it; It was stapled securely, on the inside padded. It stood high on his head, hasped behind With a shiny silk band over the splendid camail, Embroidered and bound with the best gems On the broad silk strip, and with birds on the seams, Such as parrots portrayed between periwinkles, Turtledoves and trueloves adorned as abundantly As if many skilled maidens had worked seven winters in town. Greater in price was the metal band That encircled his crown, With diamonds so grand, That were both bright and brown. Then they showed him the shield that was of sheer gules, Emblazoned with the pentangle of pure gold hues. He pulls it up by the baldric, places it about his neck; It splendidly suited the handsome knight. Now why the pentangle pertains to that noble prince I am intent on telling you, though tarry me it would. It is a sign that Solomon set some time ago

605 HENTES seizes 613 BURDE maidens ... TOUNE at court 617 A DEUYS of (the) best

37

HAD BEN had been [working]

614 IN

f. 103b

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f. 104

28

In bytoknyng of trawpe, bi tytle pat hit habbe3, For hit is a figure pat halde3 fyue poynte3, And vche lyne vmbelappe3 and louke3 in oper, And ayquere hit is eindele3, and Englych hit callen Oueral, as I here, pe endeles knot. Forpy, hit acorde3 to pis knY3t and to his cler arme3, Foray faythful in fyue, and sere fyue sype3, Gawan wat3 for Gode knawen, and as golde pured, Voyded ofvche vylany, wyth vertue3 ennoumed in mote. Forpy, pe pentangel nwe He ber in schelde and cote, As tulk of tale most trwe, And gentylest kny3t of lote. Fyrst, he wat3 funden fautle3 in his fyue wytte3, And efte fayled neuer pe freke in his fyue fyngres, And alle his afyaunce vpon folde wat3 in pe fyue wounde3 l>at Cryst ka3t on pe croys, as pe Crede telle3; And queresoeuer pys mon in melly wat3 stad, His pro po3t wat3 in pat, puf3 alle oper pynge3, l>at alle his forsnes he fong at pe fyue joye3 l>at pe hende HeuenQuene had of hir Chylde. At pis cause, pe knY3t comlyche bade In pe inore half of his schelde hir ymage depaynted, l>at quen he blusched perto, his belde neuer payred. l>e fyft fyue pat I finde pat pe frek vsed Wat3 fraunchyse and fela3schyp forbe al pyng, His clannes and his cortaysye croked were neuer, And pite pat passe3 alle poynte3; pyse pure fyue Were harder happed on pat hapel pen on any oper. Now alle pese fyue sype3 forsope were fetled on pis knY3t, And vch one halched in oper pat non ende bade, And fyched vpon fyue poynte3 pat fayld neuer, Ne samned neuer in no syde, ne sundred nouper, Wythouten ende at any noke aquere fynde, Whereeuer pe gomen bygan or glod to an ende. l>erfore, on his schene schelde schapen wat3 pe knot, Ryally, wyth red golde vpon rede gowle3; l>at is pe pure pentaungel wyth pe peple called

635 MOTE castle 637 BER bore 638 TULK OF TALE man of [his] word 639 LOTE manner 642 FOLDE earth 644 STAD beset 646 FORSNES bravery ... FONG AT would obtain from

38

f. 103b

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f. 104

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In betokening of truth, by the title that it has, For it is a figure fashioned on five good points, And each line overlaps and locks with the other, And everywhere it is endless, and the English call it All over, as I hear, the endless knot. Therefore, it accords with this hero and with his coat of arms, For always faithful in five ways, and five times in each way, Was Gawain recognized before God, and like gold refined, Voided of every villainy, with virtues endowed, at court. Therefore, with pentangle new On shield and coat to sport, He was most loyal and true, A knight of the noblest sort. First, he was found faultless in his five senses, And the fellow never failed in his five fingers, And all his faith in the world was in the five wounds That Christ caught on the cross, as the Creed tells; And wherever this warrior was waging a battle, His earnest intent was, above all other things, To bolster his bravery with the blessed five joys That the gracious Queen of Heaven had from her Child. For this cause did Gawain clearly have On the inner side of his shield her image emblazoned, So that when he glanced thereto, his courage never failed. The fifth five that I find the knight fondly practiced Were generosity and charity unchangingly great, His cleanness and his courtesy, never misguided, And pity that surpasses all virtues; these perfect five Were more tenaciously attached to that mortal than to any other. Now all these five pentads favorably pertained to this knight, And each one united with the other so that none had an end, And fixed upon five points that never failed, Or never settled the same on any side, or severed either, Without an end at any comer, anywhere to be found, Wherever the design started or proceeded to a point. Therefore, on his shiny shield, shaped was the knot, Royally, with red gold upon red gules; It is proclaimed the perfect pentangle by the people

648 COML YCHE appropriately 652 FORBE AL l>YNG beyond all things WERE FETLED truly were bestowed 659 SAMNED came together

39

656 FORSOl>E

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wyth lore. Now gray]:,ed is Gawan gay, And la3t his launce rY3t ]:,ore, And gef hem alle goud day, He wende for euermore.

29

He sperred ]:,ested wyth ]:,espure3 and sprong on his way So stif]:,at ]:,eston-fyr stroke out ]:,erafter. Al ]:,atse3 ]:,atsemly syked in hert, And sayde so]:,ly al same segges til o]:,er, Carande for ]:,at comly: "Bi Kryst, hit is scape l>at ]:,ou, leude, schal be lost, ]:,at art of lyf noble. To fynde bys fere vpon folde, in fayth, is not e]:,e. W arloker to haf wro3t had more wyt bene, And haf dY3t 3onder dere a duk to haue wor]:,ed; A lowande leder of lede3 in londe hym wel seme3, And so had better haf ben ]:,enbritned to no3t, Hadet wyth an aluisch mon for angarde3 pryde. Who knew euer any kyng such counsel to take As kny3te3 in caue loum3 on Crystmasse gomne3?" Wei much wat3 ]:,ewarme water ]:,atwaitered of y3en When ]:,at semly syre so3t fro ]:,owone3 ]:,addaye. He made non abode, Bot WY3tlywent hys way; Mony wylsum way he rode, l>ebok as I herde say.

30

Now ride3 ]:,isrenk ]:,ur3 ]:,eryalme of Logres, Sir Gauan, on Gode3 halue, ]:,a3hym no gomen ]:,o3t. Oft leudle3, alone he lenge3 on ny3te3 l>er he fonde no3t hym byfore ]:,efare ]:,athe lyked. Hade he no fere bot his fole bi frythe3 and doune3, Ne no gome bot God bi gate wyth to karp, Til ]:,athe ne3ed ful noghe into ]:,eNor]:,e Wale3; Alle ]:,eiles of Anglesay on lyft half he halde3, And fare3 ouer ]:,eforde3 by ]:,eforlonde3, Ouer at ]:,eHoly Hede til he hade eft honk

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666 GRAYl>EDprepared 667 And [he) seized his lance right there, 671 STIF vigorously 673 SOJ>LY truly 674 COMLY stately man 676 FERE equal . . . FAYTH truth 678 And that noble knight may have been destined to have become a duke; 679 LOWANDE brilliant 680 And so it would have to have been better than [to be] reduced to nothing,

40

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with lore. Now gallant Gawain must vie, Travel to a distant shore; So he bid them all good-bye, He supposed for evermore.

29

He startled the steed with his spurs and sprang on his way So swiftly that sparks from stones shot out thereafter. All who saw that handsome knight sighed at heart, And persons said surely the same to each other, Caring for that courtier: "By Christ, it is a pity That you, sir, so noble in spirit, shall be lost. To find one so fabulous on earth, indeed, is not easy. To have worked it more warily would have shown more wit, And destined for dukedom that dear man may have been; A marvelous leader of men on land suits him well, So much better than being belittled and lost, Beheaded by an elvish man due to excessive pride. Who ever knew any king to acknowledge such counsel From warriors with cave weapons during Christmas games?" Much was the warm water that welled from eyes When that seemly sire set out from those dwellings that day. Never was he slowed, But swiftly went his way; On dreary roads he rode, As the story-tellers say.

30

Now rapidly he rides through the realm of Britain, Sir Gawain, on God's behalf, though no game did it seem. Often lacking company, he lingers alone at night, Where he did not find before him the festivity that he liked. He had no friend but his horse through forests and hills, And no one to converse with, but God, along the way, Until he drew well enough into Northern Wales; All the isles of Anglesey he hurries by on the left, And fares over the fords by the forelands, Across to the Holy Fountainhead until he found shore again

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687 ABODE delay 689 WYLSUM WAY desolate paths 690 As I heard tell from the book. 691 RENK knight 692 HYM to him ... Jl03T [it] seemed 693 LEUDLE3 companionless 696 GOME being 698 HALDE3 keeps

41

f. 104b

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In pe wyldrenesse of Wyrale. Wonde per bot lyte Pat auper God oper gome wyth goud hert louied; And ay he frayned, as he ferde, at freke3 pat he met If pay bade herde any karp of a KnY3t Grene, In any grounde peraboute of pe Grene Chapel, And al nykked hym wyth 'nay', pat neuer in her lyue Pay se3e neuer no segge pat wat3 of suche hwe3 of grene. Pe kny3t tok gates straunge In mony a honk vnbene; His cher ful oft con chaunge Pat chapel er he my3t sene. Mony klyf he ouerclambe in contraye3 straunge; Fer floten fro his frende3, fremedly he ryde3. At vche warpe oper water per pe wy3e passed, He fonde a foo hym byfore; bot, ferly hit were, And pat so foule and so felle pat fe3t hym byhode. So mony meruayl bi mount per pe mon fynde3, Hit were to tore for to telle of pe tenpe dole. Sumwhyle wyth worme3 he werre3, and wyth wolues als, Sumwhyle wyth wodwos pat woned in pe knarre3, Bope wyth bulle3 and bere3, and bore3 operquyle, And etayne3 pat hym anelede of pe he3e felle. Nade he ben du3ty and dry3e, and Dry3tyn had serued, Douteles he bade ben ded and dreped ful ofte. For werre wrathed hym not so much, pat wynter was wors, When pe colde, cler water fro pe cloude3 schadden, And fres er hit falle my3t to pe fale erpe. Ner slayn wyth pe slete, he sleped in his ymes Mo ny3te3 pen innoghe, in naked rokke3, Peras, claterande fro pe crest, pe colde borne renne3, And henged he3e ouer his hede in hard ysse-ikkles. l>us in peryl, and payne, and plytes ful harde, Bi contray carye3 pis kny3t tyl Krystmasse Euen, alone. Pe kny3t wel pat tyde To Mary made his mone,

702 GOME WYTH GOUD HERT man with good heart 703 And always he inquired, as he went, from men whom he met 704 KARP talk 706 NYKKED answered 707 SEGGE person 709 TOK took 710 On many a gloomy slope; 712 Before he could see that chapel. 714 FLOTEN having strayed

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730

735

In the wilderness of Wirral . Dwelled there but few Whom either God or good men could ever love; And whenever he met mortals, he never missed asking If they had heard any boasting about a big Green Knight, Or of the Green Chapel on his chosen ground, And all said to him 'nay', since never in their lives Had they ever seen any soul who was of such hues of green. Strange roads the knight did range, With perilous paths in between; His mood quite often did change Before that chapel was seen. Many cliffs he climbed over in areas strange; Far removed from his friends, as a foreigner he rides. At every wading through water which the warrior made, He found a foe before him; frightening they were, And so foul and so fierce that fight them he must. So many marvels in the mountains the man finds there, It would be too trying to tell of the tenth part. With wicked dragons he wars, and with wolves also, Sometimes with trolls from treacherous crags, With bulls and bears as well, and boars at other times, And ogres who harass him from the high hills. Had he not been strong and steadfast, and served God, Doubtlessly he would have died, dropped down on the earth. If the warring was nerve-wracking, that winter was worse, When the cold, clear waters scattered from the clouds, And froze before they fell on the faded earth. Nearly slain by the sleet, he slept in his armor More nights than enough, among naked rocks, Where, clattering from the crest, the cold stream runs, And hung high over his head in hard icicles. Thus in peril, and pain, and plights full hard, Many regions Gawain crosses until Christmas Eve, alone . The knight quite often sighed, To Mary made his moan,

715 WARI>E ford ... WY3E knight 720 SUMWHYLE sometimes 721 WONED dwelled 723 ANELEDE pursued 725 DREPED stretched out 726 WERRE WRATHED battling bothered 734 BI CONTRAY CARYE3 through [the] land travels 736 WEL l>AT TYDE clearly at that time

43

Pat ho hym red to ryde And wysse hym to sum wone.

f. 105 740

32

745

750

755

760

Bi a mounte on pemorne meryly he rydes Into a forest ful dep, pat ferly wat3 wylde, Hi3e hille3 on vche a halue, and holtwode3 vnder Ofhore oke3, ful hoge, a hundreth togeder. Pe hasel and peha3porne were haded al samen, Wyth ro3e, raged mosse rayled aywhere, Wyth mony brydde3 vnblype vpon bare twyges, Pat pitosly per piped for pyne of pecolde. l>egome vpon Gryngolet glyde3 hem vnder, Puf3 mony misy and myre, mon al hym one, Carande for his costes, lest he ne keuer schulde To se pe seruy of pat Syre pat on pat self nY3t Of a Burde wat3 borne oure baret to quelle; And perfore, sykyng, he sayde, "I beseche pe, Lorde, And Mary pat is myldest Moder so dere, Of sum herber per he3ly I my3t here masse, Ande py matyne3 tomorne; mekely I ask, And }:>ertoprestly I pray my Pater, and Aue, and Crede." He rode in his prayere, And cryed for his mysdede; He sayned hym in sypes sere, And sayde, "Cros-Kryst me spede!"

PART TWO FROM CASTLE HAUTDESERT TO THE GREEN CHAPEL

33 765

Nade he sayned hymself, segge, bot }:>rye Er he wat3 war in pe wod of a won in a mote, Abof a launde, on a lawe, loken vnder bo3e3 Of mony borelych bole aboute bi pe diches, A castel pe comlokest pat euer kny3t a3te, Pyched on a prayere, a park al aboute, Wyth a pyked palays, pyned ful pik,

738-39 So that she would show him [where] to ride/And would guide him to some abode. 741 FERL Y extremely 744 AL SAMEN all together 748 GOME knight 750 KEUER succeed 752 BURDE Maiden ... BARET cares ... QUELLE quell

44

Calling for her to guide Him to some shelter made of stone.

f. 105

740

32

745

750

755

760

By a mount in the morning the man briskly rides Into a forest full deep, fantastic and wild, With high hills on each side, and heavy woods beneath With bare oaks, very huge, a hundred together. The hazel and the hawthorn were thickly ensnarled, With rough, ragged moss arrayed everywhere, With many birds, not blitheful, upon bare twigs, That piteously piped there in pain from the cold. The gallant knight on Gringolet glides beneath them, Through many quagmires and swamps, a man all by himself, Caring about his circumstances, lest he could not come To see the service of that Sire who on that same knight Had been born from the Virgin to vanquish our woe; And therefore, sighing, he said, "I beseech you, Lord, And Mary who is mildest Mother so dear, For some shelter where solemn mass is sung, And your matins tomorrow morning; meekly I ask, And promptly will I pray my Pater, and Ave, and Creed." He rode during his prayer, And mourned for each misdeed; He blessed himself severally there, And said, "May Christ's cross me speed!"

PART TWO FROM CASTLE HAUTDESERT TO THE GREEN CHAPEL

33 765

Gawain had not given himself God's blessing but thrice When he was aware in the woods of a dwelling within a moat, Above the land, on a hill, locked under boughs Of many sturdy tree trunks surrounding the ditches, A castle the most elegant that a knight could ever own, Placed in a meadow, in the midst of a park, With a spiked palisade, displaying fixed points,

755 HE3L Y solemnly ... MY3T HERE might hear 761 IN SYJ>ESSERE on separate occasions 763 NADE had not ... SAYNED blessed ... SEGGE knight 765 LAUNDE glade 769 PYNED FUL J>IKfixed very closely

45

770

774 f. 105b

780

785

790

795

800

805

34

l>at vmbete3e mony tre mo pen two myle. l>at holde on pat on syde pe hapel auysed, As hit schemered and schon pur3 pe schyre oke3. l>enne hat3 he hendly of his helme, and he3ly he ponke3 Jesus and Sayn Gilyan, pat gentyle ar bope, l>at cortaysly hade hym kydde and his cry herkened. "Now bone hostel," cope pe bume, "I beseche yow 3ette!" l>enne gedere3 he to Gryngolet wyth pe gilt hele3, And he ful chauncely hat3 chosen to pe chef gate, l>at bro3t bremly pe bume to pe bryge ende, in haste. l>e bryge wat3 breme vp brayde; l>e 3ate3 wer stoken faste. l>e walle3 were wel arayed; Hit dut no wynde3 blaste. l>e bume bode on book, pat on blonk houed, Of pe depe double dich pat drof to pe place. l>e walle wod in pe water wonderly depe, Ande eft a ful huge he3t hit haled vpon lofte, Of harde, hewen ston vp to pe table3 Enbaned vnder pe abataylment in pe best lawe; And sypen garyte3 ful gaye gered bitwene, Wyth mony luflych loupe pat louked ful clene. A better barbican pat bume blusched vpon neuer; And innermore he behelde pat halle ful hy3e, Towre telded bytwene, trochet ful pik, Fayre fylyole3 pat fy3ed, and ferlyly long, With coruon coprounes, craftyly sle3e. Chalk-whyt chymnees per ches he inno3e, Vpon bastel roue3, pat blenked ful quyte. So mony pynakle payntet wat3 poudred ayquere, Among pe castel camele3 clambred so pik l>at pared out of papure purely hit semed. l>e fre freke on pe fole hit fayr inughe po3t If he my3t keuer to com pe cloyster wythinne, To herber in pat hostel whyl halyday lested,

770 VMBETE3E surrounded

771 HAl>EL knight

773 HE3L Y solemnly

777 GEDERE3

presses 778 CHAUNCEL Y fortunately ... CHOSEN proceeded 779 BREMLY directly ... BURNE knight 781 BREME VP BRAYDE firmly drawn up 782 The gates were securely locked. 785 l>AT ON BLONK HOUED who remained on [his] horse 786 l>AT DROP that passed 787 WOD advanced ... WONDERLY extremely

46

770

774 f. 105b

780

785

790

795

800

805

34

Entrenched around many trees more than two miles. That stronghold on the one side that soul observed, As it shimmered and shone through splendid, bare oaks. Then he humbly takes off his helmet, and with homage he thanks Jesus and Saint Julian, generous beings both, Who had kindly cared for him and his cry heard. "Now good lodging," said the knight, "I beseech you to grant!" Then he kicks at Gringolet with his gilt heels, And charges forward by chance to the chief road, Which brought this brave battler to the bridge's head, full fast. The raised bridge he then surveyed, The locked gates looming vast. The walls were well arrayed; They feared no storm wind's blast. Still sitting on his horse, the knight hovered on the bank Of the deep double ditch drawn beside the place. The wonderful wall went deep into the water, And then extended on high up toward the sky, With hard, hewn stones up to the cornices Fortified beneath the baUlements in the best fashion; And then very elegant turrets were erected at intervals, With good-looking loopholes that locked together well. A finer fortification that fellow had never gazed upon; And further in he beheld that hall full high, Towers proportionately placed, pinnacled very plentifully, Handsome pinnacles in harmony, pitched high and long, With neatly carved caps, cleverly devised. Chalk-white chimneys challenged description, Resplendent and radiant upon the roofs of the towers. So many painted pinnacles were dispersed everywhere, Clambered so closely among the embrasures of the castle That pared out of paper perfectly it seemed. The honorable knight on his horse thought it nice enough If he could succeed in getting inside the enclosure, To have shelter in that dwelling while the holy day

788 HUGE HE3T great height 792 CLENE perfectly 793 BURNE knight 795 TELDED BYTWENE raised at intervals 796 l>AT FY3ED that matched ... FERLYLY LONG extremely long 797 CORUON carved 798-99 He perceived there many chalk-white chimneys/That glistened very whitely upon [the) roofs of [the) towers. 805 LESTED lasted

47

auinant. He calde, and sone per com A porter pure plesaunt; On pe wal his emd he nome, And haylsed pe knY3t erraunt.

810 35 f. 106

815

820

825

830

835

840

806 worthy message,

"Gode sir," quop Gawan, "wolde3 pou go myn emde To pe he3 lorde of pis hous, herber to craue?" "3e, Peter," quop pe porter, "and purely I trowoe l>at3e be, wy3e, welcum to won quyle yow lyke3." l>en3ede pe wy3e a3ayn swype, And folke frely hym wyth, to fonge pe kny3t. l>ay let doun pe grete dra3t and derely out 3eden, And kneled doun on her knes vpon pe colde erpe To welcum pis ilk wy3, as worpy horn po3t. l>ay 3olden hym pe brode 3ate, 3arked vp wyde, And he hem raysed rekenly, and rod ouer pe brygge. Sere segge3 hym sesed by sadel, quel he ly3t, And sypen stabeled his stede stif men inno3e. KnY3te3 and swyere3 comen doun penne For to bryng pis buume wyth blys into halle. Quen he hef vp his helme, per hi3ed innoghe For to hent hit at his honde, pe heode to seruen; His broode and his blasoun hope pay token. l>enhaylsed he ful heodly pohapele3, vch one, And mony proud moo per presed pat prynce to honour. Aile hasped in his he3 wede to halle pay hym wonnen, l>er fayre fyre vpoo flet fersly brenned. l>ennepe lorde of pe lede loute3 fro his chambre For to mete wyth menske pe moo on pe flor. He sayde, "3e ar welcum to welde, as yow lyke3; l>athere is al is yowre aweo, to haue at yowre wylle and welde." "Graunt mercy!" quop Gawayn; "l>er Kryst hit yow foC3elde." As freke3 pat semed fayn, Ayper oper in arme3 con felde. 808 PURE PLESAUNT perfectly agreeable

809 From the wall he received his

812 HERBER TO CRAUE to request shelter

814 YOW LYKE3 [it) pleases you

815 Then the man came back quickly,

816 FRELY willingly

817 DERELY OUT 3EDEN

went out eagerly 819 ILK WY3 same man . .. WORJ>YHOM l>03T [it) seemed proper to them 820 3OLDEN yielded ...

3ARKED opened

822 SERE several ...

48

LY3T dismounted

reached its height. He called, and soon there came A porter, a pure delight; He knew not Gawain by name, But he hailed the errant knight.

810 35 f. 106

815

820

825

830

835

840

"Good sir," said Gawain, "would you go on my errand To the high lord of this house, to herald my coming?" "Yes, Peter," said the porter, "and I positively believe You will be welcome, sir, to stay while you wish." Then that praiseworthy porter promptly returned, And friendly folk with him, to favor the knight. They let down the great drawbridge and dutifully went out, And kneeled down on their knees near noble Gawain To welcome this weary knight, willingly with warmth. They beckoned him to the broad gates, not barring his entrance, And he reverently bid them rise, and rode over the drawbridge. Servants seized him with the saddle, as he slid down, And then several strong men stabled his steed. Knights and squires swiftly surrounded Gawain To bring this brave being blissfully into the hall. When he raised his helmet, many readily hurried there To remove it from his hand, to serve the handsome man; His sword and his shield they seized also. Then courteously he greeted those grand souls, each one, And many proud men pressed there to honor that prince. Into the hall they escorted him, all enclosed in his armor, Where a flaring fire burned fiercely in the room. Then the lord of the land leaves his chamber To meet with good manners the man on the floor. He said, "You are welcome to stay, as you wish; What is here is all your own, to have at your will and command." "Great thanks!" said Gawain; "May Christ reward this band." Like men with much to gain, They shook each other's hand.

824 COMEN DOUN l>ENNE came down then 825 BUURNE man 827 HENDE noble knight 829 HAl>ELE3 nobles 831 HE3 WEDE splendid armor 832 FAYRE excellent 833 LOUTE3 descends 834 MENSKE courtesy 835 WELDE enjoy ... YOW L YKE3 [it] pleases you 838 GRAUNT MERCY many thanks 839 Then may Christ reward you for it. 840 SEMED FAYN seemed happy 841 [They] did clasp each other in arms.

49

36

845

849 f. 106b

855

860

865

870

875

37

Gawayn glY3t on pe gome pat godly hym gret, And pu3t hit a bolde bume pat pe buf3 a3te, A hoge hapel for pe none3, and of hyghe eldee. Brode, bry3t wat3 his berde, and al beuer-hwed; Stume, stif on pe stryppe on stalworth schonke3, Felle face as pe fyre, and fre of hys speche, And wel hym semed, forsope, as pe segge pu3t, To lede a lortschyp in lee of leude3 ful gode. l>elorde hym charred to a chambre and clesly cumaunde3 To delyuer hym a leude hym lo3ly to serue; And }>erewere boun at his bode bume3 inno3e, l>atbro3t hym to a bry3t boure, per beddyng wat3 noble, Of cortynes of clene sylk wyth cler golde hemme3, And couertore3 ful curious wyth comlych pane3 Ofbry3t blauinner aboue, enbrawded bisyde3, Rudele3 rennande on rope3 red golde rynge3, Tapyte3 ty3t to pe wo3e, of Tuly and Tars, And vnder fete, on pe flet, of fol3ande sute. l>er he wat3 dispoyled, wyth speche3 of myerpe, l>eburn of his bruny and of his bry3t wede3. Ryche robes ful rad renkke3 hem bro3ten, For to charge, and to chaunge, and chose of the best. Sone as he on bent, and happed perinne, l>at sete on hyn semly, wyth saylande skyrte3, l>ever by his uisage verayly hit semed Welne3 to vche hapel, alle on hwes Lowande and lufly, alle his lymme3 vnder, l>at a comloker knY3t neuer Kryst made, hempo3t. Whepen in worlde he were, Hit semed as he mY3t Be prynce wythouten pere In felde per felle men fy3t. A cheyer byfore pe chemne, per charcole brenned, Wat3 grayped for Sir Gawan graypely wyth clope3, Whyssynes vpon queldepoyntes pa koynt wer hope; And penne a mere mantyle wat3 on pat mon cast,

843 A3TE owned 848 FORSOl>E indeed . . . SEGGE l>U3T knight thought 849 LEDE maintain ... LEE castle ... LEUDE3 subjects 850 CLESL Y discreetly 852 BODE bidding ... BURNE3 servants 857 RENNANDE hanging 858 TY3T TO l>E WO3E arrayed on the walls 859 OF FOL3ANDE SUTE [carpets] of matching material

50

36

845

849 f. 106b

855

860

865

870

875

37

Gawain gazed at the knight who had graciously greeted him, Considering him a bold being who commanded the castle, A huge man for that matter, and of mature age. Broad and bright was his beard, and all beaver-hued; Stem, strong in his stride on stalwart shanks, With a face as fierce as fire, and free in his speech, It certainly suited him well, as Gawain surmised, To have lordship in that land over earthlings so good. The chief conducted him to a chamber and clearly commands A servant to be assigned to him to serve him humbly; And there were ready for that reason retainers enough, Who brought him to a bright room, with bedding so splendid, With curtains of clean silk with clear gold hems, And exquisite coverlets with comely linings Of bright ermine upon them, embroidered along the sides, Window curtains on cords with red gold rings, Tapestries of silk from Toulouse and Tharsian silk on walls, And under foot, on the floor, carpets fashioned the same. The man was then dismantled, amid mirthful talk, Of his clinging cuirass, and of his colorful clothes. Retainers readily brought him bright, royal robes, To check, and to change, and to choose from the best. As soon as he seized one, and slipped it on, One that sat on him suitably, with spreading skirts, Verily it seemed like spring in his visage, Almost to each man, all in hues Looking so lustrous, all his limbs beneath, So that a more comely knight Christ never made, so right. He appeared there void of fear, And seemed as if he might Be prince without a peer In the field where fierce men fight. A chair by the chimney comer, where charcoal burned, Was prepared for proud Gawain promptly with fabrics, Cushions upon quilted coverlets, both cunningly designed; And then a marvelous mantle on that man was placed,

860 DISPOYLED stripped 861 BURN knight . . . BRUNY cuirass 862 RAD RENKKE3 swiftly servants 863 CHARGE wear 864 HAPPED was clothed 868 LOWANDE AND LUFL Y glowing and beautiful 870 [it] seemed to them 871 From whatever place in [the] world he was, 877 J>AKOYNT WER BOJ>Ethat were both cunningly designed

51

Of a broun bleeaunt, enbrauded ful ryche, And fayre furred wythinne wyth felle3 of pe best, Aile of ermyn in erde, his bode of pe same; And he sete in pat settel semlych ryche, And achaufed hym cefly, and penne his cher mended. Sone wat3 telded vp a tapit on treste3 ful fayre, Clad wyth a clene elope pat cler quyt schewed, Sanap, and salure, and syluerin spone3. l>eWY3ewesche, at his wylle, and went to his mete. Segge3 hym serued semly inno3e, Wyth sere sewes and sete, sesounde of pe best, Double-felde, as hit falle3, and fele kyn fische3, Summe baken in bred, summe brad on pe glede3, Summe sopen, summe in sewe, sauered wyth spyces, And ay sawes so sle3e, pat pe segge lyked. l>e freke calde hit a fest ful frely and ofte, Ful hendely, quen alle pe hapeles rehayted hym at one3, as hende. "l>is penaunce now 3e take, And eft hit schal amende." l>at mon much merpe con make, For wyn in his hed pat wende.

880

885 f. 107

890

895

900

38

905

910

915

l>enne wat3 spyed and spured, vpon spare wyse, Bi preue poynte3 of pat prynce, put to hymseluen l>at he beknew cortaysly of pe court pat he were, l>at apel Arthure, pe hende, halde3 hym one, l>at is pe ryche, ryal kyng of pe Rounde Table; And hit wat3 Wawen hymself pat in pat won sytte3, Comen to pat Krystmasse, as case hym pen lymped. When pe lorde hade terned pat he pe leude hade, Loude la3ed he perat, so lef hit hym po3t, And alle pe men in pat mote maden much joye To apere in his presense prestly pat tyme, l>at alle prys, and prowes, and pured pewes Apendes to hys persoun, and praysed is euer; Byfore alle men vpon molde his mensk is pe most. Vch segge ful softly sayde to his fere:

880 FURRED lined ... FELLE3 pelts 882 SEMLYCH RYCHE suitably splendid 883 And warmed himself promptly, and then his mood improved. 884 TELDED raised ... FAYRE excellent 886 SANAP protective cloth 887 WY3E knight 889 SERE varied . . . SETE wholesome 890 HIT FALLE3 it is fitting ... FELE many 892 SAUERED flavored

52

Of a brown silk material, embroidered magnificently, And fairly fashioned within with furs of the best, All of ermine from the area, his hood set the same; And he sat in that settee, settled richly, That chivalrous champion, charged with warmth. Soon a small top was set up on trestles full strong, Covered with a clean cloth that appeared clear white, With saltcellar on the strip, and spoons of silver. Gawain washed, at his will, and went to his meal. Servants then served him suitably enough, With several tasty stews, seasoned deliciously, Double portions, as is proper, and prime kinds of fishes, Some baked in bread, some broiled on the coals, Some boiled, some in broth, brushed with fine spices, And with sauce skillfully made, savored by the knight. That fellow called it a feast full freely and often, So happily, when all those humans hovered round him at once, with care. "This poor fare now you take, But after more to share." That man much mirth did make, Due to wine of vintage rare.

880

885 f. 107

890

895

900

38

905

910

915

Then was Gawain observed and questioned, in reserved manner, With privy points about that prince, put to him clearly So that he conversed courteously about the court he represented, Which great Arthur, the gracious one, commands by himself, He who is the rich, royal king of the Round Table; And it was Gawain himself who sits in that castle, Having come on that Christmas, in accordance with destiny. When the lord had learned what fellow he had, He laughed loudly at that, so delightful did it seem, And all the men in that mansion made merry, indeed, To appear in his presence promptly at that time, Since all value, and valor, and virtues refined Pertain to his person, and praised is he always; Before all courtiers on the globe his courtesy is the greatest. Each soul full softly said to his friend:

893 A Y always ... SEGGE man 894 FREKE knight 895 FUL HENDEL Y indeed politely .. . REHAYTED entertained 896 like [a] gentleman 898 And afterwards it shall be improved. 900 Due to [the] wine that went to his head. 904 Al>ELnoble 906 WON dwelling 907 CASE fate ...

LYMPED had befallen 908 LEUDE knight 910 MOTE castle 914 MOLDE earth

53

920

f. 107b

926 39 930

935

940

945

950

"Now schal we semlych se sle3te3 of pewe3, And pe teccheles termes of talkyng noble; Wich spede is in speche vnspurd may we leme, Syn we haf fonged pat fyne fader of nurture. God hat3 geuen vus his grace godly forsope, l>at such a gest as Gawan graunte3 vus to haue When bume3, blype of his burpe, schal sitte and synge. In menyng of manere3 mere l>isbume now schal vus bryng; I hope pat may hym here Schal leme of luf-talkyng." Bi pat pe diner wat3 done and pe dere vp, Hit wat3 ne3 at pe niy3t ne3ed pe tyme. Chaplayne3 to pe chapeles chosen pe gate, Rungen ful rychely, ry3t as pay schulden, To pe hersum euensong of pe hy3e tyde. l>elorde loutes perto, and the lady als; Into a cumly closet coyntly ho entre3. Gawan glyde3 ful gay and gos peder sone. l>elorde !aches hym by pe lappe and lede3 hym to sytte, And couply hym knowe3, and calle3 hym his nome, And sayde he wat3 pe welcomest WY3eof pe worlde; And he hym ponkked proly, and ayper hatched oper, And seten soberly samen pe seruise quyle. l>enne lyst pe lady to loke on pe kny3t; l>enne com ho of hir closet wyth mony cler burde3. Ho wat3 pe fayrest in felle, of flesche, and of lyre, And of compas, and colour, and costes, of alle oper, And wener pen Wenore, as pe wy3e po3t. He ches puf3 pe chaunsel to cheryche pat hende. Anoper lady hir lad bi pe lyft honde, l>atwat3 alder pen ho, an auncian, hit semed, And he3ly honowred wyth hapele3 aboute. Bot, vnlyke on to loke po ladyes were, For if pe 3onge wat3 3ep, 3ol3e wat3 pat oper. Riche red on pat on rayled ayquere;

918 We may learn without inquiring what power [there] is in speech, 919 PONGED received 924 MERE noble 926-27 I believe those who may hear him/Shall learn about [the] conversation of love. 929 NE3ED reached 930 GATE way 931 Ringing [bells] very vigorously, just as they should, 933 LOUTES goes 934 COYNTLY gracefully 937 KNOWE3 regards

54

920

f. 107b 926

39 930

935

940

945

950

"Now we shall suitably perceive the strategies of chivalry, And the flawless phrases of fair conversation; We may listen and learn from eloquent talking, Since we have found that fine father of nurture. God has given us his good grace, indeed, He who grants us such a guest as the gallant Gawain When beings, blissful at Christ's birth, shall sit and sing. Clear meaning of manners dear This knight to us shall bring; I know each mortal may hear How speeches of love do spring." When dinner was done and the dear man had risen, It was nearly nighttime in that neighborly hall. Chaplains to the chapels chose the right way, Ringing bells repeatedly in rhythm as they went, For the sacred evensong of that holy occasion. The lord legs it there, and the lady also; Into an elegant pew proudly she enters. Gawain glides gallantly and goes there soon. The lord seizes him by the sleeve and leads him to a seat, And cares for him kindly, and calls him by name, And said he was the most welcome man in the world; And Gawain thanked him thoroughly, and then they embraced, And they sat together seriously while the service lasted. When the lady longed to look at the knight, She proceeded from her pew with many pretty maidens. She was the fairest in skin, in stature, and in face, And in form, and color, with captivating features, And more gorgeous than Guenevere, concluded Gawain. To cherish that champion, through the chancel she passed. Another lady did lead her by the left hand, Much older than she, an ancient one, it seemed, And held highly in honor by humans round about. But, looking at those ladies revealed little likeness, For if the young wife was winsome, withered was the other. Rich red on the one face rose there in splendor;

943 FLESCHE body 944 COSTES, OF ALLE OJ>ERfeatures, among all others 945 WENER more lovely ... AS J>EWY3E 1>03T as the knight thought 946 CHERYCHE greet ... HENDE noble knight 950 VNLYKE ON TO LOKE different to look upon 951 3EP vibrant 952 Rich red on the one adorned [the face] everywhere;

55

Rugh, ronkled cheke3 )>ato)>eron rolled. Kerchofes of )>aton, wyth mony cler perle3, Hir brest and hir brY3t prote bare displayed, Schon schyrer pen snawe pat schede3 on hille3. l>at oper wyth a gorger wat3 gered ouer pe swyre, Chymbled ouer hir blake chyn wyth mylk-quyte vayles; Hir frount folden in sylk, enfoubled ayquere, Toret and treleted wyth tryfle3 aboute, l>at no3t wat3 bare of pat burde bot )>eblake bro3es, l>etweyne y3en and )>enase, )>enaked lyppe3, And pose were soure to se, and sellyly blered. A mensk lady on molde mon may hir calle, for Gode. Hir body wat3 schort and pik, Hir buttoke3 bay and brode; More lykkerwys on to lyk Wat3 pat scho bade on lode.

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When Gawayn gly3t on pat gay pat graciously loked, Wyth leue la3t of pe lorde, he went hem a3aynes. l>e alder he haylses, heldande ful lowe; l>eloueloker he lappe3 a lyttel in arme3, He kysses hir comlyly, and kny3tly he mele3. l>ay kallen hym of aquoyntaunce, and he hit quyk aske3 To be her seruaunt sothly, if hemself lyked. l>ay tan hym bytwene hem, wyth talkyng hym leden To chambre, to chemne, and chefly pay asken Spyce3, pat vnsparely men speded horn to bryng, And )>ewynnelych wyne )>erwyth vche tyme. l>elorde luflych aloft lepe3 ful ofte, Mynned merthe to be made vpon mony sy)>e3, Hent he3ly of his bode, and on a spere henged, And wayned horn to wynne )>eworchip )>erof, l>at most myr)>emy3t meue pat Crystenmas whyle; "And I schal fonde, bi my fayth, to fylter wyth )>ebest, Er me wont pe wede3, wyth help of my frende3." l>us, wyth la3ande lote3, pe lorde hit tayt make3, For to glade Sir Gawayn wyth gomne3 in halle

955 BARE clearly 958 BLAKE swarthy 959 FOLDEN was wrapped . . . ENFOUBLED AYQUERE veiled everywhere 961 NO3T nothing ... BURDE woman 963 SELLYLY extremely 967 BAY AND BRODE round and broad 968-69 More delightful to be pleased with/Was whom she had in tow.

56

Rough, wrinkled cheeks rolled down on the other. Kerchiefs on the one, with many clear pearls, Beautifully displayed her breast and bright throat, Shining sheerer than snow that sheds on hills. That other with a gorget was geared over the neck, Fastened over her chapped chin with milk-white veils; Her forehead was fashioned in silk, fixed firmly there, Edged and interlaced with trefoils round about, So that bared on that body were only black eyebrows, The two eyes and the nose, the naked lips, And those were sour to see, and shockingly prominent. An honored lady on earth one may call her, before God. Her body was short and thick, Her buttocks broad and odd; The other's gait was quick, As they together trod.

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When Gawain glanced at the wife who graciously gazed back, With leave from the lord, he lightly stepped towards them. The older he hails, bowing in honor; The fairer one he favors with a friendly embrace, He kisses her with decorum, and courteously he speaks. They call on him for companionship, and he quickly asks them To be their servant surely, if that suited them. They take him between them, with talking do lead him To a chamber's chimney corner, and clearly then order Spiced cakes, that unsparingly men speeded to bring them, And the most winning wine forthwith each time. The lithesome lord leaps aloft full often, Urged mirth to be made on many occasions, Removed his hood hastily, and hung it on a spear, And exhorted them to hold the honor of having it, So that great merriment might move at Christmas time; "And I shall be firm, by my faith, in confronting the best, Before I am deprived of apparel, with prodding from friends." Thus the lord makes it lively, with laughing and jests, To gladden Sir Gawain with games in the hall

970 GAY lovely lady 971 LEUE LA3T leave obtained 973 The lovelier one he embraces a little in [his] arms, 974 COMLYLY properly 976 SOTHLY true 978 CHEFL Y promptly 980 WYNNEL YCH fine 981 LUFL YCH eagerly 983 HE3L Y flamboyantly 984 WYNNE gain 986 FONDE endeavor ... FYLTER contend 988 LA3ANDE LOTE3 cheerful jests

57

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pat ny3t, Til pat hit wat3 tyme Pe kyng comaundet ly3t. Sir Gawen his leue con nyme, And to his bed hym di3t. 41

f. 108b 1000

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On pe mome as vch mon myne3 pat tyny, Pat DrY3tyn for oure destyne to de3e wat3 borne, Wele waxe3 in vche a won in worlde for his sake. So did hit pere on pat day pur3 dayntes mony, Bope at mes and at mele, messes ful quaynt. Derf men vpon dece drest of pebest. Pe olde, auncian wyfhe3est ho sytte3; Pe lorde lufly her by lent, as I trowe. Gawan and pe gay hurtle togeder pay seten, Euen inmydde3, as pe messe metely come, And sypen pur3 al pe sale, as hem best semed. Bi vche grome, at his degre, graypely wat3 serued, Per wat3 mete, per wat3 myrpe, per wat3 much joye, Pat for to telle perof hit me tene were, And to poynte hit, 3et I pyned me parauenture. Bot 3et, I wot pat Wawen and pe wale hurtle Such comfort of her compaynye ca3ten togeder, l>ur3 her dere dalyaunce of her deme worde3, Wyth clene, cortays carp, closed fro fylpe; And hor play wat3 passande vche prynce gomen, in vayres. Trumpe3 and nakerys, Much pypyng per repayres; Vche mon tented hys, And pay two tented payres. Much dut wat3 per dryuen pat day and pat oper, And pe pryd as pro pronge in perafter. Pe joye of Sayn Jone3 day wat3 gentyle to here, And wat3 pe last of pelayk, leude3 per po3ten. Per wer gestes to go vpon pe gray mome;

993-94 Sir Gawain did take his leave,/And betook himself to his bed.

996 DESTYNE salvation

... BORNE born 997 WON dwelling 999 Both at lunch and at dinner, very special dishes. 1000 OF l>E BEST in the best manner 1001 HE3EST HO SYTTE3 sits in the highest place 1003 SETEN sat 1004-S Directly in the middle, where the serving appropriately began,/And then [continued] through all the hall, as [it] seemed best to them.

58

that night, Until it was the hour The king commanded light. Sir Gawain went to his bower Till the new sun's rising bright.

990

995

41

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On the mom when each man remembers that tiny Child, That Saviour who was destined to die for our salvation, Joy awakens everywhere in the world for his sake. So did it there on that day with dainties many, At the minor meal and the main one, a marvelous feast. Royal men were arranged by rank on the dais. The old, venerable lady was revered as the highest, And the lord sat willingly at her side, I believe. Gawain and the glamorous lady were grouped together, Where the serving started from that station in the middle, And spread from seat to seat, surely in the best way. When those regal ones, by rank, were royally served, There was meat, there was mirth, there was much joy, So that to tell of it in detail would be terribly difficult, And hard to write down, though I exerted myself willingly. Yet, I believe that Gawain and the elegant lady Together seized similar solace from their association, Through the dear dalliance of their intimate discourse, With clean, courteous phrases, free from filth; And their pleasure surpassed every prince's revelry, for sure. Each trumpet and kettledrum Thrive with piping pure; No one there was glum, But those two felt joy's lure. Divine mirth bedazzled them that day and the next, And the third just as readily rushed in thereafter. The rejoicing on Saint John's day was jolly to hear, The last of lively feasting, men and ladies knew. There were guests to go upon the gray morn;

1006 GROME man ...

GRAYl>ELY properly

1009 POYNTE write ...

PARAUENTURE

perhaps 1013 CARP speech 1014 PLAY enjoyment ... GOMEN pleasure 1015 in truth 1017 REPAYRES thrive 1018-19 Each man minded his [business],/And they minded theirs. 1020 DUT mirth ... DRYUEN created ment ... LEUDE3 people

1022 GENTYLE delightful

59

1023 LAYK entertain-

1025

Forpy, wonderly pay woke, and pe wyn dronken, Daunsed ful dre3ly wyth dere carole3. At pe last, when hit wat3 late, pay lachen her leue, Vch on to wende on his way, pat wat3 wy3e stronge. Gawan gefhym god day; pe god-mon hym lachche3, Ledes hym to his awen chambre, pe hynne bysyde, And pere he dra3e3 hym on dry3e, and derely hym ponkke3 Of pe wynne worschip and he hym wayued bade, As to honour his hous on pat hY3e tyde, And enbelyse his buf3 wyth his bele chere. "lwysse, sir, quyl I leue, me worpe3 pe better l>at Gawayn hat3 hen my gest at Godde3 awen fest." "Grant merci, sir," quop Gawayn. "In god fayth, hit is yowre3; Al pe honour is your awen. l>ehe3e Kyng yow 3elde; And I am, wy3e, at your wylle, to worch youre best, As I am halden perto, in hy3e and in lo3e, bi ri3t." l>elorde fast can hym payne To holde lenger pe kny3t; To hym answre3 Gawayn Bi non way pat he mY3t.

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Then frayned pe freke ful fayre at himseluen Quat derue dede had hym dryuen, at pat dere tyme, So kenly fro pe kynge3 kourt, to kayre al his one, Er pe halidaye3 holly were halet out of toun. "Forsope, sir," quop pe segge, "3e sayn bot pe trawpe. A he3e ernde and a hasty me hade fro powone3, For I am sumned myselfe to sech to a place; I wot in worlde whederwarde to wende hit to fynde. I nolde, bot if I hit negh my3t on Nw 3eres morne, For alle pe londe inwyth Logres, so me oure Lorde help! Forpy, sir, pis enquest I require yow here, l>at 3e me telle, wyth trawpe, if euer 3e tale herde Of pe Grene Chapel, quere hit on grounde stonde3, And of pe kny3t pat hit kepes, of colour of grene. l>erwat3 stabled bi statut a steuen vus bytwene To mete pat mon at pat mere, 3if I my3t last;

1026 DRE3L Y continuously 1028 WY3E person 1030 AWEN own 1031 DEREL Y sincerely 1032 HYM WAYUED HADE had presented himself 1034 BUR3 castle ... BELE CHERE fine appearance 1035 IWYSSE indeed 1037 GRANT MERCI many thanks 1038 3ELDE may reward 1039 And I am, sir, at your will, to do your bidding,

60

1025

Therefore, they wondrously stayed awake and wine did drink, And danced with endurance to the dearest of carols. At last, when it was late, their leave they take, Each one who was strong his way to pursue. Gawain bid him good-bye; the good man seizes him, Leads him to his splendid chamber, the servant alongside, And there he delays him at length, and lovingly thanks him For the high honor when he had entered his abode, To enrich his household at that holy time, And enhance his hall with behavior so fine. "Believe me, sir, while I live, it will be better for me Because Gawain has been my guest at God's own feast." "Great thanks, sir," said Gawain. "In good faith, it is yours; All the honor is your own. May the high King bless you; And I will do what you desire, indeed, without delay, Since I am beholden to you, in matters high and low, by right." The lord then took great pain To detain the doughty knight; To him responds Gawain There was no way that he might.

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Then the lord of that land longed to know from him What dreaded deed had driven him, at that dear time, So gallantly from the king's court, to gallop all by himself, Before the holy days had wholly ended on earth. "Surely, sir," said the chevalier, "you speak but the truth. A terribly urgent task took me from those dwellings, For I myself am summoned to seek a place; I must learn where to wend in this world to find it. lfl might draw near it on New Year's morn, I would not wish For all the land in lovely Britain, so may our Lord help me! So to accomplish my quest, I question you here, So that you tell me, with truth, if you ever heard talk Of the Chapel of Green, that church upon land, And of its keeper, that creature, with the color of green. There was established by statute an appointment between us To meet that man at that landmark, if I might live;

1042 The lord did vehemently trouble himself 1046 Then the lord very courteously inquired from him 1047 DERUE bold 1048 KAYRE journey 1049 HALET OUT OF TOUN passed away from men 1051 HE3E important 1056 Therefore, sir, this question I ask of you here, 1058 QUERE HIT where it 1059 l>ATHIT KEPES who maintains it

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And of J,at ilk Nw 3ere bot neked now wonte3, And I wolde loke on J,at lede, if God me let wolde, Gladloker, bi Godde3 Sun, J,en and god welde. ForJ,i, iwysse, bi 3owre wylle, wende me bihoues; N af I now to busy bot bare J,re daye3, And me als fayn to falle feye as fayly of myyn ernde." Penne, la3ande, quoJ, J,e lorde, "Now leng J,e byhoues, For I schal teche yow to J,a terme bi J,e tyme3 ende; Pe Grene Chapayle vpon grounde greue yow no more. Bot, 3e schal be in yowre bed, burne, at J,yn ese, Quyle forth-daye3, and ferk on J,e fyrst of J,e 3ere, And cum to J,at merk at mydmorn to make quat yow like3 in spenne. Dowelle3 whyle New 3eres Daye, And rys, and rayke3 J,enne. Mon schal yow sette in waye; Hit is not two myle henne." Penne wat3 Gawan ful glad, and gomenly he la3ed. "Now I J,onk yow J,ryuandely J,ur3 alle oJ,er J,ynge. Now acheued is my chaunce, I schal, at your wylle, Dowelle and elle3 do quat 3e demen." Penne sesed hym J,e syre and set hym bysyde, Let J,e ladie3 be fette to lyke hem J,e better. Per wat3 seme solace by hemself stille; Pe lord let for luf lote3 so myry, As wy3 J,at wolde of his wyte, ne wyst quat he my3t. Penne he carped to J,e kny3t, criande loude, "3e han demed to do J,e dede J,at I bidde. Wyl 3e halde J,is hes here at J,ys one3?" "3e, sir, forsoJ,e," sayd J,e segge trwe; "Whyl I byde in yowre bor3e, be bayn to 3owe hest." "For 3e haf trauayled," quoJ, J,e tulk, "towen fro ferre, And syJ,en waked me wyth, 3e arn not wel waryst, NauJ,er of sostnaunce ne of slepe, soJ,ly I knowe. 3e schal lenge in your lofte, and ly3e in your ese

1062 And but little time is wanting now to that same New Year, 1063 LEDE man 1065-66 Therefore, certainly, with your permission, [it] behooves me to go;/1 have now but merely three days to occupy [myself], I 067 AND ME ALS FAYN and [it] would be just as well for me 1069 BI l>ETYME3 ENDE by the end of [that] time 1071 BURNE sir 1072 QUYLE FORTHDAYE3 until late in the day 1073 TO MAKE QUAT YOW LIKE3 to do what pleases you 1074 in [the] field

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44 1080

1085

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Only a little time lasts to the lively New Year, And I would look on that wild one, if God would let me, More gladly, by God's Son, than possess any goods. I will go on my way, at your will, I would hope; Hardly three days do I have to wholeheartedly look, And I would desire to fall dead before failing in my deed." Then, laughing, the lord said, "Now linger you must, For I shall guide you to that goal, to that garish foe; The Green Chapel upon ground should grieve you no more. Now, you shall be in your bed, bold man, at your ease, In fitting fashion, and fly on the first of the year, And come to that mark by midmorn, and to that master yield. Stay until New Year's Day, And rise when bells have pealed. A guide shall show the way, Not two miles to that field." Gawain was very glad then, and gleefully he laughed. "Now I thank you thoroughly above all other things. Since my quest will be accomplished, as you clearly said, I shall dwell here and do whatever you deem." Then the sire seized him and sat beside him, And let the ladies be summoned to allow for more pleasure. There was sweet solace in the stillness surrounding them, As the lord joked merrily, uttering many jests, Like a man out of his mind to maintain a happy mood. Then he called to Gawain, proclaiming aloud, "You have decided to do the deed that I ask. Will you hold to this behest here at this time?" "Yes, sir, surely," said the true knight; "While I reside in your mansion , I shall always obey you." "Because you have travailed," said the host, "traveled from far, And then remained awake with me, you are not well recovered, Neither with sustenance nor with sleep, I certainly know. You shall linger in your loft, and lie at your ease

1076 AND RA YKE3 l>ENNE and depart then

1078 HENNE from here

1084 TO LYKE HEM l>E BEITER to please them the better

1082 ELLE3 also

108S BY HEMSELF STILLE [in

being] quietly by themselves 1086 The lord uttered for [his) sake jests so merry, 1087 l>AT WOLDE who would [go] ... NE WYST QUAT HE MY3T not knowing what he might [do] 1092 BE BAYN TO 30WE HEST [I) promise to be obedient to you

63

Tomom quyle pe messequyle, and to mete wende, When 3e wyl, wyth my wyf, pat wyth yow schal sitte, And comfort yow wyth compayny til I to cort tome. 3e lende, And I schal erly ryse; On huntyng wyl I wende." Gauayn grante3 alle pyse, Hym heldande as pehende.

1100

1105 45

1110 f. 110

1115

1120

1125 46

1130

"3et firre," quop pefreke, "a forwarde we make. Quatsoeuer I wynne in pewod hit worpe3 to youre3, And quat chek so 3e acheue chaunge me perfome. Swete, swap we so, sware wyth trawpe, Queper, leude, so lymp, lere oper better." "Bi God," quop Gawayn pe gode, "I grant pertylle, And pat yow lyst for to layke, lef hit me pynkes." "Who brynge3 vus pis beuerage, pis bargayn is maked." So sayde pe lorde of pat lede. l>ay la3ed, vch one; l>ay dronken, and daylyeden, and dalten vnty3tel, l>ise lorde3 and ladye3, quyle pat hem lyked, And sypen wyth frenkysch fare and fele fayre lote3, l>ay stoden, and sterned, and stylly speken, Kysten ful comlyly, and ka3ten her leue. Wyth mony leude, ful lY3t, and lemande torches, V che bume to his bed wat3 bro3t at pelaste, ful softe. To bed, 3et, er pay 3ede, Recorded couenaunte3 ofte. l>e olde lorde of pat leude Cowpe wel halde layk alofte.

F ul erly, bifore pe day, pe folk vp rysen. Gestes pat go wolde hor grome3 pay calden, And pay busken vp bilyue blonkke3 to sadel, Tyffen he takles, trussen her males. Richen hem pe rychest to ryde alle arayde, Lepen vp lY3tly, lachen her brydeles, V che wy3e on his way per hym wel lyked.

1097 TOMORN QUYLE tomorrow morning until 1102 WENDE go

1103-4 Gawain agrees to

all these things,/Bowing to him like a gentleman. 1106 WORJ>E3 will become 1107 And whatever success you achieve exchange with me therefore. 1112 WHO BRYNGE3 VUS [If] someone will bring us 1116 FRENKYSCH FARE courtly behavior 1117 STYLLY quietly

64

Until morn, up to mass time, and to your meal go, When you wish, with my wife, who with you will sit, And comfort you with company till I to court return. You stay, And I shall early rise, To hunt without delay." Gawain considers this wise, And his thanks he does display.

1100

1105 45

1110 f. 110

1115

1120

1125 46

1130

"Still more," said the master, "a covenant we shall make. Whatever I win in the woods will pass on to you, And what gainings you garner you must give to me. Thus shall we swap, sweet knight, having sworn with honor, Whichever, sir, will occur, the worse or the better." "By God," said the good Gawain, "I agree to it, And if you desire to sport, it seems splendid to me." "On the bringing of this beverage, this bargain is sealed." So said the lord of that land. They laughed, each one; They drank, and did dally, and delivered light talk, These lords and ladies, as long as it pleased them, And then with friendly farewell and many fine words, They stood up, yet stayed, and spoke still more, Kissed full courteously, and calmly took leave. With many servants, so swift, and shining torches, Each being to his bed was brought at last, aloft. Yet, before they did disband, They recalled their covenants oft, The clever lord of that land Appearing warm and soft. Full early, before daylight, the folk rise up. Guests going hunting called for their grooms, And they scurry forth swiftly to saddle the steeds, Tie tackle together and truss up their bags. The most regal are ready to ride well arrayed; Leaping up lightly, they latch onto their bridles, Each person on a path that pleased him best.

1118 COMLYLY properly . . . KA3TEN HER LEUE took their leave

1119 FUL L Y3T very

nimble 1121 very peacefully 1122 ER l>AY 3EDE before they went 1125 Could certainly carry on entertainment. 1127 WOLDE would 1128 BUSKEN hasten 1129 TYFFEN HE TAKLES arrange their weapons 1130 RICHEN HEM prepare themselves

65

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l>eleue lorde of pe londe wat3 not pe last Arayed for pe rydyng, wyth renkke3 ful mony; Ete a sop hastyly when he hade herde masse, Wyth bugle to bent-felde he buske3 bylyue. By pat pat any daylY3t lemed vpon erpe, He wyth his hapeles on hy3e horsses weren. l>enne pise cacheres pat coupe cowpled hor hounde3, Vnclosed pe kenel dore, and calde hem peroute; Blwe bygly in bugle3 pre bare mote. Braches bayed, perfore, and breme noyse maked, And pay chastysed and charred on chasyng pat went, A hundreth of hunteres, as I haf herde telle, ofpe best. To trystors vewters 3od; Couples huntes of kest. per rose, for blaste3 gode, Gret rurd in pat forest. At pe fyrst quethe of pe quest quaked pe wylde; Der drof in pe dale, doted for drede, Hi3ed to pe hY3e, bot heterly pay were Restayed wyth pe stablye, pat stoutly ascryed. l>ay let pe hertte3 haf pe gate, wyth pe hy3e hedes, l>ebreme bukke3 also, wyth hor brode paume3, For pe fre lorde hade defende, in fermysoun tyme, l>atper schulde no mon meue to pe male dere. l>ehinde3 were halden in wyth 'Hay!' and 'War!', l>edoes dryuen wyth gret dyn to pe depe slade3. l>er my3t mon se, as pay slypte, slentyng of arwes. At vche wende vnder wande wapped a flone; l>atbigly bote on pe broun wyth ful brode hede3. What! l>aybrayen and bleden. Bi bonkke3 pay de3en; And ay rachches in a res radly hem fol3es. Huntere3 wyth hY3e home hasted hem after, Wyth such a crakkande kry, as klyffes haden brusten. What wylde so atwaped wy3es pat schotten Wat3 al toraced and rent at pe resayt, Bi pay were tened at pe hy3e and taysed to pe wattre3; l>elede3 were so lemed at pe lo3e trysteres,

1133 LEUE esteemed 1137 BY l>AT l>AT by the time that ... LEMED gleamed 1138 WEREN was 1141 BYGLY powerfully ... BARE single 1142 BREME loud 1143 And they disciplined and directed those who went in pursuit,

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The liege lord of the land was not the last one Arrayed for the riding, with retainers full many; Hastily he had breakfast, after having heard mass, And with bugle goes quickly to the broad hunting field. Before long when the daylight on land did burst forth, With men on high horses he hustled about. Then these hunters who had skill their hounds did couple, Unclosed the kennel door, and called them therefrom; They blew on their bugles three blaring notes. Raches barked brutishly and made bustling sounds, Were chastised and charged to go chasing unchecked, By a hundred hale hunters, as I have heard tell, of the best. Greyhounds clung in a crowd, Geared to gambol in quest. There rose, with horn blasts loud, Great din expressed with zest. At the first burst of baying bewildered creatures quaked; Deer drove through the dale, dazed with dread, Hurried to the high hills, but hastily then were they Blocked by the ring of beaters, who blatantly shouted. They let the harts with the high heads have the path, The beauteous bucks also, with their broad palms, For the lord would not allow, while closed season lasted, That any man should move against the male deer. The hinds were held back with 'Hey!' and 'Ware!', The does driven with great din to the very deep valleys. There might one see, as they slipped by, the slanting of arrows. At every tum in the woods an arrow whizzed by; They bit firmly with broad heads into the brown hide. What! They bray and bleed. On the banks they die; And always raches in a rush rapidly follow them. Hunters with loud horns hurried and harried them, With such cracking calls, as if cliffs had shattered. Whatever wild creatures escaped the men aiming weapons Were all snatched and slit open at the stations of hunters, After being harassed on high hills and hounded to the waters; Loyal men at the low stations were so learned in their craft,

1146-47 At hunting stations greyhounds stood;/Hunters cast off [their] leashes. 1156 HADE DEFENDE had forbidden ... IN FERMYSOUN TYME during time of closed season 1167 l>ATSCHOTTEN who shot 1170 LEDE3 men

67

And pe greyhounde3 so grete, pat geten hem bylyue, And hem tofylched as fast as freke3 my3t loke, per rY3t. l>elorde, for blys abloy, Ful oft con launce and ly3t, And drof pat day wyth joy Thus to pe derk ny3t.

1175

48 1180

1184 f. 111

1190

1195

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l>us layke3 pis lorde by lynde-wode3 eue3, And Gawayn, pe god mon, in gay bed lyge3, Lurkke3, quyl pe daylY3t lemed on pe wowes, Vnder couertour ful clere, cortyned aboute; And as in slomeryng he slode sle3ly, he herde A little dyn at his dor, and derfly vpon; And he heue3 vp his bed out of pe elopes. A corner of pe cortyn he ca3t vp a lyttel, And wayte3 warly piderwarde quat hit be my3t. Hit wat3 pe ladi, loflyest to beholde, Pat dro3 pe dor after hir ful dernly and stylle, And bo3ed towarde pe bed; and pe burne schamed, And layde hym doun lystyly, and let as he slepte; And ho stepped stilly, and stel to his bedde, Kest vp pe cortyn, and creped wythinne, And set hir ful softly on pe bedsyde, And lenged pere selly longe to loke quen be wakened. Pe lede lay lurked a ful longe quyle, Compast in his concience to quat pat cace my3t Mene oper amount to; meruayle hym po3t, Bot 3et, he sayde in hymself, "More semly hit were To aspye wyth my spelle in space quat ho wolde." Pen he wakenede, and wroth, and to hir warde torned, And vnlouked his y3elydde3, and let as hym wondered, And sayned hym as bi his sa3e pe sauer to worthe, wyth hande. Wyth chynne and cheke ful swete, Bope quit and red in-blande, Ful lufly con ho lete, Wyth lyppe3 smal la3ande.

1172 HEM TOFYLCHED attacked them 1173 right there 1174 ABLOY carried away 1178 LAYKE3 sports 1181 CLERE beautiful 1182 SLE3LY quietly 1183 AND DERFLY VPON and [heard it] open promptly I 184 CLOJ>ESbedclothes 1186 J>IDERWARDEin that direction 1190 LET acted 1196 CACE situation 1199 IN SPACE immediately ... WOLDE would wish

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And the greyhounds so huge, who got to them quickly, And flew at the deer as fast as fellows might see, and smite. The lord, in his blissful ploy, Full often did gallop and alight, And passed that day with joy, Thus to the darkening night.

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Thus the lord gallops gallantly along linden woods' borders, While Gawain, the brave courtier, in a good bed rests, Lies snug, while the daylight illumined the walls, Under coverlet so comfortable, curtained about; And as he slid into slombering, suddenly he heard A little sound at his door, steadily drawn open; And he heaves up his head from his haven in bed. A comer of the curtain he caught up a little, And gazes warily forward for what it might be. It was the lady, loveliest to behold, Who drew the door after her discreetly and quietly, And moved toward the bed; and the man was embarrassed, And laid himself down listlessly, making believe he slept; And she stepped stealthily, and stole toward his bed, Cast up the curtain, and crept within, And seated herself softly on the bedside, And lingered there very long to look as he awakened. The knight lay lurking a full long while, Searching in his conscience for what that surprise might Mean or amount to; a marvel it seemed, But yet, he said to himself, "More seemly it would be To ascertain through conversation what she desires." Then he sat up, and stretched, and stiffly turned about, And opened his eyelids, and appeared amazed, And, as if to secure safety, himself did bless , with hand. With chin and cheek so sweet, The lady, looking grand, For a man a lovely treat, Was in complete command.

1200 WAKENEDE arose ... TO HIR WARDE toward her 1201 AS HYM WONDERED as if he were surprised 1202 BI HIS SA3E with his utterance .. . SAUER safer . . . WORTHE become 1203 promptly 1205-7 Both white and red mingling together/She did speak very affectionately,/With small lips smiling.

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"God moroun, Sir Gawayn," sayde pat fayr lady; "3e ar a sleper vnsly3e, pat mon may slyde hider. Now ar 3e tan as-tyt! Bot true vus may schape, I schal bynde yow in your bedde; pat be 3e trayst!" Al la3ande, pelady lauced po bourde3. "Goud moroun, gay," quo)? Gawayn pe blype; "Me schal worpe at yourr wille, and pat me wel lyke3, For I 3elde me 3ederly and 3e3e after grace, And pat is pe best, be my dome, for me byhoue3 nede;" And pus he bourded a3ayn wyth mony a blype la3ter. "Bot, wolde 3e, lady louely, pen leue me grante, And deprece your prysoun, and pray hym to ryse, I wolde bo3e of pis bed and busk me better; I schulde keuer pe more comfort to karp yow wyth." "Nay, forsope, beau sir," sayd pat swete. "3e schal not rise of your bedde; I rych yow better. I schal happe yow here pat oper half als, And sypen karp wyth my kny3t pat I ka3t haue, For I wene wel, iwysse, Sir Wowen 3e are, l>at alle pe worlde worchipe3 quereso 3e ride. Your honour, your hendelayk is hendely praysed Wyth lorde3, wyth ladyes, wyth alle pat lyf here; And now 3e ar here, iwysse, and we bot oure one. My lorde and his lede3 ar on lenpe faren, Oper burne3 in her bedde, and my burde3 als, l>edor drawen and dit wyth a derf haspe; And sypen I haue in pis hous hym pat al lyke3, I schal ware my whyle wel quyl hit laste3, wyth tale. 3e ar welcum to my cors, Yowre awen won to wale; Me behoue3 of fyne force Your seruaunt be, and schale."

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"In god fayth," quo)? Gawayn, "gayn hit me pynkke3, l>a3I be not now he pat 3e of speken. To reche to such reuerence as 3e reherce here I am wy3e vnworpy, I wot wel myseluen.

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1209 VNSLY3E unwary 1210 TAN AS-TYT trapped quickly ... VUS MAY SCHAPE can be arranged between us 1212 LAUCED l>O BOURDE3 uttered those jests 1215 3E3E cry 1216 BE MY DOME in my judgment ... NEDE necessarily 1223 I RYCH YOW I shall advise you 1226 WENE know ... IWYSSE indeed

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"Good morning, Sir Gawain," said that fair lady; "A sound sleeper you are, since one may steal here. Now you are taken and trapped! Unless a truce takes shape, I shall bind you in your bed; of that you may be sure!" Smiling and looking lovely, the lady joked. "Good morning, good lady," said the gracious Gawain; "I shall be at your will, and well does that suit me, For I surrender myself swiftly and seek your mercy, And that is best, to be sure, since obliged am I;" And thus he bantered back with many a blissful laugh. "But would you, lovely lady, grant me leave then, And release your prisoner, and pray that he rise, I would budge from this bed and busy myself better; I would receive greater pleasure in speaking with you." "Nay, surely, good sir," said that sweet lady. "You shall not rise from your bed; it is better to recline. I shall secure you here on that other side also, And then converse with the courtier that I have caught. For I am wisely aware Sir Gawain you are, Whom all the world worships wherever you ride. Your honor and your behavior are highly praised By lords, by ladies, by all who bear life; And now you are here, indeed, and we are alone. My lord and his retainers are traveling at length, Other nobles are in their beds, my bright maidens also, The door drawn and locked with a strong latch; And since I have in this house him who pleases all, I shall while away the time well while it lasts, and say You are welcome to me, To choose your own way; Obliged am I by necessity To be your servant today."

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"In good faith," said Gawain, "a gain that seems to me, Though I am not now he of whom you speak. To reach such reverence as you rehearse here I am a knight unworthy, I know well myself.

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1228 HENDELA YK courtesy ... HENDEL Y graciously 1230 WE BOT OURE ONE we [are] moreover by ourselves 1231 LEDE3 men 1235 WARE employ 1236 TALE conversation 1237 CORS companionship 1239 PYNE FORCE strict necessity 1240 AND SCHALE and [I] shall [be]

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Bi God, I were glad, and yow god po3t, At sa3e oper at seruyce, pat I sette mY3t To pe plesaunce of your prys; hit were a pure joye." "In god fayth, Sir Gawayn," quop pegay lady, "l>e prys and peprowes pat plese3 al oper, If I hit lakked oper set at ly3t, hit were littel daynte. Bot, hit ar ladyes inno3e pat leuer wer nowpe Haf pe, hende, in hor holde, as I pe habbe here, To daly wyth derely your daynte worde3, Keuer hem comfort and colen her care3, l>enmuch of pe garysoun oper golde pat pay hauen; Bot I louue pat ilk Lorde pat pe lyfte halde3 I haf hit holly in my honde pat al desyres, pur3e grace." Scho made hym so gret chere, l>atwat3 so fayr of face; l>ekny3t, wyth speches skere, Aswared to vche a cace.

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"Madame," quop pe myry mon, "Mary yow 3elde, For I haf founden, in god fayth, yowre fraunchis nobele, And oper ful much of oper folk, fongen hor dede3. Bot, pe daynte pat pay delen for my disert nys en; Hit is pe worchyp of yourself pat no3t bot wel conne3." "Bi Mary," quop pe menskful, "me pynk hit anoper, For were I worth al pewone of wymmen alyue, And al pewele of peworlde were in my honde, And I schulde chepen and chose to cheue me a lorde, For pe costes pat I haf knowen vpon pe,kny3t, here, Of bewte, and debonerte, and blype semblaunt, And pat I haf er herkkened and halde hit here trwee, l>er schulde no freke vpon folde bifore yow be chosen." "lwysse, worpy," quop pe wy3e, "3e haf waled wel better, Bot I am proude of pe prys pat 3e put on me, And soberly, your seruaunt, my souerayn I holde yow, And yowre kny3t I becom, and Kryst yow for3elde." l>uspay meled of muchquat til mydmorn paste,

1246 SETIE MY3T could contribute 1247 PRYS noble self 1250 AT LY3T of little value 1254 KEUER HEM obtain for themselves 1255 GARYSOUN treasure ... RAUEN own 1256 ILK same ... HALDE3 rules 1259 MADE showed ... CHERE friendliness 1261 WYTH SPECHES SK.EREwith refined words 1262 Answered to every statement. 1264 FRAUNCHIS generosity

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-By God, I would be glad, if it seemed good to you, To securely establish, through speech or through service, Pleasure for your pastime; it would be pure joy." "In good faith, Sir Gawain," the elegant lady said, The preciousness and prowess that please all others, If I censured or set them low, it would show little respect. Besides, there are many ladies who would be more desirous now To have you, handsome man, in their hold, as I have you here, To dally thus dearly with your delightful words, Recover their comfort and cool their cares, Than much of the goods or gold gained by them ever; But I thoroughly thank the Lord who thrives in heaven That I have wholly in my hand him whom all desire, through grace." She made him so cheerful, She who was fair of face; The knight, no longer fearful, Answered in every case.

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"Madam," said the merry man, "may Mary reward you, For I have found, in good faith, your friendship noble, And great kindness from other folk, welcoming their deeds. But, the deference that they deliver I do not deserve; They should honor only you who are sure to please." "By Mary", said the noble woman, "different meaning do I see, For were I worth all the multitude of women alive, And all the wealth of the world were in my hand, And I should seek and decide to choose a lord, Because of qualities that I have discovered in you, good knight, Of kindness, and courtesy, and gracious manner, And what I have heard before and hold true now, No champion on earth would be chosen ahead of you." "Indeed, dear wife," said Gawain, "more wisely did you choose, But I am proud of the praise that you press upon me, And seriously, as your servant, I consider you my sovereign, And your courtier I shall become, and may Christ reward you." Thus they mentioned many matters till midmorn passed,

1265 Ol>ER FUL MUCH other kindnesses very great 1266 DA YNTE respect ... FOR MY DISERT NYS EN is not ever according to my merit 1267 They should show the respect to you who can do nothing but good. 1268 ME l>YNKHIT ANOl>ER it seems otherwise to me 1273 BEWTEgoodness 1275 FREKE man 1276 WY3E knight 1277 PRYS value 1280 MELEO OF spoke of

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And ay pe lady let lyk a hym loued mych; Pe freke ferde wyth defence and feted ful fayre. "Pa3 I were burde bry3test," pe burde in mynde bade, "Pe lasse luf in his lode for lur pat he so3t, boute hone, Pe dunte pat schulde hym deue; And nede3 hit most be done." Pe lady penn spek of leue; He granted hir ful sone. Penne ho gef hym god day and wyth a glent la3ed, And as ho stod, ho stonyed hym wyth ful stor worde3: "Now he pat spede3 vche spech pis disport 3elde yow, Bot pat 3e be Gawan hit got3 in mynde." "Querfore?" quop pe freke, and freschly he aske3, Ferde lest he bade fayled in fourme of his castes, Bot pe burde hym blessed and bi pis skyl sayde: "So god as Gawayn gaynly is halden, And cortaysye is closed so clene in hymseluen, Couth not ly3tly haf lenged so long wyth a lady Bot he had craued a cosse bi his courtaysye, Bi sum towch of summe tryfle at sum tale3 ende." Pen quop Wowen: "Iwysse, worpe as yow lyke3; I schal kysse at your comaundement, as a knY3t falle3, And fire, lest he displese yow; fo plede hit no more." Ho comes nerre wyth pat and cache3 hym in arme3, Loute3 luflych adoun and pe leude kysse3. Pay comly bykennen to Kryst ayper oper; Ho dos hir forth at pe ATHE SO3T harm that he was seeking 1285 without delay 1286 SCHULDE HYM DEUE would stun him 1287 And it must necessarily be done. 1288 SPEK OF LEUE spoke of leaving 1289 He agreed with her very quickly. 1292 l>ISDISPORT 3ELDE YOW reward you for this entertainment 1293 GOT3 IN MYNDE ceases to exist in [my) mind

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And the lady always acted as though she liked him much; The courtier carried on cautiously, with courteous behavior. "Though I were the loveliest woman alive," the lady thought, "The less love would he allow due to the lurking danger he must seek, The blow he had to face, To bow and to be meek." Then the lady, in that case, Of leaving there did speak. Then she gave him good farewell and with a glance smiled, And as she stood up, she shocked him with these severe words: "May he who speeds conversation spur your speech always, But I cannot conceive that you are Gawain." "Why not?" said the knight, swiftly inquiring, Afraid lest he had failed in forming his answers, But the lady wished him well and with this reasoning said: "As gallant as Gawain rightly is considered, If chivalry is contained so completely in himself, He could not lightly have lingered so long with a lady Unless he had craved a kiss for his courtesy, By touching on some triviality at some tale's end." Then said Gawain: "Surely, let it be as it suits you; I shall kiss at your commandment, as it becomes a knight, And more, lest he displease you; plead hostilely no more." She comes closer with that and clasps him in her arms, Lowers herself lovingly and longingly kisses him. To Christ they cordially commend each other; She strides forth to the door without further sound, And he promptly rises to partake in the revelry, Calls to his chamberlain, chooses his clothing, Goes forth, when fully garbed, eagerly to mass, And then he moved to his meal, measured well for him, And made merry all day until the moon rose, amid glee, And joyous songs there sung; Never in life had he

1294 QUERFORE why ... FRESCHLY quickly 1301 TOWCH allusion 1304 HIT for it 1306 LEUDE knight 1307 COMLY fittingly 1309 RYCHES HYM proceeds ... RAPES HYM SONE moves quickly 1311 BOUN ready ... BLYl>ELY happily 1312 l>AT MENSKLY HYM KEPED which was properly kept for him 1315-16 Simultaneously, [the] knight was never more courteously received/Between two ladies so dignified,

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l>e alder and pe 3onge; Much solace set pay same. 53

And ay pe lorde of pe londe is lent on his gaume3, To hunt in holte3 and hepe at hynde3 barayne; Such a sowme he per slowe bi pat pe sunne heldet, Of dos and of oper dere, to deme were wonder. l>enne fersly pay flokked in folk at pe laste, And quykly ofpe quelled dere a querre pay maked. l>ebest bo3ed perto wyth bume3 innoghe, Gedered pe grattest of gres pat per were, And didden hem derely vndo, as pe dede aske3. Serched hem at peasay summe pat per were; Two fyngeres pay fonde of pe fowlest of alle. Sypen pay slyt pe slot, sesed pe erber, Schaued wyth a scharp knyf, and pe schyre knitten. Sypen rytte pay pe foure lymmes and rent of pe hyde; l>enbrek pay pe bale, pe bale3 out token Lystily for laucyng and lere of pe knot. l>aygryped to pe gargulun, and graypely departed l>ewesaunt fro pe wynt-hole, and walt out pe gutte3; l>en scher pay out pe schuldere3 wyth her scharp knyue3, Haled hem by a lyttel hole to haue hole sydes. Sipen britned pay pe brest and brayden hit in twynne, And eft at pe gargulun bigyne3 on penne, Ryue3 hit vp radly ry3t to pe by3t, Voyde3 out pe avanters, and verayly perafter Alle pe ryme3 by pe rybbe3 radly pay lauce; Fo ryde pay of, by resoun, bi pe rygge bone3, Euenden to pe haunche pat henged alle samen, And heuen hit vp al hole and hwen hit of },ere, And pat pay neme for pe noumbles bi nome, as I trowe, bi kynde. Bi pe by3t al of pe py3es l>e lappe3 pay lauce bihynde; To hewe hit in two pay hY3es, Bi pe bakbon to vnbynde.

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Bope pe hede and pe hals pay hwen of penne,

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1317-18 The older one and the young one;/They created much pleasure together. 1319 LENT engaged 1323 FERSLY proudly ... FOLK group 1335 GRAYl>ELY promptly 1338 HALED drew 1339 Sll>EN afterwards ... BRAYDEN pulled

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With two such ladies been flung, The ancient and the young one free. 53

Still the lord of the land is not lacking in games, To hunt in bolts and heaths for hinds that are barren; Such a sum he there slew by the time the sun sank, Of does and of other deer, to describe it would be difficult. Then those folks feeling proud flocked together at the end, And they quickly made a quarry of the quelled deer. The noblest knights went there with men wise in their craft, Gathered the fattest of deer favored by the group, And did skillfully slit them open, as the deed requires. Searching them at the assay were some who were there; Two fingers of fat they found on the poorest. Then they slit the slot, seized the first stomach, Scraped it with a sharp knife, and the shiny flesh tied. Next they lopped off the four limbs and flayed the hide; Then they broke the belly, and the bowels took out Expertly to prevent loosening and loss of the knot. They gripped the throat and thoroughly divided The gullet from the windpipe, and threw away the guts; Then they sheared off the shoulder-blades with sharp knives, And slid them through a little hole to have whole sides. They slit each beast's breast and separated it in two, And again at the throat one begins anew, Cuts it open quickly clear to the fork, Voids out the viscera, and verily thereafter All the membranes along the ribs they readily loosen; Fiercely they flay them off, those found by the back bones, Trimmed to the haunch what hung there all together, And heaved it up all whole and hewed it off there, And they denote that as the numbles by name, as I believe, by kind. All along the fork of the thighs They loosen the flaps of flesh behind; Then to cut in two each prize, By the backbone they unbind.

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Both the head and the neck they hack off next,

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1341 RY3T right 1343 RADLY promptly 1344 RYDE clear ... BY RESOUN with exactness 1348 by custom 1351-52 They hasten to cut it in two,rro slit [it] along the backbone.

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And sypen sunder pay pe syde3 swyft fro pe chyne, And pe corbeles fee pay kest in a greue. l>ennpurled pay ayper pik side puf3 bi pe rybbe, And henged penne aper bi ho3e3 of pe fourche3, Vche freke for his fee as falle3 for to haue. Vpon a felle of pe fayre best fede pay payr houndes Wyth pe lyuer and pe ly3te3, pe leper of pe paunche3, And bred baped in blod, blende peramonge3. Baldely pay blw prys; bayed payr rachche3. Sypen fonge pay her flesche, folden to home, Strakande ful stoutly mony stif mote3. Bi pat pe daylY3t wat3 done, pe douthe wat3 al wonen Into pe comly caste}, per pe kny3t bide3 ful stille, Wyth blys and brY3t fyr bette. l>elorde is comen pertylle; When Gawayn wyth hym mette, l>erwat3 bot wele at wylle. Thenne comaunded pe Jorde in pat sale to -samen alle pe meny, Bope pe ladyes on loghe to ly3t wyth her burdes. Bifore alle pe folk on pe flette, freke3 he bedde3 Verayly his venysoun to fech hym byfome; And al godly in gomen Gawayn he called, Teche3 hym to pe tayles of ful tayt bestes, Schewe3 hym pe schyree grece schorne vpon rybbes. "How paye3 yow pis play? Haf I prys wonnen? Haue I pryuandely ponk pur3 my craft serued?" "3e, iwysse," quop pat oper wy3e. "Here is wayth fayrest l>atI se3 pis seuen 3ere in sesoun of wynter." "And al I gif yow, Gawayn," quop pe gome penne, "For by acorde of couenaunt 3e craue hit as your awen." "l>is is soth," quop pe segge. "I say yow pat ilke; And I haf worthyly pis wone3 wythinne. lwysse, wyth as god wylle hit worpe3 to 3oure3." He hasppe3 his fayre hals his arme3 wythinne, And kysses hym as comlyly as ho coupe awyse. "Tas yow pere my cheuicaunce; I cheued no more.

1359 FEDE fed 1363 FOLDEN turned 1365 DOUTHE group 1368 In bliss while [the] bright fire flared. 1369 COMEN l>ERTYLLEcoming toward it 1370-71 When Gawain met with him/There was only delight according to [their] desire. 1373 ON LOGHE TO LY3T to comedown

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And then they sever the sides swiftly from the spine, And the corbie's fee they flung in a grove. Then they thrust through each thick side by the ribs, And hung both high by the hocks of the haunches, Each fellow securing the share that is fitting to have. Upon a skin of the splendid beast they sated their hounds With the liver and the lungs, the lining of the stomachs, And bread bathed in blood, blended thereamong. Boldly they blew prise; their raches bayed. Then they fetched their flesh, and fared for home, Striking full stoutly many stiff notes. By the time daylight was done, the doughty group had come Into the comely castle, where the courtier resides in calm And bliss before a flaring fire; That sire, without a qualm, To recall their bargain prior, Set with Sir Gawain palm upon palm. Then the lord commanded all the company to gather in that hall, The two women with their maidens and many other nobles. Before all the folk on the floor, he orders the fellows To fetch his venison verily before him; And then goodly in game he called Gawain, Refers him to the tallies of truly robust beasts, Shows him the shiny flesh shorn at the ribs. "Does this game give you pleasure? Have I gained glory? Have I sincerely deserved thanks for my skill?" "Certainly," said that chevalier. "Here is the choicest game That I have seen these seven years in the season of winter." "And I shall give all to you, Gawain," the good lord said, "For according to the covenant you may claim it as your own." "This is surely so," said the knight. "I say the same to you; I also have won reward within these dwellings. Indeed, with true intention, I turn it over to you." He seizes the lord's shoulders with his strong hands, And kisses him as courteously as he could devise. "Take here my cheerful exchange; I achieved no more.

1379 PAYE3 does please ... PLAY sport 1381 3E, IWYSSE yes, indeed 1383 GOME man 138S SOTH true 1386 HAF WORTHYLY have [gained) worthy reward 1387 HIT WORl>E3 TO 30URE3 it will become yours 1388 He clasps his fair neck with his arms, 1390 CHEUICAUNCE gain

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I wowche hit saf fynly, pa3 feler hit were." "Hit is god," quo}, pe god-mon. "Grant mercy perfore; Hit may be such hit is pebetter and 3e me breue wolde Where 3e wan pis ilk wele, biwytte of hor seluen." "l>at wat3 not forward," quo}, he. "Frayst me no more; For 3e haf tan pat yow tyde3, trawe 3e non oper 3emowe." l>ayla3ed and made hem blype Wyth lote3 pat were to lowe; To soper pay 3ede as-swype, Wyth dayntes nwe innowe.

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And sypen by pechymne in chamber pay seten. Wy3e3 pe walle wyn we3ed to hem oft, And efte, in her bourdyng, pay baypen in pe mom To fylle pe same forwarde3 pat pay byfore maden, l>at chaunce so bytyde3 hor cheuysaunce to chaunge, What nwe3 so pay nome, at na3t quen pay metten. pay acorded of pe couenaunte3 byfore pe court alle; l>ebeuerage wat3 bro3t forth in bourde at pat tyme. l>enne pay louelych le3ten leue at pelast; V che bume to his bedde husked bylyue. Bi pat pecoke hade crowe3 and cakled bot pryse, 1>elorde wat3 lopen of his bedde, peleude3, vch one, So pat. pemete and pe masse wat3 metely delyuered. l>edouthe dressed to pewod er any day sprenged, to chace. He3, wyth hunte and home3, l>ur3 playne3 pay passe in space, Vncoupled among po porne3 Rache3 pat ran on race.

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Sone pay calle of a quest in a ker syde. l>ehunt rehayted pe hounde3 pat hit fyrst mynged, Wylde worde3 hym warp wyth a wrast noyce. l>ehownde3 pat hit herde hastid pider swype, And fellen as fast to pe fuyt, fourty at ones.

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1391 FYNL Y completely ... l>A3 FELER HIT WERE even if it were more 1392 GRANT MERCY many thanks 1393 3E ME BREUE WOLDE you would tell me 1394 BIWYTTE OF HOR SELUEN bestowed with similar respect 13~6 J>ATYOW TYDE3 what belongs to you .. . TRAWE expect 1397 you may 1398 HEM themselves 1399 With words that were to be commended; 1400 3EDE AS-SWYJ>Ewent at once

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I would vouchsafe it verily, whatever value it had." "It is good," said the good man. "Gracious thanks therefore; But perhaps it would be better if you boldly would pronounce Where you won this same wealth, so welcome to me." "That was not the agreement," said Gawain. "Inquire no more; Since you have accepted the exchange, you may secure no more." They laughed and made merry, Even on every score; To supper they then did hurry, With novel dainties galore.

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Then they relaxed by the fire in a well-furnished room, While servants did serve them the excellent wine. And again, amid jesting, they agree on the morn To carry out the same covenant called for before, So that the chance would occur to exchange their gain, Whatever goods they gathered, in the evening when they met. They consented to the covenant before all the court; The beverage was brought forth, bubbling and bright. Then they courteously parted company, the courtier and the lord, Each being to his bed, briskly on the move. By the time the cock had crowed and cackled but thrice, The lord had leaped from his bed, and the lads, each one, So that the meal and the mass were meetly concluded. They galloped toward the forest before the good day sprang, for the chase. Proudly, with hunters and horns, Through plains they pass in space, Unleashing among those thorns Raches that ran in a race.

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Soon they signal a scent by the side of a marsh. The hunters encouraged the hounds who had caught it first, Uttered wild words to them, working up the noise. The hounds who heard this hurried there swiftly, And followed fast on the trail, forty at once.

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1401 INNOWE many 1402 CHYMNE fireplace ... SETEN sat 1405 MADEN made 1407 NWE3 new winnings 1409 BOURDE frivolity 1410 LE3TEN LEUE took [their] leave 1411 BUSKED BYLYUE went quickly 1412 HADE CROWE3 sounded [its] crows 1415 DOUTHE DRESSED group proceeded 1416 to hunt 1421 CALLE OF A QUEST signal [a scent] with baying 1422 MYNGED noticed 1423 WRAST loud

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l>enne such a glauer ande glam of gedered rachche3 Ros pat pe rochere3 rungen ahoute. Huntere3 hem hardened wyth home and wyth muthe; l>en al in a semble sweyed togeder Bitwene a flosche in pat fryth and a foo cragge. In a knot bi a clyffe at pe kerre syde, l>eras pe rogh rocher vnrydely wat3 fallen, l>ay ferden to pe fyndyng, and freke3 hem after. l>ay vmbekesten pe knarre and pe knot hope, Wy3e3, whyl pay wysten wel wytinne hem hit were l>ebest pat per breued wat3 wyth pe blodhounde3. l>enne pay beten on pe buske3 and bede hym vp ryse, And he vnsoundyly out so3t segge3 ouerpwert; On pe sellokest swyn swenged out },ere, Long sythen for pe sounder, pat wi3t fol olde, For he wat3 breme, hor alpergrattest, Ful grymme quen he gronyed; penne greued mony, For pre at pe fyrst prast he prY3t to pe erpe, And sparred wyth good sped, bente spyt more. l>iseoper halowed 'Hyghe!' ful hy3e, and 'Hay! Hay!' cryed, Haden home3 to moupe, heterly rechated; Mony wat3 pe miyry mouthe of men and of hounde3 l>atbuskke3 after pis hor wyth host and wyth noyse, to quelle. Ful oft he byde3 pe baye, And mayme3 pe mute inn-melle; He hurte3 of pe hounde3, and pay Ful 3omerly 3aule and 3elle. Schalke3 to schote at hym schowen to penne, Haled to hym of her arewe3, bitten hym oft, Bot pe poynte3 payred at pe pyth, pat py3t in his schelde3, And pe barbe3 of his browe bite non wolde; l>a3pe schauen schaft schyndered in pece3, l>ehede hypped a3ayn weresoeuer hit hitte. Bot, quen pe dynte3 hym dered of her dry3e stroke3, l>en, braynwod for bate, on bume3 he rase3, Hurte3 hem ful heterly per he forth hy3e3,

1431 AT l>EKERRE SYDE at the side of [a] marsh 1432 FALLEN declining 1433 FERDEN hastened ... FREKE3 HEM AFTER men [came] after them 1435 WY3E3, WHYL l>AY WYSTEN [These) men, when they knew 1436 l>AT l>ER BREUED WAT3 who was pointed out there 1441 BREME fierce ... ALl>ERGRATTEST the hugest of all

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Then such a clamor and cry from the gathered raches Rose that the rocky slopes did ring all around. Hunters exhorted them with horn blasts and shouts; Then all in assembly pursued together Between a pool in that forest and a forbidding precipice. On a knoll by a cliff near the cold marsh, Where the rough stony slope swept down dangerously, They fared to the finding, followed by the men. They circled the crag and the close-by knoll, These wise men who knew well there would be within them That unbridled beast being badgered by the bloodhounds. Then they beat on the bushes and bade him rise up, And he flew out fiercely through frightened men; The most marvelous swine swung out there, Long since ahead of the herd, that very old creature, For he was brimming with violence, that vigorous boar, Full grim when he grunted; gored then were many, For three at the first thrust he thrashed to the earth, And sprang with great speed, sparing no harm. These others hallooed 'Hi!' full high, and 'Hey! Hey!' cried, Held horns to their mouths, hurriedly blowing recheat; Many were the merry voices of men and of hounds Who burst after this boar with boasting and with noise, pell-mell. Quite often he bides at bay, For the pack he would repel; He does harm to the hounds, and they Very painfully howl and yell. Skilled men sprang forward to shoot at him then, Aimed at him with their arrows, hit him often, But the points that struck were impaired by his shields, And the barbs would not bite into his bristly brow; Though the smoothened shaft splintered into pieces, The head bounced back wherever it hit. But, when the blows did strike, incessantly banging, Then, battered by the baiting, those bodies he charges, Harms them horrendously where he hurtles forth,

1444 BENTE SPYT MORE bringing more harm 1449 to slay [it] 1451 And maims the pack utterly; 1454 SCHALKE3 men 1456 PAYRED AT l>EPYTH were impaired from the toughness ... PY3T struck 1460 HYM DERED OF HER DRY3E STROKE3 injured him because of their incessant strokes 1461 BRAYNWOD maddened ... BURNE3 men

83

And mony ar3ed perat and on lyte dro3en, Bot pe lorde on a ly3t horce launces hym after. As burne bolde vpon bent, his bugle he blowe3; He rechated and ryde3 pur3 rone3 ful pyk, Suande pis wylde swyn til pe sunne schafted. l>isday wyth pis ilk dede pay dryuen on pis wyse, Whyle oure luflych lede lys in his bedde, Gawayn, graypely at home, in gere3 ful ryche ofhewe. l>elady no3t fof3ate Com to hym to salue; Ful erly ho wat3 hym ate His mode for to remwe.

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Ho commes to pe cortyn and at pe kny3t totes. Sir Wawen her welcumed worpy on fyrst, And ho hym 3elde3 a3ayn, ful 3erne of hir worde3, Sette3 hir softy by his syde, and swypely ho la3e3, And wyth a luflych loke, ho layde hym pyse worde3: "Sir, 3if 3e be Wawen, wonder me pynkke3 Wy3e pat is so wel wrast alway to god And conne3 not of compaynye pe coste3 vndertake, And if mon kennes yow horn to knowe, 3e kest horn of your mynde. l>ouhat3 for3eten 3ederly pat 3isterday I ta3tte Bi aldertruest token of talk pat I cowpe." "What is pat?" quope pe wyghe. "lwysse, I wot neuer; If hit be sothe pat 3e breue, pe blame is myn awen." "3et, I kende yow of kyssyng," quop pe clere penne, "Quereso countenaunce is coupe quikly to clayme; l>atbicumes vche a kny3t pat cortaysy vses." "Do way," quop pat derf mon, "my dere, pat speche, For i,at durst I not do, lest I deuayed were; If I were werned, I were wrang, iwysse, 3if I profered." "Ma fay," quop pe mere wyf, "3e may not be werned; 3e ar stif innoghe to constrayne wyth strenkpe, 3if yow lyke3, 3if any were so vilanous pat yow devaye wolde."

1463 ON LYTE DR03EN withdrew in hesitation 1464 LAUNCES gallops 1465 BENT hunting field 1469 LUFLYCH handsome 1470 GERE3 bedclothes 1473 To come to pay respects to him; 1474 HYM ATE with him 1475 To stir his thoughts. 1478 A3AYN back 1479 SETTE3 HIR seats herself 1482 [That a] knight who is so much inclined always toward good deeds 1484 3E KEST HOM OF YOUR MYNDE you cast them from your mind

84

And many shuddered and balked, and stepped back in fear, But the lord on a light horse launches after him. A bold being on the broad field, his bugle he blows; He recheated and rides through many rough bushes, Pursuing this wild swine until the sun set. This day with this same deed they spent in this way, While our noble knight lies nestled in bed, Gawain, agreeably at home, under coverlet rich in hue. The lady did not forget To follow her former cue; Full early she with him met, His latent love to imbue.

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She comes to the curtain and gazes at the knight. Gawain welcomed her at first, worthily, indeed, And she answers exuberantly, very eager with her words, Sits softly by his side, and swiftly she laughs, And with a lovely look, she delivered this speech: "Sir, if you are Gawain, it seems amazing to me That a champion who has achieved such chivalric fame Can not comprehend the customs of courtesy, And if one urges you to observe them, you ignore her request. You have forgotten quickly what I called for yesterday In the truest of terms that a talker could utter." "What is that?" said Gawain. "In no way do I know; If what you say is so, ashamed should I be." "Yet, I questioned you about kissing," the lady said clearly, "Quickly to be claimed wherever the custom reigns; That becomes every courtier who courtesy observes." "Put away such words," said the worthy Gawain, "For I dared not do that, lest I were denied; If I were denied, I would be distressed, indeed, that I tried." "By my faith," said the merry wife, "you would not be denied; You are strong enough to compel with strength, if it pleases you, If anyone were so unmannerly to oppose your advances."

1485 TA3TIE pointed out 1486 With the truest of all words of conversation that I knew. 1487 WYGHE knight ... IWYSSE indeed 1488 SOTHE true ... l>E BLAME IS MYN AWEN the fault is my own 1489 KENDE informed ... CLERE fair lady 1490 COUl>E recognized 1492 DERF noble ... DERE dear lady 1493 DEUAYED refused 1497 l>AT YOW DEVA YE WOLDE that [she] would refuse you

85

"3e, be God," quop Gawayn, "good is your speche, Bot prete is vnpryuande in pede per I lende, And vche gift pat is geuen not wyth goud wylle. I am at your comaundement, to kysse quen yow like3; 3e may lach quen yow lyst, and leue quen yow pynkke3, in space." l>elady loute3 adoun, And comlyly kysses his face; Much speche pay per expoun Of druryes greme and grace.

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"I woled wyt at yow, wy3e," pat worpy per sayde, "And yow wrathed not perwyth, what were pe skyllel>at so 3ong and so 3epe as 3e at pis tyme, So cortayse, so kny3tyly-as 3e ar knowen oute, And of alle cheualry to chose, pe chef pyng alosed Is pe lei layk of luf, pe lettrure of armes; For to telle of pis teuelyng of pis trwe knY3te3, Hit is pe tytelet token and tyxt of her werkke3, How ledes for her lele luf hor lyue3 han auntered, Endured for her drury dulful stounde3, And after wenged wyth her walour and voyded her care, And bro3t blysse into boure wyth bountees hor awen; And 3e are knY3t comlokest kyd of your elde, Your worde and your worchip walke3 ayquere, And I haf seten by yourself here sere twyes; 3et, herde I neuer of your hed helde no worde3 l>ateuer longed to luf, lasse ne more; And 3e, pat ar so cortays and coynt of your hetes, Oghe to a 3onke pynk 3em to schewe And teche sum tokene3 of trweluf craftes. Why! Ar 3e lewed, pat alle pe los welde3, Oper elles 3e demen me to dille your dalyaunce to herken? ffor schame! I com hider sengel and sitte To leme at yow sum game;

1499 l>RETE IS VNl>RYUANDE compulsion is unworthy given with good will. LYLY appropriately tune.

1502 LACH embrace ...

chivalry;

1503 soon after

1505 COM-

1506- 7 They expound much speech there/ About love's grief and good for-

1508 WORl>Y noble lady

all chivalric ideals

1500 And [so is) each gift that is not

LYST wish

1512 OF ALLE CHEUALRY TO CHOSE in choosing among

1513 Is the correct conduct of [courtly) love, the [essential] doctrine of

1516 LELE LUF loyal sweethearts

86

"Yes, by God," said Gawain, "correct is your speech, But in the land where I live, it is lewd to compel, And wrong to give a gift without good will. I am at your command, to kiss when you like; You may hold me here now, and halt when you wish, in this place." The lady then bends down, And calmly kisses his face; Clothed in an elegant gown, She recalls love's grief and grace.

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"I would learn from you, sir," that wily lady said, "If you would not become wrathful, what the reason would beThat one so young and intrepid as you at this time, So courteous and gracious-that you are recognized everywhere, If in the challenge of chivalry, the chief thing praised Is loyalty to courtly love, so crucial to knighthood; For to tell of the activities of these true knights, It is the documented title and text of their deeds, How heroes for their sweethearts have risked their lives, Endured terrible times for their dear paramours, And avenged wrongs through valor and vanquished their care, And brought bliss into bowers with their bounteous acts; And you are called the greatest courtier of your time, Your fame and your fortune follow you everywhere, And I have sat beside you on two separate occasions; Yet, heard I never from your heart any heavenly words About longing and love, neither less nor more; And you, who are so courteous and clever with your oaths, Ought to yield to a young woman, and yearn for her, And teach her some tales about true love's virtues. Why! Are you who awaken such worship unworthy of praise, Or do you deem me too dull to dally with today? For shame! I arrive alone and sit To engage you in this game;

1517 DRURY paramours 1519 HOR AWEN their own 1520 COMLOKEST KYD proclaimed [the] most gracious 1521 WORCHIP WALKE3 honor circulate 1523 HED mouth ... HELDE come 1524 LONGED pertained 1526 Ought eagerly to declare to a young being 1527 TOKENE3 words 1528 LEWED unlearned ... LOS WELDE3 renown possess 1529 YOUR DALYAUNCE TO HERKEN to pay attention to your polite conversation 1532 AT from ... GAME chivalric skill

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Dos, teche3 me of your wytte Whil my lorde is fro hame."

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"In goud faype," quop Gawayn, "God yow foC3elde. Gret is pe gode gle and gomen to me huge l>atso worpy as 3e wolde wynne hidere And pyne yow wyth so pouer a moo, as play wyth your kny3t Wyth anyskynne3 countenaunce; hit keuere3 me ese. Bot, to take pe toruayle to myself to trwluf expoun, And towche pe teme3 of tyxt and tale3 of arme3 To yow pat, I wot wel, welde3 more slY3t Of pat art, bi pe half, or a hundreth of seche As I am, oper euer schal in erde per I leue, Hit were a fole felefolde, my fre, by my trawpe. I wolde yowre wylnyng worche at my my3t, As I am hy3ly bihalden, and euermore wylle Be seruant to yourseluen, so saue me Dry3tyn!" l>ushym frayned pat fre and fondet hym ofte, For to hafwonnen hym to wo3e, whatso scho po3t elle3, Bot he defended hym so fayr pat no faut semed, Ne non euel on nawper halue nawper pay wystenbot blysse! l>ayla3ed and layked longe; At pe last scho con hym kysse. Hir leue fayre con scho fonge, And went hir waye, iwysse. Then rupes hym pe renk and ryses to pe masse, And sipen hor diner wat3 dy3t and derely serued. l>elede wyth pe ladye3 layked alle day, Bot pe lorde ouer pe londe3 launced ful ofte, Swe3 his vncely swyn pat swyng~ bi pe bonkke3 And bote pe best of his brache3 pe bakke3 in sunder, l>erhe bode in his bay, tel bawemen hit breken, And madee hym, mawgref his bed, for to mwe vtter. So felle flone3 per flete when pe folk gedered. Bot 3et, pe styffest to start bi stounde3 he made,

1534 While my lord is away from home. 1537 SO WORl>Y [one] so wonhy . .. WYNNE come 1538 PLAY to rejoice 1539 In any kind of manner; it gives me pleasure. 1541 TEME3 themes 1545 POLE FELEFOLDE manifold folly 1546 YOWRE WYLNYNG WORCHE to fulfill your desire . .. MY3T power 1549 Thus that noble lady questioned him and tempted him often, 1550 FOR TO HAF WONNEN in order to have brought

88

Come, guide with your wit This absent lord's free dame."

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"In good faith," said Gawain, "may God reward you. Great is the good glee and great the delight That a lady like you would lean toward me, And take pains with this poor man, to please your knight. It gives me great comfort when you come to me, But to take the travail to expound on true love, And touch on the texts and tales of chivalry To you who, I surely perceive, possess more skill In that art, by the half, than a hundred of such As I am, or ever shall be on earth while I live, It would be foolish and false, my free lady, on my honor. I would wish, within reason, to work your will, Since I am highly beholden, and evermore will Be servant to yourself, so may God save me!" She freely framed questions and fashioned temptations, To wheedle him into woe, whatever else she thought, But he defended himself so favorably that no fault was seen, Nor did they experience any evil on either'8ide eitheronly bliss! They laughed and lingered long; In the end she him did kiss. Then she left that young man strong; Next time she would not miss. Then the man rises and gets ready for mass, After which a dinner of delicious dishes was served. The loyal knight and those ladies at leisure did play, While the lord over lands leaped after his game, Pursuing the snarling swine that swings round by the slopes And bites at the backs of the best of his raches, Where he bided at bay, until bowmen broke it, And made him move away, to meet more harm. Fine arrows flew fast when the folk gathered there. However, he persuaded the strongest to step aside often,

1554 LAYKED made merry 1556-57 She did courteously take her leave,/And went her way, DERELY splendidly 1560 indeed. 1558 RUl>ES stretches 1559 DY3T prepared ... LAYKED made merry 1561 LAUNCED galloped 1562 VNCELY dangerous 1563 IN SUNDER in pieces 1565 And forced him, in spite of himself, to move away. 1566 FELLE many 1567 Bl STOUNDE3 at times

89

Til at pe last he wat3 so mat he my3t no more renne; Bot, in pehast pat he my3t, he to a hole wynne3 Of a rasse, bi a rokk per renne3 pe boeme. He gete pebonlc at his bak, bigyne3 to scrape, l>e frope femed at his mouth vnfayre bi pe wyke3, Whette3 his whyte tusche3; wyth hym pen irked Alle pe bume3 so bolde pat hym by stoden, To nye hym on ferum, bot ne3e hym non durst forwope. He hade hurt so mony byfome l>at al pu3t penne ful lope Be more wyth his tusche3 tome l>at breme wat3, braynwod bathe,

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Tit pe kny3t com hymself, kachande his blonlc, Sy3 hym byde at pe bay, his burne3 bysyde; He ly3tes luslych adoun, leue3 his corsour, Brayde3 out a brY3t bront and bigly forth stryde3, Founde3 fast pur3 pe forth per pe felle byde3 . l>ewylde wat3 war of peWY3ewyth weppen in honde. Hef hy3ly pehere; so hetterly he fnast l>at fele ferde for pefreke3, lest felle hym peworre. l>e swyn sette3 hym out on }:>esegge euen, l>at pe burne and pe bor were bope vpon hepe3 In pe wy3test of pe water; pe worre bade pat oper, For pe mon merkke3 hym wel as pay mette fyrst, Set sadly pe scharp in pe slot euen, Hit hym vp to pe hult, pat pe hert schyndered, And he, 3arrande hym, 3elde and 3edoun pewater ful tyt. A hundreth hounde3 hym bent; l>atbremely con hym bite. Bume3 him bro3t to bent, And dogge3 to dethe endite. There wat3 blawyng of prys in mony breme home, He3e halowing on hi3e wyth hapele3 pat my3t;

1569HAST speed ... MY3T could [muster) 1570 Of a channel, by a rock where the stream flows. 1572 Bl J>EWYKE3 by the corners 1574 J>EBURNE3 SO BOLDE the men so bold 1576 because of [the) danger 1578-80 That all seemed very reluctant thenfro be tom more by the tusks/Of one who was fierce, maddened too , 1581 COM came . . . KACHANDE prodding 1582 BURNE3 men 1583 LUSL YCH nimbly

90

Till in the end he was so exhausted he could hardly run; Yet, as quickly as he could, he gets to a cleft, Where a rivulet ripples in a channel by a rock. He had the bank at his back, begins to scrape, The froth foaming freely from his ferocious mouth; He whets his white tusks, and weary of him then Were all those staunch souls who stood alongside him, To disturb him from afar, but no one dared approach, for fear. He had hurt so many before That all wished not to get near, To be tom by the tusks of that boar Who fiercely at them did sneer,

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1595 f. 116b

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Till the knight himself neared, needling his horse, Saw him biding at bay, his bold men close by; He alights with a leap, leaves his courser, Pulls out a shiny sword and firmly strides forth, Moving fast through the ford where the fierce beast waits. The wild one was wary of the man with the weapon. Its bristles were raised upright, and he snorted so wrathfully That men came forward in fear, lest the worst might befall him. The swine springs out swiftly, straight at the lord, So that the brave one and the boar were both locked together In the wildest current of the water; the worst had that other, For the man marks him well when they met at first, Set surely the sharp sword straight in the slot, Shoved it up to the hilt, so that the heart split, And he, with frantic yowling, yielded and floated downstream, in fright. A hundred hounds amassed; That beast they then did bite. On the field the creature was cast, And dogs slew him on that site. There was proud blowing of prise on many loud bugles, Much hallooing on high by humans so happy;

1588 FELE FERDE FOR advance in terror 1590 BURNE man ... VPON HEPE3 in proximity 1591 WY3TEST wildest current 1592 MERKKE3 HYM aims at him 1593 SADLY firmly 1595 3ARRANDE HYM snarling at him 1596 very quickly 1597 HYM HENT overtook him 1598 BREMELY fiercely 1599-1600 Men brought him to [the] field,/And dogs put [him] to death. 1602 WYTH HAJ>ELE3J>ATMY3T by men who could [shout)

91

Brachetes bayed pat best, as bidden J,e maystere3 Of pat chargeaunt chace pat were chef huntes. l>enne a wy3e pat wat3 wys vpon wodcrafte3 To vnlace pis bor lufly bigynne3. Fyrst he hewes of his bed and on hi3e sette3, And sy),en rende3 him al roghe bi J,e rygge after, Brayde3 out J,e boweles, brenne3 horn on glede, With bred blent perwyth his braches rewarde3. Sy),en he britne3 out J,e brawen in bry3t, brode chelde3, And hat3 out pe hastlette3, as hi3tly biseme3, And 3et hem halche3 al hole J,e halue3 togeder, And sy),en on a stif stange stoutly hem henges. Now with pis ilk swyn pay swengen to home; l>ebores bed wat3 borne bifore J,e bumes seluen, Pat him forferde in J,e for),e pur3 forse of his honde so stronge. Til he se3 Sir Gawayne In halle, hym J,o3t ful longe; He calde, and he com gayn His fee3 per for to fonge.

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l>e lorde, ful lowde wyth lote, and la3ed myry; When he se3e Sir Gawayn, wyth solace he spekeJ. l>egoude ladye3 were geten, and gedered pe meyny; He schewe3 hem pe schelde3 and schapes hem J,e tale Of pe largesse and pe lenpe, pe li),eme3 alse Of pe were of J,e wylde swyn in wod per he fled. l>atoper kny3t ful comly comended his dede3, And praysed hit as gret prys pat he proued bade, For suche a brawne of a best, J,e bolde bume sayde, Ne such sydes of a swyn segh he neuer are. l>enne hondeled pay J,e hoge hed; J,e hende mon hit praysed, And let lodly J,erat pe lorde for to here. "Now Gawayn," quop J,e god-mon, "pis gomen is your awen, Bi fyn forwarde and faste faythely 3e knowe." "Hit is sothe," quop pe segge, "and as siker trwe, Alle my get I schal yow gif agayn, bi my traw),e." He J,e ha),el aboute J,e halse and hendely hym kysses, And eftersones of pe same he serued hym ),ere.

1604 CHARGEAUNT troublesome 1606 LUFLY correctly 1610 BLENT mixed 1612 AS Hl3TLY BISEME3 as (it) seems fitting 1613 HALCHE3 fastens 1614 STOUTLY securely 1620 In (the] hall, (it) seemed to him [a) very long time; 1621 GAYN quickly

92

Raches barked at that beast, as bid the masters Who were in charge of the chase, the chief hunters there. Then a worthy woodsman who was wise in woodcraft Begins with care to carve this boar. First he hews off his head and on a high stake sets it, And then rends him in the rough right along the backbone, Extracts the beast's bowels, broils them on coals, Rewards his raches with that repast and bread. Then he slits meat boldly in bright, broad slabs, And hacks off the haslets from the huge creature, And the halves of that hog all whole does he fasten, And then hangs them high on a hardy pole. Now with this same swine they speed toward home; The boar's head was borne before the lord himself, Who had felled him in the ford by the force of his hand so strong. He would see Sir Gawain, Who had spent the day in song; He called, and Gawain then came, Their gleeful game to prolong.

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The lord, loud with his speech, also laughed merrily; When he saw Sir Gawain, with pleasure he speaks. The good ladies were called, and the company gathered; He shows them the slabs and shapes for them the tale Of their largeness and length, the lustiness also Of the war with the wild swine in the woods where he fled. That courtier very courteously commended his deeds, And praised that great prize provided by him, For such meat on a beast, the bold knight said, Nor such sides on a swine he never saw before. Then they handled the huge head; the handsome man praised it, And appeared horrified by it to honor the lord. "Now Gawain," said the good man, "this game is your own, In keeping with the covenant you clearly do acknowledge." "This is certain," said the knight, "and to truly assure you, All my gain I shall give you again, on my honor." He holds his host's shoulders and humbly kisses him, And then served him the same soon after that.

1622 To receive his spoils there. 1626 SCHAPES HEM delivers to them 1627 LARGESSE width ... Lil>ERNE3 fierceness 1630 PROVED shown 1636 FYN perfect ... PASTE binding 1637 SOTHE true 1639 He [embraces] the lord around the neck and kisses him politely,

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"Now ar we euen," quop pe hapel, "in pis euentide Of alle pe couenauntes pat we knyt sypen I com hider, bi lawe." l>e lorde sayde, "Bi Saynt Gile, 3e ar pe best pat I knowe; 3e hen ryche in a whyle Such chaffer and 3e drowe."

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l>enne pay teldet table3 trestes alofte, Kesten clope3 vpon; clere lY3t penne Wakned bi wo3e3 waxen torches. Segge3 sette and serued in sale al aboute; Much glam and gle glent vp perinne Aboute pe fyre vpon flet, and on fele wyse At pe soper and after, mony apel songe3, As coundutes of Krystmasse and carole3 newe, With alle pe manerly merpe pat mon may of telle; And euer oure luflych kny3t pe lady bisyde. Such semblaunt to pat segge semly ho made, Wyth stille, stollen countenaunce pat stalworth to plese, l>at al forwondered wat3 pe wy3e and wroth wyth hymseluen. Bot, he nolde not, for his nurture, nurne hir a3ayne3, Bot dalt wyth hir al in daynte, how-se-euer pe dede turned to wrast. Quen pay bade played in halle As longe as hor wylle horn last, To chambre he con hym calle, And to pe chemne pay past.

67

Ande per pay dronken, and dalten, and demed eft nwe To norne on pe same note on Nwe 3ere3 Euen, Bot pe kny3t craued leue to kayre on pe morn, For hit wat3 ne3 at pe terme pat he to schulde. l>e lorde hym letted of pat, to lenge hym resteyed, And sayde, "As I am trwe segge, I siker, my trawpe, l>ou schal cheue to pe Grene Chapel py charres to make, Leude, on Nw 3ere3 LY3t, longe bifore pryme. Forpy, pow lye in py loft and lach pyn ese,

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1642 KNYT made 1647 If you continue such bargaining. 1651 SALE hall 1652 GLENT sprang 1653 FELE WYSE many ways 1654 Al>EL splendid 1657 LUFLYCH handsome 1658 SEMLY sweetly 1659 STILLE, STOLLEN calm, furtive ... STALWORTH stalwart one 1660 So that the knight was completely amazed and apprehensive within himself.

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"Now are we even," said the hero, "on this eventide Of all the covenants we agreed on since I came here, by law." The lord said, "By Saint Giles, You are the noblest I ever saw. You will be rich after these trials; Your bargaining has no flaw."

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They turned up tables on trestles strong, And cast cloths thereon; then crackling flames Were kindled on the walls' waxen torches. When the people were seated and served in the palace, Much merrymaking and music mounted therein Around the fire in the room, flaring on high, During supper and after, songs of delight, Like conductus for Christmas and carols new, With all the mannerly mirth that mortals remember; And always our hero went around with the lady. Sweet glances to Gawain she secretly gave, With a countenance calm, so conveyed to the courtier That amazed and dismayed and moved greatly was he. Yet, due to good breeding, he would not go against her, But dealt with her discreetly, no matter how her deeds were cast. When they had rejoiced in the hall As long as their desire did last, The lord Gawain did call, And to a chamber then they passed.

67

They sipped drinks there, and spoke, and considered anew To continue the covenant on the coming year's eve, But Gawain wanted permission to go away on the mom, For it was nearing the time when he needed to travel. The lord, to prevent that, pressed him to linger, And said, "As I am a true soul, I assure you, on my honor, You shall get to the Green Chapel to accomplish your mission, Sir, certainly by the New Year, surely before prime. You may lie in your loft and lounge at your ease,

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1662 DAYNTE respect ... TURNED tended 1663 to turn 1665 HOM LAST remained with them 1666-67 He did call him to [the] chamber,/And they proceeded to the fireplace. 1669 NOTE business 1670 KAYREjoumey 1671 TO SCHULDE should go 1672 HYM LETTED OF l>ATheld him back from that 1675 LY3T Day 1676 FORl>Ytherefore ... LACH obtain

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And I schal hunt in pis holt and halde pe towche3, Chaunge wyth pe cheuisaunce bi pat I charre hider, For I Iiaf fraysted pe twys, and faythful I fynde pe; Now, 'prid tyme prowe best,' penk on pe mome. Make we mery quyl we may and mynne vponjoye, For pe lur may mon lach whenso mon lyke3." l>is wat3 graypely graunted, and Gawayn is lenged; Blipe bro3t wat3 hym drynk, and pay to bedde 3eden wyth li3t. Sir Gawayn lis and slepes Ful stille and softe al ni3t; l>elorde, pat his crafte3 kepes, Ful erly he wat3 di3t. After messe a morsel he and his men token. Miry wat3 pe momyng; his mounture he askes. Alle pe hapeles pat on horse schulde helden hym after Were boun husked on hor blonkke3 bifor ere pehalle 3ate3. Ferly fayre wat3 pefolde for pe forst clenged; In rede rudede vpon rak: rises pe sunne, And ful clere coste3 pe clowdes of pe welkyn. Hunteres vnhardeled bi a holt syde; Rocheres roungen bi rys for rurde of her homes. Summe fel in pe fute per pefox bade, Trayle3 ofte a trayteres bi traunt of her wyles. A kenet kryes perof, pe hunt on hym calles; His fela3es fallen hym to, pat fnasted ful pike, Runnen forth in a rabel in his ry3t fare, And he fyske3 hem byfore. l>ay founden hym sone, And quen pay seghe hym wyth sy3t, pay sued hym fast, Wre3ande hym ful weterly with a wroth noyse; And he trantes and tomayee3 pur3 mony tene greue, Hauiloune3 and herkene3 bi hegge3 ful ofte. At pe last bi a littel dich he lepe3 ouer a spenne, Stele3 out ful stilly bi a strothe rande, Went hafwylt of pe wode, wyth wyle3, fro pe houndes. l>enne wat3 he went er he wyst to a wale tryster, l>erpre pro at a prich prat hym at ones,

1682 For one may accept the misfortune whenever one wishes. 1683 GRAYJ:>ELYpromptly 1684 BLIJ:>Ereadily 1688 CRAFTE3 KEPES affairs must manage 1689 DI3T prepared 1693 BOUN BUSKED readily arrayed ... BIFOR ERE earlier before 1694 FOLDE earth 1697 VNHARDELED unleashed [hounds] 1698 RURDE sound 1699 BADE stayed

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And I shall hunt in this holtand hold to the pact To trade truly our gain by the time I return, For I have tested you twice and can tell you were faithful; Now, 'the third time thrives best;' think of that on the mom. We should make merry while we may and be mindful of joy, For misfortune must we manage more than we wish." This was gladly granted, and Gawain is delayed; Drink briskly was brought to them, and to bed they did go, by torchlight. Sir Gawain then lies asleep Full still and soft all night; The lord, his covenant to keep, Full early rose upright. After mass a morsel he and his men ate. Pleasant was the morning when his mount was prepared. All the men who on horseback should move after him Had been geared to go on steeds earlier before the castle's gates. Fully fair were the fields with the frost clinging fast, As the ruddy red sun rises over the path, And the clouds in the sky clearly sweep by. Hunters hurried their hounds by a holt thick with trees; Rocky banks by the branches rang from horn blasts. Some fell on the trail where the fox traveled, Track often the traitorous one with their trickery well-taught. Then a small hound howls, calls the hunters on the beast; His fellow hounds scamper fast, sniffing for the fox, Ran forth in a rabble on the right path; Though he flies before them, they found him soon, And when they saw him with sight, they pursued him swiftly, Denouncing him vociferously with a fierce noise. He twists and turns through troublesome thickets, Doubles back and harkens by bushes full often. At last by a little ditch he leaps over a hedge, Slips away very silently by a secluded wood, Hoping to escape from the hounds quickly running. Then he had raced before realizing it to a rallying station, Where threatening him with a thrust were three of the hounds,

1700 TRAUNT strategy ... WYLES wiles 1702 FALLEN HYM TO rush toward him ... FUL l>IKE very rapidly 1704 FYSKE3 scampers 1706 WETERLY clearly 1710 STROTHE RANDE wooded border 1711 Hoping to have escaped out of the forest, by [his] ruses, from the hounds. 1712 WALE TRYSTER choice hunting station 1713 l>ROsavage hounds

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al graye. He blenched a3ayn bilyue, And stifly start on-stray; With alle pe wo on lyue, To pe wod he went away.

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Thenne wat3 hit lof vpon list to lypen pe hounde3, When alle pe mute hade hym met, menged togeder. Suche a SOf3eat pat sY3t pay sette on his hede, As alle pe clamberande clyffes hade clatered on hepes. Here he wat3 halawed when hapele3 hym metten; Loude he wat3 3ayned wyth 3arande speche. l>er he wat3 preted and ofte pef called, And ay pe titleres at his tayl pat tary he ne my3t. Ofte he wat3 runnen at when he out rayked, And ofte reled in a3ayn; so Reniarde wat3 wyle. And 3e, he lad hem bi lagmon, pe lorde and his meyny, On pis maner, bi pe mountes, quyle myd-ouer-vnder, Whyle pe hende knY3t at home holsumly slepes Withinne pe comly cortynes on pe colde morne. Bot, pe lady, for luf, let not to slepe, Ne pe purpose to payre pat pY3t in hir hert, Bot ros hir vp radly, rayked hir peder In a mery mantyle, mete to pe erpe, l>atwat3 furred ful fyne wyth felle3 wel pured, No hwe3 goud on hir hede, bot pe ha3er stones Trased aboute hir tressour be twenty in clusteres; Hir pryuen face and hir }>rote}>rowenal naked, Hir brest bare bifore, and bihinde eke. Ho come3 wythinne pe chambre dore and closes hit hir after, Wayue3 vp a wyndow and on pe wy3e calle3, And radly pus rehayted hym wyth hir riche wordes, wyth chere. "A, mon, how may pou slepe? l>is morning is so clere." He wat3 in drowping depe, Bot J:>ennehe con hir here. In dre3 droupyng of dreme draueled pat noble,

1715 He turned again quickly, 1716 ON-STRAY on a different course 1717 WO ON LYUE woe in existence 1719 LOF pleasing 1720 MUTE pack ... MENGED mingling 1721 SOR3E curse 1726 AY always 1729 MEYNY company 1734 PAYRE fail

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all gray. He flinched and turned and fled, And far that prey did stray; In dreadful fear he sped To the woods without delay.

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Then was it harmonious to the ear to hear the hounds, When all the dogs in a drove dashed upon him. Such insults at that sight they set on his head, As if all the clambering cliffs had crashed into heaps. Now he was called out when men encountered him; Loudly he was opposed with abusive language. Then he was threatened and often called a thief, As hounds trailed at his tail so that tarry he could not. Often he was run at when he rushed into the open, And often he whirled around again; thus Reynard was wily. And yes, he led them to the last man, the lord and his followers, In this manner, over the mounts, until midaftemoon, While the noble knight sleeps soundly at home Within the comely curtains on the cold morning. But, the lady, on Gawain's account, did not allow sleep, Nor impairing of the purpose that was put in her mind, But rose up right away, and to his room did go In a marvelous mantle, measured to the ground, That was furred so finely with fashionable pelts, No excellent coif on her head, only exquisite gems Clasped around her tressure in clusters of twenty; Her enthralling face and her throat were thrillingly naked, Her breast bare in front, and shoulders in back also. She comes quickly to the chamber door and closes it after her, Opens a window wide to awaken the knight, And thus sweetly scolded him with her pleasant speech, with cheer. "Ah, sir, how can you sleep? This morning is so clear." He was in slumber deep, But then he her did hear.

In the midst of a dreary dream that nobleman mumbled,

1735 RAYKED HIR hastened 1737 PURED trimmed 1739 TRASED adorned 1740 l>RYUEN lovely ... l>ROWEN were laid 1743 WAYUE3 flings 1744 RADL Y promptly 1748 DROWPING uneasy sleep 1750DRE3 DROUPYNG dismal anxiety

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As mon pat wat3 in momyng of mony pro po3tes, How pat destine schulde pat day his wyrde At pe Grene Chapel when he pe gome metes, And bihoues his buffet abide withoute debate more; Bot, quen pat comly he keuered his wyttes, Swenges out of pe sweuenes and sware3 wyth hast, Pe lady luflych com, la3ande swete, Felle ouer his fayre face and fetly hym kyssed. He welcume3 hir worpily with a wale chere; He se3 hir so glorious, and gayly atyred, So fautles of hir fetures, and of so fyne hewes. Wi3t wallande joye warmed his hert; Wyth smope smylyng and smolt, pay smeten into merpe, Pat al wat3 blis and bonchef pat breke hem bitwene, and wynne. Pay lauced wordes gode; Much wele pen wat3 perinne. Gret perile bitwene hem stod, Nif Mare of hir kny3t mynne. ffor, pat prynce of pris depresed hym so pikke, Numed hym so ne3e pe pred pat nede hym bihoued Oper lach per hir luf oper lodly refuse. He cared for his cortaysye, lest crapayn he were, And more for his meschef 3if he schulde make synne, And be traytor to pat tolke pat pat telde a3t. "God schylde!" quop pe schalk. "Pat schal not befalle!" Wyth luf-la3yng a lyt, he layd hym bysyde Alle pe speche3 of specialte pat sprang of her mouthe. Quop pat burde to pe bume: "Blame 3e disserue 3if 3e luf not pat lyf pat 3e lye nexte, Bifore alle pe wy3e3 in pe worlde wounded in hert, Bot if 3e haf a lemman, a leuer, pat yow lyke3 better, And folden fayth to pat fre, festned so harde Pat yow lausen ne lyst; and pat I leue noupe And pat 3e telle me. Pat now trwly I pray yow, For alle pe lufe3 vpon lyue, layne not pe sope ffor gile."

1755 COMLY handsome man ! 756 SWEUENES dreams 1758 FELLE bent down 1759 WALE pleasant 1762 WI3T swiftly 1763 SMOLT agreeable ... SMETEN glided 1764 BONCHEF good cheer 1770 Therefore, that prince of excellence checked himself so continuously, 1771 NURNED went ... NEDE HYM BIHOUED he was necessarily obliged

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Like a mortal in mourning over miserable thoughts, How destiny would deliver that day his fate At the nearby Green Chapel when he encounters the knight, And must abide his buffet without more debate. When that cautious courtier finally recovered his wits, Swings out of his slumber and answers in haste, The lovely lady stepped nearer, smiling sweetly, Felt his fair face and fittingly kissed him. He welcomes her worthily with a willing expression; He saw her so glorious, and elegantly attired, So faultless in her features, and with such fine colors. Joy welling warmly awakened his heart; With smooth smiling so stirring, they slipped into mirth, And all was blissful and buoyant that between them did pass, with delight. They uttered words so good That happiness was at its height. Great peril between them stood, If Mary thought not of her knight. Now, that proper prince prevailed so often, Yet was needled so near the line that he needed then Either to latch on to her love or reluctantly refuse. He cared for his courtesy, lest a churl he be called, But more for his misfortune if he should commit sin, And be a traitor to that true man who controlled that castle. "God shield me!" said the knight. "That shall not befall!" With a little light laughing, he laid to the side All the speeches so special that sprang from her mouth. "Your blame is unbounded," without blushing she said, "If you love not that being beside whom you lie, Wounded at heart more than all humans in the world, Unless you have a lover, more lovely and pleasing, And have fixed your faith on her, fastened it well, And you would not wish to lose her; I would believe that now If you say that to me surely. Since I ask you sincerely, For all the loves in life, do not lean now toward guile."

1772 LODLY impolitely 1775 TOLKE lord ... A3T owned 1776 SCHYLDE forbid 1777 LUF-LA3YNG affectionate laughing 1779 BURDE lady ... BURNE knight 1782 LEUER dearer one 1783 FRE noble lady 1784 LAUSEN NE L YST do not desire to break [it] 1786 LAYNE NOT l>E SOl>Edo not hide the truth

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l>e kny3t sayde, "Be Sayn Jon," And smepely con he smyle, "In fayth, I welde ri3t non, Ne non wil welde pe quile."

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"l>at is a worde," quop pat wy3t, "pat worst is of alle, Bot I am swared forsope. l>atsore me pinkke3; Kysse me now, comly, and I schal each hepen. I may bot moume vpon molde as may pat much louyes." Sykande, ho swe3e doun and semly hym kyssed, And sipen ho seueres hym fro and says as ho stondes: "Now, dere, at pis departyng, do me pis ese; Gif me sumquat of py gifte, pi gloue of hit were, l>atI may ·mynne on pe, moo, my moumyng to !assen." "Now iwysse," quop pat wy3e, "I wolde I hade here l>eleuest ping, for py luf, pat I in londe welde, For 3e haf deserued, forsope, sellyly ofte More rewarde, bi resoun, pen I reche my3t. Bot, to dele yow for drurye, pat dawed bot neked; Hit is not your honour to haf at pis tyme A gloue for a garysoun of Gawayne3 gifte3, And I am here an erande in erde3 vncoupe, And haue no men wyth no male3 wyth menskful pinge3. l>atmislyke3 me, lade, for luf, at pis tyne. Iche tolke mon do as he is tan; tas to non ille ne pine." "Nay, hende ofhy3e honours," Quop pat lufsum vnder lyne; "l>a3 I bade 03t of youre3, 3et schulde 3e haue of myne."

73

Ho ra3t hym a riche rynk of red golde werke3, Wyth a starande ston stondande alofte, l>athere blusschande beme3 as pe bry3t sunne. Wyt 3e wel hit wat3 worth wele ful hoge. Bot, pe renk hit renayed, and redyly he sayde, "I wil no gifte3, for Gode, my gay, at pis tyme; I haf none yow to nome, ne no3t wyl I take."

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1790-91 In truth, I possess none at all,/Nor do [I] desire to possess any at this time. 1792 WY3T lady 1793 l>AT SORE ME l>INKKE3 that seems painful to me 1794 COMLY handsome man 1795 MOLDE earth 1797 Sll>EN then ... SEUERES HYM FRO parts from him 1799 OF HIT WERE even if it would be 1801 IWYSSE indeed 1803 SELL YLY very

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The knight said, "By Saint John," And smoothly did he smile, "In truth, my loves are gone, Nor do I want any for a while."

1790 72

"That speech," said the wife, "is surely the worst, But I am honestly answered, and in anguish I stay; So kiss me, dear courtier, and I shall go from here. I must mourn beneath the moon like a maiden who loves much." Sighing, she swept down and sweetly kissed him, And swiftly she steps back and says as she stands: "Dear prince, before I depart, do me this favor; Give me something as your gift, your glove, at least, So that I may remember my man, my mourning to lessen." "I would wish I had here," Gawain said sincerely, "The most precious prize, for your sake, that I possess on earth, For you have deserved, for sure, so very often, More reward, by right, than I really could offer. But, to give you a keepsake never crossed my mind; It honors you not at all to have at this time A glove from Gawain as a gift to cherish, When I am here on a mission in areas strange, And have no people with packages of priceless things. That displeases me, dear lady, during this brief time, But each man must do what he can; so master yourself and do not pine." "Nay, noble knight of high honors," Said that lady so lovely and fine; "Though I had wished for a gift of yours, Yet you should have one of mine."

73

She offered him a rich ring with red gold designs, With a shining stone standing upright, Which bore brilliant beams as bright as the sun. It was worth very much wealth, you may well understand. But, the royal knight refused it, and readily he said, "I desire no gifts, before God, good lady, at this time; I have none for you now, and none will I accept."

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1805 However, to repay you by means of [a] keepsake, that would be worth but little; 1807 GARYSOUN payment 1810 FOR LUF for [your] sake 1811 TAN required ... TAS TO NON ILLE carry on not with displeasure 1812 or with distress 1814 LUFSUM lovely lady ..

. LYNE linen 1815 HADE O3T would have [liked] anything I 823 NORNE give

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Ho bede hit hym ful bysily, and he hir bode wemes, And swere swyftel his sothe pat he hit sese nolde; And ho sore pat he forsoke and sayde perafter, "If 3e renay my rynk to ryche for hit seme3, 3e wolde not so hy3ly halden be to me, I schal gif yow my girdel, pat gaynes yow lasse." Ho la3t a lace lY3tly, pat pat leke vmbe hir syde3, Knit vpon hir kyrtel vnder pe clere mantyle. Gered hit wat3 wyth grene sylke and wyth golde schaped, No3t bot arounde brayden, beten wyth fyngre3; And pat ho bede to pe bume and blypely biso3t, l>a3hit vnworpi were, pat he hit take wolde; And he nay pat he nolde neghe in no wyse Nauper golde ne garysoun, er God hym grace sende To acheue to pe chaunce pat he bade chosen pere. "And perfore, I pray yow, displese yow no3t, And lette3 be your bisinesse, for I baype hit yow neuer to graunte. I am derely to yow biholde Bicause of your sembelaunt, And euer in hot and colde To be your trwe seruaunt."

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"Now forsake 3e pis silke," sayde pe burde penne, "For hit is symple in hitself? And so hit wel seme3. Lo, so hit is littel, and lasse hit is worpy, Bot whoso knew pe costes pat knit ar perinne, He wolde hit prayse at more prys, parauenture; For quat gome so is gorde wyth pis grene lace, While he hit bade hemely halched aboute, l>eris no hapel vnder heuen tohewe hym pat my3t, for he my3t not be slayn for sly3t vpon erpe." l>enkest pe kny3t, and hit come to his hert Hit were a juel for pe joparde pat hym jugged were. When he acheued to pe chapel his chek for to fech, Niy3 he haf slypped to be vnslayn, pe sle3t were noble. l>ennehe pulged with hir prepe and poled hir to speke, And ho here on hym pe belt and bede hit hym swype, And he granted and hym gafe with a goud wylle,

1831 KNIT tied ... CLERE beautiful 1834 BEDE offered 1836 But he refused because he would not accept by any means 1838 CHAUNCE venture 1840-41 And give up your asking, for I will never permit you/to grant it. 1842 DERELY deeply 1850 PARAUENTURE perhaps

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She offered it to him eagerly, but her offer he refuses, And swore swiftly for sure that he would not accept it; And she was sorry that he forsook it and said thereafter, "If you refuse my ring because too rich does it seem, And you wish not to be so highly beholden to me, I shall give you my girdle, which gains you less." Quickly she seized a belt, that which was bound round her sides, Coiled around her kirtle under the clinging cloak. It was geared with green silk and with gold trimmed, Embroidered only along the edges, embellished with pendants; And that she extended to the hero and eagerly beseeched, Though it were unworthy, that he would take it; But he said he would not because he would never accept Either gold or goods, until God send him grace To accomplish the errand that he had undertaken there. "And therefore, I pray you, think not with displeasure, And forget about this kindness, for I cannot allow your gift to me. Indebted to you have I been Because of your hospitality, And always through thick and thin, A true servant to you will I be."

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"Do you forsake this silk belt," said the lady then, "Because it is simple in itself? And so it well seems. Lo, so it is little, and it is less worthy, But whoever knew the attributes established therein Would appraise it at a better price, perhaps best of all; For whatever courtier is girded with this green belt, While he had it handsomely arrayed around him, No earthling under heaven could hew him to pieces, For he could not be slain through any strategy on earth." Then Gawain did muse, and it came to his mind It would be a jewel for the jeopardy on that challenging day. When he reached the right chapel to receive his blow, It certainly would be splendid to forestall being slain. Then he was patient with her disputing and pressed her to speak, And she displayed the bright belt and bade him to take it, And she transferred and consigned it with good pleasure,

1852 HEMEL Y HALCHED properly fastened

1856 HYM JUGGED WERE had been assigned

to him

1858 Should he have escaped misfortune in being not slain, 1860 BERE thrust ... BEDE offered ... SWYl>Eeagerly

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1859 l>OLED allowed

And biso3t hym, for hir sake, disceuer hit neuer, Bot to lelly layne for hir lorde; peleude hym acorde3 l>atneuer wy3e schulde hit wyt, iwysse, bot pay twayne, for no3te. He ponkked hir oft ful swype, Ful pro wyth hert and po3t. Bi pat on prynne sype Ho hat3 kyst pe knY3t so to3t.

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Thenne lachche3 ho hir leue and leue3 hym pere, For more myrpe of pat mon mo3t ho not gete. When he wat3 gon, Sir Gawayn gere3 hym sone, Rises and riches hym in araye noble, Lays vp pe luf-lace pe lady hym ra3t, Hid hit ful holdely per he hit eft fonde. Sypen cheuely to pe chapel choses he pe waye, Preuely aproched to a prest, and prayed hym pere l>athe wolde lyfte his lyf and lern hym better How his sawle schulde be saued when he schuld seye hepen. l>erehe schrof hym schyrly and schewed his mysdede3, Of pe more and pe mynne, and merci beseche3, And of absolucioun he on pe segge calles; And he asoyled hym surely and sette hym so clene, As dome3day schulde haf hen di3t on pe morn; And sypen he mace hym as mery among pe fre ladyes, Wyth comlych caroles and alle-kynnes joye, As neuer he did bot pat daye, to pe derk ny3t, wyth blys. V che mon hade daynte pare Of hym, and sayde, "lwysse, l>us myry he wat3 neuer are, Syn he com hider, er pis." Now hym lenge in pat lee; per luf hym bityde! 3et is pe lorde on pelaunde, ledande his gomnes. He hat3 forfaren pis fox pat he fol3ed longe; As he sprent ouer a spenne to spye pe schrewe, l>erashe herd pe howndes pat hasted hym swype,

1863 LELLY faithfully 1864 HIT WYT, IWYSSE, know about it, indeed, 1865 on any account. 1866 SWYl>E sincerely 1867 l>03T consideration 1868-69 By that time on three occasions/She has kissed the knight so firm. 1870 Then she takes her leave and departs from him there, 1872 GERE3 HYM prepares himself 1873 RICHES HYM dresses himself

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And beseeched him, for her sake, to show it never, But to hide it in the presence of her husband; the hero agrees That never should a soul, except them, know anything, indeed. He thanked her often then, Earnestly, as was his need. Then she kissed him again, For the third time taking that lead.

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Then she stands up straight and steps back from him there, For more mirth from that man she might not obtain. When she was gone, Sir Gawain gets ready quickly, Rises and arrays himself in regal clothes, Lays away the love band the lady had given him, Hid it very faithfully where he could find it after. Then cheerfully to the chapel he chooses the way, Privately approached a priest, and promptly asked If he would tell him truly and teach him better How his soul should be saved when he would cease to be. Then he confessed cleanly and declared his misdeeds, Concerning the gr~ater and the smaller, and calls for mercy, And he asks for absolution from that holy man; And he absolved him surely and set him so pure, As if doomsday should have been destined on the mom; And then he makes himself so merry among the noble ladies, With agreeable carols and all kinds of mirth, As he had never done but on that day, to the dark night, with bliss. Each one thought him clever, And said, "His glee is not amiss; So merry was he never, Since he came here, before this." Now let him carry on in that castle; may glory befall him! Yet is the lord on the land, leading his games, Having fallen on this fox that he followed long. As he sprang over shrubbery to perceive the wretch, Where he heard the hounds who hurried swiftly,

1876 CHEUEL Y promptly 1878 L YFTE HIS L YF lift his spirit 1879 SEYE HEl>EN pass away 1880 SCHROF HYM shrove himself 1882 SEGGE priest 1889-90 Each one there had admiration/For him, and said, "Indeed, 1891 ARE before 1892 ER l>ISuntil this time 1893 HYM LENGE let him linger 1895 FORFAREN headed off 1896 SPENNE hedge

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Renaud com richchande pu13 a ro3e greue, And alle pe rabel in a res ry3t at his hele3. l>ewy3e wat3 war of pe wylde, and warly abides, And brayde3 out pe bry3t bronde, and at pe best caste3, And he schunt for pe scharp and schulde haf arered; A rach rapes hym to rnt er he my3t, And ry3t bifore pe hors fete pay fel on hym alle, And woried me pis wyly wyth a wroth noyse. l>elorde ly3te3 bilyue and cache3 by sone, Rased hym ful radly out of pe rach moupes, Halde3 he3e ouer his hede, halowe3 faste, And per bayen hym mony bray hounde3. Huntes hY3ed hem peder wyth home3 ful mony, Ay rechatande ary3t til pay pe renk se3en. Bi pat wat3 comen his compeyny noble, Alie pat euer her bugle blowed at ones, And alle pise oper halowed, pat hade no homes; Hit wat3 pe myriest mute pat euer mon herde, l>erich rurd pat per wat3 raysed for Renaude saule, wyth lote. Hor hounde3 pay per rewarde; Her her hede3 pay fawne and frote. And sypen pay tan Reynarde, And tyruen of his cote.

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And penne pay helden to home, for hit wat3 nie3 nnt, Strakande ful stoutly in hor store home3. Pe lorde is ly3t at pe laste at hys lef home, Fynde3 fire vpon flet, pe freke perbyside, Sir Gawayn pe gode, pat glad wat3 wythalle; Among pe ladies for luf he ladde much joye. He were a bleaunt of blwe pat bradde to pe erpe; His surkot semed hym wel, pat softe wat3 forred, And his hode of pat ilke henged on his schulder; Blande al of blaunner were hope al aboute. He mete3 me pis god-mon inmydde3 pe flore, And al with gomen he hym gret, and goudly he sayde,

1902 ARERED retreated 1903 RY3T ER HE MY3T just before he could 1906 CACHE3 BY SONE hurries nearby immediately 1907 RACH MOUl>ES mouths of the raches 1909 And then many vociferous hounds bark at him. 1911 AY continually . . . SE3EN saw 1912 COMEN arrived 1915 MUTE sound 1917 with voice heads. 1920 SYl>ENafterwards ... TAN take

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1919 Now they stroke and caress their

Reynard came running through a rough thicket, With all the rabble in a rush right at his heels. The man was aware of the wild one, and warily waits, And swings out his shiny sword, and strikes at the beast, Who swerved from the sharp blade with a sudden tum. A rach races toward him, ready for rough play, And right before the horse's feet they all fell upon him, And worried this wily one with wrathful noise. The lord alights quickly and leaps forward then, Snatched him full swiftly from strong jaws of the dogs, Holds him high over his head, hallooes vigorously, As many hungry hounds hover and bark. Hunters hastened to that place with horns so many, Blowing recheat aright until they reached the lord. When his noble company had all gathered there, All who always bore bugles blew at once, And all these others hallooed, those who had no horns; It was the merriest mingling that man ever heard, The rich racket raised there for Reynard's life, denied. Their hounds they then reward, Stroking their heads with pride. From Reynard who once had soared, They strip his scrawny hide.

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And then they hurry toward home, sitting high on their horses, Blowing full briskly on their bright horns. The lord alights at last at his luxurious castle, Finds a fire in the grate, with the courtier nearby, The good Sir Gawain, who was glad indeed, Having experienced much happiness with those honored ladies. He wore a rich robe of blue that reached to the ground; His surcoat, softly furred, suited him well, And his hood of similar material hung from his shoulder, Both trimmed with ermine and elegantly tailored. Gawain meets the good man in the middle of the floor, And he greeted him graciously, and gleefully he said,

1921 And strip off his pelt. 1922 HELDEN proceed ... NIE3 NY3T nearly night 1923 STORE loud 1924 IS L Y3T has arrived ... LEF pleasant 1925 VPON FLET in [the] room 1927 FOR LUF because of [their] affection ... LADDE had experienced 1928 BLEAUNT silk mantle 1931 BLANDE trimmed ... BLAUNNER ermine 1933 GOMEN delight ... GOUDLY graciously

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"I schal fylle vpon fyrst oure forwarde3 noupe, J>atwe spedly han spoken per spared wat3 no drynk." J>enacoles he knY3t and kysses hym ],ryes, As sauerly and sadly as he hem sette coupe. "Bi Kryst," quo], pat oper kny3t, "3e each much sele In cheuisaunce of pis chaffer, 3if 3e hade goud chepe3." "3e ofpe chepe no charg," quo], chefly pat oper, "As is pertly payed pe chepe3 pat I a3te." "Mary!" quo], pat oper mon, "myn is bihynde, For I haf hunted al pis day, and no3t haf I geten Bot pis foule fox felle; pe fende haf pe gode3 ! And pat is ful pore for to pay for suche prys pinges As 3e haf pry3t me here pro, suche pre cosses so gode." "Ino3!" quo], Sir Gawayn; "I ponk yow, bi pe rode." And how pe fox wat3 slayn He tolde hym as pay stode.

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With merpe and mynstralsye, wyth mete3 at hor wylle, J>aymaden as mery as any men mo3ten, Wyth la3yng of ladies, wyth lote3 of hordes; Gawayn and pe gode-mon so glad were pay hope Bot if pe douthe had doted oper dronken hen oper. Bope pe mon and pe meyny maden mony jape3 Til pe sesoun wat3 se3en pat pay seuer moste; Bume3 to hor bedde behoued at pe laste. J>ennelo3ly hi$ leue at pe lorde fyrst Fochche3 pis fre mon, and fayre he hym ponkke3: "Of such a sellyly sojome as I haf hade here, Your honour at pis hy3e fest; pe hy3e Kyng yow 3elde! I 3ef yow me for on of youre3, if yowreself lyke3, For I mot nedes, as 3e wot, meue tomome, And 3e me take sum tolke to teche, as 3e hY3t, J>egate to pe Grene Chapel, as God wyl me suffer To dele on Nw 3ere3 Day pe dome of my wyrdes." "In god faype," quo], pe god-mon, "wyth a goud wylle Al pat euer I yow hy3t, halde schal I rede." J>erasyngnes he a seruaunt to sett hym in pe waye,

1937 SAUERLY enthusiastically 1939 IN CHEUISAUNCE in [the] gain 1940 3E you ... NO CHARG should not be concerned 1945 PRYS excellent 1946 l>ROearnestly 1949 RODE cross 1956 DOUTHE group ... DOTED acted foolishly 1958 SESOUN time

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"I shall fulfull at first our fixed covenant now, That we speedily spoke about when no drink was spared." Gawain clasps the knight and gives him three kisses, As surely and soundly as he could secure them. "By Christ," said the great lord, "you have caught much gain In achieving this merchandise, if you chose good bargains." "Be not concerned about the bargains," Gawain promptly said, "Since plainly paid are the prices that I owed." "Mary!" said that other man, "mine is inferior, For I have hunted all this day, and nothing have I gotten But this foul fox's pelt; may the fiend have the profits! And that is very poor to pay for such priceless things As you have thoroughly thrust on me, such as three kisses so good." "Enough!" said Sir Gawain, Who thanked him, as he should. And how the fox was slain He told him where they stood.

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With mirth and minstrelsy, with meats of their desire, They made as merry as any men could, With laughing of ladies, with light jesting of lords; Gawain and the good man were so glad together Unless the doughty ones had dared to drink too much. Both the man and the meiny made many jokes, Until the hour had arrived when they had to part, And people proceeded to go promptly to bed. Then politely his leave, from the lord first, The traveler does take, and truly he thanks him: "For such a fascinating sojourn as I have spent here, And your courtesy at this feast; may the high King favor you! To check my way to the challenge, I would choose a guide, For I must necessarily, as you know, move in the morning, And you should assign me some man to show, as you promised, The course to the Green Chapel, since God will suffer me To yield on New Year's Day to the doom ofmy fate." "In good faith," said the good man, "with a good will, All that I ever offered I shall hold to now." Then he assigns a servant to set him on the way,

1959 BEHOUED were obliged [to go] 1961 FREMON noble man ... FAYRE properly 1962 SELLYLY marvelous 1964 I pledge myself to you in exchange for one [guide) of yours, if [it] suits you, 1968 DELE receive 1970 YOW HY3T promised you ... REDE readily

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And coundue hym by pe downe3, pat he no drechch had For to fyk puf3 pe fryth and fare at pe gaynest bi greue. l>e lorde Gawayn con ponk; Such worchip he wolde hym weue. l>en at po ladye3 wlonk l>e knY3t hat3 tan his leue. With care and wyth kyssyng he carppe3 hem tille, And fele pryuande ponkke3 he prat horn to haue, And pay 3elden hym a '3ay' 3eply pat ilk; l>ay bikende hym to Kryst wyth ful colde sykynge3. Sypen fro pe meyny he menskly departes; V che mon pat he mette, he made hem a ponke For his seruyse, and his solace, and his sere pyne, l>at pay wyth busynes had hen aboute hym to serue; And vche segge as sore to seuer wyth hym pere As pay hade wonde worpyly wyth pat wlonk euer. l>en wyth ledes and ly3t he wat3 ladde to his chambre, And blypely bro3t to his bedde to be at his rest. 3if he ne slepe soundyly say ne dar I, For he bade muche on pe morn to mynne, 3if he wolde, in po3t. Let hym lY3e pere stille; He hat3 nere pat he so3t. And 3e wyl a whyle be stylle, I schal telle yow how pay wro3t.

Nowne3e3 pe Nw 3ere, and pe ny3t passe3; l>e day dryue3 to pe derk, as Dry3tyn bidde3. Bot, wylde wedere3 of pe worlde wakned peroute; Clowdes kesten kenly pe colde to pe erpe, Wyth ny3e innoghe of pe norpe, pe naked to tene. 1>esnawe snitered ful snart, pat snayped pe wylde; l>ewerbelande wynde wapped fro pe hy3e, And drof vche dale ful of dryftes ful grete. l>e leude lystened ful wel, pat le3 in his bedde; l>a3 he lowke3 his lidde3, ful lyttel he slepes.

1973 FOR TO FYK in hurrying ... FARE proceeding 1976-78 He would wish to show him similar respectJThen from those noble ladiestThe knight has taken his leave. 1979 CARPPE3 HEM TILLE speaks to them 1980 FELE l>RYUANDE many sincere 1981 3EPLY l>AT ILK promptly the same way

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And conduct him through the downs, so no delay would he have In faring through the forest and finding the fastest way through each grove. Gawain did thank the lord; To honor him he strove. For those ladies in accord, Words of praise he wove.

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With care and with kissing he carries on then, And he urged them to accept his heartfelt thanks, And they yielded him a 'yea' in a harmonious way, Commending him to Christ with cries and sighs. Then from the company he courteously parts; To each man whom he met, he mentioned his thanks For his service, and his solace, and his separate concern, Since they had been seriously serving him with care; And each squire was as sorry to sever from him there As if they had always dwelled well with that wonderful knight. Then by fellows with torchlight he was led to his chamber, And blithely brought to his bed to be at his rest. That he slept soundly I dare not say, For he had much on the morn to remember, ifhe would, in thought. Let him lie there still; He is nearing what he sought. Now to satisfy your will, I shall tell you what was wrought.

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Now nears the New Year, and the night passes; The day drives through the darkness, as the dear Lord bids. But, wild weathers in the world awakened out there; Clouds keenly cast cold ice on the earth, With enough gnawing from the north to hurt the naked flesh. The snow swept down sharply, snapping at wild creatures; The whistling wind rushed wildly from the heavens, And filled every dale full of drifts piled high. The fellow who lay in his bed listened full well; Though he locks his eyelids, very little does he sleep.

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1982 BIKENDE commended ... COLDE sorrowful 1986 BUSYNES care 1988 WLONK noble knight 1996 If you will be still awhile, 1997 WR03T acted 1999 DRY3TYN God 2002 NY3E affliction 2003 SNAYPED pained 2004 HY3E high heavens 2005 FUL GRETE very huge

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Bi vch kok pat crue he knwe wel pe steuen; Deliuerly he dressed vp er pe day sprenged, For pere wat3 ly3t of a lampe pat lemed in his chambre. He called to his chamberlayn, pat cofly hym swared, And bede hym bryng hym his bruny and his blonk sadel. l>at oper ferke3 hym vp and feche3 hym his wede3, And graype3 me Sir Gawayn vpon a grett wyse. Fyrst he clad hym in his clope3 pe colde for to were, And sypen his oper harnays, pat holdely wat3 keped, Bope his paunce and his plate3, piked ful clene, l>erynge3 rokked of pe roust of his riche bruny; And al wat3 fresch, as vpon fyrst, and he wat3 fayn penne to ponk. He bade vpon vche pece, Wypped ful wel and wlonk; l>egayest into Grece l>ebume bede bryng his blonk. Whyle pe wlonkest wedes he warp on hymseluen, His cote wyth pe conysaunce of pe clere werke3 Ennumed vpon veluet, vertuuus stone3 Aboute beten and bounden enbrauded seme3, And fayre furred wythinne wyth fayre pelures, 3et, laft he not pe lace, pe ladie3 gifte; l>at forgat not Gawayn for gode of hymseluen. Bi he hade belted pe bronde vpon his bal3e haunche3, l>enn dressed he his drurye double hym aboute; Swype swepled vmbe his swange swetely pat kny3t l>egordel of pe grene silke, pat gay wel bisemed Vpon pat ryol red elope pat ryche wat3 to schewe. Bot, wered not pis ilk WY3efor wele pis gordel, For pryde ofpe pendaunte3, pa3 polyst pay were, And pa3 pe glyterande golde glent vpon ende3, Bot for to sauen hymself, when suffer hym byhoued To byde bale wythoute dabate, of bronde hym to were, oper knyffe. Bi pat pe bolde mon boun Wynne3 peroute bilyue,

2009 DELIUERLY HE DRESSED VP he got up quickly 2011 l>AT COFLY HYM SWARED who answered him promptly 2012 HIS BLONK SADEL saddle his steed 2013 FERKE3 HYM VP hastens forth 2016 HOLDELY faithfully 2018 RICHE BRUNY splendid cuirass 2019 FRESCH untarnished . .. WATI FA YN was eager 2022 WLONK beautifully

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By each cock that crowed he recognized the time, And, before daylight was dispersed, he leapt from his bed, For there was light from a lamp that illuminated his chamber. He called to his chamberlain, who quickly came running, And bade bring him his cuirass and get his horse saddled. That other follows orders and fetches his apparel, And equips Sir Gawain in an excellent way. First he clad him in his garments to repel the cold, And then his good gear, that was graciously maintained, His belly armor and steel plates, polished very brightly, The rings of his clinging cuirass, cleansed of the rust; And all was sparkling and splendid, and he desired then his thanks to show. He had on every piece, Polished to a perfect glow; The greatest as far as Greece Was geared to confront his foe. When he proudly put on his most precious apparel, His bright coat with the emblem of beautiful needleworks Stitched on soft velvet, with valuable stones Adorned and bound about embroidered seams, And fashioned fairly within with very fine furs, Yet, he left not the girdle, the lady's gift; Gawain did not forget that for the good of himself. When he had secured the sword over his sturdy hips, He drew that dear keepsake doubly around him, Swiftly wrapping around his strong waist The girdle of green silk, which suited him well Upon that royal red cloth resplendent to see. But, Gawain did not wear this girdle for its wealth, For pride in the pendants, though polished they were, And though the glittering gold gleamed at the edges, But to save himself, when he must submit To that blow without debate, and bolster himself from sword, or knife. From the chamber he goes down, Thinking to save his life;

2023 GAYEST most magnificent knight ENNURNED embellished pleasurably

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ing destruction ...

2024 Ordered the man to bring his steed.

2032 BAL3E bulging

2033 DRESSED arranged

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ILK WY3E same knight 2041 BYDE BALE await-

WERE protect 2043-44 When the armed, brave man/Goes outside quickly,

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Alie pe meyny of renoun He ponkke3 ofte ful ryue.

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Thenne wat3 Gryngolet graype, pat gret wat3 and huge, And bade ben sojourned sauerly, and in a siker wyse; Hym lyst prik for poynt, pat proude hors penne. l>ewy3e wynne3 hym to and wyte3 on his lyre, And sayde soberly hymself, and by his soth swere3: "Here is a meyny in pis mote pat on menske penkke3. l>emon hem maynteines; joy mot pay haue! l>eleue lady on lyue luf hir bityde! 3if pay for charyte cherysen a gest, And halden honour in her honde, pe Hapel hem 3elde, l>athalde3 pe heuen vpon hy3e, and also yow alle; And 3if I my3t lyf vpon londe lede any quyle, I schuld rech yow sum rewarde redyly, if I my3t." l>enn steppe3 he into stirop and stryde3 alofte. His schalk schewed hym his schelde; on schulder he hit la3t, Gorde3 to Gryngolet wyth his gilt hele3, And he starte3 on pe ston. Stod he no lenger to praunce. His hapel on hors wat3 penne, l>athere his spere and launce. "l>is kastel to Kryst I kenne; He gef hit ay god chaunce." The brygge wat3 brayde doun and pe brode 3ate3 Vnbarred and born open vpon hope halue . l>eburne blessed hym bilyue and pe brede3 passed, Prayses pe porter bifore pe prynce kneled, Gef hym god and goud day, pat Gawayn he saue, And went on his way wyth his WY3eone, l>atschulde teche hym to tourne to pat tene place, l>erpe ruful race he schulde resayue. l>aybo3en bi bonkke3 per bo3e3 ar bare; l>ay clomben bi clyffe3 per clenge3 pe colde. l>eheuen wat3 vp halt, bot vgly pervnder; Mist rouged on pe mor, malt on J:>emounte3.

2045-46 All the group of renown/He thanks often very amply. 2049 HYM L YST PRIK FOR POYNT wished to gallop due to [good) conditioning 2050 The knight goes to him and looks at his flesh, 2054 May glory befall the dear lady during [her) lifetime! 2058 L YF VPON LONDE LEDE lead [a) life upon earth

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He thanks those people of renown, And feels ready for the strife.

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Then Gringolet was geared, that grand horse so huge, Having been quartered agreeably, in a careful way; As the proud horse pranced, preparing to gallop, Gawain goes forward, gazing at its flesh, Saying seriously himself, and swearing on his honor: "Here is a group in this castle that concentrates on courtesy. The master maintains them; joy may they have! May fine fortune befall that fair lady always! If they with charity cherish a guest, And hold honor in their hand, may the high Lord reward them, He who rules the heavens on high, and also all of you; And if I might live upon land any length of time, I would render you some reward readily, if I could." Then he steps into the stirrup and straddles aloft. His guide gave him his shield; he slipped it on his shoulder, And kicks at Gringolet with his gilt heels. The steed springs over the stones, staying no longer to prance. His guide had got on his horse, He who bore his spear and lance. "May Christ this castle enforce, And your lives with love enhance." The bridge was brought down and the broad gates Unbarred and borne open upon both sides. He called for God's blessing while crossing the planks, Praises the porter kneeling before the prince, Bid him good fortune and good-bye, since he saved Gawain, And went on his way with his wise guide, Who would teach him how to travel to that terrible place, Where the rueful rap receive he must. They moved briskly by banks where boughs are bare; They climbed over cliffs where the cold ice clings. Clouds were carried high, but it was ugly thereunder; Mist amassed on the moor, melted on the mounts,

2061 LA3T raised

2062 GORDE3 spurs 2067 KENNE commend 2068 May he grant it always good fortune. 2071 The knight blessed himself quickly and crossed the planks, 2074 WYTH HIS WY3E ONE only with his guide 2077 B03EN moved 2079 HALT raised 2080 MUGED drizzled

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Yeh hille hade a hatte, a myst-hakel huge. Broke3 byled and breke by bonkke3 aboute, Schyre schaterande on schore3 per pay doun schowued. Wela wylle wat3 pe way per pay bi wod schulden, Til hit wat3 sone sesoun pat pe sunne ryses pat tyde. l>aywere on a hille ful hy3e; l>e quyte snaw lay bisyde. l>ebume pat rod hym by Bede his mayster abide,

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"ffor I hafwonnen yow hider, wy3e, at pis tyme, And now nar 3e not fer fro pat note place l>at 3e han spied and spuryed so specially after; Bot I schal say yow forsope, sypen I yow knowe, And 3e ar a lede vpon lyue pat I wel louy, Wolde 3e worch bi my wytte, 3e worped pe better. l>eplace pat 3e prece to ful perelous is halden; l>er wone3 a wy3e in pat waste, pe worst vpon erpe, For he is stiffe and stume, and to strike louies, And more he is pen any mon vpon myddelerde, And his body bigger pen pe best fowre l>at ar in Arpure3 hous, Hestor, oper oper. He cheue3 pat chaunce at pe Chapel Grene, l>er passes non bi pat place so proude in his armes l>athe ne dymne3 hym to depe wyth dynt of his honde; For he is a mon methles, and mercy non vses, For be hit chorle oper chaplayn pat bi pe chapel rydes, Monk oper masseprest, oper any mon elles, Hym pynk as queme hym to quelle as quyk go hymseluen. Forpy, I say pe, as sope as 3e in sadel sitte, Com 3e pere, 3e be kylled; may pe, kny3t, rede, Trawe 3e me pat trwely, pa3 3e had twenty lyues to spende. He hat3 wonyd here ful 3ore, On bent much baret bende; A3ayn his dynte3 sore 3e may not yow defende. "Forpy, goude Sir Gawayn, let pe gome one,

2086 during that season 2089 The guide who rode by him 2091 WY3E sir 2095 LOUE love 2096 WORl>ED l>EBETTER would fare the better 2106 METHLES ruthless

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And each hill had a hat, a huge mantle of mist. Streams surged and erupted along slopes round about, Sheerly splashing on shores where they swiftly swept down. Wild was the way when they went through the woods, Till it was soon time for the sun to rise that day. They were high on a hill; Around them white snow lay. The guide, who had great skill, Bid his master stay,

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"For I have gotten you here, Gawain , at this time, And now you are not far from that notorious place That you have searched for and spoken of with special intent; But I shall say for sure, since I know you now, And you are a hero on earth whom I honor well, If you would follow my advice, you would venture no further. The place that you press to full perilous is held; There dwells a warrior in that wasteland, the worst upon earth, For he is strong and stern, and seeks always to strike, And more monstrous is he than any man on earth, And his body is bigger than the best four Who are in Arthur's house, or Hector, or any other. If he achieves the chance at the Chapel Green, There passes no one by that place so proud in his armor That he does not condemn to death by delivering a blow; For he is a murderous man, a merciless master, For be it churl or chaplain who by the chapel rides, Monk or mass priest, or any man at all, He would just as soon slay him than stay alive himself. Therefore, I say to you, as surely as you sit in the saddle, If you go there, you will be killed; if I may counsel you, knight, Trust what I truly say, though you had twenty lives to spend. He has lived here very long, And slays all men in the end; Against his strokes so strong, You can not yourself defend.

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"Therefore, good Sir Gawain, let the creature alone,

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2109 QUEME pleasing 2112 TRAWE 3E ME l>AT TRWELY you may certainly believe that from me 2115 Caused much strife in (the) field; 2116 SORE grievous

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And got3 away sum oper gate, vpon Godde3 halue. Cayre3 bi sum oper kyth, per Kryst mot yow spede, And I schal hy3 me horn a3ayn; and hete yow fyrre, l>atI schal swere bi God, and alle his gode hal3e3As help me God-and pe halydam, and ope3 innoghe, l>atI schal lelly yow layne, and lauce neuer tale l>ateuer 3e fondet to fie for freke pat I wyst." "Grant merci," quop Gawayn, and gruchyng he sayde: "Wel worth pe, WY3e,pat wolde3 my gode, And pat lelly me layne; I leue wel pou wolde3, Bot helde pou hit neuer so holde, and I here passed, Founded for ferde for to fie in fourme pat pou telle3, I were a knY3t kowarde; I my3t not be excused. Bot, I wyl to pe chapel for chaunce pat may falle, And talk wyth pat ilk tulk pe tale pat me lyste, Worpe hit wele oper wo, as pe wyrde lyke3 hit hafe. l>a3ehe be a sturn knape To sti3tel, and and stad wyth staue, Ful wel con Dry3tyn schape His seruaunte3 for to saue." "Mary!" quo}, pat oper mon; "now pou so much spelle3 l>atpou wylt pyn awen nye nyme to pyseluen; And pe lyst Iese py lyf, pe lette I ne kepe. Haf here pi helme on py hede, pi spere in pi honde, And ryde me doun pis ilk rake bi 30n rokke syde, Til pou be bro3t to pe bopem of pe brem valay. l>enne loke a littel on pe launde on pi lyfte honde, And pou schal se in pat slade pe self chapel, And pe borelych burne on bent, pat hit kepe3. Now fare3 wel, on Gode3 half, Gawayn pe noble! For alle pe golde vpon grounde I nolde ge wyth pe, Ne here pe fela3schyp pur3 pis fryth on fote fyrre." Bi pat pe wy3e in pe wod wende3 his brydel, Hit pe hors wyth pe hele3 as harde as he my3t, Lepe3 hym ouer pe launde, and leue3 pe kny3t pere al one.

2120 CAYRE3 travel 2124 LELLY faithfully 2125 FONDET proceeded 2126 GRUCHYNG indignantly 2128 LEUE believe 2129 NEUER SO HOLDE ever so loyally 2130 FOUNDED traveling ... FOR TO FLE IN FOURME to flee in [the] way 2134 WORI>EHIT come from it ... L YKE3 desires 2135 to have it

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And go away some other way, on God's behalf . Cross over to some other country, where Christ may assist you, And I shall hurry home again; I assure you also, Since I shall swear by God, and all his good saintsSo help me God-and the holy relics, and oaths enough, That I shall truly keep the secret, and never tell the tale That you ever favored fleeing from the freak I described." "Many thanks," said Gawain, but gruffly he spoke: "May good fortune settle on you, sir, who desire my safety, And who certainly would keep the secret; I am sure you would, But even if you held it always inside, and I from here did pass, Wandering away in fear, fleeing far, as you say, I would be a cowardly courtier; excused I could not be. Now, whatever fate may befall, I will fare to the chapel, And say to that same foe the speech that I wish, Whether for my welfare or woe, as fate would have it for me. Though he be a stern man, From him I must not flee; Full well can the good Lord plan To answer his servant's plea." "Mary!" said that other man. "Must you preach so much? You will only manage to make misfortune for yourself; So if you wish to lose your life, I must let you go alone. Have now your helmet for your head, your spear in your hand, And ride down this same road alongside that rock, Till you are brought to the bottom of that broken valley. Then look a little to the land on your left hand, And you shall see in that slade the same chapel, And the burly being who abides in that place . Now farewell, on God's behalf, noble Gawain! For all the gold in the ground I would not go with you, Nor bear you fellowship through this forest one foot further." Then the wise guide in the woods wields his bridle, Hit the horse with his heels as hard as he could, Lets him leap over the land, and leaves the knight there alone.

2137 To fight, when also equipped with a club, 2138 DRY3TYN SCHAPE God arrange 2139 To save his servants. 2141 That you will bring your own misfortune upon yourself; 2142 l>E LEITE I NE KEPE I do not wish to prevent you 2145 BREM rugged 2148 BENT field ... KEPE3 maintains 2154 LEPE3 HYM gallops

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"Bi Godde3 self," quop Gawayn, "I wyl nauper grete ne grone; To Godde3 wylle I am ful bayn, And to hym I haf me tone."

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Thenne gyrde3 he to Gryngolet and gedere3 pe rake, Schowue3 in bi a schore at a scha3e syde, Ride3 pur3 pe ro3e honk ry3t to pedale; And penne he wayted hym aboute, and wylde hit hym po3t, And se3e no syngne of resette bisyde3 nowhere, Bot hy3e bonkke3 and brent vpon hope halue, And ru3e, knokled knarre3 wyth knorned stone3; l>e skwe3 of pe scowtes skayned, hym po3t. l>enne he houed and wythhylde his hors at pat tyde, And ofte chaunged his cher pechapel to seche. He se3 non suche in no syde-and selly hym po3tSaue, a lyttel on a launde, a lawe, as hit we, A bal3 ber3 bi a bonke pe brymme bysyde, Bi a for3 of a flode pat forked pare; l>eborne blubred perinne as hit boyled hade. l>ekny3t kache3 his caple, and com to pe lawe, Li3te3 doun luflyly, and at a lynde tache3 l>erayne and his riche with a ro3e braunche. l>enne he bo3e3 to pe ber3e; aboute hit he walke3, Debatande wyth hymself quat hit be my3t. Hit hade a hole on pe ende and on ayper syde, And ouergrowen wyth gresse in glodes aywhere, And al wat3 hol3 inwyth, nobot an olde caue, Or a creuisse of an olde cragge; he coupe hit no3t deme wyth spelle. "We, Lorde," quop pe gentyle kny3t, "Wheper pis be pe Grene Chapelle, He my3t aboute mydny3t l>edele his matynnes telle. "Now iwysse," quop Wowayn, "wysty is here; l>is oritore is vgly, wyth erbe3 ouergrowen;

2158-59 To God's will I am fully obedient,/And I have entrusted myself to him. spurs 2161 SCHOWUE3 presses ...

SCHA3E thicket 2169 SECHE seek

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"By God himself," said Gawain, "I will neither weep nor groan. Trusting in God is my gain; I must not linger and moan."

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Then he kicks at Gringolet and goes along the path, Rambles on by a ridge near a rough thicket, Rides along the rugged slope right into the dale; And then he observed around him, and it appeared wild to him, And he saw no sign of shelter anywhere in the vicinity, Only high hills so steep on either side, And rugged, cleft crags with rough stones; The clouds were pierced by the cliffs, it appeared to him. Then he halted and withheld his horse at that time, And frequently turned his face to find the chapel. He saw no such thing on any side-which did seem strangeSave, a short distance into the glade, a dreary mound, A round barrow on a slope beside the bank, By the channel of a stream that swept and churned; The brook bubbled therein as if it had boiled. The courtier prods his mount, and came to the mound, Leaps down lightly, and at a linden tree ties The rein and his regal steed to a rough branch. Then he busies himself at the barrow; about it he walks, Debating with himself what it might be. It had a hole on the end and on each side, And was overgrown with grass gathered in patches, And was all hollow within, only an old cave, Or a crevice in an old crag; he could not declare which in that dell. "Alas, Lord," said the noble knight, "If the chapel is set in this hell, He might about midnight To the devil his matins tell. "Now indeed," said the doughty knight, "desolation is here; This oratory is ugly, overgrown with herbs;

2171 LAWE, AS HIT WE mound, as it were 2173 FERKED l>AREflowed there 2178 B03E3 goes 2183 HIT N03T DEME not decide that 2184 with words 2189 WOWAYN Gawain

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Wei biseme3 pe wy3e wruxled in grene Dele here his deuocioun on pe deuele3 wyse. Now I fele hit is pe fende, in my fyue wytte3, Pat hat3 stoken me pis steuen to strye me here. Pis is a chapel of meschaunce, pat chekke hit bytyde! Hit is pe corsedest kyrk pat euer I com inne!" With he3e helme on his hede, his launce in his honde, He rome3 vp to peroffe ofpo ro3 wone3. Pene herde he of pat hy3e hil, in a harde roche Bi3onde pebroke, in a honk, a wonder breme noyse. Quat! Hit clatered in peclyff, as hit cleue schulde, As one vpon a gryndelston hade grounden a sype. What! Hit wharred and whette as water at a mulne. What! Hit rusched and rouge, rawpe to here. Penne, "Bi Godde," quop Gawayn, "pat gere, at I trowe Is ryched at pe reuerence, me renk to mete bi rote. Let God worche! We loo! Hit helppe3 me not a mote; My lif pa3 I forgoo, Drede dot3 me no lote." Thenne pe kny3t con calle ful hY3e: "Who sti3tle3 in pis sted me steuen to holde? For now is gode Gawayn goande ry3t here. If any wy3e 03t wyl, wynne hider fast, Oper now oper neuer, his nede3 to spede." "Abyde," quop on on pebonke abouen, ouer his hede, "And pou schal haf al in hast pat I pe hY3t ones." 3et he rusched on pat rurde rapely a prowe, And wyth quettyng awharf, er he wolde IY3t; And sypen he keuere3 bi a cragge, and come3 of a hole, Whyrlande out of a wro wyth a felle weppen, A Dene3 ax nwe dY3t, pe dynt wyth 03elde, Wyth a borelych bytte bende by pehalme, Fyled in a fylor, fowre fote large. Hit wat3 no lasse bi pat lace pat lemed ful bry3t. And pe gome in pegrene gered as fyrst, Bope pe lyre and pe legge3, lokke3 and berde,

2194 STRYE destroy 2195 l>ATCHEKKE HIT BYTYDE since ruin would befall it 2196 l>AT ... INNE into which 2206 RYCHED prepared ... ME RENK TO METE may ring to greet me 2207 with ceremony 2209 It helps me not a bit [to fear];

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It favors that freak fashioned in green To drone here his devotions in the devil's manner. Now I perceive, with my five senses, it is the fiend Who has made this meeting to murder me here. This is a chapel of mischance, chosen for ruin! It is the most cursed church that a champion could come to!" With helmet high on his head, and in his hand his lance, He roams up to the roof of the rough dwellings. Then from that high hill he heard, on a hard rock Beyond the brook, on a bank, a loud buzzing noise. What! It clattered on the cliff, seeming to cleave it, As if someone on a grindstone had sharpened a scythe. What! It whirred and whizzed like water at a mill. What! It rushed and rang, wrathful to hear. Then, "By God," said Gawain, "that gear, which I believe Is being sharpened for my sake, rings ceremoniously for the blow. Let God decide! Ah well! Shuddering I must not show; Quivering I must now quell, Though I my life forgo."

Then the courtier called clear and loud: "Who prepares in this place the appointment to keep? For now is good Gawain going right here. If any creature has a claim, he quickly should come, Either now or never, his needs to fulfill." "Abide," said one on the bank above, over his head, "And you shall have in a hurry what I once promised." Yet he rushed on with that ringing rapidly for a time, When he went back to whetting, before he would come down; Then he crosses by a crag, and comes from a cleft, Whirling out of a corner with a cruel weapon, A Danish axe designed anew, with which to deal the blow, With a biting blade, burnished along the edge, Sharpened on a grindstone, and surely four feet wide. It was no less gruesome because of the girdle gleaming bright. And the creature in the green came geared as before, Both the face and the legs, locks and beard,

2210-11 Though I may lose my life,/Fear will bring me no good fortune. 2212 HY3E loudly 2215 03T WYL wishes anything 2219 RURDE sound 2224 BORELYCH sturdy ... BENDE curved ... HALME shaft 2226 LASSE smaller 2227 GERED appeared

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Saue pat fayre on his fote he founde3 on pe erpe, Sette pe stele to pestone, and stalked bysyde. When he wan to pe watter, per he wade nolde; He hypped ouer on hys ax, and orpedly stryde3, Bremly brope on a bent pat brode wat3 aboute, on snawe. Sir Gawayn pe knnt con mete; He ne lutte hym nopyng lowe. l>atoper sayde, "Now, sir swete, Of steuen mon may petrowe.

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"Gawayn," quop pat grene gome, "God pemot loke! Iwysse, pou art welcom, wy3e, to my place; And pou hat3 tymed pi trauayl as truee mon schulde, And pou knowe3 pecouenaunte3 kest vus bytwene. At pis tyme twelmonyth pou toke pat pe falled, And I schulde at pis Nwe 3ere 3eply pe quyte, And we ar in pis valay, verayly oure one. Here ar no renkes vs to rydde; rele as vus like3. Haf py helme of py hede, and haf here py pay; Busk no more debate pen I pe bede penne, When pou wypped of my hede at a wap one." "Nay, bi God," quop Gawayn, "pat me gost lante, I schal gruch peno grwe for grem pat falle3; Bot sty3tel pevpon on strok, and I schal stonde stylle, And warp pe no wemyng to worch as pe lyke3, nowhare." He lened wyth penek and lutte, And schewed pat schyre al bare, And lette as he no3t dutte; For drede he wolde not dare.

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Then pe gome in pe grene grayped hym swype, Gedere3 vp hys grymme tole Gawayn to smyte; Wyth alle pebur in his body, he her hit on lofte, Munt as ma3tyly, as marre hym he wolde.

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2231 WAN arrived 2232 ORPEDLY boldly 2233 BREMLY BROl>E extremely fast ... BRODE broad 2236 He did not bow low to him by any means. 2237 SWETE handsome knight 2238 One may trust you with [an] appointment. 2240 IWYSSE indeed ... WY3E sir 2243 l>AT l>E FALLED what was assigned to you 2244 3EPLY l>E QUYTE promptly repay you 2246 RELE AS VUS LIKE3 [we) may whirl about as [it) pleases us 2248 l>E BEDE l>ENNE gave you then 2249 WAP blow

126

Save fairly on his feet he flies over the earth, Setting the shaft on the stones, and stepping alongside. When he wended to the water, he would not wade there; He hopped over on his axe, and eagerly strides Briskly and boldly to a field, buried round about in snow. Sir Gawain the knight did greet, By no means bowing low. That other said, "Now, courtier sweet, You ar~ truly a trustworthy foe.

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"Gawain," said that green man, "may God protect you! I welcome you, brave warrior, to this abode of mine; You have timed your traveling as a true man should, And you recognize the covenants cast between us. At this time twelve months ago you took on a task, And I am prepared to repay you promptly today, While we are in this valley, verily alone. No men are here to pull us apart and prevent our encounter; So take your helmet off your head, and have here your payment. Provide no more opposition than I was permitted, When with a single swing you swiped off my head." "Nay, by God," said Gawain, "who gave me a soul, I shall neither grumble nor grudge you your gruesome blow; Only settle on one stroke, and I shall stand still, And neither debate nor delay your doing as you like, in your lair." He kneeled down without spear, And revealed his neck all bare. He showed no sign of fear; To tremble he would not dare.

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Then that knight geared in green quickly got ready, Heaves high his hideous weapon to hack at Gawain; With strength bursting from his body, he bore it aloft, Threatening a mighty thrust that would thrash him thoroughly.

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2251 I shall grumble against you not a bit because of harm that may befall; 2252 STY3TEL J>E exert yourself 2253 And offer you no opposition against doing as [it] pleases you, 2254 in any way 2255 He leaned forward with his neck and kneeled down, 2256 SCHYRE fair flesh 2257-58 And acted as if he feared nothing;/He would not tremble with fright. 2259 GRAYl>EDHYM prepared himself 2260 GEDERE3 lifts 2261 BUR strength 2262 Aimed so violently, as if he would destroy him.

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Hade hit dryuen adoun as dre3 as he atled, l>erhade ben ded of his dynt pat do3ty wat3 euer; Bot, Gawayn on pat giserne glyfte hym bysyde, As hit com glydande adoun on glode hym to schende, And schranke a lytel wyth pe schulderes for pe scharp yrne. l>atoper schalk, wyth a schunt, pe schene wythhalde3, And penne repreued he pe prynce wyth mony prowde worde3: "l>ou art not Gawayn," quop pe gome, "pat is so goud halden, l>at neuer ar3ed for no here by hylle ne be vale, And now pou fies for ferde er pou fele harme3. Such cowardise of pat knY3t cowpe I neuer here; Nawper fyked I ne fla3e, freke, quen pou myntest, Ne kest no kauelacion in Kynge3 hous Arthor. My hede fla3 to my fote, and 3et fla3 I neuer, And pou, er any harme bent, ar3e3 in hert; Wherfore, pe better burne me burde be called, perfore." Quop Gawayn: "I schunt one3, And so wyl I no more; Bot, pa3 my hede falle on pe stone3, I con not hit restore. "Bot busk, burne, bi pi fayth, and bryng me to pe poynt; Dele to me my destine, and do hit out of honde, For I schal stonde pea strok and start no more, Til pyn ax haue me hitte; haf here my trawpe." "Haf at pe penne!" quop pat oper, and heue3 hit alofte, And wayte3 as wropely, as he wode were. He mynte3 at hym ma3tyly, bot not pe mon ryne3, Withhelde heterly his honde, er hit hurt my3t. Gawayn graypely hit byde3, and glent wyth no membre, Bot stode stylle as pe ston, oper a stubbe auper l>at rapeled is in roche grounde wyth rote3 a hundreth. l>enmuryly efte con he mele, pe mon in pe grene: "So, now pou hat3 pi hert holle, hitte me bihouis. Halde pe now pe hy3e hode pat Arpur pe ra3t, And kepe py kanel at pis kest, 3if hit keuer may." Gawayn ful gryndelly wyth greme penne sayde:

2264 There would have been dead from his blow he who had always been brave; 2265 GLYFfE HYM BYSYDE glanced sideways 2266 ON GLODE HYM TO SCHENDE above [the] snowy surface to destroy him 2271 NEUER AR3ED FOR NO HERE never shuddered before any group 2277 HENT receiving 2278 BURNE ME BURDE BE knight I ought to be

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Had it driven down as deeply as he had aimed, Then dead from that blow would have been dear Gawain; But, the courtier then gave a side glance at that axe, As it glided down grimly in that glade of snow, And shrank a little with his shoulders from the sharp weapon. That strong man, with a swerve, the shiny steel withholds, And then he reproved the prince with many proud words: "You can not be Gawain," said the man, "considered so great, Always hearty before enemies on hill or in vale, If you flinch now with fear before you feel harm. Such cowardice in that courtier I could never conceive; I neither flinched nor fled, man, when you aimed, Nor uttered any objection in King Arthur's house. My head flew to my feet, and yet flinched I never, And you, before harm hits, at heart do shudder; Wherefore, the better battler I had better be called, therefore." "I swerved once," said Gawain, "And so I will no more; But, if my head falls off in pain, I can not it restore. "Now move briskly, strange being, and bring me to the point; Deal to me my destiny, and do it at once, For I shall stay still for your stroke and swerve no more, Until your axe has hit me; have here my pledge." "Get ready then!" roared that other, and raises it aloft, And stares so wrathfully, as ifhe were insane. He takes a mighty aim, but does not touch the man, Withheld his hand hastily, before it might hurt. Gawain grimly awaits it, and grimaces not a bit, But stood as still as a stone, or a strong stump That is gripped in rocky ground with a hundred roots. Then merrily once more the green man did speak: "Now that you hold your heart so firm, it behooves me to strike. May Arthur's noble order of knighthood maintain you now, And preserve your collarbones from this stroke, if that can be." Gawain in great anger then uttered these words:

2288 HAF AT l>E let [me] at you 2290 MYNTE3 aims ... MA3TYLY violently 2292 GRAYl>ELY readily . . . GLENT flinched . . . MEMBRE limb 2297 May the noble order of knighthood that Arthur bestowed upon you maintain you now, 2298 3IF HIT KEUER MAY if it can achieve [that] 2299 GRYNDELL Y WYTH GREME fiercely with resentment

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"Wy presch on pou, pro mon? l>ou l>rete3 to longe. I hope pat pi hert a£3e wyth pyn awen seluen." "Forsope," quop pat oper freke, "so felly pou speke3; I wyl no lenger on lyte lette pin emde ri3t nowe." penne tas he hym strype to stryke, And frounse3 hope lyppe and browe; No meruayle pa3 hym myslyke l>athoped of no rescowe.

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He lyftes ly3tly his lome, and let hit doun fayre Wyth pe barbe of pe bitte bi pe bare nek; l>a3he homered heterly, hurt hym no more Bot snyrt hym on pat on syde, pat seuered pe hyde. l>e scharp schrank to pe flesche puf3 pe schyre grece, l>atpe schene blod ouer his schulderes schot to pe erpe; And quen pe bume se3 pe blode blenk on pe snawe, He sprit forth spenne-fote more pen a spere lenpe, Hent heterly his helme and on his hed cast, Schot wyth his schuldere3 his fayre schelde vnder, Brayde3 out a brY3t sworde, and bremely he speke3; Neuer, syn pat he wat3 bume borne of his moder, Wat3 he neuer in pis worlde wy3e half so blype: "Blynne, burne, of py bur; bede me no mo. I haf a stroke in pis sted wythoute stryf hent, And if pow reche3 me any mo, I redyly schal quyte, And 3elde 3ederly a3ayn, and perto 3e tryst, and foo. Bot on stroke here me falle3; l>e couenaunt schop ry3t so, Festned in Arpure3 halle3, And perfore, hende, now hoo!"

94

The hapel heldet hym fro and on his ax rested, Sette pe schaft vpon schore and to pe scharp lened, And loked to pe leude pat on pe launde 3ede, How pat do3ty, dredles, deruely per stonde3 Armed, ful a3le3; in hert hit hym lyke3.

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2300 l>RESCHON do carry on . . . l>ROperverse 2302 FORSOl>Eindeed 2303 ON LYTE by hesitating ... LETTE delay 2307-8 No wonder if [it) should worry him/Who could hope for no rescue. 2311 HETERLY viciously 2312 SNYRT to nick 2313 SCHARP SCHRANK sharp tip sank ... SCHYRE fair

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"What thwarts you, thoughtless man? You threaten too long. I suspect your heart is horrified within your own self." "You are foolish," said that fellow, "so fiercely to speak; I will no longer allow delaying of your errand right now." Then to strike he takes a stride, And purses both his lips and brow; The noble knight, kneeling with pride, Thought only how to keep his vow.

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He swiftly lifts his weapon, and let it down skillfully With the barb of the blade on the bare neck; Though he swung hard, he hurt him no more Than to slit him on that one side, so that the skin split. The blade bit into the body through the bare flesh, So that shiny blood over his shoulders shot to the earth; And when Gawain glanced at the blood gleaming on the snow, He speedily sprang forth more than a spear's length, Seized his helmet swiftly and set it on his head, Slid with his shoulders his splendid shield down, Sweeps out a bright sword, and sternly he speaks; Never as a human being born from his mother Was he ever in this world so wonderfully happy: "Cease, sir, from your onslaught; swing at me no more. I have withstood your stroke without striking back, And I readily shall retaliate, if you render me more, By striking back swiftly; be sure of that, my foe. Only one stroke here may me befall, For the covenant was shaped just so, Fastened there in Arthur's hall; Therefore, good sir, no further go!"

94

That earthling then harkened, holding onto his axe, Set the shaft at a slant and leaned toward the sharp blade, And looked at the knight who stood near on the land, How that gallant Gawain courageously stands, Armed, and full hardy; at heart it does please him.

f. 126

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2316 SPENNE-FOTE with feet together 2321 WY3E [a] being 2322 BEDE deal 2323 I have taken a stroke in this place without opposition, 2326 and fiercely 2330 HOO stop 2331 The man moved away from him and rested on his axe, 2334 D03TY, DREDLES brave one, undaunted 2335 A3LE3 fearless

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l>ennhe mele3 muryly wyth a much steuen, And wyth a rykande rurde he to pe renk sayde: "Bolde bume, on pis bent be not so gryndel; No mon here vnmanerly pe mysboden habbe, Ne kyd bot as couenande at kynge3 kort schaped. I hy3t pea stroke, and pou hit hat3; halde pe wel payed. I relece pe of pe remnaunt of rY3tes alle oper. Uf I deliuer had bene, a boffet, paraunter, I coupe wropeloker haf waret, to pe haf wro3t anger. Fyrst I mansed pe muryly wyth a mynt one, And roue pe wyth no rof-sore. Wyth ry3t I pe profered For pe forwarde pat we fest in pe fyrst ny3t, And pou trystyly pe trawpe and trwly me halde3; Al pe gayne pow me gef as god mon schulde. l>atoper munt for pe mome, mon, I pe profered, l>ou kyssedes my clere wyf; pe cosse3 me ra3te3. For hope two here I pe bede bot two bare myntes boute scape. Trwe mon trwe restore; l>ennepar mon drede no wape. At pe prid pou fayled pore, And perfor pat tappe tape. "ffor, hit is my wede pat pou were3, pat ilke wouen girdel; Myn owen wyf hit pe weued, I wot wel, forsope. Now know I wel py cosses, and py costes als, And pe wowyng of my wyf I wro3t hit myseluen. I sende hir to asay pe, and sothly me pynkke3 On pe fautlest freke pat euer on fote 3ede. As perle bi pe quite pese is of prys more, So is Gawayn, in god fayth, bi oper gay kny3te3. Bot, here yow lakked a lyttel, sir, and lewte yow wonted, Bot pat wat3 for no wylyde werke, ne wowyng nauper, Bot for 3e lufed your lyf; pe lasse I yow blame." l>atoper stif mon in study stod a gret whyle, So agreued for greme, he gryed wythinne. Alle pe bl ode of his brest blende in his face,

2337 RYKANDE RURDE ... RENK knight 2339 MYSBODEN mistreated 2340 KYD BOT AS acted except as ... SCHAPED was arranged 2341 HY3T l>E promised you ... HALDE l>E consider yourself 2342 RY3TES claims 2343-44 If I had been agile, a buffet, perhaps,/1 could more violently have dealt, to have brought you misfortune. 2345 MYNT ONE single threat 2346 And did not slit you with [a] gash. I held back from you with justice

132

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2345 f. 126b

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2355

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Then he smiles and speaks with a resonant voice, And with a clear command, he called to Gawain: "Fearless fellow, on this field be not so fierce; No man here has handled you unmannerly, Nor cancelled the covenant arranged at king's court. I held to one stroke, which you have; so step away. I release you from the remainder of all rightful claims. If I had wished to deliver a more deliberate whack, I could have violently voided you, been the victor supreme. First I menaced you merrily with a missed swing, And refrained from rough ripping. I rightly held back Because we kept on the first night the covenant cleanly, When you carried out the pledge correctly, as you had promised; You gave me all the gain as a good man should. That other miss I made, good man, for the morning You kissed my dear wife; ·the kisses you dealt me. For both occasions I gave you but two quick threats, with my arm. A true man must truly restore; Then one need fear no harm. The third time you were loyal no more, And therefore that tap brought alarm.

"It is my gear you are gripped with, that girdle of green; My wife wished it on you, I know well, indeed. I am cognizant of your kisses, the circumstances attached, And the wooing of my wife I wrought myself. I told her to tempt you, and you truly seem to me The most nearly faultless knight who ever on foot went. As a pearl by the white pea is priced much higher, So is Gawain, in good faith, beside other gallant knights. However, you lacked a little, sir, and your loyalty was wanting, But that was not for wild wickedness, nor wooing either, But because you loved your life; thus the less I blame you." That other strong man stood seriously a long time, So overcome with grief, he cried within. All the blood in his breast blended in his face,

2347 FORWARDE covenant ... FEST kept 2348 TRYSTYLY faithfully ... TRAWl>E pledge 2350 MUNT threat ... I l>E PROFERED I held back from you 2351 CLERE fair 2352 BARE mere 2353 without injury 2356 FAYLED l>ORE failed in that respect 2357 TAl>E afflicts [you] 2358 WEDE belt ...

WERE3 wear ...

II.KE same 2359 WEUED gave 2367

WERKE act 2369 STUDY meditation 2370 AGREUED burdened ...

133

GRYED shuddered

l>at al he schrank for schome pat peschalk talked. l>e forme worde vpon folde pat pe freke meled: "Corsed worth cowarddyse and couetyse hope; In yow is vylany and vyse pat vertue disstrye3." l>enne he ka3t to pe knot, and pe kest lawse3, Brayde bropely pe belt to pebume seluen. "Lo, per pefalssyng; foule mot hit falle! For care of py knokke, cowardyse me ta3t To acorde me wyth couetyse, my kynde to forsake, l>at is larges and lewte pat longe3 to kny3te3. Now am I fawty and falce, and ferride haf hen euer Of trecherye and vntrawpe; hope bityde sor3e and care. I biknowe yow, kny3t, here sty Ile, Al fawty is my fare; Lete3 me ouertake your wylle, And efte I schal be ware."

2375

2380

2384 f. 127

96

Thenn lo3e pat oper leude and luflyly sayde: "I halde hit hardilyly hole, pe harme pat I bade; l>ou art confessed so clene, beknowen of py mysses, And hat3 pe penaunce apert of pe poynt of myn egge. I halde pe polysed of pat plY3t, and pured as clene As pou hade3 neuer forfeted sypen pou wat3 fyrst borne. And I gif pe, sir, pe gurdel pat is golde-hemmed; For hit is grene as my goune, Sir Gawayn, 3e maye l>enk vpon pis ilke prepe per pou forth prynge3 Among prynces of prys, and pis a pure token Of pe chaunce of pe Grene Chapel, at cheualrous kny3te3. And 3e schal in pis Nwe 3er a3ayn to my wone3, And we schyn reuel pe remnaunt of pis ryche fest, ful bene." l>er laped hym fast pe lorde, And sayde, "Wyth my wyf I wene We schal yow wel acorde, l>at wat3 your enmy kene."

97

"Nay, forsope," quop pe segge, and sesed hys helme, And hat3 hit of hendely, and pe hapel ponkke3.

2390

2395

2400

2405

2372 SCHALK man 2373 MELEO uttered 2378 FALSSYNG treachery 2382 FERRIDE HAF BEN EUER have always been led 2385-86 I acknowledge to you, knight, humbly now ,/My behavior has been completely at fault; 2388 EFTE afterwards ... WARE careful

134

So that he shrank with shame when the stalwart man spoke. The first words formed by the knight in the field were: "Accursed be cowardice and covetousness also; In you are villainy and vice that virtue destroy." Then he took the neat knot, and unties the contrivance, Hurled the belt angrily toward the green man himself. "There is the false favor; may misfortune befall it! Because of concern for your clout, cowardice taught me To reconcile myself with covetousness, to go against my nature, Which is liberality and loyalty that belong to knights. Now I am faulty and false, and have foolishly been led By treachery and untruth; both betide sorrow and care. As my host, I honor you still; I know I have not been fair. Now let me work your will; To be false I will never dare."

2375

2380

2384 f. 127

96

Then the proud lord smiled and politely said: "The harm that I had I hold firmly amended; You have confessed so cleanly, proclaiming your faults, And openly have the penance from the point of my weapon. I consider you cleansed of that guilt, quickly purified, As if you had never sinned since you were first born. And I shall give you, sir, the girdle that is gold-hemmed; Because it is green like my cloak, Sir Gawain, you may Recall this same contest wherever you go forth Among princes of prowess, and a pure token this will be, For chivalrous champions, of the challenge at the Green Chapel. To come back to my castle you are called this New Year, And we shall make merry for the remainder of this rich feast, full well." Then the lord Gawain implored, And said, "With my wife I can tell You will surely be in accord, And all enmity will dispel."

97

"Nay, truly," said the knight, who seized his helmet, Takes it off his head, and extends his heartfelt thanks.

2390

2395

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2405

2398 PRYS excellence 2400 A3AYN [come] back ... WONE3 dwellings 2403 Then the lord eagerly pleaded with him, 2404 WENE know 2405 WEL ACORDE certainly reconcile 2406 She who was your bitter enemy. 2408 HENDEL Y courteously ... HAl>EL lord

135

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2415

2420 f. 127b

2425

98

2430

2435

2440

2445

"I haf sojomed sadly. Sele yow bytyde, And he 3elde hit yow 3are pat 3arkk:e3 al menskes; And comaunde3 me to pat cortays, your comlych fere, Bope pat on and pat oper, myn honoured ladye3, l>atpus hor knY3t wyth hor kest han koyntly bigyled. Bot, hit is no ferly pa3 a fole madde, And pur3 wyles of wymmen be wonen to sor3e, For so wat3 Adam in erde wyth one bygyled, And Salamon wyth fele sere, and Samson eftsone3; Dalyda dalt hym hys wyrde, and Dauyth perafter Wat3 blended wyth Barsabe, pat much bale poled. Now pese were wrathed wyth her wyles, hit were a wynne huge To luf horn wel, and leue hem not, a leude pat coupe; For pes wer fome pe freest, pat fol3ed alle pe sele Exellently of alle pyse oper vnder heuenryche, pat mused. And alle pay were biwyled With wymmen pat pay vsed. l>a3I be now bigyled, Me pink me burde be excused. "Bot, your gordel," quop Gawayn, "God yow fot3elde. l>atwyl I welde wyth guod wylle, not for pe wynne golde, Ne pe saynt, ne pe sylk, ne pe syde pendaundes, For wele ne for worchyp, ne for pe wlonk werkke3, Bot in syngne of my surfet. I schal se hit ofte, When I ride in renoun, remorde to myseluen l>e faut and pe fayntyse of pe flesche crabbed, How tender hit is to entyse teches of fylpe; And pus quen pryde schal me pryk for prowes of armes, l>eloke to pis luf-lace schal lepe my hert. Bot, on I wolde yow pray; displeses yow neuer: Syn 3e be lorde of pe 3onder londe pat I haf lent inne Wyth yow wyth worschyp-pe Wy3e hit yow 3elde, l>at vphalde3 pe heuen and on hy3 sitte3How nome 3e yowre ry3t nome, and penne no more?" "l>at schal I telle pe trwly," quop pat oper penne"Bercilak de Hautdesert. I hat in pis londe

2410 And may he who bestows all honors reward them to you fully; 2413 KOYNTLY cleverly 2415 WONEN TO SOR3E brought to distress 2417 FELE SERE many different women 2420 WRATHED afflicted 2421 A LEUDE t>ATCOUt>Efor a man who could 2422 t>ATFOL3ED ALLE t>E SELE to whom all good fortune came 2423 t>YSEOt>ER these others

136

2410

2415

2420 f. 127b

2425

98

2430

2435

2440

2445

"I have sojourned long enough. May good luck surround you, And may be who heals all honor you always; And commend me to that courteous one, your comely wife, Both that one and that other, my esteemed ladies, Who have beguiled their courtier with their clever scheme. But, it is no wonder if a fool is bewildered, And through the wiles of women bewitched into woe, For so was Adam on earth by one beguiled, And Solomon by many a mistress, and Samson also; Dalila dealt him his fate, and David accordingly Was befuddled by Bethsabee, he who endured much bale. Since these were worried by their wiles, it would be a big gain To love them, but not believe them, and to stay levelheaded; For these were formerly the freest, whom fortune favored Surpassingly among all men amassed under heaven, who mused. By women both mild and wild, They were confused and used. Though I be now beguiled, I think I should be excused. "But, for your girdle , " said Gawain, "may God reward you. That will I keep with good will, not for the gracious gold, Nor the sash, nor the silk, nor the side pendants, For wealth nor for worship, nor for the wonderful designs, But as a sign of my shame. I shall see it often When I ride in renown, to recall to myself The faultiness and frailty of the flesh so perverse, How it tends to be enticed to sinful transgressions; Thus when pride shall impel me due to prowess of arms, The sight of this love sash shall subdue my conceit. But, one thing I would ask you; let it not upset you: Since you are lord of the yonder land in which I have lived With honor and hospitality-may God keep you hale, He who upholds the heavens and on high does sitWhat is your real name, noble man, and then no more?" "I shall tell you that truly," said that other then" Bercilak de Hautdesert. I hold sway in this land

2425 BIWYLED tricked 2426 By women with whom they associated. 2430 WYNNE precious 2433 SURFET transgression 2434 REMORDE to recall remorsefully 2436 How liable it is to attract blemishes of sinfulness; 2438 LEl>E MY HERT humble my heart 2441 HIT YOW 3ELDE may reward you for it 2443 HOW NORNE 3E how do you say 2445 HAT command

137

l>ur3 mY3t of Morgne la Faye, pat in my hous lenges, And koyntyse of clergye bi craftes wel lemed; l>e maystres of Merlyn mony ho taken, For ho hat3 dalt drwry ful dere sumtyme With pat conable klerk; pat knowes alle your kny3te3 at hame. Morgne pe goddes, l>erfore, hit is hir name; Welde3 non so hY3e hawtesse l>atho ne con make ful tame.

2450

2455 99

"Ho wayned me vpon pis wyse to your wynne halle For to assay pe surquidre, 3if hit soth were l>atrennes of pe grete renoun of pe Rounde Table. Ho wayued me pis wonder your wytte3 to reue, For to haf greued Gaynour and gart hir to dy3e Wyth gopnyng of pat ilke gomen pat gostlych speked Wyth his hede in his honde bifore pe hy3e table. l>at is ho pat is at home, pe auncian lady; Ho is euen pyn aunt, Arpure3 half-suster, l>e Ouches do3ter of Tyntagelle, pat dere Vter after Hade Arpur vpon, pat apel is nowpe . l>erfore, I epe pe, hapel, to com to py naunt; Make myry in my hous. My meny pe louies; And I wol pe as wel, wy3e, bi my faythe, As any gome vnder God, for py grete traupe." And he nikked hym naye. He nolde bi no wayes. l>ay acolen and kyssen, ayper oper Tope Prynce of Paradise, and parten ry3t }>ere on coolde. Gawayn, on blonk ful bene, Tope kynges bur3 buske3 bolde; And pe kny3t in pe enker-grene Whiderwarde-so-euer he wolde.

100

Wylde waye3 in pe worlde Wowen now ryde3 On Gryngolet, pat pe grace hade geten of his lyue; Ofte he herbered in house, and ofte al peroute,

2459 f. 128

2465

2470

2475

2480

2447-49 And [the] wisdom of learning in accordance with skills well taught;/She has acquired many of the arts of Merlin,/For she has formerly engaged in very delightful lovemaking 2450 CONABLE KLERI{ competent master 2456 WAYNED sent 2458 RENNES has spread 2459 WAYUED ME cast upon me . . . REUE take away

138

Through the might of Morgan le Fay, who in my house dwells, And the science of lore through skills well learned; The mastery of Merlin she has managed to acquire, For she once dallied in delight and developed an affair With that marvelous magician; your men at home know that tale of fame. Morgan, the goddess and my guide, Therefore is her noted name; No one possesses such high pride Whom she can not make very tame.

2450

2455 99

"She had me go in this guise to your elegant hall To tempt the pride, to perceive if there were truth In the rumors of renown of the great Round Table. She charged me with enchantment to challenge your wits, To have grieved Guenevere and caused her to die By gaping at that green illusion that ghastly spoke With his head in his hand before the high table. That is the old one at home, the ancient lady; She is actually your aunt, Arthur's half-sister, Daughter of the Duchess of Tintagel, with whom dear Uther Later had Arthur, who is now high king. Therefore, I call on you, courtier, to come to your aunt; Make merry in my house. My meiny loves you; And I wish you as well, Gawain, by my faith, As any good man under God, for your great truth." But he answered nay to him. He would not by any means. They accord and kiss, commend each other To the Prince of Paradise, and part right there in the cold. On steed, Gawain serene Goes to his castle of old; And the knight in the vivid green Goes roaming in manner bold.

100

Wild ways in the world Gawain now rides On Gringolet, after getting the grace to go on with his life; Often he took shelter in houses, and often stayed outside,

2459 f. 128

2465

2470

2475

2480

2461 ILKE same 2463 HO she 2465 AFTER afterwards 2466 Al>ELking 2467 El>E urge 2469 WY3E sir 2470 GOME man 2475 BENE good 2476 Goes fearlessly to the king's castle; 2478 [Goes] wherever he would wish. 2480 GETEN OF HIS L YUE obtained for his life 2481 AL l>EROUTE completely in the open

139

2485

2490

2495

f. 128b

2500

2505

2510

2515

101

And mony aventure in vale, and venquyst ofte; l>atI ne ty3t at pis tyme in tale to remene. l>ehurt wat3 hole pat he hade hent in his nek, And pe blykkande belt he here peraboute, Abelef, as a bauderyk, bounden bi his syde, Loken vnder his lyfte arme, pe lace, wyth a knot, In tokenyng he wat3 tane in tech of a faute; And pus he commes to pe court, kny3t al in sounde. l>er wakned wele in pat wone when wyst pe grete l>at gode Gawayn wat3 commen; gayn hit hym po3t. l>e kyng kysse3 pe kny3t, and pe whene alee, And sypen mony syker kny3t pat so3t hym to haylce, Of his fare pat hym frayned; and ferlyly he telles, Biknowe3 alle pe costes of care pat he hade, l>e chaunce of pe chapel, pe chere of pe kny3t, l>eluf of pe ladi, pelace at pelast. l>enirt in penek he naked hem schewed, l>athe la3t, for his vnleute, at pe leudes hondes, for blame. He tened quen he schulde telle; He groned for gref and grame. l>eblod in his face con melle, When he hit schulde schewe, for schame. "Lo, lorde," quop pe leude, and pe lace hondeled, "l>is is pe bende of pis blame I here my nek; l>is is pelape and pe losse pat I la3t haue Of couardise and couetyse pat I haf ca3t pare. l>is is pe token of vntrawpe pat I am tan inne, And I mot nede3 hit were wyle I may last, For non may hyden his harme; bot vnhap ne may hit, For per hit one3 is tachched, twynne wil hit neuer." l>ekyng comforte3 pe kny3t, and alle pe court als, La3en loude perat, and luflyly acordenl>atlordes, and ladis, pat longed to peTableV che burne of pe Broperhede a bauderyk schulde haue, A bende abelef hym aboute of a bry3t grene, And pat, for sake of pat segge, in swete to were.

2482 VENQUYST was victorious 2483 IN TALE TO REMENE to recall in speech 2484 HENT received 2485 BLYKKANDE gleaming 2488 TECH stain 2490 WYST l>E GRETE the high-ranking people realized 2493 SYKER loyal ... S03T sought 2494 FARE journey .. . FERL YLY amazing tale 2495 COSTES circumstances

140

2485

2490

2495 f. 128b

2500

2505 101

2510

2515

And he had many adventures in valleys, vanquishing his foes, But I do not intend to tell all the tales at this time. Healed was the hurt that he had hooked on his neck, And about him he bore that belt so bright, Slantwise, like a baldric, bound at his side, Locked under his left arm, that lace, with a knot, In tokening of being trapped in the transgression of sin; And thus he comes to the court, completely in good health. There awakened well in that dwelling the nobles' delight Because good Gawain had come; it seemed great to them. The king kisses the courtier, the queen does too, And then many magnificent knights who came near to greet him, To question him about his quest; and he recalls the adventure, Describes the dreary times and the distress he had endured, The challenge at the chapel, the green champion's actions, The love of the lady, the lace at last. He necessarily noted the nick on his neck, That he had caught, due to disloyalty, at the creature's hands, in that game. He grieved when he did tell; He groaned when recalling his blame. The blood in his face did swell, When he showed the scar with shame. "Lo, lord," said the knight, as he seized the lace, "This is the band associated with the blemish I bear on my neck; This is the sorrow and the shame that I have received Because of cowardice and covetousness that overcame me then. This is the token of untruth that entrapped me there, And I must warily wear it while I may live, For no one can conceal his sin; only suffering can strike, For once it is rooted, it will always remain." The king and all the court comfort the knight, Laugh loudly at that, and lovingly agreeThose lords who belonged to the Round Table, and their ladiesEach bold man of the Brotherhood a baldric should have, A band of bright green bound slantwise around him, To be worn in the same way for the sake of that knight.

2496 CHERE behavior 2498 NAKED HEM SCREWED showed them plainly 2500 as [a) rebuke 2502 GREF AND GRAME sorrow and mortification 2503 MELLE mingle 2507 LOSSE misfortune 2509 l>AT I AM TAN INNE in which I have been trapped 2510 NEDE3 necessarily 2511 VNHAP misfortune 2512 TWYNNE depart 2517 ABELEF slantwise

141

2520

2525

2530

For, pat wat3 acorded pe renoun of pe Rounde Table, And he honoured pat hit hade euermore after, As hit is breued in pe best hoke of romaunce. l>us in Arthurus day pis aunter bitidde; l>e Brutus boke3 perof heres wyttenesse. Sypen Brutus, pe bolde bume, bo3ed hider fyrst, After pe segge and pe asaute wat3 sesed at Troye, iwysse, Mony auntere3 here-bifome Haf fallen suche er. pis. Now pat here pe croun of pome, He bryng vus to his blysse. Amen. HONY SOYT QUI MAL PENCE.

2521 BREUED declared 2524 B03ED came

142

EPILOGUE: ARTHUR, BRUTUS,

AND TROY

2520

2525

2530

Therefore, that was granted for the renown of the Round Table, And he who wore it was honored forever after, As from the best book of romance it is readily declared . Thus in Arthur's era this adventure occurred; EPILOGUE: The books of Brutus bear witness thereof. ARTHUR, Since Brutus, that brave soul, first settled here, BRUTUS, After the siege and the assault had ceased at Troy, AND TROY indeed, Many adventures of renown Have befallen our fabulous breed. May he who wore the thorny crown To blissful peace us lead. Amen. EVIL BE TO HIM WHO THINKS EVIL.

2527-28 Many similar adventures previously/Have occurred until this time.

143

Folio 129, reproducedby permission of the British Library: Beneath the couplet is a drawing of Bercilak's wife visiting Gawain, who appears to be asleep in his bed. The lady is wearing a headdress and a gown with a high neck and long, loose sleeves. This bedroom scene is probably the first one. (See lines 1187-94.) There is no description of the lady's dress there, but when her attire is described at the beginning of the third bedroom scene (lines 1736-41 ), it is said she has no coif on her head, and the mantle she wears reveals her barethroat and breast.

Folio 129b, reproduced by permission of the British Library: Gawain on horseback is at the Green Chapel. The Green Knight, holding the axe against the ground, stands above, looking elderly rather than like the nimble challenger. It is difficult to determine from the drawings if the beginning of the scene is represented (lines 2 I 75-2230) or Gawain 's departure at the end (lines 2473- 76); most likely Gawain's arrival is being depicted. Davis (1967) xiii stated that the illustrations fail to show "some of the most significant features of the text-in particular, the Green Knight's face and hair are not green, and his hair and beard are no longer than Arthur's." (Compare the drawings of Arthur on folios 94b and 130.)

Folio 130, reproduced by permission of the British Library: Gawain's return to Camelot is shown (line 2489-94). Gawain kneels before Arthur and Guenevere; a knight stands to the right. Arthur is apparently holding the handle of Gawain's sword, but this detail and the knight's kneeling position do not match any line in the text.

COMMENTARY Names of previous editors whose books were used in this study appear without date. For full listings, sees. v. the following in Bibliography I: Madden (1839) Jones (1962) Morris (1864) Davis (1967) Tolkien & Gordon (1925) Waldron (1970) Gollancz (1940) Burrow (1972) Cawley (1962) Barron (1974)

Cawley & Anderson (1976) Moorman (1977) Andrew & Waldron (1978) Silverstein ( 1984) Osberg (1990)

References to other works have the name of the author, the date in parentheses, and page number(s), when needed. A small letter such as a orb after a date indicates more than one work in the same year by the same author. Full listings for Vantuono (1984) and Vantuono (1991) are in Bibliography I. The designation 'TG-Davis' refers to Tolkien & Gordon's edition of Gawain and Davis' revised second edition; it is often used when the information provided is the same in both editions. The designation 'Andrew & Waldron' refers to their 1978 collected edition of the Pearl poems, but frequently only the name of Waldron is used when the matter of his 1970 edition of Gawain is the same as that which appears in the 1978 book. The name of Cawley always appears alone in reference to his 1962 edition of Pearl and Gawain because the 1976 collected edition of the Pearl poems by Cawley & Anderson contains no significant new matter for Gawain. Notes involving meanings of words refer to the literal meanings, usually found at the bottoms of the pages of text and translation, not to the verse translation when the denotation of a word has been changed for poetic effect.

1-36 Gawain, like Pearl, contains 101 stanzas. The first two introduce the story, and in the conclusion (2522-30), Arthur, Brutus, and Troy are named again. Madden compared the opening of Gawain to the last five lines (4342-46) of the alliterative Morie Arthure: "Thus endis kyng Arthure, as auctors alegges,ffhat was of Ectores blude, the kynge sone of Troye,/And of sir Pryamous, the prynce, praysede in erthe;/Fro thethene broghte the Bretons all his bolde eldyrs/ln to Bretayne the brode, as the Bruytte tellys." Hamel (1989) 47 stated that the reference to the fall of Troy in the conclusion of the Morte Arthure signals an ending for Arthur, his Round Table, and his failed civilization, but the Gawain-poet, in beginning and ending with this motif, emphasizes "the cyclicality and vicissitude of human existence." Gollancz cited the first two lines of l\ynnere and Wastoure: "Sythen that Bretayne was biggede, and Bruyttus it aughte,ffhurgh the takynge of Troye with tresone with-inn. Andrew (1989) 76 compared Saint Erkenwald 207: "After pat Brutus pis burghe had buggid on fyrste." (Cf Gawain 20.) 147

Silverstein (1965) 190-92 noted the poet's originality in placing his story, dealing with the matter of Britain, within the frame of the "larger matter of Troy," for neither ""Ynnere and Wastoure nor Morte Arthure has an opening formula and genealogy except by brief suggestion. Burrow (1965) 173 pointed out that the "legendary history of Britain" was not considered legendary in the poet's day, since there was general belief in the truth of Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britannia (c. 1138-39). Diamond (1976) studied Gawain in the light of other fourteenth-century alliterative romances, stressing the heroic quality of the genre rather than the courtly. Clark & Wasserman (1978) 302 saw in these opening stanzas the concept of cyclical/linear progression via the "saving remnant," those who go on to construct the next city. "By placing Arthur's Camelot in the series of kingdoms that have flourished and then foundered, and by telling Gawain's tale in the past tense, the poet neatly places the story in a doomed city 'envelope.'" Finlayson (1979), noting the manipulation of four sub-types of romance in Gawain-adventure, courtly, chronicle, and religious-argued that the poet "deliberately plays with the audience's probable expectations of the romance genre" .. . and then "disappoints these expectations" (3), for the flawed Gawain is no longer the perfect hero at the end. Gertz (1987), noting the movement from Troy to Rome to Britain and finally Arthur's kingdom, saw the adventure set within the diachronic frame of translatio studii et imperii, the transferral of imperial and cultural power, enabling medieval literati to "stress the viability of ancient or traditional materia in new cultures, thereby breaking away from, while depending on, the literary system" (187). The poet as educator is a transmitter of the past and the creator of a new literature in which the Green Knight teaches Gawain how to interpret his adventure (186). Andrew (1989) analyzed the first three stanzas to show that the Troy frame is significant as a context for the story that follows. "The opening image of a great civilization destroyed may imply by analogy the threat of such an end to the civilization which has, in some sense, replaced it-and is presently enjoying its own 'first age'" (80). Andrew, however, would not read Gawain as a moral allegory. The poet "creates a fictional world in which moral issues are subtle and complex, and moral life is full of difficult choices and elusive judgements" (92) 1 Cf. line 2525 and see the note. 2 Silverstein suggested bor:r in this line may denote the inner keep or palace of Troy, called Ilion, but translating 'city' here as a synonym for Troy and all contained therein seems suitable. 3-5 The paradox of calling Aeneas, tried for his treachery, the truest man on earth is resolved when one considers that the Trojan hero prefigures Gawain who, though he failed in leme 'loyalty' (2366)), is still called by Bercilak, "On pe fautlest freke pat euer on fote 3ede" (2363). Even great heroes are capable of vntrawjJe (2383, 2509). Green-B (1962) 179 suggested this reading, which was fully developed by David (1968) and supported by Burnley (1973b) on syntactic grounds. Stevenson (1990), to clarify for modern readers "the differences between the glorious Aeneas we associate with Virgil and the traitorous Aeneas that the Middle Ages also seems to have known" (371), studied the tradition of Aeneas as traitor, beginning with the early chronicles of Troy by Dictys of Crete and Dares the Phrygian, which came to England through Benoit de Sainte-Maure (Roman de Troie) and Guido delle Colonna (Historia Destructionis Troiae). She also discussed the fol148

lowing Middle English works: The Gest Hystoriale of the Destruction of Troy (a translation of Guido's work), The Laud Troy Book, The Seege or Batayle of Troy, and John Lydgate's Troy Book. Cawley and Burrow followed Gollancz who equated tulle with Antenor, translated tried 'distinguished' and trewest 'veriest example', and noted Antenor "alone first went to the Greek camp to betray Troy." (Moorman, though he translated tried 'tried', agreed.) Burrow (1988) favored the use of a dash after lines 2 and 4, as in his 1972 edition. "The parenthesis proposed in lines 3-4 is a bold one, certainly, since it must refer not to Aeneas, the subject of the main sentence, but to the traitor par excellence, Antenor" (84). Osberg also believed the reference is to Antenor. TG-Davis, who followed Madden in making tulle and Ennias synonymous, glossed tried 'tried (for crime)'. Davis cited The Gest Hystoriale of the Destruction of Troy 11973: "The traytor with tene, vntristy Eneas." Waldron, Barron, Turville-Petre (1978), and Silverstein favored this interpretation, though Turville-Petre would translate tried 'found out, exposed'. David (1968) agreed with Davis on all points except that trewest means 'veriest' in reference to tricherie. He discussed the distinction between tresoun (to Troy) and tricherie (to the Greeks), pointing out that in Benoit de Sainte-Maure's Roman de Troie and Guido delle Colonna's Historia Destructionis Troiae, "Aeneas concealed the Trojan princess Polyxena from the Greeks who wished to sacrifice her on the tomb of Achilles in order to allay a storm that was preventing their voyage home. Antenor betrayed Polyxena's hiding place, and the Greek chieftains, incensed at Aeneas' bad faith, sent him into exile" (402). The analogy between Gawain and Aeneas is twofold. Firstly, both failed in loyalty out of a desire for self-preservation. Gawain keeps the green girdle because he thinks it will save his life (1856-58). Aeneas, when the Trojan War was going badly, joined with Antenor in advising King Priam to negotiate for a settlement; when Priam accused them of disloyalty and plotted to have them murdered, they ran away. Secondly, both Gawain and Aeneas shielded a woman. Gawain promises Bercilak's wife that he will conceal the green girdle from her husband (1862-65). When, after the fall of Troy, Hecuba reproached Aeneas for his betrayal and beseeched him to save her daughter, he tried to conceal Polyxena from the Greeks, but Antenor betrayed him and her. Aeneas was then banished by the Greeks, and he became the leader of the Trojans after the defeat. As David observed, if Aeneas is accepted as the trewest, then the opening stanza of Gawain moves smoothly and logically from the destruction of Troy to the reestablishment of the Trojan race throughout Europe, with special reference to Brutus in Britain. The poet wanted his audience "to see in Aeneas afigura of his own hero" (404). Even heroes are prone to err. "The traitor may become the truest on earth and the truest on earth may turn traitor" (407). (See also 2416-19n.) 11 A literal translation requires ellipsis of a verb: "Ticius [travels] to Tuscany and establishes dwellings." Chapman (1945) 22 first supported Madden's conjecture that Ticius may be derived from Titus Tatius, king of the Sabines. Then Chapman (1948) 59-60 suggested changing Ticius to Turnus, since in Higden's Polychronicon, Lib. ii, Cap. xxvi, Turnus is named king of Tuscany. Gollancz, following the suggestion of Tolkien & Gordon that Ticius "may be another fictitious descendant of Aeneas, invented to be the eponymous founder of Tuscany," noted that the name may be a corruption of Tuscus or Tuscius. 149

Davis, Barron, and Osberg followed Silverstein (1965) 194-96 who, though he observed that Tuscus, as a name best suited to the founder of Tuscany, does occur in early commentaries on Virgil, emended to Tirius because the father of Tuscus was called Tyrrhenus. In the text of his 1984 critical edition of Gawain, Silverstein read Tuscius and suggested Tirius as an alternative. 12 As TG-Davis noted, Langaberde, the eponymous founder of Lombardy, is named by Nennius, in Historia Brittonum, Ch. 17, as a descendant of Japhet and as cousin of Brutus, legendary founder of Britain. 13-18 Nennius identified Brutus as the grandson of Aeneas; Geoffrey of Monmouth called him Aeneas' great-grandson. Since Felix (associated with Latinfelicitas 'good fortune') is nowhere else attached to the name of Brutus, scholars have looked for significance in this combination, especially in relation to the phrase blysse and blunder (18), for Brutus, although fortunate in becoming the legendary founder of Britain, "was a loser from the start" (Haines [1982] 48.) His birth was the cause of his mother's death, he killed his father Silvius accidentally, and he was exiled from Italy by the Roman Trojans. Snell (1925) discussed two puns in this passage: »ynne (15) has the double sense of 'labour' and 'felicity'; blysse and blunder reflects the contradiction in the name Felix Brutus. Chapman (1945) 23, citing Latin infelix 'unhappy' applied to the Roman Brutus in the Aeneid VI, 822, suggested that as a contrast the poet applied felix to that other Brutus, "whose fortune it was to give his name to the island and people of Britain." Silverstein (1965) 196-202, noting Gollancz' observation that La~amon, in his Brut, used srel 'fortunate' to describe Brutus, showed that Latin/elix 'fortunate', as a conventional term for founder of cities, was used to describe both Aeneas and Antenor. Several scholars have theorized that the name Felix Brutus may be an allusion to the paradoxical doctrine of the felix culpa 'happy mistake'. Just as Adam's sin was later followed by the coming of Christ to redeem mankind, Gawain's failure will give rise to his becoming a truly humble, Christian knight. Haines (1982) 46-51, in The Fortunate Fall of Sir Gawain, discussed this point in detail; on pp. 192-94, he recalled his article, "Allusions to the 'Felix Culpa' in the Prologue of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" (1974), and he credited other critics who had touched on this subject, such as Branford (1964) 58, Longo (1967) 73-74, and Sims (1975). Sims, for example, in studying "Gawayne's Fortunate Fall," noted that just as Adam's fall is followed by redemption for mankind, Gawain's fall will eventually prove fortunate when, having learned that recognition of sin purges one of pride, he returns to Camelot wearing the green girdle, and all of "Arthur's knights then adopt the green baldric as a symbol of the lesson Gawayne has learned and taught them" (28). Haines (1982) 129, in agreement with Sims, interpreted the court's laughter at the end as "joyful penance," but see 2505-20n of this Commentary for other views of the conclusion of Gawain. 15-19 Srebnick (1989) 15 compared this bob and wheel to the Chronicon of Adam of Usk in which Usk quotes the doomed King Richard II at the time of his deposition: "My God! A wonderful land is this and a fickle; which hath exciled, slain, destroyed or ruined so many kings, rulers and great men, and is ever filled and toileth with strife and variance and envy (142)." For Srebnick, the poem's fictional world 150

reflects actual courts and kings, "especially the unfulfilled Arthurian promise of Edward's reign, and the turmoil and capriciousness of Richard's ." 16-20 Bonjour (1951) argued that the positive sense of wonder (16) is artistically fitting here as a contrast to the preceding werre and wrake, just as the destruction of Troy preceded the wondrous birth of Britain, a land in which there has been both blysse and blunder. Macdonald (1935) and Wright (1935) 349 favord a negative sense such as •destruction' or •disaster'. Schotter-MC (1986) pointed out that Brutus, though a bum rych (20), "founded a Britain whose later fortunes were notably checkered," and that Arthur's court, "now at the height of its fortunes, should fear a challenge to its priou gyffe me grace the serue to paye" (73). For the shortened form, cf 697n. 753-62 Moorman-B (1956) 224 observed that in spite of the magic elements in Gawain, the poem is essentially Christian, and the knight's journey is "in a sense, the journey of the individual towards a spiritual ideal higher than himself." Anderson (1990) 160-61 said Cros-Kryst me spede (762) was a common formula of prayer and Gollancz must be right when he suggested that it accompanied the sign of the cross. (Note sayned 'blessed' [761,763)). In hornbooks the figure of a cross usually preceded the alphabet, which is followed by texts of Gawain's prayers, Pater, Aue, and Crede (757-58). Anderson concluded that Gawain's "use of the formula in conjunction with the three prayers may be thought to have an undercutting effect, reminding us as it does of the practices of children, and raising the possibility that the maturity of the faith which lies behind the impressive gestures is suspect" (163). 756 Matins may be recited at midnight or daybreak. The reference here is to Christmas morning. In 2187-88 mydnyp . .. matynnes is associated with the devil at the eerie Green Chapel. 763-72 Carson (1962) 10-13 placed Gawain in the Other World of Celtic folklore; Bercilak's castle is in "the realm of faery." Mills-HZ (1965) 87 wrote, "Deprived of the human or talismanic guides usual in the secular romance, the hero must wander at hazard until God wills that he should attain to his goal." Mills believed Gawain's fault in the future will lie in his reliance on the talismanic green girdle rather than God's will to save his neck. Ackerman (1970) compared the poet's technique of describing Bercilak's castle to that found in dream-vision literature based on Revelation 21.10-11. (Cf Pearl 97384.) In Gawain lines 7 63- 72 are framed by passages of prayer, the first of asking (753-62) and the second of thanking (773- 75). Whitaker (1984) 34-38, noting how the castle appears as if by magic, discussed the roles of Gawain, Bercilak, Lady Bercilak, and Morgan in relation to Celtic archetypes associated with an Otherworld journey to a strange castle. "Gawain is summoned to the Otherworld so that his courage and truth may be tested" (38). 763-810 Cockcroft (1978), exploring the difficulties of determining if the descriptions are based on romance convention or topographical realism, followed Elliott (1958) in noting Swythamley Park in Staffordshire as possibly the "real site" of Hautdesert. See the notes to 709-43, 763-72, 785-810, and 794-802 for other studies relating to the castle and Elliott (1984) for a comprehensive study of The Gawain Country. Flint (1989) studied the narrator's point of view, concentrating on non-visual aspects, in this passage and in the description of Gawain's arrival at the Green Chapel (2160-2211). The voice is that of the omniscient narrator who, nevertheless, "presents Gawain's point of view overtly" (158). Consider line 803: "J>efre freke on pe fole hit fayr inughe po3t." Gawain hopes for warmth and shelter here, but, on his arrival at the Green Chapel, he fears death. "Accordingly, the language used in these scenes differs in the kind of modal commentary: the first is positive; the second negative" (160). 772 Renoir (1958) 131 viewed this line as an example of the poet's precise

190

visual imagery: branches of oaks form an outline through which Gawain sees the castle. Schyre usually denotes 'bright, fair', but Renoir, like Wright (1935) 344, tr. 'clearly defined, sharply outlined', from which 'bare' is derived. 774 Shuttleworth (1967) noted the significance of Hagiology in Ga-wain. Tamplin (1969) said the mentioning of John the Evangelist (1022, 1788), Peter (813), Giles Aegidius (1644), and Julian the Hospitaller here "is not casual, but determined by the requirements of the poem's context and atmospheres" (403). See also Blanch (1980) on "The Game of Invoking Saints in Sir Ga-wainand the Green Knight." Tolkien & Gordon cited St. Julian's story in Jacobus de Voragine's Legenda Aurea (XXX). Being of noble birth, he was fond of hunting when young. One day a stag spoke to him and told him he would kill his father and mother. Like the Greek Oedipus, he was not able to escape his destiny. After slaying his parents by mistake, he did penance by giving up the advantages of his noble birth and building a hostel by a river, where he sheltered poor travelers and ferried them across the river. The eagle in Chaucer's House of Fame says: "Seynt Julyan, loo, hon hostel" (1022)! Cf. the phrase bone hostel (776) in Ga-wain. Ordelle Hill (1980) 21 believed it possible that Gawain, thinking primarily of Jesus for his birthday and St. Julian the Hospitaller for his sanctuary, may also be reflecting on the crucified Christ and another St. Julian of Auvergne, a nobleman who sought martyrdom and "found it at the hands of an officer of the consul Crispinus who had him beheaded. Years later his head was recovered, fresh and unmarked." This St. Julian's story also appears in Voragine's The Golden Legend. 777 For retention of MS gedere5, cf. the rare use of this v. to denote the lifting of an axe in 421 and 2260. MED gaderen v., sense 7, cites Gawain. 785-810 Clough (1985), studying the influence of French language and culture in this stanza, where French loan words are used for their elevated status, felt the description of Bercilak's castle reflects the semantic composition of the poem as a whole. The decorative French overlay on top of the stock of native English words "mirrors the structure not only of the castle, but also of human experience: it suggests the nature of man's cultural aspirations, rising above the original foundation of basic human nature, as these are channelled into artistic achievements and courtly behaviour" (196). Stanbury (1987), in "Space and Visual Hermeneutics in the Ga-wain-Poet," studied the narrative technique in this passage in relation to thematic visions and biblical interpretation. The visual frame of the castle is an enclosed space that Gawain regards from without. Although spatial enclosures here do not bear the symbolic freight of the judgmental interiors of Patience, Cleanness, and Pearl, "they are the planes of action on which a drama about chastity, covenantal troth, and judgment can be enacted" (485). Human experience is a condition of exile and transitory consolation. "Structural enclosures can at best provide temporary comforts, for lasting space, as the Maiden so patiently reminds the dreamer [in Pearl], resides in the court of heaven, on the other side of a threshold that in this life we can never cross" (487-88). 790 Cf. the description of goblets shaped like castles in Cleanness 1459: "Enbaned vnder batelment wyth bantelles quoynt." Gordon & Onions (1933) 184-85 noted that the bantelles in Cleanness "are projected coursings at the top of the wall" and that enbaned "evidently means 'provided with bantels ', which in these castles are placed just under the battlements: the bantels are in fact the tables of Sir Ga-wain 789 (just as in Pearl 994 tabelment = bantel)." The tabelment 994 and the table 1004 in Pearl are placed at the bottom of the wall as 'tiers' or steps that lead to the New Jerusalem. (In Pearl, bantele5 appears in 992 and bantels in 1017.) 191

Gordon & Onions noted Provenc;al enbanamen, "glossed by Raynouard in his Provenc;al dictionary as 'ouvrage a comes', i.e . horn-work. " The MED s. v. embtined cites only Cleanness and Gawain and for the etymology compares Provenc;al ban, bana; French dialect bane 'horn'. In spite of the Provenc;al connection, M. W . Thompson (1989) 319-22, noting that non-initial u and n are identical in the MS, argued for enbaued instead of enbaned (MED embouen v.1, sense b, 'to provide with arches' [OE boga]) and bautel instead of bantel (MED boutel n. 'a kind of molding' [?OF boteille]). 792 To point out that the loupe 'loopholes' were with shutters, Davis compared Gregory's Chronicle (c. 1470): "They hadde ... loupys with schyttyng wyndowys to schute owte at." See MED loup(e n.2, sense a. 794-802 See Archibald Hill (1972) for a study that endeavors to recover the meaning of this passage "as accurately as possible" (141). Gollancz, in his 802n, compared Caernarvon Castle "as it rose out of the water with its numerous towers and turrets." Caernarvonshire is near Anglesey in North Wales. See the notes to 709-43, 763-72, 763-810, and 785-810 for studies relating to Bercilak's castle . 795 For retention of Towre 'Towers' as a coll. n., cf. 727-28n . Tolkien & Gordon and subsequent editors emended to Towres. 796 Tolkien & Gordon compared 796-800 to Cleanness 1461-63. Thefylyoles in Cleanness 1462 are 'pinnacles' on the tops of the goblets constructed like castles. MED filiole n. cites only Cleanness and Gawain. 801 Archibald Hill (1972) 152-54 tr. clambred 'clambered'. Editors glossed 'clustered'. The Mod. E. sense of clamber 'climb upward' seems suitable. 802 q. Pared out of paper in Cleanness 1408 to describe ornamental devices (paper subtleties) decorating the platters at Baltassar's Feast. Ackerman (1957) discussed botll'occurrences in relation to Chaucer's Parson's Tale (443-44). Scott (1966), noting how the parson denounces courtly excesses, said since the descriptions in Cleanness and in Chaucer come in a context of luxury, this image in Gawain has moral significance, a warning of the temptations of Gawain. Cf Lamba & Lamba (1969). 803 The MS has r, a space, and two minims followed by ghe. The bar over the i signifies n, and if one takes the two minims as u, the MS reading is 'inughe'. For the u-o variant, cf fau31 848, 1578 instead of fao3f. (Editors emended; note, for example, Tolkien & Gordon's innoghe.) 806 A literal translation for auinant is 'worthy' or 'pleasant' (TG-Davis, Burrow, Barron); thus the word may be interpreted as an adj. modifying hostel 805. King (1929) 449 suggested taking it as an adv. modifying herber 805. Silverstein glossed 'pleasurably'. Gollancz and Moorman, who emended to aunant, tr. 'pleasantly'. 810 Knyp erraunt, denoting one in quest of adventure, is the first recorded example of the phrase in English . Smithers (1963) 186-87 , comparing OF chevaliers errans, believed the poet may have borrowed directly from La Queste del Saint Graal. 813 Cf. 774n on naming saints in Gawain. Tamplin (1969) 403-5 discussed the reference to St. Peter, the "key bearer of heaven," observing that the porter swears by the patron saint of porters. Waldron compared the naming of "Peter the porter" in Piers Plowman (B-text, XV. 18). St. Peter, Christ's representative on earth, denied Christ three times before he heard the cock crow; Gawain, Christ's knight (869), breaks faith with Bercilak before he hears the crowing of cocks. (See also 2008n.) Only Silverstein retained MS trowoe . Other editors emended to trowe or trowee . For the oe doubling, cf boeme 1570 instead of the usual borne. 815 To form fae, a tiny e appears over fa. A literal translation of the line is: "Then the man came back quickly." Jones followed Gollancz in adding 3are &: com 192

after wy3e. Davis and subsequent editors (except Cawley & Anderson and Moorman) added 3eme and com after wy3e, but the line makes good sense as it stands. (See 60n on not making emendations on the basis of meter or alliteration.) 817 Simpson (1981) 302, discussing drap (elliptical form of ME 'drauht brigge), said although *drreht is unrecorded, there is no reason to doubt its existence in OE, and "reference to Norse appears unwarranted." (TG-Davis included for etymology ON drattr.) Simpson studied Norse loans, "Real or Supposed" in Gawain. 835-37 Bercilak apparently has not yet recognized Gawain; lines 908-9 show his reaction to be one of a man who has learned who his guest is for the first time. Though Gawain has removed his helmet (826), he is still enclosed in his armor (831). A year has passed, and it is conceivable that Bercilak would not have recognized him immediately. (See also 908-9n.) 842-49 Waldron pointed out that this portrait of Bercilak echoes features of the descriptions of the Green Knight in 136-50, 179-86, 332-35, and 427-34. (CJ. especially 844 to 137-39, 845 to 182, and 846 to 431.) 844 Gollancz' hyghe eldee 'mature age' approximates TG-Davis' 'in the prime of life'. Suzuki (1977), saying olde /orde 1124 denotes 'old lord', tr. hyghe eldee 'old, of advanced age' to make both descriptions agree, but see 1124n on olde 'clever'. Burrow (1986) 175, in refuting Suzuki, stated: "The great reddish-brown beard [845] is enough to establish that 'high eld' must here refer to that age in which a man stands at the top of life's arch, not to an older age." Dove (1986) argued that the phrase "carries with it the twin ideas of full manhood and old age-but if old age, not withered decrepitude; rather, an old age of 'undiminished vigour"' (139). 845 Curley (1975) attached allegorical significance to beuer-hwed because the beaver symbolizes the man "who renounces the sins of the world and the flesh and pays them in tribute to the devil for his spiritual freedom" (70). Thus the poet's audience may have known that a "very special sort of testing is about to ensue and that a moral challenge has superseded a physical one" (72). 847 TG-Davis and Gollancz noted that Felle face as Pe fyre is attributed to the Sun God in The Wars of Alexander 4922. (See Gollancz' note and the introduction to his edition, pp. xiii-xviii, for a discussion of the many analogues between Gawain and Wars Alex .) Buchanan (1932) 324-25, in discussing the Irish framework of Gawain, held that Bercilak corresponds to Curoi, the tester in the Champion's Bargain, who reveals himself in terms that suggest both sun and storm. She also pointed to lines 2201-4, where "Bercilak the tester suggests his association with the storm" in verses that describe the sharpening of his axe, "a common conception of the lightning weapon." 849 A literal tr. for lee is 'castle' (TG-Davis). Cf. lee 'castle' 1893. In Patience 277, Jonas seeks le 'shelter' in the whale's belly. Gollancz glossed 'safety, security' (849) and 'shelter' (1893). Tester (1970) favored 'protector' for 849, related to the earliest OE sense of hleo, and 'security, peace' for 1893, noting irony in each instance, for Bercilak turns out to be a tester and tempter of Gawain, who is not really dwelling in security. Elliou (1979) 57-58 distinguished between le in Patience 277 (OE hleo 'shelter') and lee in Gawain 849, 1893 (OE leah 'woodland, clearing'), with the connotation of a castle in the clearing. The poet may have been employing wordplay. 850 The literal tr. for clesly, which may be taken as a variant of MED clos/1, is 'discreetly'. Cf forsnes 'bravery' 646, which may be taken as a variant of MED 193

ft.rsnes(se, under whichfa(e)rs- is listed. There are many variant spellings in this MS; see, for example, 803n and 813n. For alliteration on initial ch and c, cf 2011. Most editors emended to chefly 'quickly'; Andrew & Waldron chose chesly 'solicitously'. 854 These 'curtains' around the bed should be distinguished from the Rudele5 '(Window) curtains' of 857. Cf.Gawain's bed cortyned aboute in 1181. 860-61 Lindley (1994) saw in these lines a symbol of the hero's loss of "an illuded view of the world as heraldry . . . in which Camelot is first among courts and himself first among its knights. Both the court and its representative are 'dispoyled,' stripped of their apparent ideality in a process figured by the removal of Gawain's ceremonial armor" (67). The "deconstruction through caricature and ridicule of egobased social identity is perhaps the most basic process of carnival" (77). 862 All editors, except Madden and Andrew & Waldron, followed Morris' suggestion to emend hem 'him' to hym, but cf 49n on the e-i (y) variant, quel 822 for quil, and tel 1564 for til. 865 Editors emended hyn to hym, but the MS reading may be retained. See MED hine pron., lb, 'as object of a preposition: him'. 866-68 Emerson (1921) 213-14 first suggested ver 'spring', adopted by most scholars. Gollancz refuted Menner (1924) 205-6 who took ver as vair 'fur' and tr., "the fur-trimming (i.e. a collar of fur) by his face." Savage (1956) 180 described "heraldic 'fur' ... some sort of heraldic pattern displayed upon Gawain's robe." Emerson noted visage refers to "appearance, look of the man (as a whole)." The description of Gawain, with the beautiful colors of spring covering his limbs, may be compared to that of a tree in danger of being cut down by the Green Knight's axe. Sanderlin (1978) 255-57 compared a description of Aeneas in The Aeneid (I, 58893) and favored the tr. of Tolkien (1975): "then verily in his visage a vision of Spring to each man there appeared, and in marvellous hues bright and beautiful was all his body beneath." Sanderlin (1984) noted both Gawain and Aeneas are heroes with human failings that "suggest to today's reader the twentieth-century anti-hero" (13). 872-74 Tolkien & Gordon and subsequent editors emended to moJt . .. /031 to rhyme with po31870, but the poet could have changed the pattern to employ pr. pl. fyJt. (See also 60n.) 875-900 Savage (1945b), with reference to a description in H.S. Bennett's The Pastons and Their England (Cambridge, 1922), pp. 89-90, argued that the poet's care in showing how Gawain is surrounded by the luxuries and comforts found in the highest circles of society indicates "a summons to lowered standards of conduct." C.D. Benson (1979), pointing to ensuing festivities and Gawain's temptations, cited a passage in "De Dominica in Septuagesima Breuis Sermo" of John Mirk's Festial (ed. Theodor Erbe, Part 1, EETS, ES, 96 [1905) 63) to suggest that the audience of Gawain might have judged the Green Knight's Christmas as an occasion of sin. J. White (1982) 101 viewed stanzas 37 and 38 as microcosms of meaning and structure. "The study of food and of court etiquette quickly dispels the often-extended myth that the Middle Ages was a period of unimaginative social development." Nicholls (1985) noted the "poet's familiarity with noble customs and settings, . . . his preoccupation with the harmonisation of inner virtue with outer gesture" (1). As M.W. Thompson (1989) 323 indicated, Gawain, in this scene, has apparently emerged from his upstairs bedroom (see 853) and gone to the great chamber. "Presumably he is in a cross-wing at one end of the hall." The poet need not have described the movement. The use of Lofte1096 indicates Gawain's bedroom is upstairs. 877 Morris and subsequent editors emended pa to pat, but for retention of the 194

MS form see MED tho pron.l, sense 2. The MED also lists tha s.v. that rel. pron. Richardson (1941) favored translating koynt 'cunningly designed'. 883 Editors emended cefly to chefly, but cefly may be a variant of cofly 'promptly'; cf 2011 where initial c alliterates with ch. (Cf.also 850n.) 884 Madden and Morris suggested emending tapit to tabil. Editors did emend, but for retention of MS tapit 'small top', cf OED toppet 1, "in Eng. perh. eventually taken as dim. of top sb.l." The table was formed by placing a board on trestles. 894-97 Gawain calls this meal a fest, but his hosts call it penaunce. No meat was allowed on Christmas Eve, but the fish dinners were 'feasts' of their own kind. Hanning (1984) 26-27, referring to the "slyly-sauced fish" (893), Gawain's calling the meal a/est, and his hosts calling it penaunce, said behind the joking this passage raises main questions in this enigmatic romance. Everywhere in Gawain "facts and significances are hidden under misleading appearances." The relationship between "the penitential fish and its sly sauce" stands as an emblem "for the problematic relationship between appearance and reality, or act and interpretation, throughout Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." (Hanning, p. 32, referred to his 1982 study for a fuller discussion.) 906 Burrow (1965) 59-60, observing that Gawain gives his right name readily but does not get Bercilak's until line 2445, discussed the hero's "ignorance" as a potential source of advantage to his host and danger to himself. (Cf.408n.) 908-9 Davis believed Bercilak's rejoicing here is not dramatically correct because he "must have recognized Gawain when he arrived (835)," but see 835-37n. 916-19 See 109n for a discussion of Gawain's reputation. The poet based his characterization on the earliest Arthurian romances. 920 For vus, the MS has v followed by the abbr. for us. Gollancz, citing Magoun (1937a), said this abbr. may also representy s, and he printed vs in all instances. Vs is spelled out in the first half of 2246, but one may choose to print vus, as TG-Davis and most editors did, wherever that word appears with the abbr. 922-23 The reference is probably to sitting and singing at Christmas Mass; his burjJe evidently refers to the birth of Christ. Burrow compared 1036, where Bercilak expresses satisfaction because Gawain has been his guest at Godde5 awenfest. 927 Gollancz glossed luf-talkyng 'love-talking', adding, 'dalliance, polite conversation according to the conventions of chivalry or the rules of the Courts of Love'. The poet's use of the compound here comes between references to Christ's birth (922) and chaplains, chapels, and evensong (930-32). Brewer (1966) 69-70, comparing 1012-15, noted that nothing in Gawain's luftalkyng will be contrary to virtue. In fact, though he may have the reputation of a lover, his private conversations with Bercilak's wife (1179-1318, 1476-1557, 17311869) are all artful attempts to avoid making love. Thomas Wright (1986) commented, "Gawain is involved in comic as well as possibly fatal complications, and much of the comedy of his social entanglement depends on an awareness of the conventions and decorum of courtly love" (79). In the temptation scenes, he will be "trapped in a narrow net of courtesy woven from strands of his own reputation-luf-talkyng, merry manners, and fondness for women" (81). 930 M.W. Thompson (1989) 323 noted, "Chapels in the plural remind one that castles usually had two or more chapels." 930-32 Bercovitch-HZ (1965) 261, contrasting lines 60- 70 describing festivities at Camelot, believed the solemnity at Bercilak's castle may suggest a reprimand to Arthur's court. (Cf. 64-65n.) 932 Euensong (vespers), about 5 P.M., is the sixth of seven canonical hours. 195

941-69 Carson (1962) argued that the beautiful wife and the wrinkled Morgan le Fay, whose identity Gawain does not discover until lines 2446-67, are "doublets." (See also 2446-66n and 2456-62n.) Equating Bercilak with Urien, she noted the tradition that "associates Morgain, as well as Modron, her Welsh prototype, with Urieneither as husband and wife or as lover and fairy mistress-and makes Morgain the mother of Owein (or Yvain), Urien's son" (8). Ywan and Vryn are mentioned in 113. Griffith (1978) 261-65 equated Bercilak's wife with the wife of Bertolais in the OF Vulgate Merlin-Continuation, a woman who looked like Queen Guenevere, a "false Guinevere," the illegitimate daughter of the real queen's father, King Leodegrance. Stiller (1980), who identified two dominant images of the witch in Western European tradition, the ugly old woman and the beautiful young enchantress, considered Lady Bercilak as "more or less a projection or emanation" of Morgan le Fay (69), "two-women-in-one" who present "the gravest danger to Gawain" (71). Fries (1981), in discussing the "fascinating mixture of archetype, stereotype, and realistic behavior" (31) that contributes to the excellent characterization of women in Gawain, said this double description indicates what the wife will eventually become, a change "not only inevitable in the course of nature, but unavoidable in moral terms, ifwe remember the French anecdote that Morgan lost her looks precisely when 'elle fu aspiree et de luxure et de dyable'" (34). (Tolkien & Gordon, in their 2460n, cited this passage [from Le Roman de Merlin, ed G. Paris and J. Ulrich, p. 166] to account for Morgan's aged appearance, while her half-brother Arthur is still a youth.) Fries argued against the "doublets" theory, saying the young wife is her husband's and "Morgan's instrument rather than the Fay's other self" (36). Edith Williams (1985), with reference to Loomis-HZ (1959) 15 on the dual aspect of Morgan as auncian lady and Bercilak's wife, stated: "The loathly dame is, of course, the moving force behind the whole experience, ... it is in her guise as temptress that she will make a final effort, not with beast and ferlies, but with subtle sophistication, to bring about Gawain's downfall" (49). Heng (1991) 503 called Morgan and Lady Bercilak "nonidentical doubles," forming "a hyphenated term in the narrative of desire." Bringing in Queen Guenevere and the Virgin Mary, she said of all four: "Like each constituent of the pentangle, the path of every woman in the poem is articulated with that of every other, so that each approximately 'vmbelappez and loukez in oper,' 'vchone ... in oper, pat non ende hade' (628, 657)." Fries (1994) 6-7 again disagreed with the "doublets" theory, noting that "nowhere in her history can [the Fay] be two people in the same place at the same time." In this article, Fries examined how Morgan's reputation plummeted from Celtic Goddess in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Vita Merlini into misogynistic stereotype in the medieval Arthurian literature that follows, as male Arthurian authors became "increasingly unable to image powerful women in positive terms" (1). 945 Guenevere was the standard of beauty in Arthurian literature. (See lines 81-84.) Schlauch (1963) 27 noted how "the poet allows us to look into Gawain's unspoken thought at this time, quite in the manner of a modern novelist." Silverstein noted that the wordplay in the phrase wener pen Wenore, unique to Gawain, parallels a device found in Latin poetry and the artes poetriae from the twelfth century on. "Guenever is the examplar of courtly beauty ... and that beauty is embodied in her name." Silverstein pointed out that the poet evidently intended this wordplay on wen 'lovely' and the name because "of the four occurrences in the poem of the queen's name, all the others begin with g, not w." 196

946 Moorman, following editors before Davis, tr. He 'He', but, as Davis observed, since Gawain does not leave his seat until line 971, he cannot be going to meet the lady here. (Moorman argued that he could have sprung forward to greet her and then restrained himself.) Wright (1935) 173 suggested emending he to ho or considering he a form for 'she'. Davis and subsequent editors, except Moorman, emended, but he 'she' may be retained as a variant of ho, as in lines 1861 and 1872. See the variant spellings s. v. MED hf pron.2. 950-69 Pearsall (1955) 131, examining the relationship between the poet's use of description and the medieval Latin artes poeticae of rhetoricians like Matthew of Vendome, Geoffrey of Vinsauf, and Evrard the German, discussed his originality in contrasting Bercilak's wife and Morgan, Youth and Age, instead of following the conventional catalogue. 952 Pace (1967) 165, believing the description is of Lady Bercilak's clothing, compared her to the conventional temptress of Revelation 17 .4; however, the poet seems to be contrasting the ruddy complexion of the beautiful lady with the ronkled cheke3 (953) of Morgan. 958 Tolkien & Gordon and subsequent editors (except Moorman) followed the suggestion of Onions (1924) 245 to emend my/k to chalk for alliteration, but see 60n, 236n, and 872-74n for retention of the MS reading. By marking the caesura after -wyth, one could work out an aab/b pattern on Chymbled . .. chyn -wythl -quyte. 961 Pace (1967) noted that according to the medieval pseudo-science of physiognomy, blake bro3es signifies a disposition to lechery. Morgan leads Bercilak's wife, her instrument of lechery, by the lyft honde (947). See 304n for an interpretation of the Green Knight's red eyes according to physiognomy. 963 TG-Davis, in their glossary, compared blered to OE tiblered 'uncovered, bare', but they, like Gollancz and the MED s.v. bllren v.l, lb, tr. 'bleared'. Lines 961-63 indicate that the poet is describing Morgan's eyebrows, nose, and lips, as well as her eyes; therefore, blered 'prominent' (cf MED blered ppl.) seems preferable. 967 TG-Davis emended bay to ba/3 'swelling'. Gollancz glossed bay 'rounded'. Bay may be from MED bei n., sense 2, 'hoop of metal, ring of corselet'. 978-80 Emerson (1925) 175, comparing 1400-4 and 1664-68, noted that Robert Mannyng, in Handlyng Synne (7260ff.), criticized rere-sopers 'after-suppers'. 981-90 Roney (1978), commenting that Bercilak may be thought of as childgered (applied to Arthur in line 86) if one considers only scenes like this, pointed to the three hunting scenes in which the lord is characterized as strong, fearless, decisive, and completely in control. 983-87 Bercovitch-HZ (1965) 264 called this game proposed by Bercilak "the 'behooding' game," noting that it parallels the Beheading Game at Camelot (390-466). 989 Cf line 495 at Camelot. Gawain does not know that it is his adversary who is being benevolent at Castle Hautdesert. 992 Most editors adopted Tolkien & Gordon's emendation of kyng to wrd. Emerson (1922) 378 retained the MS reading by assuming that "the lord of the castle has become by his action of beginning the games the king of Christmas." Benson (1965) 80, discussing the "literary wild man" as a "king of the wilderness," compared the reference to the Green Knight's kynge3 capados (186). Ly:fl denotes torchlight. Lines 1119-20 describe people going to bed by torchlight. Cf. also 1684-85 and 1989-90. 995 Editors read tyme 'time', but my examination of the original MS under an ultra-violet lamp in the British Library showed that the fourth letter looks like the sec197

ond, a y, preceded by n. After tyny, there is a dot with a stroke under it and another vague mark, but these do not form legible letters for tyme. Tyny 'tiny Child', a sb . adj . referring to the infant Jesus, suits the context . OED tiny a. (sb.) is related to tine a. and sb.6, under which there are ME citations . q. 1810n on the use of tyne. Douglass (1992) 22, arguing that the pagan world of faerie prevails over Christian culture at Hautdesert, stated: "Gawain ... goes to bed without returning for midnight mass. Nor does he attend mass the next morning." However, attandance at mass is implied in lines 995-97. Besides, the poet need not have described in detail an event that his audience would have taken for granted. q. 2009-68n on this point. 996 Ellipsis of the relative pronoun [who] is not unusual in Middle English. As Davis stated in his 955-6n, the "absence of an unexpressed relative is good syntax at this date." Davis cited Chaucer, Canterbury Tales, Prologue 529: "With hym ther was a Plowman was his brother." 1000-5 Cf. the seating arrangement at Camelot in 73-75 and 109-15, and see 109-15n. Emerson (1927) 254 observed that the lady sits to the left of her husband Bercilak, and Gawain sits beside her. Morgan evidently sits to the right of Bercilak in the place of honor similar to that held by Bishop Baldwin in line 112. 1002 Nakao (1961) 59 believed there is no alliteration in the second half of this line, but, as TG-Davis noted, the caesura falls between by and lent, with the prep. by in post. c. and accented. 1008-9 Cf 1008 to 165 and 719. Chapman (1945) 20, in comparing 165 to 719, related the style of the poet, who often interjected his own comments, to Virgil. The rhetorical device of expressing how hard it is to describe something goes back to the ancient writers . See also Ebbs (1958) for a study of "Stylistic Mannerisms of the Gam1in-Poet," and cf 30-31n . Editors, following Tolkien & Gordon's and . .. 3'et 'even though', gave the following sense for 1009: "Even if, perhaps, I took pains to detail it further" (Barron). Anderson (1994) 443 opposed this reading and tr. 1008-9: "(such) that it would be very difficult for me to tell of it, and as for describing it in detail, I would perhaps still be troubling myself (to do it)." The lines may refer to the twin art of speaking and writing. Grattan (1925) 487 suggested this interpretation when he asked, "Does to poynte refer to rhyming by letter, to making alliterative verse?" (q. 30-36 and see 3536n.) OED point v.1 cited Gawain s.v. sense 2, where 'write' is listed as one of the meanings. The view that the poet wrote and recited his own poetry is strengthened by possible wordplay on pyned 'exerted' (MED prnen, 7b), for another v ., MED pinnen 'to fasten or affix', can denote the technique of making alliterative verse. Burrow (1982) 73-74 compared to poynte in Troylus and Criseyde (III, 497), noting that Chaucer used the word in a rare technical sense, 'describe in detail' . The MED s. v. pointen v.l, sense 2, though citing neither Chaucer nor Gawain, gives citations that indicate the processes of both writing and speaking. 1010-15 W.O. Evans (1967) 150-51 observed Gawain's cortaysye includes politeness to ladies but not the adultery of courtly love. Thus he steers a middle course in the bedroom scenes later (1178-1318, 1476-1557, 1731-1869). His cortaysye is associated with Christian virtues symbolized by the pentangle on his shield (619-65). Cortays (1013) connotes spiritual cleanness, as well as courtly politeness. (Cf. 927n.) Jankofsky (1986) contrasted Thomas Berger's adaptation of Gawain in Arthur Rex : A Legendary Novel (1978): "In SGGK, Gawain's reputation as a chivalrous and courtly lover and paragon of courtesy remains untarnished, whereas Berger's Gawaine falls victim to both his own carnal appetites and the deception played on him" (393). 198

1014 Tolkien & Gordon and subsequent editors emended MS &: at the start of this line to Pat, thinking a correlative to such (1011) is required . However, one may avoid the emendation by translating such 'similar' (see MED swich adj.). 1015 T. Wright (1974), comparing OF vair, "one of the furs of heraldry represented in coats of arms as a pattern of alternating and interlocked designs," said the first sense of in vayres may be 'in truth', but he believed "the phrase may also invoke the vair design in heraldry and thereby exemplify the patterned variety of the feast and the pairing of companions at table, particularly Gawain and the lady." 1020-28 The days of Christmas, St. Stephen, and St. John-December 25, 26, and 27-are accounted for in 1020-23. Since the hunts occupy the last three days of the year, Bercilak must begin the first of them (1133-34)) on the morning of December 29. Therefore, Holy Innocents' Day (Childermas), December 28, seems unaccounted for . Davis, Waldron, Barron, and Silverstein favored Gollancz' suggestion that the scribe omitted a line after 1022. Silverstein printed Gollancz' suggested insertion as line 1022a: [With moste myrpe and mynstrelsye Childermas sued]. Burrow, in his 1066n, adopted the interpretation of Melvin Watson (1949) who believed the poet telescoped the third and fourth days, shrewdly placing his details so that the casual reader or listener would not be aware of a missing day. Savage (1944) 347, crediting a note in the translation of Banks (1929), logically explained that Gawain retires from the festivities of the 27th on the morning of the 28th, and then sleeps through the 28th . Savage's belief, however, that in lines 1027-28 guests take their leave to go to bed at the castle seems inaccurate; 'bed' does not appear in this context, whereas it does in such verses as 1118-20 and 1959-60. Haines (1971), studying the matter in greater detail, noted that because St. John's Day is the last of the entertainment (1023), guests who were to leave on the gray morning wondrously remained awake (1024-25), as was the custom. These 'strong' guests, without going to bed, depart for their own homes on what has to be the morning of December 28 (1027-28). Gawain is ready to depart (1029), but Bercilak detains him. Gawain's saying in line 1066 that he has bare fare dayq before the New Year to find the Green Chapel is not inaccurate, considering he knew that he would need sleep on Holy Innocents' Day. When Bercilak says that Gawain may stay in his bed untilforth-dayq (1072), he evidently means late into December 28. (He may be indicating that Gawain may sleep late the next three days also, bringing to light the possibility of wordplay on the number 'four'.) Tonwm (1097) denotes December 29. Gawain goes to bed (1120) on the morning of December 28. As Haines, p . 357, observed , it is appropriate that Gawain should sleep through Holy Innocents' Day (Childermas), since he is ignorant of the plot being set in motion against him. Gillan (1986), noting that Childermas-which commemorates the slaughter of infants by Herod in his search for the child Jesus-was a day of ill-omen and not a good one to enter into any undertaking, argued that the poet did begin the hunting and temptation scenes on that day, December 28, but he "made a conscious, artistic judgment to eschew overt reference to an awkward calendar fact which would amount to premature disclosure of his denouement" (5). However, Gillan's theory, which makes the 'missing' day December 31, is not supported by the text, for in line 1965, on the evening of the fox hunt, December 31, Gawain says he must meue tonwme, an obvious reference to Nw ~erq Day (1968). Also, after Gawain goes to bed, the poet narrates: "Now ne3e3 pe Nw 3ere, and pe ny3t passe3" (1998). Douglass (1992) 23 called the "missing day" a deliberate elision on the part of 199

the poet. The "particulars of the absent feast [Holy Innocents] seem to be especially significant to the tension being developed in the poem .... It is the absence (or loss) of innocence which accompanies Gawain's stay at the castle and ... the absence of the understanding which encompasses mercy." Douglass argued that in Gawain, "the pagan world of faerie is allowed to reassert its dominance over the structures of the church" (20). 1022 The St. John referred to here is the apostle, writer of the Apocalypse, who was noted for his chastity. See 1788n on Gawain's swearing by this saint during the third bedroom scene with the lady. 1026 See 43n for discussion of 'carols'. 1028 Haines (1971) 357 noted reading 'strong' gives a nice human touch, for those who journeyed right after such feasting would have to be durable people. The poet specifically stated that these guests wonderly . . . woke 'wondrously . . . stayed awake' (1025). Tolkien & Gordon glossed stronge 'strong'. Cawley and Burrow followed Gollancz who emended to str[a]nge 'not belonging to the place'. Davis, Waldron, Barron, Silverstein, and Osberg adopted this interpretation, considering stronge a variant spelling of stra(u)nge. 1029-36 Wirtjes (1984) compared Bercilak to the literary vavasour who in French Arthurian romances provides hospitality for questing knights. The plots of these romances usually involve the virgin daughter of the vavasour with a knight who is attracted to her, but Wirtjes argued that the poet "consciously transformed [these two stock characters] into the sophisticated lady and the unwilling Gawain" (298). 1030 Davis noted that the MS has pehyne, but he and other editors emended to chymne. Pe hynne 'the servant' suits the context; in 1119-20 servants conduct people to bed by torchlight. The alliteration is on hym . . . his awen/hynne. 1032 Editors followed the suggestion of Madden and Morris to emend MS & to pat, but for and 'when' cf 1808 and see MED and conj. (& adv.), 6a. 1047 Madden and Morris read deme 'secret' (Morris suggested derue 'great'), but derue 'bold' or 'dreaded' seems preferable. As Waldron (1962) 367 observed, the derue dede in Gawain's past is "nothing else than the beheading of the man now talking with him." 1049 Cf. 31n and 614n on the different meanings of toun(e) in these phrases. TG-Davis noted the general sense 'habitation of men'. Here halet out of toun may be rendered 'passed away from men', but the verse translation 'ended on earth' is employed to extend the alliterative pattern. 1053 Editors followed the suggestion of Madden and Morris to insert a negative into this line (ne wot 'know not', TG-Davis), but MS wot 'must learn' may be retained. Single verbs in the MSsometimes require translations into verb phrases. Cf. telle 'must tell' (380) and wot 'do know' (1487). 1068- 78 Davis noted the inconsistent pronoun usage in this passage, especially polite pl. 5elyowre and familiar sg. pyn together in 1071. Metcalf (1971) 169-70 said Bercilak's purpose is to persuade Gawain to stay "by assuring him, in the most confidential and comradely of terms, that he will help him," but he, nevertheless, strikes the right note in using some polite pl. forms so as not to become too forward. (See also 254-73n and 2110-lln on the poet's pronoun usage.) 1069 Madden glossed pa 'the'. Other editors emended to pat, but pa 'that' preceding the t of tenne may be retained here. (See Gordon & Onions [1932] 136.) 1084 The ladie5 are apparently Morgan le Fay and Bercilak's wife, who were introduced in 941-69. Thus three people in the plot against Gawain are with him here. 200

The only other person who is probably involved is the guide. (See 2091-2125n.) 1086-87 Shippey (1971) 245-46, believing the poet "has quite outdone any possible predecessor in his dedication to joy and mirth," favored for Gawain the lighter view of Cook (1963) as opposed to the heavily moralistic interpretations of other critics, such as Moorman (1967). 1092 Editors followed Madden's suggestion to emend 3owe in the second half of the line to 3owre, but MS 3owe may be retained with the literal tr., "[I] promise to be obedient to you." For elliptical 'I', cf lln, 412n, and 683n. 1096-99 Scattergood (1981) 354 saw in this passage an allusion to sloth, gluttony, and lechery, three sins of the flesh to which Gawain is susceptible. (See also Scattergood's argument in 2433-38n.) 1107 Waldron tr. chek 'bad luck', but 'success' in relation to acheue seems preferable (MED chek interj. & n., sense 3, where Gawain is cited). TG-Davis glossed 'fortune (gain)', Gollancz 'advantage'. Most editors gave a positive meaning here, even though the word carries a negative connotation in 1857 and 2195. 1112 Gollancz compared Piers Plowman A-text, V., 189: "Bargeyns and beuerages . bi-gonne to aryse." Burrow noted that drink is brought on the nights before the boar hunt (1409) and the fox hunt (1684); he also compared the reference to forwarde3 and drynk in 1934-35. 1116-18 Gollancz compared frenkysch fare to the Chester Plays, Noah's Flood 100: "for all thy frankish fare." Phelan (1980) 550-52 cited this passage in Gawain as an example of the poet's "explicitly calling attention to the French origin of courtly manners and introducing the French view of the hero as a great paramour," in contrast to previous passages describing Gawain like an epic hero in the "harsh world of the west." He examined the combination of Anglo-Saxon and French diction, native alliteration and continental rhyme, and primitive and civilized aspects in relation to "Nationalism and Internationalism" in Gawain. 1124 TG-Davis and Gollancz glossed olde 'old', but Bercilak is of hyghe eldee 'mature age' (see 844n), not 'old'. Andrew & Waldron glossed 'old; long-established'. Moorman followed Wright (1935) 178 who suggested 'eminent, great'. Burrow (1965) 69- 70, referring to OED old a., 8a, interpreted olde lorde as a colloquial expression of familiarity. His alternate interpretation from sense 5, fig., 'experienced, skilled, clever', points up the contrast between Bercilak and the gullible Gawain. 1126-34 Haines (1971) 356, expressing the general view that people were preparing to leave for home, supposed a second group of guests depart now, the first having left on the previous morning (1028); however, as Wright (1936) 314 observed, Pe folk (1126) denotes "everybody concerned with the day's hunting expedition." Thus the context favors the inclusion of the elliptical 'hunting' in 1127. (See 1092n for other examples of ellipsis.) In 1130, the rychest prepare to ryde alle arayde; cf Arayed for Pe rydyng (1134), which definitely relates to the hunt. 1129 For retention of MS he 'their' (editors emended to her), cf 2171n, and see 697n and 751n for other examples of shortened forms of words in Gawain. 1135 Bercilak goes to mass before eating on each morning of a hunt. (Cf. 1414 and 1690.) 1137 By pat 'By the time' plus pat 'that' may be retained. Tolkien & Gordon and most subsequent editors emended to By pat. Burrow printed By than that. 1139 This description of the deer hunt runs to line 1177; the next, dealing with the cutting of the deer, is in 1319-64. The first bedroom scene (1178-1318) is in between. TG-Davis compared Parlement of the Thre Ages 1-99, Ai-vntyrs off Arthure 201

33-65, Sir Tristrem 441-526, lpomedon, A. 587-686 and B. 366-416, Summer Sunday 1-30, and Chaucer's Book of the Duchess 344-86 on the hunting and cutting of deer. 1141 Tolkien & Gordon observed that the fourteenth-century horn had only one note. Chapman (1931) 178 discussed the poet's knowledge of the music of the hunt. Cf. blw prys (1362), blawyng of prys (1601), and see 1362n. See also 1446n on the blowing of recheat. 1142 As TG-Davis and Savage (1931b) 171 noted, two kinds of dogs are involved in lines 1139-49. The braches are the same as the rachches 1164, small hunting dogs, like modern beagles, who run in a pack to scent game. (See 1146-47n on vewters 'greyhounds'.) Since Mod. E. 'rach' is still used in British dialect to denote a dog that hunts by scent, I have employed it to translate brach and rach. Besides the designation hou(w)nde5(s), the poet used several terms to describe the various kinds of dogs, such as blodhounde5 (1436), mute (1451, 1720), dogge5 (1600), kenet (1701), pre pro ... al graye (1713-14), and titleres (1726). 1146-47 Cf. the description of hunters and greyhounds at the low hunting stations in lines 1170- 73. The deer who escape the raches and the hunters with bow and arrow (1160-69) are caught by the greyhounds. Editors glossed vewters (MED feut(e)rer) according to sense la, 'huntsman who cares for hounds', but huntes 'hunters' are named in the next line. For vewters 'greyhounds', cf. the MED s. v. sense 2, 'a kind of hunting dog, an alan', and the citation there from The Master of Game: "alauntz ... almost pei bene shapon as a greyhounde" (65). 1153 Tolkien & Gordon glossed stablye 'ring of beaters', noting these men were stationed around the hunting area to direct the deer toward the lord and his party. 1154-59 See Ong (1950) for a discussion of the poet's precision in describing the different species of deer. The harts and the hinds are the males and the females respectively of the red deer (Cervus elaphus); the bucks and the does are the males and females of a much smaller species, the fallow deer (Dama, dama). The red deer is a large animal related to the American elk. Hy5e hedes refers to its high antlers. Brode paume5 denotes the antlers of the fallow deer. Male deer were out of season then to preserve the different species. See also Savage (1951). 1156 Tolkien & Gordon observed that the closed season for the hart and the buck was from September 14 to June 24; the hinds and does were hunted from September 14 to February 2. 1174 E. Wright (1923) discussed abloy (MED abloi ppl.). 1179 Gawayn is abbreviated G: in the MS. and similarly in lines 1624, 1686, 1872, 2280, 2299, 2396, 2429, and 2491. 1180 TG-Davis glossed lurkke5 'lies snug'. Gawain has not yet been confronted by Bercilak's wife in a situation that makes him want to conceal himself. Embarrassing circumstances involving the lady begin in line 1182, and lurked (1195) does carry the connotation of 'concealment' in that context. Nevertheless, Shaw (1980) argued that "Gollancz was on the right track when he glossed lurke11at both I. 1180 and I. 1195 as 'lie hid'" (1), for the poet's use of lurkke5 (1180) is "directly critical of Gawain: he is 'skulking' or 'cowering,' or, at best, 'keeping out of sight'" (6). Shaw pointed out that the MED s. v. lurken v., sense d, 'to lie comfortably', cites only Gawain, but it was not unusual for this poet to employ the same word with different meanings, according to the context and if it suited his purpose. For example, glam in Cleanness 849 denotes the 'shouting' of the Sodomites who are after the angels in Lot's house, but the same word in Gawain 1652 denotes the 'merrymaking' at Castle Hautdesert. (See also 1195n.) 202

1187 This first bedroom scene ends at 1308. In 1319-64, the poet moves back to Bercilak and the deer hunt. On each of the next two days, a bedroom scene (14761557, 1731-1869) involving the lady and Gawain is set between hunting passages, the hunt for a boar on December 30 and for a fox on December 31. Moorman-B (1956) 222, citing Savage (1928), believed it is clear that the nature of the hunted animal-shy deer, aggressive boar, deceitful fox-suggests tactics which Gawain uses to put off the lady's advances. See also Savage (1956) 31-48 and Moorman (1968) 95. Spearing (1964) 33 stated, "It is surely clear enough that in the contest between Gawain and the Lady what is primarily at stake is his chastity," but Dean (1971) argued against this interpretation, saying the emphasis of the poem falls elsewhere. "The lady's prolonged offer of herself and the steady resistance that Gawain is compelled to make to it is nothing more than a calculated stratagem on her part to throw Gawain off his guard so that the real temptation of the third day [her offering him the girdle] might succeed~ (5). Miller (1971-72) thought it possible that the poet chose deer (physical lust), boar (pleasure of the eyes), and fox (treachery) because each one represents "a symbolical characteristic suggested by the temptations of Jesus" (28). McClure (1973), seeing Gawain's adventure as a test to maintain mesure over the three human weaknesses of fear, anger, and deception-symbolized by deer, boar, and fox-argued that Gawain succeeded the first two times but failed the third when he abandoned his self-control and played the role of the cowardly, deceiving fox. Burnley (1973a) assumed the poet's audience would have recognized courtly order in the first bedroom scene and the deer hunt, face to face encounter in the second bedroom scene and the boar hunt, and "the deviousness of the lady . . . matched by the cunning of the fox" (9) in the third bedroom scene and the fox hunt, the result being collapse and moral defeat for Gawain. Thiebaux (1974) related the hunting scenes to the temptation scenes by noting that in the hunting manuals the activities of the hunt are considered virtuous in contrast to the sloth of one's lying in bed; thus Bercilak, urging Gawain to stay in bed and using his wife as a temptress, becomes a "very hunting devil for enticing [Gawain] to temptation, and then a holy hunter of men to teach and shrive him" (88). Henry (1976) discussed the degeneration in the tone of the hunts in relation to the true nature of the hero's consciousness, "so subtly modified and corrupted by the Lady that [he] remains unaware of what has happened until he is instructed by the Green Knight" (192). Blenkner (1978) believed the fleeing deer, charging boar, and clever fox not only suggest the irascible, concupiscent, and rational powers of the human soul, "but also exemplify couardise, couetyse and vntra»,pe, the chivalric sins which result when each of the powers is disordered or wrongly directed" (230). Kossick (1979) noted in the alternation of temptation and hunting scenes "sophisticated transitions which both convey a sense of simultaneity and suggest deliberate paralleling .... achieved without recourse to repetition, and always with an eye to dramatic effect" (8). Green (1979) 353 observed how moving from the dangers of the hunt to the apparent safety of the castle "opens up an ironic perpective when we realise that, under the metaphor of hunting standing for sexual pursuit, the lady is as intent on hunting down her victim in the bedroom as her lord on tracking down his game outside." If we were to accept symbolic parallels, we might attribute the characteristics

203

of all three animals to the lady. (On this point, see Ward [1978] who examined thematic parallels to Gawain in the hunts of Diana and Venus in medieval French versions made from Ovid's Ars Amatoria and Remedia Amoris. ) The lady's first attempt at seducing Gawain is mild (cf the deer) in comparison to the next two. On the second day, she is more aggressive (cf the boar). On the third day, as Burnley (1973a) noted, she is foxy in tricking Gawain into accepting the green girdle. Morgan (1987), in "The Action of the Hunting and Bedroom Scenes in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight," also pointed out, p. 213, that the symbol of the cunning fox may be applied to the lady, as well as to Gawain. He compared the poet's use of rayked 'rushed' (1727) to describe the wily Reynard and then rayked (1735) to describe Bercilak's wife on her way to Gawain's room. Rooney (1993) 185-86 downplayed the symbolic parallels made by scholars between the bedroom scenes and the hunting scenes. The poet's audience would have recognized the familiar motif of the pursuit of love while a lord is hunting away from home, but "the concentration of noisy, boisterous and dangerous outdoor activity of the hunt is in stark contrast with the quiet, poised, apparently safe indoor activity of the bedchamber." (q. a similar statement made by Davis in his note to 1158ff.) Rooney studied the hunting scenes in Gawain primarily in relation to hunting manuals. (For further discussion, see the notes lo 1237, 1489, 1531, 1700, 1736-41, 1902, and 2235-36.) 1195 TG-Davis glossed lurked 'lurking' as a pp. tr. prog. 'Lurking' here appropriately signals 'furtive action', and it seems that the meaning of the word in this context is not quite the same as lurkke:f 'lies snug' in line 1180. (See also 1180n.) 1196-1201 The poet describes a thinking process in this passage. Bloomfield (1985) 13 commented that we are given some direct pictures of Gawain's mind on occasion, especially in the temptation scenes and toward the end of the poem, but "we are largely forced to rely on his actions and speech to understand his attitudes." 1197 Tolkien & Gordon and subsequent editors read meue 'result in', but mene (Madden and Morris) seems preferable. Cf 233 where mene also alliterates with meruayle. (The two minims forming n and u are indistinguishable in the MS.) 1202-3 Gollancz compared Gawain's blessing himself in 761-62. Levy (1965) 96 believed Gawain "blesses himself to assure the safety of his soul." In contrast, Mills (1968) 613, crediting the assertion of Burrow (1965) 75 that in the temptation scenes the poem is "moving through, or at least close to, fabliau country," interpreted these lines as a "gesture of comic surprise rather than a serious reminder of moral danger." Owen (1968), who argued that the poet's two chief sources were Le Chevalier a l'Epee and La Mule sans Frein, also discussed "Burlesque Tradition" in Gawain. Barron (1980b) 12 felt Gawain's action here is one that provokes laughter, but Morgan (1987) disagreed with him and other critics. "There is in such a comment a violation not only of the poem's moral seriousness but also of its imaginative integrity" (200). Morgan, after noting the moral import of the pentangle passage (619-65), the confession scene (1876-84), and the respective judgements of the Green Knight (233168), of Gawain himself (2369-88, 2406-38, 2494-2512), and of Arthur and his court (2513-21), reminded the reader that the "moral outcome of the poem is determined in the series of bedroom interchanges, framed by the hunting scenes" (200). 1207 Fleissner (1986), in comparing Gawain to Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor, stated: "Thus, just as Sir Gawayne's seductress manquee taunts him with [lyppe:f ... la:fande], so the bustling Windsor wives thwarting Falstaffs wouldbe amours earn their 'merry' label" (35). 204

1208 Tolkien & Gordon and subsequent editors (except Moorman) emended fayr to gay to alliterate with the initial G words in the first half of the line, but one may retain MSfayr and consider an aba/b pattern on God . .. Sir Gawayn/sayde. 1208-11 Stokes (1981), in her study of the debate element in the bedroom scenes, noted how Bercilak's wife begins with a military metaphor, suggesting Gawain has "fallen prisoner to her surprise ambush" (42). The 'prisoner of love' concept was a common courtly conceit. Gawain calls himself a 'prisoner' (1219); the lady says she has 'caught' him (1225). 1214 Editors printed your. Reading the word under the ultra-violet lamp in the British Library showed initial y (resembling fa), the abbr. for ur over o, and a badly made rat the end. For doubling of the final consonant in yourr, cf Thenn 2389. 1236 Bloomfield (1969) 301 rejected tale 'speech', believing the context favors the "obscene meaning," apparently MED tail n., sense lb., c, 'the pudendum'. Wordplay may be involved, but a translation denoting 'conversation' is fitting as the primary sense. (CJ.karp 'converse' 1225.) 1237 Gollancz, like Morris and Tolkien & Gordon, glossed cors 'body', noting, "The lady's bluntness in coming to the point testifies to her inexperience in such a role." Stone (1959) 73 tr. 'body' but disagreed with Gollancz' assertion; he believed that when the lady fails to catch Gawain off guard by a sudden assault, she "tries one trick after another from a repertory which draws on all the techniques of courtly love." Cawley observed that in this context to my cors may merely mean 'to me'. (Cf. corse 'person' in Cleanness 683.) Waldron, Burrow, and Barron agreed. One may also render cors 'companionship' as an extension of MED clJrs n., 3a, 'an individual, a person, (one's) person'. In 975, the ladies called on Gawain for 'companionship'. In 1099, Bercilak offered Gawain his wife's compayny, though he may have been implying something more. As Burrow observed, the lady's speech is suggestive, and wordplay does seem to be involved, but I am inclined to agree with Davis who believed that 'body' would not be the primary meaning here because "so crude an offer is ill suited to this early stage of the lady's courtship of Gawain (the situation is further advanced at 1496)." Besides, it does not seem likely that Gawain would immediately answer, "In god fayth, gayn hit me pynkke3" (1241), if the lady had blatantly offered her body. Mehl (1962) and Sanderlin (1983) 18 supported the view that line 1237 is a formula of common politeness, but scholars, such as Kiteley (1961) 10, Mills (1968) 61617, Dean (1971) 5, Howard (1971) 39, Clark (1971) 16-19, Gallagher (1977) 365-66, Moorman, and Silverstein favored cors 'body'. Clark compared a probable French source cited by Benson (1965) 52, the romance of Brun de Bran/ant (6322-24), which immediately precedes Le Livre de Caradoc in the First Continuation of Perceval. Kiteley (1961) drew analogues between the three temptation scenes in Gawain and the De Arte Honeste Amandi of Andreas Capellanus, concluding that the lady's concept of cortaysye is according to the doctrine of courtly love, and the fact that the roles are reversed, the lady taking the initiative instead of the man, suggests that the poet was critical of this doctrine. Troyan (1990) 390-94, in discussing cors, brought into play "the notion of combat or direction of action" (MED cours n.) involving the lady and Gawain. Cors in this context "forces us to open up our wordhoards and plug in all of the ambiguous terms that we can find to see which, if any, fit" (393). Troyan contrasted the sequential rhetoric of Le Livre de Caradoc, based on the assumed oral nature of the text, with the 205

recursive rhetoric of Gawain, based on the assumed textual nature of the text. Sequential rhetoric closes off meaning, whereas recursive rhetoric, which relies on the associative value of the words employed, "forces the audience back into the text" (394). 1241-44 Liuzza (1989) 42 said while these lines may be interpreted as an example of Gawain's characteristic modesty (cf 343-61), "He is aware of the disparity between what he is and what he is said to be." The lady questions his identity in 12921301 and 1481; the Green Knight does in 2270 (see the notes). "By framing the question of reputation in terms of the validity of Gawain's name, the author ... examines and challenges the propriety of language as a means of discerning truth" (45). 1248-58 Levine (1982) studied the relationship between Gawain and the twelfth-century Latin comoedia, the Miles Gloriosus, concerning the Exchange of Winnings motif and the temptation scenes. In both poems, a young knight is received at a wealthy stranger's house, agrees to share (or exchange) winnings, and is tempted by the host's wife who offers a gift. On pp. 72- 73, Levine compared 1248-58 to a passage in the Miles Gloriosus (ed. Robert Baschet, La Comedie Latine, I, 199-200), in which the host's wife is tempting the man and compounding "love, money, eating, drinking, toiling and rhetoric in her elaborately playful proposition." Bercilak's wife is more subtle, but the elements of rhetoric, money, and love found in the Latin work come into play in Gawain. On the possible connection between Gawain and the Miles Gloriosus, see also Hulbert (1915-16) 699, Day (1940) xxxv, and Renoir (1960a). 1255 Davis compared golde ne garysoun (1837), "a variant of gold and gersum, a common alliterative formula in ME." The MED cited Gawain s. v. garisoun n. (See gersum(e) n., le, for examples of the formula.) Olszewska (1933) 81 compared Old West Norse gull ok gq,rsemi and Old Swedish gut ok gorsem. In Gawain, the Scandinavian loanword gersum is replaced by French garysoun. 1262 MS aswared 'answered' may be retained as a variant of swared 1793, 2011 (MED swaren v.). q. MED asweren 'promise solemnly' as a variant of sweren. Editors followed Madden's suggestion to emend to answared. 1263 Spearing (1982), in his study of "Central and Displaced Sovereignty" in Gawain, argued that since line 2525 echoes line 1, the poem as a whole can be seen to consist of 2525 + 5 lines, and the mid-point line between 1 and 2525 is 1263, which is also "the first line of the poem's central stanza-the fifty-first out of 101" (258). Line 1263 does not present King Arthur in a central position, but Arthur is not central to Gawain. In a symbolic arrangement, it is "highly appropriate that the poem's mid point should place Gawain fpe myry mon] between the two opposing ladies [Madame Bercilak and the Virgin Mary]; and in doing so it emblematizes the concern of the whole poem with the conflict between secular and ascetic values in a culture which is at once Christian and courtly" (261). See also 224-25n on Spearing's study. 1265 Davis inserted bi before hor and suggested a tr. similar to the following one by Grattan (1925) 487 (recommended by W .P. Ker): "And have received other extensive generosity from other folk, of their own free will." (Waldron, Burrow, Silverstein, and Osberg also inserted a prep.) However, one may take fongen 'welcoming' as a pp. tr. prog. and not emend. Cf 1195n on lurked 'lurking' as a pp. tr. prog. 1266 (This note is based on the literal tr. of for my disert nys en 'is not ever according to my merit'.) MS nysen is separated to nys 'is not' (cf Pearl 100, 951) and en 'ever' (MED ene adv., la, 'once'; never ene, lb, 'not even once, never'). Menner (1924) 206-8 read uysen 'devise'. Tolkien & Gordon glossed nysen 'make foolish; (they) foolishly exaggerate', from nys 'foolish'. Gollancz glossed nysen 'nothing' (OF nesun) and tr., "But the favour that they show me is nowise for any merit on my part." 206

Davis' emendation to nys euen 'is not equal' was adopted by Silverstein and Osberg. Waldron omitted/or, read MS nyseu, considered the abbr. for er missing, printed nys ever, and tr., "But the honour which they bestow is not at all my deserving." 1267 (This note is based on the literal tr. given at the bottom of p. 73: Hit is pe worchyp of yourself 'They should show the respect to you'.) Hit may be tr. 'They'; see 727-28n for other examples. For is 'should show', cf. were 'would show' (1250), used with daynte (found again in 1266). For yourself'you', cf. line 1522. 1276 Gawain, with tact, compliments the lady's husband. 1280 Hinton (1990) 83 noted how Gawain and Lady Bercilak "gradually reach a state of ease in which they are able to speak 'of this and that' as well as oflove." She argued that the lady's "womanly flaws," her attempts at seduction, are not destructive, "but are actually helpful in that they evoke qualities which 'round out' Gawain as a person and render him a wittier and more enjoyable companion." 1281 For separation of MS ahym, cf. 1266n on nysen, and cf. 683n. TG-Davis argued against retaining a as a reduced form of ho 'she', but the form is found in ME. (See the many variant spellings listed s. v. MED h~ pron.2, and cf. 946n.) TG-Davis, Jones, Burrow, Barron, Silverstein, and Osberg emended a to as. 1283 Sanderlin (1973) noted there is no need to emend I to ho 'she' and the second burde in the line to burne 'man', since the thought contained in 1283-87 is in the mind of the lady. Morris first suggested these emendations. Wright (1935) 165, Gollancz, Jones, Waldron, Burrow, Barron, and Silverstein followed Morris. Waldron's tr. of 1283-85 reflects the interpretation given by editors who emended: "Though she was the loveliest lady the warrior had ever known (lit. 'remembered'-cf. 943ft), he had brought with him so much the less love because of the penalty he was going to meet forthwith." Among those who retained the MS forms, Tolkien & Gordon rendered 1283 and the first half of 1284, "'Even if I were the fairest of ladies,' the lady thought, 'the less love-(making) would he bring with him now.'" Cawley adopted this interpretation, which supposes that there is an abrupt halt to the lady's thought, followed immediately by the poet's explanation of it. Davis, who placed only the first half of 1283 in quotation marks, tr. with ellipsis: "'Even if I were the most beautiful of ladies,' the lady thought (still he would resist)." Davis believed there would be a flaw in the plot if this passage indicated the lady knew Gawain had to face the blow from the Green Knight. However, as Sanderlin (1973) observed, "How can Lady Bercilak not be aware of a campaign of which she herself is a pars magna" (62)? Later, Bercilak himself indicates that his wife did know all beforehand when he (as the Green Knight) says to Gawain: "And pewowyng of my wyf I wro3t hit myseluen./1 sende hir to asay pe" (2361-62). Sanderlin (1983) again supported this reading: "As the action develops, there are hints that she does find Gawain attractive, that she understands and sympathizes with his plight, and, finally, that she does feel affection for him." (17) Cf. 1550n for similar points made by Sanderlin (1975). Madden, though he did not explain the passage, placed 1283-87 in quotation marks. The punctuation and translation given by Emerson (1922) 384-85, and accepted by Moorman and Osberg, also show that the lady's soliloquy should be carried to the end of 1287. Morgan (1987) 200-1, commenting on this passage, criticized what he called the "disturbance of the poem's moral design," resulting "from a lack of alignment between the aesthetic assumptions of the modern reader and those of the mediaeval 207

poet." He felt the poet's intention is destroyed by editorial interference. "Since there is no requirement of naturalism, the poet is under no obligation to explain to his audience the means by which the lady obtained the knowledge that she so evidently possesses." 1292-1301 Snell (1925) compared a passage in the prose Perceval (Sebastian Evans' tr., The High History of the Holy Graal, Branch V, Ch. ix) in which Gawain would rather sleep than entertain two ladies who then doubt his identity. Cf 1481n on the lady's questioning of Gawain's identity, and see also 1241-44n and 2270n. (In 2270, the Green Knight/Bercilak questions his identity.) For a study of the assault on the hero's identity at Castle Hautdesert and the Green Chapel, see Taylor (1974). 1304 Editors followed Madden's suggestion to emend MS Jo to so, but cf 282n, 384n, and 1344n on retention of Jo, which alliterates with fire here, and see MED ftJ adv. Gawain may be recalling the lady's 'severe words' 1291-93. 1311 Randall (1957) 162-63 observed that Gawain goes to the castle chapel on each of the mornings after he rises. (See 1558n and 1876-84n.) Seealso Barnet (1956) on the many intracacies of structure in Gawain. 1315 For Wyth 'Simultaneously', see OED with B. adv., sense l. (Editors, following the suggestions of Madden and Morris, emended to Wat3). 1319 The five minims in the MS seem to form a um in gaume3 rather than an mn for gamne3 (editors' reading). MED game n. lists gaume as a variant spelling. 1320 Savage (1931b) 172, referring to H. M. Batten, Habits and Characteristics of British Wild Animals (1928), p. 30, noted it would not be difficult to distinguish barren from breeding hinds. The barren hinds have sleek and compact figures. 1322 See 30-31n and 1008-9n on the rhetorical device of expressing difficulty in describing something. Editors rendered wonder 'marvellous', but 'difficult' may be derived from OED wonder sb., Sc, 'great distress'. 1324 Mod. E. quarry denotes 'killed game'. Silverstein, who glossed querre 'orderly assemblage of slain deer', noted that OED quarry sb.1 "records Gawain's as the first such use in English, and derives the word itself from OFr cuiree, curee (cf cuir, 'skin'), signifying both the flesh served as a 'reward' to the hounds on the hide of a deer and the occasion of the serving." See also MED quirr? n .1, sense c. 1325-27 See Bruce (1903) on "The Breaking of the Deer" in Gawain. TGDavis observed that noblemen made it a point of honor to be skilled in slitting deer. Shepherd (1970) 143 commented, the natural way for an audience to have taken this passage was, first of all, as memorable instruction. "Many passages in Middle English verse [especially alliterative verse], at all levels of accomplishment, become more intelligible when they are admitted to be, if not primarily and detachedly mnemonic, at least vestigially mnemonic in form and content." 1326 Most editors did not specify 'deer' for gres (Osberg tr. 'dead deer'), but MED gres(e n., 2d, defines 'game animals, deer', with a citation from lpomedon. See also 2313n on the use of grece. 1328-29 Mod. E. assay denotes a 'testing'. The quality of the deer is tested. As Waldron observed, ME asay could also denote the part of the breast where the cut was made; thus there may be double-entendre. MED finger n., 6a, cited Gawain with the elliptical [of fat]. Bruce (1903) 27-28 compared this operation of taking the depth of the fat to Parlement of the Thre Ages 70-71. Cf 1328-57 to Parlement 65-91. 1330 Mod. E. slot denotes 'the hollow running down the middle of the breast'. In line 1593, Bercilak thrusts his sword into the swine's slot. MED erber n. defines 'the first stomach of ruminants'. 208

1331 Gollancz emended knitten to kitten 'cut', believing schyre denotes intestines rather than flesh, but the flesh is being scraped from around the erber here, before it is tied up in a knot to prevent the escape of the contents of the erber. (See Bruce [1903] 28-30.) The erber is not removed until after the deer is skinned. 1333 This bale is the main 'belly', which should be distinguished from the erber 'first stomach' (1330). In 1360, the lining of the paunche5 'stomachs' is fed to the hounds. MS bale5 may be taken as a variant spelling of boweles (1609). Davis viewed balq as possibly a negligent repetition of the preceding bale, but it may be that the poet was striving for closer assonance in the line. Madden and Morris glossed bale5 'bowels'; other editors emended. The MED cited only Gawain s. v. bell n., 2c, '? the intestines', and suggested emending to bowelez. 1334 MED for prep., 8b, defines 'to prevent, for fear of. 'Loss of the knot' was to be prevented because the knot kept the erber in tact (1330-31). The erber, as Bruce (1903) 30-31 observed, is drawn out at the same time as the bowels. Most editors followed Gollancz and Davis in emending and to fae and glossing /ere 'ligature', but for /ere 'loss' see MED lire n.1, sense la. Cawley kept the line as it is in the MS and tr., "deftly, for fear of undoing and destroying the knot." 1342 TG-Davis, noting that the avanters were "part of the numbles in the fore-part of the deer," compared The Boke of Saint Albans, sig. e vijv, where the Nomblis include a croke that lyth euermoore, "Vnder the throote bolle of the beest be fooreffhat callid is auancers." Burrow, in his 1340-48n, observed that this passage describes the "removal of the 'numbles', i. e. the offal running the length of the deer from the avanters at the front down the backbone to the haunches." Mod. E. viscera is the pl. of viscus 'an internal organ of the body; esp: one (as the heart, liver, or intestine) located in the great cavity of the trunk proper'. (See line 1360 for specific denotations of viscera being fed to the hounds.) In 1347, all that is cut out in one piece is called the noumbles. Mod. E. numb/es denotes •edible viscera'. 1344 MSfo (MED ftJ adv. 'fiercely') may be retained. Cf 282n, 384n, and 1304n. Editors emended to so. 1355 MED corbel n., sense 1, cited Gawain with the meaning, 'the raven's share (of a deer), i. e. the end of the breastbone'. TG-Davis cited The Noble Arte of Venerie or Hunting, p. 135: "There is a little gristle which is vpon the spoone of the brysket [i. e. at the end of the breast-bone] which we call the Rauens bone, bycause it is cast vp to the Crowes or Rauens whiche attende hunters." 1357 All editors, except Madden, emended, but MS afaer 'both' may stand as a variant of ayfaer. Cf s. v. MED either pron. the variant spelling ethir. 1358 TG-Davis, citing Master of Game and Boke of St. Albans, noted, "The man who killed a deer marked it, and later claimed the hide as his fee. The man who 'undid' the deer had the left shoulder, and sometimes the head. The right shoulder went by custom to the forester, the neck to the hunters. The numbles, haunches, and sides belonged to the lord." 1362 Cf 1601 for the blowing of 'prise', and see 1141n on the music of the hunt. Mod. E. prise denotes 'a signal blown on the horn to give notice of the killing or capture of game on a medieval hunt'. TG-Davis cited La Venerie de Twiti, ed. G. Tilander (Uppsala, 1956): "Quant le cerf est pris vous devez corneer quatre mootz." 1364 Burrow compared 1923 and Chaucer's Book of the Duchess 1312-13. 1368 For and 'while' in the literal tr., see MED and conj. (& adv.), 6a. 1372 Gollancz emended /,orde to syre. Silverstein, also believing the line has 209

"suffered scribal corruption , which spoils the alliteration," emended comaunded to sumned 'summoned'. He noted that Sapora (1977) lists this line as problematical, but one may mark an ab/ba alliterative pattern on -maunded . .. sale/samen . .. meny . 1373 Bope pe ladyes refers to Bercilak's wife and Morgan le Fay . 1377 One may tr. tayles 'tallies' [OF taill] with a pun on 'tail ' [OE tregl], as Waldron and Burrow observed, since the tails were left on the carcasses of the deer to facilitate counting the captured animals. Most editors derived the word from OF. Gollancz, Davis, and Silverstein gave OE tregl for the etymology, but Davis showed that tails were left on the deer with his citation from St. Albans sig. f iii: "Then fleeth thessame wyse all that oder syde/Bot let the tayll of the beest still ther oon byde ." 1379 Taylor (1971) 8 noted that prys is a "common Middle English pun on prize and praise, which heightens anticipation of reward for the contest . ( q . 1630n.) 1386 All editors, except Madden and Morris , emended MS &: at the start of this line to Pat. Madden supposed a word is missing, and other editors inserted l-Wnnen, but the line may stand without emendation. For and 'also' , see MED and conj . (& adv .), sense 7. For ellipsis of a verb , cf lln and 683n. Editors render ed l-Wrthyly as an adv ., but it may be interpreted as a sb. adj. 'worthy reward'. (q. the adj. l-Wrpilych 343 .) See 60n on not making emendations in this edition on the basis of meter or alliteration, but one may mark an aab/bb pattern on/ haf l-Wrthylyll-Wne:swyth-. 1388-89 Dinshaw (1994) said if Gawain had succumbed fully to the lady and if he were to honor the terms of the contract , he would have had to have sex with Bercilak, but homosexual sex is "unintelligible within the heterosexual world of this poem" (206). The narrative of Gawain precludes the "consummation of homosexual sex even as it produced the possibility, in order to establish the heterosexual as the only legitimacy" (222). (Dinshaw, p . 208, referred to Boyd [1993] who proposed an analysis similar to hers but different in intention, since Boyd suggested that in Gawain, "the underpinnings of the medieval male (homo) social order and its heterosexual desire/exchange of women" are revealed to be "displaced homosexual desire .") 1389 Editors emended ho to he, but for ho 'he', see MED hf pron .l, where ho is listed as a variant spelling. 1390 White (1945), suggesting that chevisaunce used by Spenser in line 143 of the April Eclogue in The Shepheardes Calendar is the same as the ME word used here (and in 1406, 1678, 1939), commented, "It is not entirely unlikely that Spenser knew the W . Midland poem, in his time preserv ed in manuscript in a Yorkshire library." 1394 The lord knows from whom Gawain received the kiss, for he tells Gawain later (2360-61), but he continues the game. q. 1393-97 to the dialogue in 1641-47 and 1938- 47 on the second day and the third day. Biwytte appears to be one word in the MS. Editors read bi wytte, taking wytte as a n. Madden and Morris suggested the emendation of hor seluen to yorseluen, which subsequent editors adopted . Davis tr. bi wytte of yorseluen 'by your own abilities'. However, one need not emend by literally tr. biwytte of hor seluen 'bestowed with similar respect'. For biwytte 'bestowed', see MED biwiten, -ien v. 3a. OED ore 1 lists hore as a variant spelling and defines 'respect' s. v. sense 1 (see also MED ,seoj;er is due to offset reading by Knott (1915) 103. 1446 Mod. E. recheat denotes 'a hunting call sounded on a horn to assemble the hounds'. Cf 1466 and 1911. 1457 Tolkien & Gordon emended browe to browen (variant of brawen) 'boar's flesh', but Savage (1937) noted the emendation is unnecessary (only Jones adopted it by printing brawne) . The archers are evidently attempting to make a head-shot between the eyes into the brain; the coarse mane on the forehead holds off the arrows . 1466 Madden suggested rydes or rode. Subsequent editors, except Silverstein 211

(rydez) and Osberg (rides), chose rode, which matches the past tense of rechated, but ryde:5 comes to light under the ultra-violet lamp. Sudden switches of tense are not uncommon. See Zimmerman (1973) for a study of the poet's choice of tenses. 1481 Solomon-HZ (1963) 269, comparing line 1293, observed such verses that question Gawain's identity indicate the poet knew about his reputation as a lover in previous Arthurian romances. (See also 1292-1301n.) 1489 The lady continues from where she left off the previous day (12971306). She kisses him twice the second day, at the start and at the end of their meeting (1505, 1555). The aggressiveness of her manner seems to increase from one day to the next. Consider the way she is dressed on the third day (1736-41) and the fact that she kisses Gawain three times (1758, 1796, 1868-69). (See 1187n and 1237n.) 1493 Madden, Morris, Tolkien & Gordon, Jones, and Moorman were the only editors to read denayed. Gollancz and Davis noted that deuayed is supported by de vaye 1497, which obviously needs to be joined. Brett (1915) 194-95 derived the word from OF de(s)veier. Hamer (1988), pointing out that the scribe's n and u are indistinguishable and that deny occurs nowhere else in the MS, considered it probable that devay would not be thought to exist if the scribe had not written de vaye in 1497. 1499-1500 Silverstein, noting that this proverbial phrase-might does not make right ("force n'est droit")-is based on "a theme that in aphoristic form has a considerable medieval history," compared Latin, French, and English works, especially Robert Mannyng's Chronicle 11661-64: "Hit is no skile, ne law non makes,/l?yng pat pou porow force takes;/& swylk giftes men schal furdo,/l?at wyp wrong was taken so." 1516-17 Silverstein compared The Wars of Alexander, 1: "How ledis for paire lemmans has langor endured." See Day (1940) xiii-xviii for a study of the connection between the works of the Gam1in-poet and The Wars of Alexander. 1525 Coynt of your hetes brings to mind the skillful way in which Gawain kept his promise to the lord to exchange winnings the night before without revealing from whom he received the kiss (1386-97). 1531 Levine (1982) 70-71, after noting that critics tend to identify Gawain with the hunted animal, said that the poet is suggesting here that the lady and the boar are parallel figures; "some restraint must be summoned up to resist hearing resonances in sengel, 'alone,' of sengler, 'boar,' particularly since this is the only line in the poem in which sengel occurs." (See also 1187n.) 1534 Cf line 1231. Heyworth (1970) 87 compared the situation to that of the harlot tempting the young man in Proverbs 7.13-21, especially verse 19: "Non est enim vir in domo sua, abiit via longissima." ("For my husband is not at home, he is gone a very long journey.") Proverbs 7.5, urging one to be wary not only of the woman but also of the stranger who sweetened her words, calls to mind Bercilak's part in the plot, admitted later by the Green Knight (2361-62). 1540-45 It is doubtful that Gawain would insult the lady by telling her she knew more about "love-making" than he. The context with teme:5 of tyxt and tale5 of anne5 (1541) indicates a reference to luftalkyng (927), which implies, as Mills (1968) 626 observed, that as a lady ofleisure, she must have read many romances. Kim Campbell (1990) studied in the temptation scenes conversational strategies based on speech act theory. In this passage, Gawain denies that he is able to do the commanded act. Thus he "effectively escapes his dilemma ... thereby permitting [him] to remain the 'courteous' knight" (58). In discussing a comparable strategy in lines 1241-44, Campbell, p. 57, referred to Donner (1965) on "Tact as a Criterion of

212

Reality in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." 1550 Moorman and Silverstein cited Davis who rendered wo3e 'woo, make 2361, but other editors defined 'wrong, sin, grief. There love', comparing WO"".}'ng may be wordplay, since 'wooing' would lead to 'sin' and Gawain's 'woe, misfortune'. Sanderlin (1975) 24 argued in favor of wo3e 'wrong, sin' and noted that the second half of the line-¾hatso scho poj"t elle3-"hints at a certain compunction felt by Lady Bercilak, which could imply a growing affection for Gawain." 1551-53 Cf the thought of line 1013. 1555 See 1489n on the lady's kissing Gawain. 1558 Gawain attends mass after this second temptation, as he did after the first (1311). See 1876-84n on the narrative after the third temptation. 1570 In Cleanness 446, Noah's ark settles On a rasse of a rok 'On a ridge of a rock'. Most editors equated rasse in Gawain with the word in Cleanness (OF ras). Andrew & Waldron followed Elliott (1974) 137 who argued that in Gawain rasse should be derived from ON ras 'water-course, channel'. The hole 'cleft' 1569 is an "opening or widening of the valley, making a shallow basin of water enclosed by rock, with narrow defiles at each end." Elliott, whose reading makes sense since bonk appears in line 1571 and Bercilak later goes through a ford towards the beast (1585), noted that there is a similar topographical feature in the valley of the river Dane on the border between Cheshire and North Staffordshire, called Pinchers Hole. Elliott (1988), in "Holes and Caves in the 'Gawain' Country," referred to 1569-71, the olde caue (2182), and the hole (2221) from which the Green Knight emerges at the Green Chapel as examples of alliterative poets' "vivid responses to natural features" (13). 1571 The boar 'scrapes' the ground with his feet. Savage (1936) believed the boar was sharpening his tusks, but, as Gollancz noted, this action is described in 1573. Silverstein, crediting Waldron, compared 1571-73 to the description of an angry boar in The Seven Sages (ed. Karl Brunner, EETS, OS, 191 [1932], 897-99): "He wette his tossches and his fet./l>e erpe wip his snowte he bet./l>ourh pe mouht pe fom was wi3t." 1580 Morris and subsequent editors inserted & or and after wat3, but one may avoid the emendation by placing a comma there, as Emerson (1922) 392 noted. 1583 Editors emended to luflych (Cawley tr. 'agilely'), but MS luslych 'nimbly' may be retained as an adv. from MED l{Jsll(e,sense a, 'not rigidly'. 1588 Editors, following the suggestion of Madden and Morris, emended freke3 to freke with the meaning, "That many were afraid for the man, lest he got the worst of it" (Burrow). However, it may be that Bercilak's freke3 'men' fele Jerde for 'advance in terror'. For fele 'advance', see MED f?len v.3, sense a. Ferde for is a reversal of for Jerde (2272); for the prep. in post. c., cf hymfro 'from him' (1797). 1593 See 1330n on slot. TG-Davis compared Avo"".}'ngeof Arther xvi, where Arthur, after his spear is broken, kills the boar just as Bercilak does. It was considered a more noble deed to kill a boar in this way rather than with a spear. 1601 Cf 1362n on the blowing of 'prise'. 1607 TG-Davis compared Avo"".}'nge of Arther xvii: "The bed of that hardy/He sette on a stake." Hi3e may be taken as a sb. adj. 'high stake'. 1608 Rooney (1993) 181 said the phrase al roghe means that the boar "is cut up while still hairy, 'vnflayne' as the Boke of Huntyng specifies." She compared the Ashton MS of the Art of Venery-"he schall be undon al roghe"-based on the Anglo Norman "serra defet tut velu" (line 172). Editors of Gawain tr. roghe 'roughly', as if the boar were being carved in a violent manner. 1612 Mod. E. has/et denotes 'the edible viscera (as the heart or liver) of a 213

butchered animal (as a hog)'. Cf 1342n on avanters 'viscera' of the deer. Kropp (1992) argued against rendering hastlette3 according to editors' interpretations and MED hastelet, sense c, 'the entrails of a wild boar', where Gawain is cited. Noting that Anne Rooney tr. xxxii hastelette3 in her edition of The Tretyse off Huntynge (1987) as 'the thirty-two portions of the wild boar yielded by its systematic dismemberment', Kropp favored a similar interpretation for Gawain, but the number xxxii does not appear here, and TG-Davis' 'edible entrails' goes well in this context, especially since other parts of the boar are removed in the previous lines 1607-11 . 1630 The 'prize' is the swine, which is described further in 1631-32. See 1379n for reference to the ME pun on 'praise' and 'prize'. 1633-34 Butturff (1972) 144, with reference to Bmes (1965) 48-49, noted that Bercilak is having fun at the expense of Gawain, for the boar's severed head is a grim reminder of the "impending fate of the hero when he encounters the Green Knight." 1639 Editors, following Madden's suggestion, inserted hent after He, but one may avoid emendation by considering ellipsis of a verb. Cf lln, 683n, and 1386n. The line in the MS is a classic aa/ax pattern on hajJel . .. ha/se/hendely . .. kysses. 1641 Mann (1986), in "Price and Value in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight," noted that boar meat for kisses may seem disproportionate in value, but medieval thinkers learned that "value is essentially exchange value" (298) from their study of Book V, Chapter 5 of Aristotle's Nicomachaean Ethics, translated into Latin by Robert Grosseteste in the mid-thirteenth century. "It is the exchange alone, which makes the different types of 'winnings' commensurable in value, creates a 'proportionate equivalence' between the two-as Gawain implies when on the second day he gives the lord his two kisses with the comment 'Now are we euen"' (303). Mann, like Shoaf (1984), moved into the world of the market in pointing to the "presence of a consistent strain of mercantile or commercial vocabulary" (297) in Gawain, especially in the Exchange of Winnings scenes. 1644 See the notes to 774, 813, 1022, and 1788 on the naming of various saints in Gawain. Saynt Gile brings to mind the noun gile 'guile' (1787). The lord knows that though Gawain is following the rules of the game bi lawe (1643), he is hiding from whom the kisses came. There may be wordplay on best 'noblest' (1645); Bercilak perhaps implies that Gawain is the 'best' in strategic manipulation. Tamplin (1969) 409 noted that St. Giles had a reputation as a confessor. Gawain never reveals what occurs in the bedroom scenes until Bercilak tells him (2345-68). Only then does he "confess" to the lord of the castle (2374-88). Gollancz and Chapman (1951) 25 provided information about St. Giles (Aegidius), who lived c. 700 A. D. as a hermit in southern France, with a hind as his sole companion. After this hind led the king to St. Giles, the king persuaded the saint to become the head of a Benedictine monastery. (See Jacobus de Voragine's Legenda Aurea, Chapter 130.) 1655 The MED s. v. condut n., 'a kind of dance song or motet', cites The Owl &:the Nightingale 483 and The Parlement of the Thre Ages 254, besides Gawain. Mod. E. conductus denotes 'a medieval vocal composition consisting of one to four voice parts'. Davis pointed out that the Medieval Latin conductus "was evidently in origin a motet sung while the priest was proceeding to the altar." The citation from Owl &:N shows that it was associated with Christmas as early as c. 1250. 1660 Gawain is becoming aroused in a way that troubles him. The poet effectively foreshadows the third temptation scene (1731-1869). 1661 Nume hir a3ayne3 'go against her' in a figurative context seems fitting. 214

Gawain is careful not to behave discourteously towards the lady. Gollancz tr. 'go forward towards her, i. e. go to meet her advances', but TG-Davis' interpretation, given here, seems preferable. 1680 Thomas (1913) 313 compared The Seven Sages of Rome, CottonRawlinson version, ed. Killis Campbell (Boston, 1907), 2062: "Men sais i,e }>ridtime thrawes best." Bercilak may be implying, with ironic intent, that the third time will be the best for Gawain with the lady. (See 2297-98n on the 'dicing' element.) 1681-82 Cf 495-96 and see the note to those lines. In the earlier passage, the poet foreshadows a heuy ende to the matter. Bercilak here subtly reminds Gawain of his coming encounter with the Green Knight. (See also 1633-34n on Bercilak's shrewd way of reminding Gawain of that meeting.) 1684 Cf 49n on hym 'to them' and 1112n on sealing a bargain with drinking. 1693 For separating MS biforere to bifor 'earlier' and ere 'before' (MED biftire(n) adv., 3a, and er prep., la), cf 58n on werere. Editors emended to bifore. 1699 Madden noted that fox hunting was not held in high regard at this time. Bercilak is proud when he presents his catch of deer (1372-80) and the boar (162328), but he talks disparagingly of thefoule foxfelle he gives to Gawain (1942-45). Thiebaux (1970) studied the allegorical significance of the fox hunt in connection with Henry of Lancaster's Le Livre de Seyntz Medicines, written in 1354. Foxes in Henry's allegory "are the sins that lurk in the great hole of the human heart" (470). 1700 OED trail v.1, III. 9, lists 'track' for the first time in a citation dated 1590, but Savage (1935) substantiated this meaning here by noting the special use of OF traillier in medieval hunting treatises. Madden did not explain trayteres; most other editors, following Morris' suggestion, emended to traueres. TG-Davis, for example, tr. a traueres 'across'. Silverstein kept the MS forms by glossing a trayteres 'by tricks or turns', deriving the phrase from OF a tre(s)tors. Osberg agreed with Silverstein. Emerson (1922) 394-95, Savage (1935), and Moorman rendered trayteres 'traitoress, vixen'. However, the use of the masc. pronouns in the ensuing lines indicates that only the 'traitorous one' (Reynard), called 'thier (1725), is described in this passage. Trayteres, used as a sb. adj. here, is from OED traitorous a. For the e-o variant spelling, cf trysteres 1170 alongside trystors 1146. The comparison of the male fox to a traitor subtly foreshadows the situation of Gawain, who, after resisting the temptation to copulate with the lady because he does not want to be a traytor (1775) to her husband, falls into a different trap by agreeing to conceal the green girdle (1860-65). The OED s. v. trant sb. cites a verse with alliteration similar to Gawain's from York Myst. xxix, 234: "l>iswas a trante of a traytour." 1701 TG-Davis compared Master of Game xiv, where the kenets are called heirers 'harriers'. See also citations s.v. MED kenet n., sense a, 'small hunting dog'. 1702 Most editors and the MED s. v. Jnasten (OE fnii:stian) tr. 'panted'. Gollancz followed Savage (1930) who noted that 'sniffed' (ON fnasa) is more suitable. 1704 Moorman, citing Savage (1929), took he as a reference to the kenet of line 1701, but, as Davis noted, it seems better to have he denote the fox. 1707 Cawley tr. trantes and tornayeq 'twists and turns'. OED trant v.l, 'to practice cunning devices', cites only Gawain. The v. comes from then. traunt 1700. 1708 MED havilbunen v., 'of a fox: to double back on the track', cites only Gawain. The v. comes from then. havilbun. 1713-14 Savage (1931b) 174-75 pointed out that pre pro . .. al graye refers 215

to three greyhounds, secured on a leash. 1719-32 Meier (1974) 196-99, analyzing this 'classical' passage, noted the effective use of the passive voice, and the sharpness of detail and contrast characteristic of the poet's linear vision. 1719 Editors believed the MS reads Zif vpon list. Tolkien & Gordon glossed 'brave sport' without explanation. Most editors followed Gollancz' emendation, first suggested by Morris, to list vpon Zif 'pleasure on earth'. However, the MS apparently has lof vpon list; the middle letter of lof is faded, but what is legible looks more like o than i under the ultra-violet lamp. Lof'pleasing' is listed as a variant spellings. v. MED lifadj. & adv. MED list n.l, sense c, defines 'ear'. 1726 The translation requires ellipsis of the verb [trailed]. See 1639n for other examples. The OED cited Gawain s.v. tittle v.2, 'a tickler'. Wright (1906) 224 derived titleres from OF title, with reference to the collars the hounds wore. Davis described the titleres as "hounds kept at hunting stations or relays to be slipped as the fox ran past," noting that title, a variant of OF ti(l)tre, is defined in Godefroy's Dictionnaire: "relai place au milieu d'un bois, ou l'on pose les chiens pour qu'ils puissent mieux poursuivre la bete au moment ou elle passe." 1729 Madden joined MS lag mon without explanation. Morris printed bi lag, mon, jJe lorde and tr. in the margin, "led them astray." TG-Davis followed Menner (1931) who, comparing Audelay's Poem 54: "Hit ledys 3oue be lagmon be lyus" (114), noted that the word belongs to Mod. E. lag 'one that is last'. (See The Poems of John Audelay, ed. Ella K. Whiting, EETS, OS, 184 (1931].) Davis observed that the "picture intended is evidently of the lord and his company strung out after the fox-'at his heels'." Rendering bi lagmon 'to (the) last man', meaning 'all', suits the context. (Poem 54 in Audelay is De Tribus Regibus Mortuis. Whiting questioned the authorship, saying Audelay included in his miscellany an older poem belonging to a more Northern dialect than that of his native Shripshire. Rooney (1993] 188 suggested the Gawain-poet knew the poem, since Whiting, in her Introduction, pp. xxiv-xxv, showed that it shares 51 alliterative nouns, verbs, and adjectives with Gawain.) Matthews (1975) suggested relating lagmon to OED lawman, for which there is the variant spelling lage-, and tr. lad bi lagmon 'cunningly led astray', with possible connotation 'like a lawyer'. There may be double-entendre, for the fox is leading them, to the last man, cunningly astray. 1733 For htfis ambiguous', and double-entendre may be involved. MED love n.l, lb, sense g, gives citations with meanings such as 'for (someone's) sake' or 'on account of (somebody or something)'. For the translation given here, cf 540, 1086, 1802, and 1810; for wordplay, consider/or htf 'concerned with wooing'. Dean (1971) 8 rejected any interpretation that implies the lady was truly in love with Gawain; luf here "can be nothing more than the pretended love that she has simulated from the beginning and which her role as temptress requires that she sustain." Sanderlin (1975) 24 favored htf'love' to support his argument that the lady was stirred by Gawain. See also 1550n on Sanderlin's interpretation of her feelings. Grogan (1984) 24-25 supported Dean and the views of Gollancz and Burrow, saying "the lady lies awake planning her next move in her pretended love ploy." Batt (1992) 130 commented that the different associations of htf make it difficult to assess whether the lady is "motivated by increasing ardour or by determination to manipulate Gawain." 1736-41 See 1187n for discussion of the hunting scenes in relation to the bedroom scenes. Pearce (1963), noting how the wife is covered with animal skins and 216

how Gawain will touch her skin three times with kissing before Bercilak brings home the skin of the fox, compared the lady to a Devil-Fox who, in The Bestiary, Early Middle English Texts, edited by Bruce Dickins & R.M. Wilson (1951), pp. 59-60, pretends to be dead so that when the other animals touch her skin, she may seize them and carry them off to Hell. Gallant (1970) 47 commented, "I suggest that the lady is dressed like a fox, both sexually and figuratively, to catch a fox." Studying the "Three Beasts" as "Symbols of Temptation," he traced the "parallelism of Gawain's three temptations with the hart's heart, the boar's belly, and the fox's head, and the errors these organs represent" (49). Gallant followed the system, suggested by Levy (1965) 96, of the three-fold division of sin in Dante's Inferno: Incontinence, Violence, and Fraud. For other types of moral-allegorical interpretations, see Schnyder (1961), Longo (1967), and Haines (1982). 1738 TG-Davis and Barron tr. hwe3 'hues, colours'. Cawley, Moorman, and Osberg accepted Gollancz' emendation to hwe 'head-covering'. Burrow emended to houve 'headdress'. Silverstein emended hwe3 to hwe 'coif and goud to gord 'girt'. MED houve n., sense a, 'a headdress; esp. a close-fitting cap or coif, lists among the variant spellings how(e) and houwe. MS hwe3 may be retained as a singular form if one equates w with u and 3 with w, making hwe3 equal huew (how(e), houwe). The w-u spelling variant may be noted in swete (180) alongside sure (191); for the 3-w variant, cf inno3e (514) alongside innowe (1401). Andrew & Waldron, who emended to hwef'coif, noted that a headdress would have been appropriate for a married woman, but Bercilak's wife is not attired as a married woman should be. They compared the paraphrase of 1 Timothy 2.9 in the Prologue to Chaucer's Wife of Bath's Tale 342-45, where the Wife protests that married women should not go about "in tressed heer and gay perree,/As perles." Gollancz, believing the ha3er stones in Gawain may refer to pearls, compared 954, where the lady's kerchiefs are adorned with this gem. 1741 Elliptical [shoulders] provides the proper meaning (see 412n and 1639n for other examples of ellipsis). As Sanderlin (1983) 18 noted, the lady is wearing a low-cut gown. Schmidt (1987) 158 compared the description of Lady Bercilak in line 955 to substantiate his point that singular brest here means the upper part "between the throat and what we (and the medievals) call the breasts." Wrigley (1988) 127, in arguing that Gawain is an initiation rite, and that Morgan and Lady Bercilak are the malevolent and seductive aspects of the motherfigure, referred to Duffy (1972) 59-61 "who also saw the two women in the castle ... really one and the same, and suggested that the lady's bare bosom evoked for Gawain 'the memory of another offered breast.'" 1743 Moorman, referring to »yndow, said, "Doubtless that formed by the curtains of Gawain's bed," but the lady probably opens a window in the room. The morning is pleasant (1691) and clear (1747), and apparently she is not at the bedside yet. (In 1757 she lujlych com.) E. Wright (1935) 350 had given Moorman's meaning, which is not recorded in the OED. No other editor indicated such an interpretation. Spearing (1994) 144 said the lady throws open the window "to reveal the clear morning, and to suggest for us if not for Gawain a link between the hunt outside in the forest (we may suppose, if we wish, that its noises can be faintly heard through the opened window) and the hunt inside ." Thus the open and the enclosed are ceasing to be distinct, and "this fundamental unsettling of the expected spatial oppositions produces a disorientation in which Gawain comes nearest to succumbing to his temptress." 217

1750-54 Coyle (1984), considering faat day (1752) ambiguous, argued that Gawain is dreaming it is New Year's Day, the morning of his meeting with the Green Knight, for "he has forgotten, either through fear or sadness or concern, that it is December 31st, not January 1st." The dream is a premonition-a "warning that his destiny will in fact be settled 'that day,'" December 31st in this scene with the lady. Noting that irony abounds throughout Gawain, Coyle said recognizing tension and ambiguity here would be fitting, "especially on the morning of the third hunt when Gawain fails to understand the significance of the lady's offer." Sanderlin (1990), like Coyle, argued that Gawain confuses the time, making everything about to happen immediately. The dream "might contribute to Gawain's vulnerability at this critical juncture" (66). 1752 Morris inserted dyp after day. Subsequent editors inserted dele hym, but the line may stand as it is in the MS. For elliptical [deliver], cf lln, 683n, 1386n, and 1639n. The alliteration may be ab/ab onfaat destine/faat day. (See also 60n.) 1755 Jones, Waldron, Burrow, Barron, Moorman, Silverstein, and Osberg agreed with TG-Davis who inserted com after comfy, taking the latter as a sb. adj. referring to the lady, but comly may also refer to Gawain. (q. 674 and 1794.) Quen alliterates with -wyttes, and he is pleonastic. Gollancz glossed comly 'befittingly'. 1769 Davenport (1977) 262-63, following Knott (1915) 107, read mare 'more' and suggested inserting hym before mynne to give the following sense: "unless Gawain is more mindful of her husband." However, one may capitalize mare and place an accent over the e to form Mare, for it seems suitable for the poet to name Mary here as the protectress of Gawain, who had prayed to her before. (See lines 737 and 754.) 1770 Madden and Morris did not explain MS prynce; other editors adopted the emendation suggested by Emerson (1922) 397-98: the prynces 'princess' pressed Gawain. However, Gawain is called a 'prince' in 623, 830, 902, 2072, and 2269, whereas the lady is never called a 'princess•. Davenport (1977) 260-61, crediting Robinson (1972) 228 and 231-33, pointed out that the emendation of prynce to prynces is unnecessary, since the literal sense "Gawain checked himself so urgently" suits the context. (The verse translation with 'prevailed' in the line gives similar sense in a different way: Gawain did not give in to the lady's sexual advances.) 1773 For crafaayn 'churl', the MED cited Gawain s. v. crachoun n., [OF cracheron 'spittle'; cp. F crachon (16th cent.)]. Silverstein, noting the word is rare in ME, theorized that crachon, on the one hand, and the t-, th-, d- forms, on the other, "represent two similar words of different meaning developed from a group of similarsounding items borrowed from Scandinavian or Low German." Among many words, he cited Danish krakke for the ch- forms and Swedish kratta for the t-, th-, d- forms. 1774-75 Chastity and loyalty are interwoven here. Gawain does not want to commit adultery with the wife, for he would then be disloyal toward his host. q. Cleanness in which those who indulge in lechery break faith with God, the implication being that the failure in trawpe toward the Creator is the primary sin. Spearing (1970) 205-6 felt that in this passage, Gawain is concerned above all with his chastity, his fear of disloyalty taking second place. However, Burrow's attributing of prime importance to Gawain's fear of betraying his host seems correct in view of the overall theme of the poem. 1787 There may be wordplay involving St. Giles here, since he had a reputation as a confessor. (See 1644n.) 1788 See 1022n for reference to St. John the apostle, and cf the notes to 774, 813, and 1644 on the poet's naming of saints in Gawain. Shuttleworth (1967) 350-51 218

supposed St. John the Baptist is invoked here because of the beheading element, but Tamplin (1969) 411-15 argued that the apostle is named because this saint is an examplar of chastity, and he is often associated in Christian thought and art with the Virgin Mary and Christ. Tamplin, seeing a triple reference to Mare (1769), God (1776), and Jon (1788), pointed out that the poet may have been alluding to the traditional Christian scenes of atonement and judgment; Gawain would soon be judged, and he would have to atone for concealing the green girdle from Bercilak. 1795 Savage (1940) discussed may (probably from OE mii:g, fem., 'kinswoman') as an indication of the "survival of the OE. poetic vocabulary in the N. West Midlands, and hence of the vitality of the alliterative tradition in that region." 1799 Editors followed Madden's suggestion to emend the second of in the line to if, but the MED s. v. if conj. lists of as a variant spelling. Cf.Uf2343. 1810 Editors emended tyne 'brief time' to tyme, but cf 995n on retention of tyny. OED tine a. & sb. 6, B., defines 'a very little space, time, or amount'. 1815 Silverstein and Osberg emended hade op to nade nop. Other editors, following the suggestion of Morris, made either one word or the other a negative. However, MS hade op, literally 'would have [liked] anything', may stand. Hade is in the subj. mood; for ellipsis of the v. [liked], cf 1752n. 1816 Elliptical [one] is needed. Cf. 412n, 1092n, 1741n, and 1815n. 1825 MS swyftel may be retained as a combination of the adv. swift plus MED derivational suffix -el (2). Cf.MED swikel adj. and swikelli adv. Some editors emended to swyftely, others to swyfte by. 1830 MS jJat jJat 'that which' may be retained. Editors emended to jJat. 1830-34 Green (1985) recalled the apocryphal story of the Virgin Mary's sacra cintola, which she gives to St. Thomas as a sign of her mercy when she ascends into heaven. In the late Middle Ages, it formed a spiritual counterpart to the secular tradition of Venus' cestus. Green argued that the poet "was deliberately exploiting the ironic possibilities the story offered him" (4). In unwinding the girdle from her waist, Lady Bercilak "is deliberately being made to mimic the Virgin's gesture" (5). 1833 Only Barron rendered fyngre:; 'pendants', but this seems to be the correct meaning. Cf MED finger n., sense 5, 'a finger-like projection or extension'. 'Pendants' are described on the green girdle in lines 2038 and 2431. 1835 VnworjJi is apparently used here in the sense, 'lacking in material value'. 1844 TG-Davis tr. in hot and colde 'through thick and thin'. 1847 'Simple' in the Mod. E. sense 'plain, unadorned' suits the context. 1848-50 Shoaf (1984), in The Poem as Green Girdle: Commercium in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, noted that worjJy, costes, prayse, and prys refer to the world of commerce, and costes is a pun: its basic meaning is something like 'quality', but here and elsewhere in the poem "its context suggests the homonym 'cost'" (1). Shoafs study is based on his belief that the poet, having recognized that in the fourteenth century the old values of chivalry and feudalism were competing unsuccessfully with new economic realities, attempted to reconcile these opposing forces. 1851-54 Gollancz, crediting Hulbert (1915-16) 707, compared the "magic girdle in Diu Krone, given by Gawain to Guenevere and by her to Gasozein, which prevented the wearer from being overcome in battle." Mdluli (1994), discussing trifunctional structure in the hunting and bedroom scenes in relation to the tripartition of the structure of ancient myths, argued, pp. 18990, that the third temptation is based on the first function of sovereignty, "characterised by a sacerdotal stratum responsible for the maintenance of magico-religious rites and 219

legal affairs" (184). 1855-56 The poet effectively shows the hero ready to give in on a crucial point here. Lehman (1984) 277 said by appealing "for help to a species of pagan enchantment," Gawain is not a true Knight of Faith. Unlike the biblical Abraham who was prepared to follow God's will to the point of sacrificing his own son Isaac, Gawain will attempt to avoid his destiny. For Lehman, the theme of Gawain is "the religious potential of human frailty rather than the heroic potential of the human will" (275). 1855-65 Lawton (1980) 613-14 showed how the subtlety of the lady's temptation, and of Gawain's responses, is communicated by means of syntax which operates either in hypotaxis (subordination) or parataxis (coordination). "The tortuous hypotactic excuse in Gawain's thoughts (1855-8) gives way to the parataxis of his actions and her importunities .... The string of co-ordinate clauses of lines 1859ff., held together by a succession of copulatives and wholly dependent on parallelism of clausal construction, is a veil of apparent naivete thrown over an essentially sinister process." Clopper (1987) 141 noted that Gawain is beset by choices almost continuously and felt that he chooses rightly, except in this instance. He eventually comes "to a deeper understanding of himself as a post-lapsarian man." 1856-57 Rendall (1992) discussed two chess terms: joparde and chek. The former first used in line 97 had its origin in French jeu parti •divided or equal game•. Chek, first used in 1107, "originated in the ancient Persian chess players' practice of warning their opponents that the king was about to be captured by calling shah!, 'king!' Shah mat, 'checkmate,' literally, 'the king is dead,' was the cry of triumph that ended the game" (190). Chekke appears for the third time in 2195 in reference to the sinister Green Chapel. Rendall said in 1856-57, both joparde and chek are employed in a scene where the lady makes a chess move, offering "a piece [the green girdle] to the opponent in order to gain an advantage which is not immediately apparent" (194). 1857 Editors rendered chek 'doom, fortune (good or bad), fate,• but 'blow' is also fitting, with the possibility of wordplay on the former meanings. Cf.MED chek interj. & n., sense 2, geven chekkes 'deliver blows'. 1858 Editors read my:5 at the start of this line and emended to myp; however, the three minims may represent the ni of niy:5, a variant spelling of ny5e (2002) and nye 'misfortune' (2141). Cf.niyp (929), which some editors read as myp, not recognizing the first three minims as ni. (See also 629n.) The object niy:5precedes the verbs; cf the syntax of 1871. Niy:5 alliterates with noble in an abb/ba pattern. Trigg (1991) 261 commented that the use of joparde (1856) may indicate Gawain is thinking of the coming exchange with the Green Knight (involving the Beheading Game) "perhaps as an unfair contest," and he reasons that "it would be a noble deceit" [noble slep] if he could escape being killed. "He thus redefines his action as noble, though it is later revealed as the single fault of his whole adventure." 1861 No editor tr. he 'she', but cf 946n and 1872n. Morris, Gollancz, and Cawley emended by inserting ho before hym. All editors took he as a reference to Gawain and granted as a verb of consent, but the focus of 1860-62 is on the lady. Granted may be tr. 'transferred' (MED graunten v., 4a, 'make conveyance of (land, property, etc.)'. For hym 'it', cf 373n and the usage in 1594. 1862 Jackson (1913) 402-3 observed how the lady plays the game of courtly love with Gawain. Of the thirty-one laws to guide lovers, the second one says: "A person who cannot keep a secret can never be a lover." 1863 Savage (1944) 349 noted that MS for 'in the presence of may be retained. See MED for(e prep., sense 1. Morris suggested the emendation to fro 220

'from', which subsequent editors adopted. 1863-65 Gross (1974) saw historical significance in "Gawain's Acceptance of the Girdle," as well as ethical and social significances, because, as noted in "Letter from Thomas Duke of Gloucester and Constable of England to King Richard II. Concerning the Manner of Conducting Judicial Duels" (Archaelogia, LVII [1900), 64), "a knight in single combat was forbidden to have any magical objects on his person and had to take an oath on both his non-possession of charms and his disbelief in them." 1869 Brett (1927) 452 noted the lady kisses Gawain once (1306) on the first visit, twice (1505, 1555) on the second, and thrice (1758, 1796, 1868-69) on the third. 1872 For he 'she', cf. 946n and 1861n. Editors emended to ho. 1874 Gawain calls the green girdle a luf-lace in 2438. The MED cited Gawain s. v. love n. 1, 4c, love las 'the cord of love, love's tyranny; also, a girdle given for love'. There may be double-entendre involving 'love's tyranny', since the lady fools Gawain, and he falls into the trap due to love of his own life. (See 2366-68n.) Hieatt (1968) 339-44, regarding the green girdle as a symbol for Gawain's fault, related lace to the catching of wild animals in the three hunts. (See also Hieatt [1976] 135 for discussion of the connection between luf-lace and the setting of traps.) 1875 Gerald Morgan (1991) 29-30 supported holdely 'faithfully', disagreeing with TG-Davis' bringing 'carefully' into their glossary because attention is then focused on the natural act of concealment and away from the moral significance of that act. Gawain is not a man lacking in fidelity because "the habit of virtue cannot be destroyed by a single act any more than it can be formed by a single act." He holdely 'faithfully' keeps his promise to the lady, showing that in him "the habit of virtue remains intact." In this book, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and the Idea of Righteousness, Morgan maintained that Gawain's fall is understandable and that he is a man to be admired. 1876-84 Gawain went to mass on the day of the deer hunt (1311) and the day of the boar hunt (1558); now he goes to confession, but it may be implied he hears mass too, for the poet need not have described every detail. (See 2009-68n on a similar point involving New Year's Day). Gollancz believed the poet failed to notice that Gawain, in concealing the "fact that he has accepted the girdle with the intention of retaining it," makes a sacrilegious confession. Davis, however, rejected this interpretation, referring especially to lines 1880 and 1883 in his argument that Gawain made a good confession from a religious standpoint; his retention of the girdle later, since it may not have been considered matter for confession, need not be looked upon as a mortal sin. Davis felt that if Gawain had deliberately abused the sacrament of confession, he would not have been so merry (1885-88). Tolkien (1983)-publication date of a lecture he delivered on April 15, 1953called Gollancz' interpretation "arrant nonsense" that "will not even endure reference to the text" (87). Since the poet does not specify what Gawain confessed, "we cannot say what he omitted, and it is therefore gratuitously silly to assert that he eoncealed anything" (88). Tolkien distinguished between "a real and permanent, and an unreal and passing world of values: morals on the one hand, and on the other a code of honour, or a game with rules" (89). Engelhardt (1955) 222, in support of Gollancz, said Gawain "endeavored to safeguard his body by magic and his soul by a false confession." Burrow-B (1959), comparing this "false confession" to lines 2374-88, argued that Gawain's words to Bercilak there involve no concealment and fulfill, though 221

informally, the requirements of contrition, confession, and satisfaction. (See also Burrow [1965] 105-9 on the "false confession" concept.) Green-B (1962) 192-93 refuted Burrow: "There are moral issues which the rational mind will not face, or face dispassionately, when survival seems to be at stake and when so many mitigating circumstances can be invoked to cloud the issue." Levy (1965) 102 also felt the knight's lapse "should be considered a venial sin for which Gawain makes ample reparation." Dunning (1967) questioned Burrow's "false confession" concept on two counts: (1) It is incredible that Gawain would have made a false confession on the day before he went to what must have seemed to him certain death. (2) He yielded to superstition, but even the best Christians sometimes do this without considering it a sin for confession. Jacobs (1971) favored the "false confession" concept, but Field (1971) argued against it, noting that even according to medieval penitential doctrine, the sin was venial and not obligatory matter for confession. Field referred to Woolf (1966) who believed that in Gawain, the flesh-wound is to vow-breaking as beheading is to adultery. Thus the fact that Gawain receives only a flesh-wound (2309-12) shows he committed only a venial sin. (For other arguments against the "false confession" concept, see Stevens [1972] 76-77, W.O. Evans [1973] 725-28, Foley [1974], Hunt [1975] 6-7, Haines [1976], Andrew & Waldron's 1876-84n, and Trask [1979] 2.) Thomas Hill (1980), continuing the controversy in more recent Gawain scholarship, cited St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas on the commonplace medieval distinction among officious (beneficial),jocose, and pernicious lies. Gawain's lie is jocose, and so his lapse in confession is venial. The Exchange of Winnings covenant is "playful rather than serious" (283); Gawain later (2374-84) is bitterly ashamed, "but the fact of his shame should not cause us to exaggerate his fault" (284). Barron (1981) 191 asked, "What did Gawain confess?" If he intended to give Bercilak the girdle, no sin is involved concerning the Exchange of Winnings compact. He would be breaking his promise to the lady (1863-65), but "would the breach of such a social undertaking be matter for formal confession?" Barron thus raised the possibility that Gawain, at the time of confession, may have been thinking of giving Bercilak the girdle. Then the sin of vntrawpe is not committed until he gives the lord three kisses (1936-37), but not the girdle. (See also Barron [1980b] 85-109.) Haines (1982) 74ff., 211-12 opposed Burrow's "false confession" concept and Barron's belief that one cannot tell for sure if the confession was valid. He argued that the text shows Gawain's confession was good and that confusion has arisen among critics because they place "the crucial moment for Gawain's guilt too early in the poem" (74). The knight, after accepting the girdle quickly, thinking only of saving his life, even has the option to return it to the lady before Bercilak arrives. The temptation to keep it overpowers him, but a decision does not have to be made until nightfall; so, according to Haines, Gawain commits his sin only at the "crucial moment of consent and guilt" (76) when he withholds the girdle from the lord that evening (1932-49). Blanch & Wasserman (1984) 605 supported Burrow's argument: Gawain, having made an "imperfect confession" to the priest (1876-84), thereby committed "spiritual treachery against God," and must, therefore, make a "more perfect confession" to the Green Knight (2374-88). Gerald Morgan (1985), while disagreeing with the way Davis and Dunning (1967) approached the problem, refuted the "false confession" concept by citing St. Thomas Aquinas who in Summa 17ieologiae differentiates three kinds of sins-of 222

ignorance, of passion, and of malice. Gawain's sin is not one of malice; it is one of passion (fear for his life), and "whereas passion does not excuse from sin, it diminishes the sin if it precedes the sinful act" (12). According to Morgan, "Gawain's sin in withholding the girdle is a mortal sin generically, but becomes venial through the weakness that results from the fear of death" (12). Diekstra (1990) 74-76, studying elements of supernaturalism and realism in the poem separately, minimized the crux. The scene is not part of the traditional plot (the supernatural); it is part of the realistic mode, the interest in manners, conventions, and "Christian ceremonies that form the background of life for the characters" (75). We should accept the poet's word that the confession is valid. He would not have wanted "to get involved in a discussion of whether cheating in a parlour game is material for the confessional" (76). Sleeth (1994), like Burrow, maintained that the confessions to the priest and to the Green Knight should be considered together. The former is short, correct, and unemotional, while the latter is fuller and is "intensely felt from Gawain's point of view." Though unorthodox, "the purification at the Green Chapel is effectual" (17576). The Green Knight's views should be accepted because they relate to his power as a Celtic god carried over into a Christian society. Sleeth believed the poet, as an inhabitant of the Celtic north and west, "may have held a more than residual belief in the pagan Celtic deities-a belief ... that co-existed in him, in tension but not in contradiction, with his Christian faith" (177). Gawain's confession at the castle need not be considered false from the standpoint of Christian doctrine, but his fault should not be overlooked in the context of the poem. One may say he erred venially and, due to mitigating circumstances, was not fully aware of his lapse until made to realize it later. Gawain was as clene (1883) as he could be at that time under the circumstances. The Green Knight/Bercilak later blames him pe lasse because his vntrawpe came not from a cruel act or lovemaking, but because he loved his life (2366-68). Though he closed out the old year lacking the awareness that he was living under false values, he begins the new one with full selfrealization and a desire to achieve the highest standard of humility (2434-38). 1878 MS lyfte his lyf, literally 'lift his spirit' is fitting. Cf./yf'spirit' (675), and see MED lif n., la, (b). Madden and Morris suggested lyste, an emendation adopted by Davis, Waldron, Burrow, Barron, Silverstein, and Osberg. Burrow (1965) 105 tr. lyste his lyf 'hear his confession' (he read MS lyste, but Davis corrected him and accepted lyste only as an emendation). Other editors retained MS lyfte his lyf, Moorman tr. 'amend his life'. 1893 See 849n on lee 'castle'. 1894 Barron and Osberg tr. ledande his gomnes 'leading his men'. Other editors (those who indicated a translation) took the noun as a reference to the activities of the hunt. Cf.1319 for similar allieration and meaning. 1902 Savage (1928) 6 compared 2267-68, where Gawain shrinks a little from the Green Knight's axe. The fox's trickery is to no avail, for the hounds catch him. Gawain, hoping to save his own life, will resort to trickery in concealing the green girdle from Bercilak, but in so doing will commit his breach of faith. (See 1187n.) 1905 Ethic dative me, as Waldron noted, is untranslatable; it involves the speaker in what he says. Cf.1932, 2014, and 2144. 1906 Tolkien & Gordon and subsequent editors emended cache:f by, literally 'hurries nearby', to lache:f hym. For retention of the MS forms, see MED cacchen v., 6d, and MED bl adv., la. By may alliterate with the bi of bilyue. Function words often 223

carry alliteration and sometimes even stress. In line 1909, for example, hym probably carries both alliteration and stress in conjunction with hounde5. (Cf 1752n.) 1909 Madden glossed bray 'good, bold' without explanation. Other editors adopted Morris' suggestion to emend to brap 'fierce'. MS bray, literally 'vociferous', may be retained as an adj. taken from MED brai n.l, 'outcry, shriek'. The v. brayen occurs in 1163. Deriving an adj. from a n. may be compared to the poet's use of nouns attrib., such as holyn 206 and caue 683, and uninflected genitives, such as rach 1907. 1913-14 Savage (1931b) 175 noted the men who had bugles were probably the aristocrats. "Possession of the bugle seems to have implied high social rank." 1919 One may retain Her her (editors emended to Her) by rendering the first Her 'Now' . Cf Here 'Now' 1723 (MED hfr adv ., 4a). 1920-21 These two lines are written on one line in the MS. 1921 They take only the fox's pelt . As Burrow noted, "The contrast with the elaborate descriptions of the undoing of deer and boar suggests the contempt for the fox which the lord later expresses: 1944 f." (See 1699n and l 942-44n .) 1923 Cf 1364n. 1928 Were 'wore' is pt. So is wered 2037. Day (1919) 413 considered were a pt. with loss of -d before a vowel. Cf saue 'saved' in line 2073. 1928-31 Cf the description in 878-81. The color of Gawain's mantle is brown there. Burrow (1965) 111 pointed out the irony of Gawain's wearing blue here, since blue is the color of faithfulness, and Gawain is about to break faith with Bercilak. 1934 Burrow-B (1959) 127, pointing out that this is the first time Gawain offers his winnings first, interpreted his move as the sign of a guilty conscience. Taylor (1969) 167 noted that the "newness of Arthur's court signals Gawain's culpable innocence which does not ripen into intellectual and spiritual experience until the very end of the poem." (Cf 54n .) Maxwell (1985) 34 said Gawain foregoes the ritual he and Bercilak had established when he makes the first move, "a quasi-aggressive move-only to more quickly escape the situation .... Gawain himself subverts ritual behavior for a false purpose." 1936 Editors inserted pe before knyp, but one may consider ellipsis. Cf. lines 100 and 102, and see 1092n for other examples of ellipsis. Cf also 996n . 1940-41 Gawain evades the issue of telling from whom the kisses came, just as he had done after the deer hunt in 1395-97. 1942-44 Savage (1928) 2-3 noted the deer and boar were favorites in hunting, but the "fox was regarded as vermin to be hunted out and destroyed ." (Cf. l 92ln.) Dickins (1966) pointed out that the fox's "case (not its mask or brush)" must be cured properly before it is hung as a trophy, "or it will stink." Disagreeing with Burrow (1965) 97, Dickins doubted if foxes were always considered vermin in medieval England, but these lines do describe the catch as inferior . 1944 Rooney (1993) 180-81, noting that Thiebaux (1970) suggested a link between the fox pelt and green girdle in Gawain and the role of the fox pelt in Le Livre de Seyntz Medicines of Henry of Lancaster, compared 1944 to the following on p. 105 of Le Livre : "Fy! Au rid refers to the night following the fox hunt (1934-49), when Gawain gives Bercilak three kisses but withholds the green girdle from him. 234

2357 The Green Knight recalls 2309-14. MS tape, literally 'afflicts' [you], is a pr. 3 sg. form of MED taken. Madden kept tape together as one word, but other editors followed Morris who separated to tape, interpreted ta as an imper. sg., and tr., "And therefore take thee that tap." For tape 'afflicts', see MED taken, sense 2b. For elliptical [you], cf 2351 and 2362, and see also 412n. 2358 As Burrow noted, the Green Knight calls the belt my wede "not because it once belonged to his wife, but because it should justly be his under the Exchange of Winnings agreement." (See also 2342n.) 2361-62 Friedman-B (1960) 157-58 said the temptation becomes "Bercilak's private prank and is set apart from the Beheading game inspired by Morgan." Waldron stated: "While the shape-shifting and the beheading game are later attributed to the agency of Morgan (2446.D), the Green Knight himself here emphatically assumes responsibility for the testing of Gawain in the castle." This interpretation gives more importance to Bercilak in his role at Castle Hautdesert and less to Morgan in the poem as a whole. 2362 See 2457-58n for discussion of asay 'tempt'. 2364-65 Bercilak's praise for Gawain brings in the pearl, the symbol of purity and salvation. In Cleanness 553-56 and 1116-32, the pure soul is likened to a pearl, and in 1068 the poet says Christ "is always purified as perfectly as the pearl itself." Silverstein said the comparison in Gawain of the pearl to the white pea to express excellence "has not been found elsewhere in ME nor again in English until Puttenham ca. 1579: The Arte of English Poesie by Webster alias George Puttenham." Sanderlin (1985) 38 noted that the more than human power that confronts the Gal-min-poet's heroes "is, unlike a Grendel [in Beowulj], merciful and forgiving. In Patience, God forgives Jonas' rebelliousness; in Pearl, Christ grants the dreamer a vision of the New Jerusalem; in Gal-min, the "enigmatic Green Knight judges Gawain a 'pearl' among knights." Folks (1993) 66 said whereas the metamorphosis in the character of Chaucer's knight in The Wife of Bath's Tale is from bad to good, the transformation in Gawain is in the opposite direction, for he is led "into the unfamiliar territory of human imperfection." Both men are opportunistic, but "Gawain is still a 'perle' and Chaucer's knight must surely fall into the category of 'pe quite pese'." 2366 Canfield (1989) 17 discussed lewte 'loyalty' as a key word. Gawain repeats it in 2381, and, when he returns to Camelot, he accuses himself of vnleute 'disloyalty' (2499). These are the only three occurrences in the poem of lewte or the lack of it in relation to trawpe (626) and vntrawpe (2383, 2509). 2366-68 Kiteley-HZ (1962) cited other romances in which Gawain is portrayed as a "Knight Who Cared for His Life." It is a basic human instinct to cling to life. Note Patience 156: "For be monnes lode neuer so luper, pe lyf is ay swete." Gradon (1971) 134 commented it is as if the author himself is speaking in Gawain. Shedd (1967) 8 observed, "Fear of death is not a sin within the purlieu of religion," and even though "violation of a sworn concept is," Gawain's fault is venial due to the mitigating circumstances. (Cf 1876-84n on the extent of Gawain's guilt.) Burrow (1984) 221, in his article on "Sir Gal-min and the Green Knight" in Ford (1984), disagreed with critics who take Gawain's fault lightly, for to fail even a lyttel in lewte "can hardly be a trivial matter for the knight of the penangle." Tripp (1993) 10, in "Power as a Measure of Humanism in Beowulf and Sir Gal-min and the Green Knight," saw in these lines a compromise "utterly unlike either Germanic heroism or Christian martyrdom, both of which involve death before dis235

honour. Clearly, the doctrine of perfection, martial or moral, has been abandoned." 2367 Olszewska (1966), supporting Madden, Morris, and the OED, equated wylyde with wild a. and sb., 7b, 'giving way to sexual passion'. Gollancz glossed 'choice' (ON vildr) and rendered wylyde werke 'choice workmanship (of the green girdle)'. Tolkien & Gordon, Cawley, and Jones tr. wylyde 'guileful', deriving the adj. from ME wile. Davis agreed with this derivation but adopted Gollancz meaning, as did subsequent editors: •excellence of workmanship in the girdle' (Barron). It seems, however, that Bercilak is clarifying here the fact that Gawain's failure in le-wte did not involve cruelty to others. No wylyde werke, literally 'no cruel act', suits the context, then, and is substantiated by OED wild, sense 8. Cf.the citation there (c. 1435) from Chron. London (Kingsford 1905) 52: "He wole be as wilde a Tyraunte to holy Cherche as euer was eny." 2371 Cf.Arthur's reaction to the Green Knight's words in line 317. 2374-88 See 1876-84n for discussion of Burrow's comment on this "confession" in comparison to the one Gawain makes to the priest earlier. 2374-75 In contrast to Bercilak's opinion (2363-68), Gawain magnifies his offense. He speaks of 'cowardice' and 'covetousness' again in 2379-80 and 2508, the former vice because he realizes he had feared for his life. His naming of 'covetousness', however, needs clarification, since lines 2037-42 show that he did not keep the green girdle for its material value. Farley-Hills-HZ (1963) contrasted covetousness with charity, noting "St. Augustine's view of sin as a misdirection of love, which ought to be directed to God, not to oneselr' (316-17). Because Gawain "loved his life too much he was placing his love for himself above his love for truth and therefore God-a classical example of cupiditas in this 'general' sense" (321). Thus Gawain's fear of death (cowardyse) and love oflife (couetyse) are integrally related, as lines 2379-80 show. Burrow-HZ (1964) disagreed. He maintained that couetyse is employed in its "special" sense; Gawain's wrongful withholding of the green girdle may be classified as a type of covetousness. (See also Silverstein [1977) 11-12 and Allen (1992) 192-93. Christmas (1974), viewing the girdle issue "rather in relation to preserving the balance of courtesy with the lady, than to the supposed perils of the Green Chapel" (240), argued that Gawain should be excused from major failure in the poem. Lester (1976) related Gawain's sense of failure through covetousness to fourteenth-century Law of Arms by referring to an ordinance stating that in single combat one must not trust in any talisman. Van Dyke (1983), studying Aristotelian hamartia 'a missing of the mark' in Gawain and Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde, referred to Farley-Hills to argue that the hero's failure is a mistake involving moral principles. His concealment of the girdle shows he places love for himself above love for truth and God. "His 'avaraice' and his 'cowardice' can be regarded as fundamentally the same sin: misdirected love" (176). Srebnick (1989) 20 noted that Ramon Lull, in The Book of the Ordre of Chyvalry (early thirteenth century), spoke of true knights' adherence to noblesse of courage, a standard of feudal loyalty which required fulfillment of vows, regardless of the consequences. A knight had to avoid cowardice and covetousness in all forms. Gawain's connecting these two vices "echoes the chivalric theory." His "gesture of self protection becomes for him a form of covetousness which by extension equates him with opportunistic knights who had abandoned honor for profit such as those of the time's period." Newhauser (1990) equated couetyse with the avaritia vitae expounded by Saint 236

Augustine in "Sermon 107'' [PL 38.627-32). He opposed those who interpreted couetyse literally as the withholding of a material object that belongs to another, citing on pp. 417-19, the following passages that downplay the green girdle's material worth: 1827-29, 1846-48, 2037-40, and 2430-33. (In 2040, Gawain wears the girdle to sauen hymself.) "No one made such consistent use of the idea of spiritualized avarice as did Augustine, describing its object at times as worldly honor, or elsewhere as the trappings of pride or, as in this sermon, as the maintenance of life itself' (424). 2376 Most editors followed TG-Davis and Gollancz in rendering kest 'fastening, twist', but kest apparently denotes the girdle itself (MED cast n., 2c, 'a sartorial contrivance, a belt or girdle'). Jones defined 'trick (i. e. the girdle)'. Moorman cited King (1929) 452 who equated kest with the whole girdle and suggested wordplay on kest 'scheme' (2413). The girdle is evidently tied with a handmade knot . (q. 2485-87 .) Hieatt (1968) 343-44 observed that it is not endless; its ends must be tied together, and its knot is visible, indicating its "imperfection," whereas the pure pentaungel (664) is an endeles knot (630), just as the pearl is endele3 rounde (Pearl 738). Gawain, in accepting the green girdle, failed to live up to the perfection of virtues symbolized by the pentangle. 2378-84 q. Cleanness 515-18, based on Genesis 8.21: "Sensus enim et cogitatio humani cordis in malum prona sunt ab adulescentia sua." ("For the imagination and thought of man's heart are prone to evil from his youth.") Manning-HZ (1964) 281 cited C. G. Jung, Psychological Reflections, ed. J. Jacobi (New York, 1961), p. 214 : "Unfortunately there is no doubt about the fact that man is, as a whole, less good than he imagines himself or wants to be ." Manning called Gawain a "Christian declaration of man's imperfection" (294). q. 2435-36. 2379-88 Goltra (1984) 12-13, with reference to Burrow-B (1959), cited this passage and 2393-94 as proof that Gawain makes a "valid confession" here in contrast to his "false confession" to the priest (see 1876-84n). On the question of the propriety of the Green Knight's acting as a confessor, Goltra referred to the Summa Theologica of Saint Thomas Aquinas: "When there is reason for urgency, the penitent should fulfill his own part, by being contrite and confessing to whom he can." 2381 Harwood (1991) 489 compared larges 'liberality' to fraunchyse 'generosity' (652), one of five virtues of the fifth pentad in the description of the pentangle. Gawain's failure in larges is his unwillingness to give the girdle in exchange for Bercilak's gift of the fox skin. Thus not only does he break the trawpe that the pentangle signifies but he also "declines the noble obligation to repay ." 2382 Editors read Jerde instead of Jerride, but the MS has Jerde with a mark over the r that denotes the abbreviation for ri or er. Gollancz believed he was emending Jererde to Jerde, but to say that Gawain had always been afraid of trecherye and vntrawfae contradicts the idea that he had previously not been aware he was susceptible to them. Reading Jerride (MED Jerien v., sense 1, 'to lead') provides another pronouncement on the imperfection of mankind. (Cf 2378-84n.) Sanderlin (1981a) believed Gawain overreacts when he learns of his failure, but the reader is instructed by this negative exemplum of self-discovery. A Gawain perfect in the virtues of the pentangle would be a caricature, but the Gawain of the poem is humanized by his fall. Like Jonas in Patience and the dreamer in Pearl, he acquires "a small measure of self-knowledge" (55). 2389 In line 2514, the nobles at Camelot la3en 'laugh' (see the note), but laughter here seems inappropriate. Lo3e 'smiled' (MED laughen, la) brings to mind the adv . lo3e 'humbly' (Cleanness 798) and MED louen v.l, 4b, 'to be humble'. Ber237

cilak's mood has softened in response to Gawain's open acknowledgment of his guilt. For translating 'smiled ' , cf the usage in lines 1207, 1212, 1290, and 1757. 2390 Though the MED does not recognize the form and editors emended to hardily, MS hardily Ly may be substantiated by similar spellings . Cf, for example, luflyly in the preceding line andferlyl y 796 . Cf also 1962n. 2390-94 Cf the penitential theme in Cleanness 1129-32. Neale (1968) 44, seeing in the final encounter both angelic and diabolic qualities in the Green Knight, commented, "It is only a slight exaggeration to say that God here seems to be speaking to a fallen and forgiven Everyman ." J.A .W. Bennett (1986) 213 stated that though Bercilak as the Green Knight retains traces of Celtic and Otherworld origins, he is "as Christian a lord as Arthur himself," and "credibility is not strained when he assumes the role of confessor and when he and Gawain commend each other to 'the prynce of paradise ' (2473) ." Bryce (1986) 123 noted that one of the functions of the Green Man, or King of the World, was to provide initiation as a Spiritual Master. This passage "implies Gawain's return to the primordial state of the True Man" (131). Borroff (1988) opposed those who interpreted the Green Knight/Bercilak figure as a spirit emanating from the world of vegetative nature, or as the devil, or as one who embodies the word of God. "He belongs to the real world," and "he represents an illusory percep_tion, likewise universal, of that reality" (107). Borroff focused on the realism in the portrayal of Bercilak at Castle Hautdesert and how as the Green Knight at the Green Chapel he gradually becomes demystified and merges with the character of Bercilak . "When he assesses the actions of the hero, we seem to see the institution of knighthood passing judgment on one of its own" (122). 2395-99 Farrell (1988) 26-27 said the Green Knight here inducts Gawain into a new and higher order of knighthood . "In adopting the girdle as his emblem, Gawain in fact turns humiliation into a lesson in humility: it is a better emblem of his status than the pentangle, with the latter's overweening symbolism of perfection ." 2412-13 Kest 'scheme ' may be compared to kest 'contrivance' (green girdle) in line 2376. (See 2376n on the possibility of wordplay.) Because the two ladies were so often together, it is plausible for Gawain to assume that the auncian 'ancient one' (948) was involved in the scheme, even though Bercilak does not speak about her as Morgne la Faye until line 2446 . Morgan is with Lady Bercilak in 947-69 and 1315-18, and it may be understood that she is present in 1560 and 1885. 2414-28 King (1934) cited several analogues to this passage, Gollancz added Holkot's In Librum Sapientie , Leccio cxxviii, and Burrow (1965) 147 compared Cursor Mundi 9001-10, 9015- 16. Brewer (1966) 77 believed this one passage of traditional antifeminism does not detract from the elaborate courtly system developed in Gawain . Hussey (1968) 173 also argued against those who would regard this "piece of conventional clerical antifeminism" as a discourteous outburst on the part of Gawain, who does admit the fault is primarily his own. (See 2374-88, 2433-38 , and 2505-12.) Lucas (1968) regarded the passage as a balanced comment by Gawain; his fault was a consequence of women's wiles. Mills (1970) viewed it as a contrast to the hero's initial reaction (2369-88), "where Gawain expressed his feelings in an exaggerated, over-charged emotional outburst" (636). "An overemotional outburst has been followed by an over-ingenious argument, and the evident comic exaggeration of the argument takes the edge off the bitterness of the initial outburst" (640). 238

Fletcher (1971) saw conflfot in Gawain between the older masculine ideal of chivalry which emphasizes devotion to God and the newer feminine ideal of protecting and serving ladies. He failed the masculine ideal when he accepted the girdle; now he has learned that safeguarding women should not include submission to them. Dove (1972), noting the hero may have been known to the poet, through other medieval literature, "as one of the exemplary victims of deceitful womankind" (20), discussed this passage in terms of Gawain's abuse of women, "abuse as wholehearted as that found anywhere in the poems belonging to the blasme des femmes tradition" (26). The poet showed genius in reconciling the courtly with the anti-courtly Gawain. Raymond Thompson (1979) 39 said Gawain's sentiments are scarcely to be expected of one described earlier as pat fyne fader of nurture (919); his speech "fits into a broader pattern of anti-feminism that affects many English romances." Eadie (1981) said the medieval Christian ideally sought "the true and lasting happiness of God's love" (57), not transitory worldly Fortune. Gawain speaks ironically here because he knows that only a man of the world of Fortune can blame a woman for his failure. The courts of Camelot and Hautdesert think he has succeeded, but he knows he has failed; so his 'antifeminism' is no more than a bitter acknowledgment on his part that "the historical world does not necessarily seek from a man the high ideals which he demands of himself, and can even bring itself to regard as a triumph what sub specie aeternitatis ought to be accounted a total disaster" (66). Hendrix (1983) argued that Gawain's speech is "made in a vein of wry, selfdeprecating male humor" relating to his "realization of masculine befuddlement in the face of that oldest of puzzles (Woman)" (41). For Hendrix, the humor of the speech "is a sign of evolving humility on Gawain's part" (48). Clark & Wasserman (1985) called Gawain's tirade an act of displaced anger. He accuses women for a fault that lies in himself. The poet "chooses a list of so-called evil women . . . because he recognizes that he can juxtapose symbolically in malo women to the ... in bono" women in the poem (63). They argued that this passage should be viewed in relation to lines 2457-62 where the Green Knight reveals Morgan's plan. Morgan is in bono for wanting to warn the court against "debilitating pride" and for her desire to drive Guenevere, an in malo woman, to her death, since the Arthurian court would then have been spared "the type of fall suffered by the four biblical heroes whom Gawain had previously cited" (64). Batt (1992) 117 noted 2414-28 "is curiously located between two moments of self-castigation," (2382-86 and 2507-9). If Gawain is so persuaded of his own guilt, why does he deliver this speech? For Batt, the illogical calumny of women "exists as a discrete encoding of received wisdom, for 'us' as well as for Gawain, a commonplace that, by virtue of its familiarity in sermons and other literature, needs neither justification nor examination" (137). The passage forms a "space" in the poem, a mnemonic set-piece characteristic of alliterative poetry. De Roo (1993) maintained that this antifeminist speech is in keeping with the character of Gawain who goes through stages of guilt and denial before accepting responsibility for his failure. Having enjoyed the sexual play with Lady Bercilak, he "violates the logic of the pentangle," and this contributes to his downfall. His "diatribe against women is a discourteous ... attempt to shift the blame" (311). 2416-19 This list is not chronological. Solomon was the son of David; Samson lived before them. The story of Adam and Eve is in Genesis 3. In 3 Kings 11.3, it is said that Solomon "had seven hundred wives as queens, and three hundred concubines ." The story of Samson and Dalila is in Judges 16.4-21; that of David and 239

Bethsabee is in 2 Kings 11. The second half of line 2419, as Waldron and Burrow noted, refers to 2 Kings 12, where it is told how David was punished and did penance. Green-B (1962) 186 noted that Solomon, who was first mentioned as the one who established the pentangle in bytoknyng of trawj;e (625-26), is fittingly included as a "great man" who, nevertheless, erred. He was for the Middle Ages a figure of Christ, but in the Bible he is also a "gravely flawed" man who committed "follies that cost him his kingdom." (q. 3-5n on the poet's naming of Aeneas, another hero, susceptible to error, who was involved with a woman.) 2428 There is perhaps a pun on burde. In 961, burde refers to Morgan le Fay; in 1003, it denotes Bercilak's wife. Gawain believes he burde 'should' be excused because these burdes 'women' tricked him. 2429-38 Blanch & Wasserman (1986) 125 focused on guod wylle 2430 in this passage as it relates to Gawain's saying to the Green Knight in 2387: "Lete3 me ouertake your wylle." Gawain follows the will of the challenger by accepting the girdle and wearing it to remind himself to be humble. Blanch & Wasserman studied the legal role of wylle in the medieval contractual tradition and stated: "Finally, it is with Gawain's positive acceptance and attainment of the quality of good will that the ethical and legal themes of the narrative are entwined in the form of a knot (2487-88), a reminder of Gawain's fault and an emblem of his new contractual obligation to God." 2430-32 Cf 2037-39 but contrast subsequent verses in both passages. In 2040-42, Gawain erroneously thinks the girdle will save his life; in 2433-38, he says he will wear the belt in token of his transgression and to remind himself to be humble. 2433 Shoaf (1988) 153, relating surfet to surquidre 2457, saw the word as synonymous with superbia 'surfet', which "points to that excess traditionally known as pride ... an excess of self-reliance, a pride of mind." (See also 2457-58n.) 2433-38 Solomon-HZ (1963) called Gawain "a lesson in humility and in moderation regarding Gawain's own self-esteem and pride in his knightly virtues" (267). Burrow (1965) 145-46 noted that in ME, as in Mod. E., 'flesh' may be used in the Pauline sense with reference to man's fallen nature as the source of all sin. Vantuono (1971) 52 compared 2433-36 to Matthew 26.41: "Watch ye, and pray that ye enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh weak." Halpern (1972) 381 referred to Bede's comment on the Gospel text for December 31 from Luke 12.35 in PL 92.495: "We gird our loins, when, by continence, we restrain the concupiscence of the flesh." Gawain resisted the temptation to copulate with Bercilak's wife, but he loved his own 'flesh' too much. (See 2374-75n.) W.O. Evans (1973) concluded, "Gawain is made to realize that he is but human and fallible and that the ways of the world make it difficult to be sure of not falling from grace in some way" (733). Hark (1974) saw Gawain's quest as "a journey to self-discovery in which [he] must learn to accept his humanity" (12). Hunt (1975) 15, examining the moral issue from a clerical standpoint, noted that Gawain "analyzes his behaviour in terms of Christian theology .... And by the standards which [he] sets himself we can see how he has been untrue to God and thus declares himself to be fawty and /alee." Taitt (1975), studying "Sir Gawain's Double Quest," firstly a "structurally exterior and literal progress," and secondly an "interior and ambiguous revelation," viewed the latter as a "rather humiliating process of self-discovery" (508-9). Knapp (1977) saw a "conflict between chivalric nationalism and penitential Christianity" (289) in Gawain. The hero rejects the Green Knight's urging him to wear 240

the girdle as a reminder of chivalric victory (2396-99) and wears it instead "as proof against pride" (302). Knapp discussed, pp. 293-94, Henry of Lancaster as a Knight of the Garter and the writer of a religious allegory, Le Livre de Seyntz Medicines (1354), saying it is probable that the Gawain-poet, like Henry, was aware of the divergent strains in his time of militaristic nationalism and penitential Christian charity. Soucy (1978), like Solomon-HZ (1963), concluded that Gawain's fault was excessive pride in his own reputation. (See also 681n.) Scattergood (1981) said Gawain is tempted through sins of the flesh-gluttony, lechery, and sloth-at Castle Hautdesert. It "is in the context of the Lady's wooing that he accepts the girdle" (356). Scattergood noted, pp. 361-62, a category of sloth called negligentia, under which come failure to restore goods and breaking of vows. "The reference to 'pe flesche crabbed' [2435] is an indication that Gawain recognizes it is the sins of the flesh that have been his undoing" (366). (Cf 1096-99n .) Clein (1987) 124 believed Gawain's final pose of recognizing the corruptibility of the flesh and the need for humility "recalls that of knights like Henry of Lancaster and John Clanvowe who reject chivalry and adopt the voice of moralists ." 2438 See 1874n on luf-lace . 2443 As Burrow noted, the challenger had only announced himself as 'the knight of the Green Chapel' (454), in answer to Gawain's questioning (398-401). See the notes to 381, 408, and 454. 2444-48 Hat 'am called', as editors glossed it, and a full stop after 2445 make it difficult to render the following lines. For hat 'command' (hold sway), see MED hoten v .1, 3a. A dash after 2444 and a period in the middle of 2445 clarify the meaning. Bercilak says: I command through the power of Morgan and the koyntyse of clergye (2447). This statement does not diminish his individuality and strong will. One may compare Homer's Odysseus; the goddess Athena guides him, but this does not diminish his heroic qualities and initiative. Gollancz placed a comma after 2445, added the following: [l>atpus am a3lych of hwe & al ouer brawden], and tr ., "who am thus terrible of hue and all transformed through the might of Morgan." Davis emended ho 2448 to hatz (Burrow, Barron, Silverstein, and Osberg followed). Burrow tr. 2446-48: "Through the agency of Morgan le Fay, who dwells in my house, and through learned skills well and artfully mastered, many people have experienced the magic powers of Merlin ." 2445 Tolkien & Gordon read Bercilak, which does appear to be the spelling. (My viewing of the word in the original MS under an ultraviolet lamp in the British Library favored this reading .) The scribe's c and t resemble each other, but those who compare the c in Bercilak with the t of Pat beginning 2444 will see that the top stroke crosses to make a t. Besides, Madden and Morris read Bemlak, and it is more likely that they misread n from ci rather than from ti. Hulbert (1923), who corrected Madden and Morris, saw MS Bercilak, but he considered it a scribal mistake for Bertilak. Jones and Moorman read Bercilak. Gollancz and other editors, including Davis, favored Bertilak, as did Griffith (1978) 254-55, since the name Bertolais (acc. Bertolac), one of Arthur's enemies, appears in the OF Vulgate Merlin, which the poet probably knew. (Forster [1924] had argued that Bertolac is of Celtic origin, probably from *Brettulakos, derived from Britto 'a Briton'.) Such arguments, however, do not disprove Bercilak as the intended form, and some Celtic names favor this spelling. Loomis (1924) 275- 76 and (1927) 59-60 discussed Bachlach. Buchanan (1932) 328-29, in her chart that shows correspondences between Gawain and the Champion's Bargain, also pointed to Bach/ac/1, the name of 241

the huge churl who enters the court and taunts the warriors, and who is later revealed as Curoi. Smith (1946) supported Bercilak, believing the Green Knight's name comes from Breslach, related to Guinganbresil. Markman-B (1957) 260, with reference to Smith, also favored Bercilak. Thiebaux (1970) 478 suggested identifying Bercilak with Henry Duke of Lancaster, one of the Founding Knights of the Order of the Garter. (See E.H. Fellowes, The Knights of the Ganer, 1348-1939 [London, 1940], p. 59.) Henry, as Earl of Derby, fought victoriously at Gascony in 1345, and two years later he received from King Edward the grant of a castle and a town called Bergerac. Thiebaux noted that Henry called himself in his will, among other titles, Seigneur de Bruggerak. (See 13650n for other suggested identifications of the Green Knight with contemporary personages and 1699n for another reference to Thiebaux.) Cuda (1987) returned to the earliest reading when she argued that Madden and Morris' Bernlak is the correct form. She considered it a contraction of Anglo-Saxon Berne/de 'burnt-offering', which appears in the tenth century "Kentish Psalm" found in MS Cotton Vespasian D. vi. in the British Library. Her belief that this Psalm may represent "the hitherto undiscovered alliterative source which the GGK poet avows (11. 33-36) and develops" (268) seems unlikely. Besides, both n and u in this MS are formed with two minims, which are not closed on either top or bottom. The top diagonal stroke of the fourth letter in the name appears there to form the c in Bercilak. Tolkien & Gordon believed Hautdesert refers to the Green Chapel and means "high (as being in the mountains) hermitage." Disen (Latin desenum) in Celtic languages "was used of a solitary place where an anchorite took up his abode." Smithers (1963) 178, viewing [de] Hautdesert as a tr. of [le] haut hennitage in La Queste del Saint Graal, said the Green Knight was given the function of hearing confessions normally exercised by hermits in the OF prose romances. (Barry [1978] supported the idea that Hautdesert relates to Bercilak's activities at the Green Chapel.) Davis, however, pointed out that desert 'solitary place' is common in French, the Green Chapel, being at the bottom of a valley, should not be called 'high', and "it was not a hermitage." Hautdesert apparently applies to Bercilak's castle. Since, in 2440, Gawain refers to the Green Knight as "lord of the yonder land that I have lived in," it follows that he wants the knight's ryp nome (2443) as it relates to the castle, which was set in a high place in the midst of wilderness. Carson (1963) focused on OF bercere 'huntsman', bercer 'to strike'; ME lak 'contest' (also 'small stream'); OF and ME haut 'high'; and OF and ME desert 'merit' (also 'wilderness'). Thus the Green Knight/Bercilak de Hautdesen is one who proposes a Christmas contest, a huntsman who strikes, a host of high merit, and a challenger in the wilderness who leaps over a stream to meet Gawain at the Green Chapel. Henry (1976) 199 saw Hautdesen as a pun on 'great merit' or 'high reward', since the relationship between "merit and reward or forfeit-the question of desert-is at the heart of the poem, and the form disert is even used at 1266 by Gawain. If so, the name could neatly underline the paradoxes of a poem in which humiliation is a prize." Lucas (1986) noted the English place-name Beaudesert 'beautiful waste land' differs from Hautdesert mainly in its first letter, and Burrow (1965) 125 identified two places called Beaudesert in England: one near Henley-in-Arden, Warwickshire; the other near Longdon, Staffordshire, in Cannock Chase, the site of a medieval episcopal palace used by the bishops of Lichfield. "The author and at least some of his audience must have known or heard of Beaudesert (Staffs.)," and Gawain no doubt "was generally known in the diocese where the bishop had his palaces." Castle Hautdesert, 242

pyched on a prayere , a park al aboute (768), "may well have reminded at least some of the poem's audience of the similarly named bishop's palace nearby, set in a park and situated in hunting country (Cannock Chase) ." 2446-66 Morgan le Fay was Gawain's aunt and Arthur's half-sister (2464) due to the following relationships: King Uther Pendragon and Igerne, the Duchess of Tintagel, begot Arthur (2465-66) out of wedlock. Morgan had been born prior to this affair to Igerne and her husband Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall. Gawain was the eldest son of King Loth and Anna, who was also Arthur's half-sister. Therefore, Gawain was a nephew to both Arthur and Morgan. Loomis (1943) 189-91 believed that a possible explanation for the presence of Morgan in Bercilak's castle is that "she was a traditional mistress of the leader of the Wild Hunt, a counterpart of Arawn's wife .. .. As a doublet of Bercilak's wife she doubtless was taken into the plot of GGK at some earlier stage as a result of conflating two variant developments of the Arawn story." Arawn appears in "Pwyll Prince of Dyfed" (The Mabinogion, trans . G. Jones and T. Jones [London, 1949], pp. 3-24). (See 941-69n and 2456-62n on the "doublets" interpretation .) Jennings (1981) 199-200 noted that in the Vulgate Merlin , Vivianne, who may be identified with Morgan, begged Merlin to teach her his magic. She was beautiful then, and Merlin agreed, but in the end she enchanted him so that he could not move from one spot. "The Vulgate Merlin says that she often went to visit him in his enchantment, but the Suite de Merlin asserts that she had the chamber where the sage was imprisoned closed by a great stone for she was tired of Merlin's love now that she had learned his magic. " 2448 TG-Davis noted that Merlin is first mentioned by Geoffrey of Monmouth in the Prophetiae Merlini incorporated in his Historia Regum Britanniae (c. 1135), and in the poem Vita Merlini (E. Faral, La Legende Arthurienne, iii [Paris, 1929], pp. 30652). Merlin's origin goes back to medieval Welsh where there are poems ascribed to a Myrddin, represented as living in sixth-century Britain. (See R. Bromwich, Trioedd, pp . 469- 74 .) 2452 TG-Davis pointed out that Morgan is called 'goddess' by Giraldus Cambrensis in Speculum Ecclesire, distinctio ii, cap. 9 (Opera, ed. J.S. Brewer, Rolls ser. iv [1873], p . 49). Davis noted the term is consistent with Geoffrey of Monmouth's account in the Vita Merlini, where Morgen is the "chief of nine sisters who preside over the 'insula pomorum que fortunata vocatur' to which Arthur is brought to be healed after his last battle. (Morgen means 'sea-born' .)" Jennings (198l) discussed the character of Morgan in Celtic myth and the romances "in her descent from goddess to witch, from nurse to seductress" (197). She considered the poet's use of the term goddes ironic, for it "casts aspersions on whatever glories her background might have boasted " (202). Jennings portrait of Morgan in Gawain, like that of most critics, is extremely negative, but this interpretation is open to question. She is called goddes, she tames hy3e hawtesse (2454-55), she is revered as an auncian and a mensk lady (948-49, 964, 1001), and she may be included among those who care for Gawain (2467-68). Besides, one need not make her primarily responsible for all the plots against Gawain. On this point, see 2361-62n . 2456-62 Hulbert (1915-16) 454 and Kittredge (1916) 136 criticized this passage; Kittredge considered it the "one weak spot in the superb English romance ." Both men suggested that Morgan may have been the contribution of a late redactor, who, being troubled by what he considered the lack of motivation in the poem, tried to supply it himself.

243

Among those who have disagreed with the negative criticism of Hulbert and Kittredge, Baughan (1950) viewed Morgan as a "noble enchantress " who sent Bercilak "to purge and heal the court of its moral corruptness" (251). Cf. 336n on Baughan's interpretation and the reference to Clark & Wasserman (1985) in 2414-28n . Kane (1951) 74 believed the poet found the element of magic "not greatly to his taste, for he scarcely developed Bercilak's enchantment by Morgan la Fay, or her motive in setting afoot the beheading challenge." Engelhardt (1955) 224, considering the common assumption that Morgan is motivated by envy of Guenevere to be "gratuitous," stated that the joint purpose of Bercilak and Morgan was to test and tame the pride of the Round Table and the queen. Moorman-B (1956) 229-35 supposed that Morgan wanted Guenevere to die in order to forestall future tragedy; this queen "is later to bring about the downfall of the court by her affair with Launcelot" (230). Friedman-B (1960), seeing Morgan as a dea ex machina, stated: "Try as we may to justify the poet's methods, we cannot get around the stubbornly solid impression that he fails to convince us that Morgan is organic to the poem" (158). Carson (1962) 4-7, viewing Morgan as the "Principle of Unity" in Gawain, argued that the poet's audience would have recognized her both in the old woman and in Bercilak's wife. She cited R.S. Loomis (1956) 89 on the "doublets" theory. (See also L. Loomis-HZ [1959] 14-15, as well as 941-6911and 2446-66n.) Manning-HZ (1964) 286-87, basing his study on Jungian psychology, justified Morgan's role by considering her the "Terrible Mother, i. e., the dark side of the unconscious which seeks to destroy the conscious ego." (Brewer [1976] 576-77 also viewed Morgan as the hostile aspect of the mother-figure .) Bercovitch-HZ (1965) 259, referring to lines 2463-68 which, he believed, show that Morgan has friendly feelings toward her nephew, rejected readings of the poem that make Morgan's motive "implicitly vicious and sinister." Moon (1966) argued that Morgan's malicious plan failed because she erred in supposing that Gawain and Guenevere were lovers. Morgan might hope that the queen, after seeing the Green Knight's mantle of green symbolizing unfaithfulness, would think that "her infidelity to Arthur was about to be exposed [and] would drop dead from fear on the spot" (56). However, Morgan was powerless against the "simple Christian virtues exemplified by Gawain and Guinevere, and her own evil thoughts were her undoing or, as the poet puts it: Honi soyt qui ma/ pence" (57). Shedd (1967) 13, believing Morgan to be important only at the level of the story, which, for the poet, is not an end unto itself, saw the real source of the trouble in the ignoring of self, in the nobles' being insensitive later when their reaction to Gawain's telling of his experience shows them in a position that corresponds to the earlier Gawain. (See 2505-20n.) Samson (1968) 345 pointed out that Morgan's hostility is "subsidiary to a desire to test the court, and [is] directed practically entirely towards Guinevere (who incidentally is shown in all Arthurian legends as the destroyer of the Round Table)." Eadie (1968) believed the function of 2456-62 is not to try to justify what had already happened, but to anticipate the conclusion, especially 2505-20. In the end, the audience would know that "the court was found wanting" by not responding with "proper sensitivity" to Gawain's story, but "they would also realise that the joy of the courtiers was natural and praiseworthy, and . . . was untainted by envy. Gawain has returned to the world of 'blysse and blunder' where there is no simple choice between 'good' and 'evil"' (303). 244

E. Williams (1985) 39 viewed Morgan as the "shadow which stands nearest the threshold of consciousness and contains the darker side of self which we prefer not to see," but Morgan's plan does press Gawain "into the discovery of his own humanity." Moore (1988) refuted critics who called this ending involving Morgan unsatisfactory. The power of Bercilak's final speech "lies precisely in its retrospective force . ... The revelation of Morgan's hidden agency provides both Gawain and the reader with a new perspective on the knight's whole adventure" (221). Seeing this ending as a surprise rather than a disappointment is rewarding, for it not only shows Gawain's imperfection but also reminds us "how completely we share that imperfection. Our vision is as limited as Gawain's . We too have been deceived all along" (225). Narin (1988) said the poet subtly and carefully prepared for the final disclosure of Morgan's identity in three scenarios : "the auncian figures in a rhetorical descriptio [947-69), a mode of representation reserved for the major characters; she sits highest at the table in Bercilak's castle [1001); and with the exception of the temptation scenes, the auncian and the young lady are invariably together" (60). See also 2361-62n and 2460n on Morgan's role in Gawain. 2457-58 Bowers-HZ (1963) 77-78, refuting the "semiallegorical presentation of the whole history and meaning of the Round Table," given by Moorman-B (1956), viewed surquidre in a "eulogistic sense of self-respect or loyalty to the ideals of knighthood." In line with Moorman, Moon (1966) 33 noted that assay pe surquidre could mean 'attack the arrogance' . Carriere (1970), arguing that Gawain and the court had to learn the meaning of Christmas (Christ's preservation of mankind from the effects of original sin), stated: "Arthur's court and its most illustrious member are tried for their 'surquidre,' their pride in their own presumed perfection" (28). MED surquidr1(e n., sense a, cites Gawain 311, 2457 and Pearl 309 with negative connotations. Burrow (1984) 119 interpreted surquidre as one's right to pride, a point of honor . In contrast, Robert Edwards (1989) 125-26, comparing the use of sourquydrye (see 311n) in the Green Knight's challenge at Camelot, maintained that it conveys the notion of thinking oneself above others, "a habit of mind lying at the root of the moral and social manifestations of arrogance. " (See Edwards for comparison of Gawain to the twelfth-century French romance Partonopeu de Blois. Here, as in 2362, editors defined as(s)ay 'test, make trial of, but 'tempt' (MED assaien v ., sense 8) suits both contexts . In 2362, Bercilak says he sent his wife to asay 'tempt' Gawain. Renoun may also carry a negative connotation (cf 2519n.) 2459 Wayued me pis wonder 'cast upon me this enchantment' (Gollancz) seems preferable to wayned me pis wonder 'sent this marvel' (other editors). 2460 The second part of Morgan's plan is revealed here. Even if one were to consider it the primary reason for her sending the Green Knight to Camelot, this would not necessarily detract from the poet's conception of his plot. That Morgan fails only proves that the poet, as the artistic master-planner, considered half of the enchantress' scheme of minor importance, for whether Guenevere lived or died is inconsequential in Gawain, whereas the development of the intricate contrasts between humility and pride, and trawjJe and vntrawpe, is essential to the story. As Madden noted, Morgan's hatred of Guenevere was due to the queen's discovering and revealing a love affair between the enchantress and a knight called Guyomars . Tolkien & Gordon cited Le Livre de Lancelot de Lac (ed. Sommer, The Vulgate Version of the Arthurian Romances, vol. iv, p . 124), and Le Livre d'Artus (ed. Sommer, vol. vii, p. 135). When Morgan had to leave the court, she joined Merlin, with whom she had a love affair. (See lines 2449-51, and cf the last paragraph of 245

2446-66n.) Because Morgan built a chapel in a valley to imprison faithless lovers , Tolkien & Gordon wrote , "It is perhaps the story of Morgan's chapel that suggested the introduction of Morgan into this poem ." Hubert Morgan (1985) 274-75 tr. gart 'prepared' instead of 'caused' to substantiate his argument that this line "suggests not a tradition of Morgan's hatred of Guenivere, but of admonitory concern." He compared the first part of The Anturs of Arther at the Tamewathelan in which the ghost of the queen's mother appears to warn her daughter against sin and prepare her for eschatological judgment. 2461-62 These lines recall 427-58. Madden glossed gopnyng 'affright' with a question mark. Other editors adopted Morris' suggested emendation to g/opnyng 'affright, dismay', but MS gopnyng may be retained as a variant of gapyng (MED glipen v., sense 3, 'to stare open-mouthed'). For the o-a spelling variant, cf gostlych 2461 from MED gastlI adj. (fhe MED did not list this word as an adv. and followed Tolkien & Gordon in citing Gawain s.v. giJstlI adv., le, 'as a spirit' . Gollancz tr . 'affrightingly', deriving the word from OE gii:stan 'to frighten' .) Frankis (1983) 36 defended MS gopnyng as a blending of glopnen 'to be dismayed' and gapen. All editors, except Morris, Gollancz, and Moorman, emended to gome 'man', but MS gomen 'illusion' is substantiated by MED glime n., 4d, where Gawain is cited. 2463-66 See 2446-66n for discussion of the relationships. 2467 Madden, Morris, Tolkien & Gordon, Gollancz, Cawley, and Silverstein retained MS PYnaunt; other editors emended to pyn aunt (as spelled in 2464). Davis, crediting Savage (1944) 349, defended this reading by saying the alliteration is vocalic, but the alliteration may be on p, as well as the vowels. The MED substantiates MS py naunt by citing Gawain and explaining the form as an example of prosthetic n- . (See the opening page of citations of words beginning with the letter n .) 2470 Cf.626n on tra»j)e . The Green Knight said Gawain failed a little in le»-fe 'loyalty' (2366), but that was due to extenuating circumstances. Gawain showed grete traupe in keeping his pledge to meet the Green Knight at the Green Chapel, and in not falling into a lecherous alliance with Bercilak's wife. Skinner (1969) 58 observed that the Green Knight agrees at least in part with the opinion expressed about Gawain in line 676: "To fynde hys fere vpon folde, in fayth, is not epe." 2472 Editors inserted a verb (bikennen, kennen) before ayper, but elliptical [commend] in the tr. may be compared to other examples (see 1752n). The alliteration may be on the initial vowel sounds in the line, as well as on the k sounds in the first half. (See also 60n on not making emendations on the basis of meter or alliteration .) 2477 See 150n for discussion of enker-grene. 2479-89 Sadowski (1993) analyzed the "linear development of action in GGK within the mutually inclusive and interrelated larger cycles of Britain's mytho-history, the seasonal time, the liturgical year, and human life in general" (21), but he erred in saying "both the beginning and end of the story occur at Camelot on New Year's Day" (22-23). If it took Gawain from November 2 (see 566n) to Krystmasse Euen (734) to travel from Camelot to Castle Hautdesert, one may conjecture that he got back to Camelot in February, the time of pe crabbed Lentoun (502), a season of spiritual renewal. Sadowski saw Gawain as a paragon of chivalry, as well as "an archetypal human being, an Everyman figure, whose life was presented as an exemplification of the medieval doctrine of imitatio Christi" (26). 2485-88 Burrow-B (1959) 134 said the green girdle may suggest the Order of the Garter, but, as the bende of pis blame (2506), "It also forms part of the traditional iconography of penance." He compared Mannyng's Handlyng Synne, Part II, ed . F.J. 246

Furnivall, EETS, OS, 123 (1903): "About py nekke hanggep a wyppe/l>at hap pe departed fro Goddys gryppe" (11551-52). (See also 2506n.) Schmidt (1987) 149 noted that Gawain wears the girdle heraldically from right shoulder to left side, slantwise across his cote-armure bearing the pentangle emblem, the conysaunce of jJe clere werke3 (see 2026n). "The result is to generate a powerful tension between the two contrasted emblems." Gawain had first worn the girdle around his waist (2034-35). The girdle emblem does not replace the pentangle emblem; it modifies it, as if to point out the difficulty of always adhering to the virtue of trawjJe. Plummer-BMW (1991) 205-6 said Gawain's wearing the girdle over his cotearmure combines the two emblems into a new device. The "pentangle qualified, differenced, by the girdle is a complex sign, as opposed to the pentangle alone which, for all its multi-pointedness, is monosemous." Gawain's new sign "is polysemous, complex, an acknowledgment of his new sense of himself." Plummer disagreed with critics who see the girdle as replacing the pentangle. Nickel (1991) related the way Gawain wears the girdle to orders of chivalry, the Order of the Band, for example, founded by King Alfonso XI (reigned 1325-1350) of Castile and Leon. He also discussed the banda engolada, a diagonal stripe of green edged in gold across an armorial shield, worn by Don Juan de Castella in 1375. 2489 Apparently there is double-entendre involving the health of Gawain's soul. MED sound(e n.2 cites Gawain s. v. sense b, in sounde 'in good health', but there is also spiritual significance in this phrase. q. s. v. MED sound(e adj. the meanings 'preserved from sin' (le) and 'spiritually satisfying' (4c). 2491 Burrow (1965) 156 compared gode Gawan (109), noting the "poet's love of these circular effects." 2494 Ferlyly may be rendered as a sb. adj. (cf 1962n). Waldron tr. 'amazing tale'. TG-Davis glossed the word as an adverb. Gollancz tr. 'wondrously'. 2501-4 Burrow (1965) 154 compared 2370-72, where the poet gives an account of Gawain's first reaction to the Green Knight's judgment. Burrow (1984) said "the shame of a knight, unlike that of a penitent, is not purged by confession. A blot on the scutcheon is not so easily wiped ofr' (127). Gawain must wear the green girdle for the rest of his life, but his shame is not ignoble, and his "honour is the inseparable companion of that 'truth' or integrity which the pentangle represents" (131). 2505-20 Commentators, centering their discussions around La3en 2514, have given various interpretations of this passage. Green-B (1962) 193-94, who saw the ladies and lords as childgered, like Arthur in line 86, and given to pride, felt that the court "probably will not" profit by Gawain's lesson. Burrow (1965) 157-59 believed Bercilak and Arthur's court, in expressing admiration for Gawain, show their grace and courtesy. Calling this passage the poet's last "ambiguous tableau," he concluded: "The knights and ladies share the baldric with Gawain as a sign both of their corporate renown and of their common humanity." Bruten (1966), rejecting Burrow's interpretation, referred to St. Augustine's De Magistro, which develops the idea that one must consult within himself to learn the truth, but the court makes no inward consultation. "Camelot has failed to learn a lesson in Truth from the best of its knights" (454). Shedd (1967) 12-13 felt La3en 2514 conveys a "sense of the undefinable but undeniable gulf which now separates the knight from his peers .... The laughter is well-meant, intended to comfort Gawain while making light of the Green Knight's verdict, but its effect on us is to underscore the insensitivity of the listeners." Champion (1967) 424, supposing the courtiers wore the baldric "as a token of 247

man's humility and dependence upon God's mercy," agreed with Schnyder (1961) who stated: "Arthur and his people have come to acknowledge the former corruption of their court through sinful pride, and in accepting the green girdle manifest their willingness to be reformed by Gawain's example" (73). Hussey (1968) 173, believing the poet aimed derogatory criticism at Arthur and the laughing court, disagreed with Benson (1965) who saw Gawain as "essentially a comic poem" (226). Benson said the court "can and does change, and it is amused rather than discomfited by the adventure .... The laughter is good-humored, for in laughing at Gawain, their representative, they are laughing at themselves" (241). Moorman (1968) 110 saw in this passage the failure of the court and the whole Round Table society, since the people laughingly transform the girdle, Gawain's badge of shame, into a baldric of honor. Pierle (1968) 211 wrote, "The fact that Arthur and his court predictably make light of and fail to understand Gawain's very sincere public and private penance clearly sets them apart from him." David (1968) 408, having noted the poet's reference to the rise and fall of kingdoms in the opening stanzas, saw in the laughter of Arthur's knights a "pathetic irony. For in the frailty of the best of the Round Table [Gawain] we can see already the seeds of a catastrophe that equalled the destruction of Troy-the fall of Arthur's kingdom through treason." (See also 3-5n on David's study.) Jones (1969), in agreement with Benson (1965) 240-48, felt the laughter is a "modification of the high chivalric ideal and the fame of the Round Table achieved through the court's recognition of human limitation" (343). Spearing (1970) 231 favored the second of the following interpretations: (1) The courtiers have remained "arrested in their childlike condition" (222). (2) Their reaction is a "healthy one, and should guide our own, for they see that he [Gawain] is giving excessive importance to a minor failing in an impossibly difficult task" (230). Spearing (1987) 204 saw the court's transforming Gawain's "badge of shame" into a "badge of honour" as a positive movement "in which the whole society can share." Hughes (1971) 234 considered Camelot "an image of a civilisation that has evolved away from Christian ideals and generated its own codes, glittering and attractive on the surface." He felt that Gawain, though "an admirable character," devoted "his Christian energies to mistaken ideals." Butturff (1972) 147 concluded that the "court's insensitivity to Gawain's plight reveals its shallowness. Ifwe laugh at him, we are associating with a society which has proven itself incapable of taking anything seriously." Halpern (1972) said, "Gawain offers Arthur and his court a sign of penance, and they transform it into one of pride .... Thus, their reception of him constitutes a temptation already overcome" (381-82). (Gawain, by not agreeing with Bercilak's praise of him in 2362-65, had resisted a "new and subtle temptation-a temptation to vainglory and carnal understanding" [358].) In his final condemnation of the court, pp. 382-84, Halpern cited Rev. 22.11: "he that is filthy, let him be filthy still," suggesting it is a small step to Hony Soyt Qui Mal Pence 'Evil Be to Him Who Thinks Evil'. Hunt (1976) 15-16, after stating that the Arthurian court laughs because it finds Gawain's "punctiliousness incongruous in the light of what it construes as [his] success," added: "In place of finality we are left with ambiguity, with the problem of relativism. Is Gawain's behaviour in this last fitt a yardstick for the judgment of society or is society's reaction the yardstick for the assessment of Gawain?" Margeson (1977), in an attempt to solve such ambiguity, held that Gawain's 248

linear view of his failure at the end is more central to the poem's meaning than the court's (and Bercilak's) circular view of his success. Rather than having simply completed a circle, Gawain "has taken the first step along a linear path of imperfection which will end only with his death" (21). Though the poet does not present either the Green Knight or Arthur's courtiers as fools, he emphasizes that the "only truth lies in self-knowledge, in the Christian teaching that all men are imperfect" (24). Trask (1979), calling Gawain "true in a serious sense" [since he did not commit adultery] but "false in a comic sense" (6) [when he accepted and concealed the girdle], said his "regretful attitude" over his "unhappy fault" is "out of joint, and that this attitude ... is the crux of the poet's serious messages and also of the ironic humor of the work" (1). The "mirth of the conclusion is the generally felt triumph of faith, hope, and charity, which rule the day despite Gawain's lugubrious laments" (9). Blanch (1982) said Gawain wears the girdle "as a penitential emblem of his human weakness (2435-36) and as a warning against 'pry de ... for prowes of armes' (2437)." He concluded that the Camelot brotherhood agree to wear a similar baldric only as a "ceremonial gesture [which] is ultimately a sham." Unable to comprehend the true meaning of Gawain's experience, "Arthur and his court will continue to frolic in a childlike world of elegant play and proud surface values" (60). Besserman (1982), after noting that broken tral11Jeis what the girdle ultimately represents in Gawain's eyes, argued that at the end it undergoes its final transformation and becomes the badge of Arthurian fellowship. "Like the Cross, the central icon of Christianity, the green girdle is transformed from a sign of degradation and defeat into a banner of victory. Gawain, however, does not join in celebrating this reversal. And we are left wondering whether or not his is the deeper vision" (100). Wilkin (1982) saw the hero as a "failed Templar" (118). When the members of the court take the girdle for themselves, "they are wrongfully attempting to participate in Gawain's partial honour." They are not really decadent or doomed, but "graciously and ignorantly they invite Gawain to join them in thinking nothing of it, something of course neither we nor Gawain can do" (120-21). Patrick (1983) condemned Camelot, considering Gawain Christ-like at the end and "thus separate from the members of the court who do not engage in the authentic experience of the liturgical year. Their spiritual progress is limited by a failure to experience the full cycle in the life of Christ-birth, death and renewal. Their experience of Christmas is truly 'childgered'" (33). Bergner (1986) upheld Bercilak's provincial court over King Arthur's court, saying Camelot is still innocent and lighthearted at the end because its members are incapable of fathoming Gawain's sense of guilt. Yet, Bergner opposed critics who regarded Camelot as the epitome of falsehood and sham ideals, for its members do, "albeit unconsciously, perform a touching act of solidarity with Gawain in adopting and wearing a green girdle" (414). Shichtman (1986) saw no saving quality in the court's reaction at the end. He cited Hanning (1977) 163 who said Gawain preserves much of the spirit of the twelfthcentury chivalric romances that explored and exposed the risks of individuality, and he referred to Margeson (1977) who, he felt, did not fully explore the implications of linear and circular views, "especially as they relate to medieval and contemporary perceptions of history" (6). Shichtman said Gawain's experience made him grow as an individual, but "the court has remained the same. Those who stayed at home cannot possibly comprehend what Gawain has discovered about himself and his world. They can only attempt to apply their own standards to these discoveries. The result of their 249

efforts seems rather trivial; the symbol of Gawain's ordeal becomes high fashion in Arthur's court" (15). Anderson (1990) discussed the following three judgments: Bercilak's tolerance of Gawain's failure (2362-68, 2389-99), Gawain's harsh judgment of himself (236988, 2505-12), and Camelot's favorable assessment (2513-20). The fact that the poet gives no guidance suggests that he does not place one judgment above the others, "but rather wants us to weigh the issues for ourselves" (339). For Anderson, none of the three is adequate because they are based on Bercilak's codified chivalry, Camelot's superficial chivalry, and Gawain's "unworkable moral idealism" (353). In contrast, Diekstra (1990) 76-80 viewed all three judgments favorably: Gawain as the one who failed should reprimand himself, Bercilak as the one sinned against can be forgiving, and the court's attitude reflects a "spirit of fellow-feeling" to fittingly provide "the happy ending that the story calls for" (80). Finley (1990) considered the "lack of closure" the poet's intention. Gawain's humility is exaggerated. Camelot's judgment undermines closure because its world is one that the poet "admires and yet distrusts .... To make an end is to clarify intentions, and the Gawain-poet will not take a side, as critics have done" (452). Gross (1994) 167-68 argued that Arthur and his court cannot comprehend what Gawain experienced. He has gone through a process of 'descending individualization' and developed a new sense of trawpe, which is neither a "social virtue to be possessed in degrees" (Bercilak's view) nor a "source of communal 'renoun'" (Camelot's view). Trawpe "has 'hardened' for Gawain into a fixed principle that describes his interior state in isolation. It denotes . . . the reality of his inner self: he views himself in absolutist terms, as either a man of 'trawpe' or a man of 'vntrawpe.'" Kirk (1994) 118-20 said a good case can be made for all three verdicts. Bercilak's shows that to keep an appointment in the face of death is noble, and Camelot's shows that "the heroism of those who do more than can be expected may be selected by the group as a sign of its 'renown."' She concluded, however, that the narrative favors Gawain's judgment, for his "is the only one which focuses on finitude and fallibility, and thus offers a potential connection between the poem's aristocratic ethos and the theological context provided by Christmas." Mann (1994) 115-16, after contrasting the passivity of romance heroes with the activity of epic heroes like Beowulf, said Gawain's passive heroism is shown in the acceptance of his failure when he displays the girdle openly. The knights of Camelot perceive that this makes the girdle "a badge of honour as well as of shame." They wear it in recognition of the honour Gawain has brought to them. "Acceptance of failure becomes the badge of success." Blanch & Wasserman (1995) stated: Camelots's "universal adoption of the green girdle, whose meaning they clearly do not understand, is merely an attempt to rob the 'trwe token' of its semanticity.'' The courtiers' use of the baldric "as a fashion robs Gawain of his uniqueness" (22). At Camelot, "misunderstood signs ... are sustituted uneasily for true leadership and communication of Christian values" (24). 2506-10 Barkley & Ingham (1982) compared the naive Frodo in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings to Gawain. Frodo receives a knife wound because of his susceptibility to the evil power of the Ring, but, like Gawain, he bears the psychological hurt more deeply. "Because of their failures, Frodo and Gawain learn humility" (102). 2506 TG-Davis rendered bende 'band (green girdle)'. See MED bend(e n.1, sense 4, 'a broad diagonal band or stripe placed on a coat-of-arms'. Gawain wears it as a sign of penance (see 2485-85n). TG-Davis glossed blame 'fault'. Barron tr. 'guilty 250

scar', which indicates the double-entendre. The physical sense appears to be the primary one here, with the metaphorical sense 'moral flaw' implied. Editors inserted a preposition before my, but nek 'on (my) neck' may be interpreted as a synthetic dative. See 2187-880 and 2219n for other examples. 2508 See 2374- 75n for discussion of couardise and couetyse. 2509 Contrast the reference to the pentangle as a sign that Solomon established in bytoknyng of trawj:Je(625-26), and cf the use of vntrawj:Jein 2383. In 1210, the lady considers Gawain tan 'trapped' in bed. In 2488, Gawain wears the green girdle in tokenyng he wat~ tane in tech of a faute. Thus the poet emphasizes the decline from seeming perfection to human imperfection. Hanna (1983) discussed four versions of the girdle, as given by the characters: (1) Lady Bercilak's claim (1851-54) that it has magical properties; (2) Gawain's identification of it as a sign of his failure, the syngne of his surfet (2433), relating to cowardice and covetousness (2374, 2379-80, 2508); (3) the Green Knight's calling it a pure token/Of pe chaunce of pe Grene Chapel (2398-99); (4) the nobles' wearing it for the sake of Gawain and for the renoun of pe Rounde Table (2518-19). Hanna considered all four problematic and concluded, pp. 301-2, that "the point is not that the girdle means any single finite thing but that it has become a 'token' to be interpreted by both characters and reader." The characters' multitude of interpretations "suggests both the difficulty of knowing a simple physical object and the potential caprice involved in all human claims to knowledge." 2511-12 MS non 'no one' may be retained (11e is pleonastic in the double negative construction) . Davis, Waldron, Barron, Silverstein, and Osberg emended to mon, following Andrew (1930) 182 and Perry (1937); Davis tr. 2511 : "For a man may hide his (spiritual) harm, but cannot unfasten (get rid of) it." Tolkien & Gordon, though they retained non, gave a similar sense, which is questionable because the poet evidently believed that one can rid himself of sins through confession and penance. See, for example, 1876-84 and Cleanness 1111-16. Lines 2511-12, taken together, may imply that a sin, if not confessed, becomes rooted, and then misfortune follows. Burrow tr., "For no-one can conceal his guilt without misfortune befalling; for where it once becomes fixed it will never be separated ." Cf Morris, Gollancz, Cawley, Jones, and Moorman. Wright (1935) 347-48 interpreted: "Anyone hiding his wrongdoing is guilty of deceit, and that brings sin and stain which will be with him ever afterwards." To avoid this, Gawain wears the green girdle as the sign of a continual confession (2510). Burrow (1965) 155 suggested that the poet may have composed 2511 with the first part of Proverbs 28 .13 in mind: "He that hideth his sins shall not prosper." q. 2510 to the rest of that verse: "but he that shall confess, and forsake them, shall obtain mercy," and 2512 to the second part of Proverbs 28.14: "he that is hardened in mind shall fall into evil." Barron (1987) 172 saw in lines 2511-12 "a rejection of any remedy for sin [which] suggests despair, itself a mortal sin," but added that Gawain's repeated impulse to confess promises "eventual reconciliation with God." Horgan (1988) 102-3, regarding Gawain in a state of desolation, was puzzled over his "sense that he is permanently polluted by his sin," since the "poet is acutely aware of the theology of the Church that all men stand in need of the grace of God." Aers (1988) 174 saw no problem. Lines 2511-12 simply confirm that Gawain's perspectives "remain those of honourman." The court embraces him. There is nothing "amiss with the community, its ethos, its form of life, or its blushing, groaning hero." 251

C. David Benson (1992) 32-34 cited Burrow (1965) 154-55 on the controversial nature of these lines, which seem to show "bad theology." He then cited the modified view of Burrow (1984) 127 that they express a knight's concern over a "blot on the scutcheon" (see 2501-4n). Benson favored the first interpretation, saying the "bad theology" is not the poet's, but Gawain's. "The knight has been humbled, but he has not achieved humility" (34). He learns no lesson, but the reader may learn the lesson of the "human need for God's love and mercy" (37). However, Gawain previously indicated that he knows the meaning of humility (see 2433-38n). His saying he must wear the girdle while he lives (2510) does not show lack of belief in God's grace. Gawain has returned to Camelot al in sounde 'completely in good health', physically and spiritually (see 2489n). Those who say Gawain is speaking in 2511-12 only of a chivalric stain must consider that within the purlieus of Christian chivalry, a chivalric fault was also a sin in the theological sense. 2514 Longsworth (1991) 145-46 stated, "The last laugh in the poem is given to Arthur's fickle court .... Thus the story ends on a note of interpretive ambiguity." The adverb loude emphasizes the vocal laughter here. In line 2389, the Green Knight lo~e 'smiled' after Gawain's confession (see the note). (Longsworth, p. 141, interpreted the laughter as vocal in 2389.) 2515-16 Burrow (1972b) 44-45 (and in his edition), seeing a difficulty here because "it is most irregular for ladies to be enrolled in the Brotherhood," and burne "suggests that only men are in question," changed ladis to ledes 'knights'. Barron and Andrew & Waldron adopted the emendation, which may be avoided. Pat 'Those' is substantiated by MED that def. art. & adj., la. Line 2515, set off by dashes, is parenthetical, and lordes ... ladis is in apposition to kyng ... court (2513). (Cf. the alliterative combination 'lords' ... 'ladies' in 49, 595, 1115, 1229.) Setting off and ladis with commas and transposing these words to the end of the line in the translation, with addition of elliptical [their], clarifies the sense: the 'ladies' of the 'lords' also agree that the men of the Round Table should wear a baldric. 2516-18 Cf. the way Gawain wears his belt in 2485-87. 2519 q. renoun of pe Rounde Table in 313 and 2458. There is the suggestion of 'pomp' in those lines (MED renoun n., lf). See 2505-20n on the contrasting views concerning praise or condemnation of Camelot in this concluding passage. 2521 The poet speaks as if he had a source for his story, but this statement may be taken as a conventional appeal to authority. Breued 'declared', given by Gollancz, seems preferable to TG-Davis' 'to write down'. The poet began on an oral note with the use of lyste11,telle, herde, and tonge in lines 30-32. Waldron compared 690: "l>e bok as I herde say." (Cf. herde telle 26, 1144.) For in 'from', see MED in prep., 9a, and cf Cleanness 197: in no hoke breued I herde. The world of books also comes into play. See the references to Boitani (1982) and Camargo (1987) in 30n. The term 'romance' appears only here. Amsler (1980) 394 noted how the poet transcended the stereotyped form of the genre. Generic criticism must articulate the "controlling principle by which the complex and ambiguous comic effect of the moral testing and the affirmation of a human chivalric code are produced in the audience," and must account for the "ambivalence of certain values at the court and the assumption that the serious inquiry into values is best served by an alaborate game." Kinney (1990) explored Gai-vain as a 'meta-romance' which "plays with the rules of the game of reading and writing romance" (457). One recognizes "a disjunction between the more limited horizons of other romances and the larger scope of the one that has unfolded for us" (470). 252

2522 Cf the opening references to Arthur and adventure in 26-29. 2523 TG-Davis noted that Brutus boke:f may be applied to any chronicles or romances of British times, not only books about the legendary history of Brutus. 2524 Cf the opening references to Brutus' founding of Britain in 13-22. 2525 Excluding the final 'bob and wheel', the circular structure is now complete. This last long alliterative line repeats line 1 almost word for word. (See Ebbs [1958] on "Stylistic Mannerisms of the Gawain-Poet.") A. Kent Hieatt (1980), noting that this last long alliterative line is 2525, and 25 is an important symbolic number in the poem, stated: "Gawain with his pentangle has, we are told, 5 x 5 excellences, all duly listed and responsible for his apparent physical and moral invulnerability" (67). (See also 627n for reference to Hieatt and other scholars who studied numerical structure and symbolism in Gawain.) Huntsman-MC (1986) 179 defined the repetition of line 1 in line 2525 as the Celtic prosodic technique of dunad 'closing': a word or phrase from the beginning of a poem is repeated at the end. Lenz (1986), studying "Romance Closure" in Gawain, contrasted its structurally sound narrative with the older romances that were long and episodic. He recognized the circular structure, such as the repetition of line 1 in line 2525, but he called this "closure at its simplest level." The more important point of closure relates structure to theme and includes those passages at the end which make us "re-experience the entire work, not only as a fitting culmination to successive events, but with a special insight into the significance of the tale" (32). Davidoff (1988) 189-94 included the works of the Gawain-poet in her discussion of Middle English poems that exhibit circular diction (narratives whose closing line or lines are identical or nearly identical to the opening line or lines), stanzalinking, and the framing fiction convention (circularity in theme and/or plot). Pearl contains all three elements. Like Huntsman-MC (1986), she noted Welsh influence, crediting studies by Margaret Medary (1916) and Arthur C.L. Brown (1916). The details and themes of circularity in the Gawain-poet's works are not original, but he "used them with far more sophistication . . . composing poems of circular complexity unmatched in medieval England" (193). Homan (1989) 154 also saw "the ending that returns to the beginning" as one of many techniques in Gawain of "magnificent intricacy." 2527-28 Burrow compared lines 23-24. He tr., "Many adventures such as this have occurred here in times past." One may also literally translate: "Many similar adventures previously/Have occurred until this time." Suche 'similar, of the same kind', an adj. in postponed construction, modifies auntere:f. The phrase er pis 'until this time' is substantiated by MED er prep., sense lb. (f). 2529-30 q. the conventional prayers in the conclusions of Pearl and Cleanness. Kirk (1994), noting that Christmas is the first step on the way to Good Friday and Easter, stated: "Thus the poem's final lines step back from the cycles of the year and the romance quest in order to shift the reader's attention back to the cycles of history and liturgy, linking the poem's end to its beginning by recurring the history of Troy and by shifting the liturgical context from Christmas to Easter by closing with a prayer to him 'pat bere pe croun of porne"' (131). HONY SOYT QUI MAL PENCE Gollancz (1923) 8 stated that these words are written "in a somewhat later hand." The motto is that of the English Order of the Garter, instituted by King Edward III c. 1348. Jackson (1913) 401 noted that the founding of this order is associated with the following legend: while the king was danc253

ing with Catherine, Countess of Salisbury, the Countess' garter dropped to the ground; after the king picked it up and handed it back to her, he said to those who laughed, Honi soit qui mal y pense 'Cursed be he who thinks evil of it'. (Haines [1983) 181 gave a version that indicates the king tied the garter on his own leg after picking it up. See the reference to Haines farther down in this note.) Gollancz (1940) 132 compared ¾ynnere and Wastoure 68: hethyng haue the hathell jJat any harme thynkes, "which gives us the only English rendering of the motto, and is of the same form as we have here [in Gawain), without the 'y'." As TG-Davis pointed out, it cannot be claimed that Gawain was composed with reference to some order of knighthood. Neither the Order of the Garter, whose color was blue, "nor any other, so far as is known, wore a green sash." They also noted that in T1ie Grene Knight in Bishop Percy's Folio Manuscript: Ballads and Romances, ed. J. Hales and F. Furnivall, Vol. 2 (London, 1867-68), pp. 56-77, a romance based on Gawain but composed about a century later, "The lace is white and is said to be the origin of the collar worn by the knights of Bath." Howard (1966) 251-52 thought the motto may refer to the Order of the Garter. He believed it is specifically applicable to the hero and generally to all who read the story. "Gawain failed by first permitting himself to think an evil thought; but since all are subject to the weakness of the flesh, we should not think ill of him for his failure." (See also the references to Moon [1966) in 2456-62n and Halpern [1972) in 2505-20n for interpretations dealing with meaning.) Thiebaux (1970) suggested identifying Bercilak with Henry Duke of Lancaster, one of the Founding Knights of the Order of the Garter. (See the reference to Thiebaux in 24450 .) Haines (1983), noting that the Gawain postscript reads Hony soit qui mal pence 'Evil be to him who thinks evil' instead of Hony soit qui mal y pence 'Evil be to him who thinks evil of it', said the y was left out deliberately either by the poet or a scribe with knowledge of the poet's intentions. In the Garter motto, there is emphasis on the object of thought, the y. "The Gawain postscript, on the other hand, does not emphasize the object of thought but rather the thought itself' (182). Haines argued that the motto at the end of Gawain applies to the reader who "should not think 'mal' in an ignorant way about the romance," but "should pay enough attention to the narrative to figure it out, to respect the integrity of the narrator's statements, to understand the typological allegory of Gawain's fortunate fall, and in general to interpret the poem correctly, to get it right" (184). (Cf the references to Haines in 13-180 .) Ruth Hamilton (1987), who saw Sir Gawain and the Green Knight not as a romantic celebration of chivalry but as a "critique of it in both the literary realm and the outside world," cited Raymond L. Kilgour's The Decline of Chivalry (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard UP, 1937), p. 33, to compare the members of the Round Table to the members of the Order of the Garter, the first of the honorary, secular orders of knighthood, orders that contrasted with earlier ones in being "little more than 'idle decorations,' yet a decoration 'more sought after than the honor of knighthood itself.' Being honorary orders, they were a way of achieving the outward form of knighthood without any of the substance" (116). The motto may be viewed simply in contrast to 2529-30: the good will receive everlasting blysse in heaven, but those who persist in evil will be condemned.

254

APPENDICES Verse Sir Gawain and the Green Knight contains 101 stanzas, totalling 2530 lines. Each stanza contains a varying number of long alliterative lines and a concluding 'bob and wheel', five short lines with end rhyme patterned ABABA. The very short 'bob', containing one stressed syllable, is followed by the 'wheel' of four lines, each of which ordinarily contains three stressed syllables. This portion of end rhyme usually includes alliteration also. Raffel (1989) 38, after noting that Piers Plowman "makes no meterand-rhyme concession to the new and dominant verse forms so brilliantly employed by Chaucer," said Gawain "does make such a concession in its consistent use of the bob and wheel." (See also Raffel [1992] for his ideas on translating Gawain.) The following scholars have translated Gawain in verse: Weston (1912), Hare (1918), Andrew (1929), Banks (1929), Greenwood (1956), Rosenberg (1959), Stone (1959), Gardner (1965), Borroff (1967), Williams (1967), Raffel (1970), Silverstein (1974), Tolkien (1975), Harrison (1983), and Wilhelm (1984). Not all of them attempted to follow the poet's verse patterns closely. Hare (1918), for example, translated Gawain into Spenserian stanzas. The following scholars have translated Gawain into foreign languages: Pons (1946) and Dor (1993), French; Guidi (1958) and Boitani (1986), Italian; Hertog (1979), Dutch; Iliescu (1982), Romanian; Pastalosky (1982), Oliver (1983), and Gonzalez Padilla (1986), Spanish; Sakaida (1984 and 1992) and Michiyuki (1986), Japanese; Markus (1986) and Rutz (1992), German. The following provide excellent studies of verse in Gawain: Saintsbury (1908) 100-111, Nakao (1961), Borroff (1962) 133-210, Benson (1965) 110-166, Gardner (1965) 85-90, Borroff (1967) 55-62, Davis (1967) 147-52, Schiller (1968), Stillings (1976), Joan Turville-Petre (1976), Sapora (1977), Crepin (1978), and Matonis (1984). For comprehensive coverage of Middle English poetry in general, see "The Metrical Survey" in Oakden I (1930-35) 131-245.

The AlliterativeLine The alliterative line descends from Old English; significant differences found in Middle English are due in large measure to changes that occurred in the language, with the synthetic forms of Old English giving way to analytic syntax. Oakden I (1930-35), in his Chapter 8 on "The Alliterative Revival," demonstrated that there was "no historical break between the Old English and Middle English alliterative poetry .... There is change, but continuity" (180). Stobie (1940), after noting that French and Latin poetic forms enriched and stimulated English verse, studied "The Influence of Morphology on Middle English Alliterative Poetry" and concluded that the development of a rising or iambic rhythm 255

"together with that of Old English poetry losing its temporal quality and becoming wholly accentual was not necessarily the result of the influence of foreign metres but was imminent through the changing nature of the English language" (336). Duggan (1977) 235-37 studied the possible influence of Old Norse poetic techniques on English poets. He argued for a long oral tradition since the Norman Conquest, saying the "fourteenth-century Alliterative Revival was no revival at all ... was not a conscious literary resurrection of a dead or moribund English tradition" (223). Pearsall (1981) 6- 7 held that a tradition of unrhymed alliterative verse, in written copies, has been lost. He noted the adoption of the aa/ax pattern, the rejection of rhyme, a traditional diction, and formulaic phraseology in the existing classical corpus. Matonis (1984) opposed Sapora (1977) who disregarded the caesura, made no distinction between half lines, called the four-beat verse the basic metrical form, and said alliteration and metrical stress should correspond. Matonis held that the expanded verse should not be considered an anomalous form, alliteration is not always the key to metrics, and metrical stress has first claim to judgments on scansion (359). Duggan (1986a) believed the many instances of an aa/xa pattern in Gawain, instead of the usual aa/ax, are due to scribal corruption. Though he would emend on metrical grounds, he admitted that "in terms of sense the lines thus alliterating are satisfactory" (74). Editors of Gawain have not emended aa/xa lines. Davis, p. 150, merely stated: "In the second half-line the alliteration usually falls on the first lift but sometimes on the second, as in 161, 263, 1193, 1654, 2131, etc." (See also Duggan [1986b] on "The Shape of the B-Verse in Middle English Alliterative Poetry.") Huntsman-MC (1986) 177, with reference to Dunn & Byrnes, Middle English Literature (1973) 29, noted that a more accurate term than "Alliterative Revival" might be "Alliterative Survival," since the tradition was unbroken. He then added that Gawain is marked not only by a richer pattern of alliteration than one finds in AngloSaxon poetry but also by a "complex pattern of alliteration concatenated with a number of other poetic features-rhyme, assonance, consonance, and several types of binding repetition of words and phrases," much of which relates to Celtic influence (178). Pope (1966) 105-16, in discussing Old English versification, reviewed the classification of syllabic patterns, based on half-lines, made by Eduard Sievers (1885) and (1893): Type A-lift, drop, lift, drop; Type B-drop, lift, drop, lift; Type C-drop, lift, lift, drop; Type D-lift, lift, half-lift, drop, or lift, lift, drop, half-lift; Type E-lift, halflift, drop, lift. A 'lift' is one syllable that receives primary stress, a 'half-lift' is one syllable that receives secondary stress, and a 'drop' is one or more unstressed syllables that come between those that have primary or secondary stress. The Middle English alliterative line may be scanned in different ways, depending upon the reader. There has been a variety of views on this subject, summarized by Borroff (1962) 264-65. Rosenthal (1878) presented an eight-stress theory, counting four in each half of the line. Trautmann (1896), noting that the second half-line is shorter than the first, modified Rosenthal's theory and scanned the line with seven stresses. Among the advocates of the seven-stress theory were Kuhnke (1900), Fischer (1900), Kaluza (1909), and Leonard (1920). Among the early scholars who favored the four-stress theory, based on Sievers' analysis of the Old English line, were Luick (1889) and Julius Thomas (1908). Supporters of these different theories allowed the presence of secondary stresses in their scansions. Most modern scholars accept a four-stress theory for the Middle English alliterative line, admitting the addition of an extra stressed syllable in the extended line; however, there have been differences of opinion on how to read these extended lines. 256

Borroff (1962) scanned them with four primary stresses and one secondary stress. Gardner (1965) 347 opposed Borroff, saying the lines are "simply pentameter, much like blank verse, but rhythmically more flexible than normal iambic pentameter .... Moreover, the tradition of alliterative poetry gives him [the poet] the ability to shift, whenever he wishes to break the pentameter effect, to a classical four-stress line" (87). Constance Hieatt (1974), reading extended lines with four primary stresses and one secondary, argued that the Old English Type D and Type E verses "have not disappeared, but provide a more satisfactory explanation of the lines with more than four principal stresses than does the theory that they derive from the hypermetric" (128). Cable (1991) 85-86 read extended on-verses with three fully stressed syllables and thus the whole line with five primary stresses. In attempting to establish a more regular norm for the fourteenth-century alliterative line, he formulated three general principles: (1) The rhythms of the two half-lines are mutually exclusive; (2) The first half-line is normally heavier than the second because it has either two strong dips or three metrical stresses; (3) The second half-line has only two metrical stresses and rhythmical dissimilation (one strong dip and one minimal dip in either order) and a single, final unstressed syllable. Cable's 'strong dip' has "two or more weakly stressed syllables." His 'minimal dip' is "one unstressed syllable or none." He noted, p. 77, his rules "require final -e in more structures than most current authorities recognize." Old English poets placed the metrical weight in the first half of the line. This practice continued in Middle English. The Middle English line is generally longer with more unstressed syllables, the number of which varies; the verse is accentual. In Middle English, the caesura is not as pronounced as in Old English, where there was more often a full stop in the middle of the line with a new entity beginning at that point and running into the next line. Thus in Old English enjambement was more frequent. The following analyses, in eight categories, are based on Old English antecedents and account for two primary stresses and one secondary in some on-verses, as well as three primary stresses in others. They combine a scansion of the line with marking of alliteration. Examples are drawn from the first six stanzas of Gawain. Modern English translations are also cited and discussed. The symbol VJindicates primary stress and relates to the Old English lift; I\] indicates secondary stress and relates to the Old English half-lift. Unaccented syllables, which relate to the Old English drop, will not be marked. A slanted line between words indicates the caesura. The small letters 'a', 'b', and 'x' beneath the line mark the alliterative pattern. The 'x' goes under syllables of primary or secondary stress that do not alliterate. When an alliterating syllable does not carry primary or secondary stress, the (a) or (b) will be in parentheses. For the use of alliterative symbols beneath the line, I am indebted to Borroff (1967) 55-62. Oakden, Pope, and Hieatt, cited above, also provided essential information for the system found below. Entire lines will be cited, but the choice in relation to the Old English type is determined by either the on-verse, the first half-line, or the off-verse, the second halfline. The words 'on' and 'ofr after the line number in parentheses will indicate the part that is being compared to the Old English type. When no such indication appears, the rhythmic pattern is the same in both halves of the line. The comparison of the Middle English verse to the Old English type is based only on rhythm. Due to its greater variation, the on-verse is used more often as a basis for comparison.

(I) ME Falling Rhythm in Relation to OE Type A-Lift, Drop, Lift, Drop

257

JJsted ful j6lile,/pise intyle

k~3tes.

a

x

a

a

(42 on)

J6usted full j6llily,/these j!t,ilant ints. a

a

a

a

Gawain, along with Middle English poetry in general, reveals mostly a rising rhythm (iambic and anapestic), with unstressed syllables at the beginning of the line, but the poet frequently used initial stress, as in line 42 above, for effective variation. Because of the large number of unstressed syllables, the falling rhythm patterns are more dactylic than trochaic. The Middle English line exhibits the classic aa/ax alliterative pattern found most frequently in Old English. The majority of stressed syllables in both OE and ME also alliterate. In the translation, the rhythmic pattern of the on-verse is the same, but the alliterative pattern of the whole line is aa/aa. (II) ME Rising Rhythm in Relation to OE Type B-Drop, Lift, Drop, Lift

I

I

I

I.

(43 on)

Sypen kayred to pe court/caroles to make. a

cbied

a

a

x

on then at c6urt,tcf.rols perffrming.

a

a

a

x

The rising rhythm of OE Type B is illustrated only in the on-verse of the ME line. The translation, beginning with a stressed syllable, does not conform to Type B. It reveals, instead, the falling-rising rhythm of Type AB, shown in Category V. The alliterative pattern of aa/ax is the same in both the original and the translation. (III) ME Clashing Rhythm in Relation to OE Type C-Drop, Lift, Lift, Drop

I

I

I

I

(94)

Of sum mayn meruayle,/pat he my3t trawe. a

a

a

x

Of some m~or mfrvel,/which he mi~ht belil~e. a

a

a

x

In the ME line, the clashing rhythm of OE Type C is demonstrated in both the on-verse and the off-verse, for the e of trawe was probably sounded. In common usage at that time in the Northwest Midland dialect, -e was most likely silent, as it is in Modern English, but one may assume that the poet would have sounded final e for poetic effect. The alliterative pattern of aa/ax is the same in both the ME line and the translation, but the rhythm of the translation is different. The on-verse exhibits a ME rising-falling rhythm (Type BA), discussed in Category IV; the off-verse reveals the rising rhythm of OE Type B, shown in Category II. (IV) ME Rising-Falling Rhythm-Type BA-Drop, Lift, Drop, Lift, Drop

I

I

I

I

l>atwere embrawded and beten/wyth pe best gemmes. a

a

258

a

x

(78 on)

Embr~dered and eml4Ilished/with the iist g{ms. a

a

a

x

Tolkien & Gordon (1925) 119 called this rhythm Type AB, noting it already existed in OE as Type A with an introductory syllable (anacrusis). See Pope (1966) 109 for examples. Davis (1967) 148 changed Tolkien & Gordon's designation to Type BA. Oakden I (1930-35) 174-75 pointed out how the increased use of the 'auftakt' (upbeat) with the falling rhythm produced the new rising-falling rhythm, which passed from late OE verse into ME and became very common. (V) ME Falling-Rising Rhythm-Type AB-Lift, Drop, Lift

(67 oft)

Ydled 'Ytar•s-~ifts' at YJletide,/yi,lded them by hfnd . a

a

x

a

a

x

This type is found more often in the off-verse. Davis (1967) 148-49, noting several examples, argued in favor of their authenticity. Since there is a preference for feminine endings in the poems of the manuscript, as in ME alliterative poetry in general, some critics favor adding final -e in many instances . See, for example, the long lists of suggested metrical emendations made by Gollancz in his editions of Patience (pp. 35-36) and Cleanness (pp. 77-80) . However, masculine endings in Patience, Cleanness, and Gawain are found often enough to justify retaining them as the poet's . The on-verse in both the ME line and the translation is extended with three primary stresses and one secondary stress. Extended lines with more than five stressed syllables are the exception rather than the rule. (See the following categories for discussion of extended lines.) The poet employed a double alliterative pattern in line 67. See Oakden I (193035) 190-91 for other examples of 'ab' alliterative patterns in Gawain. Excessive alliteration was not uncommon in ME, though some of it may have been accidental. For example, hem alliterates with hi3 and hond, but the poet probably did not choose hem for that purpose. (The poet employed different types of vocalic alliteration, some on unidentical vowels and with initial h mixed into the pattern .)

(VI) ME Extended Line in Relation to OE Type D-Lift, Lift, Drop , Half-Lift

Bi{chop B/wdewyn abbf/bigi~3 pe dbte. a

a

I

a (a) x

I

I

(112 on)

x

I

I

Bishop Baldwin abides/above on the bench . a

a

a

a

a

Constance Hieatt (1974), adapting a system of scansion employed by Borroff (1962), read several on-verses of extended lines in Gawain with inclusion of secondary 259

stress, showing that the OE Types D and E did pass into ME . Scansion is often an arbitrary matter, and Hieatt's study does contradict the general view of most previous scholars who did not believe Types D and E influenced ME verse; however, there does seem to be enough evidence in Gawain to advance her theory. The on-verse of line 112 fits the Lift, Lift, Drop, Half-Lift rhythm, but with a variation that was allowed in OE; the drop between the two lifts at the start makes this on-verse conform to expanded OE Type D. (See Pope [1966] 114-15 for examples in OE.) The alliteration is carried into the off-verse on the bi of bigine5. The syllable bi is not stressed. As Oakden I (1930-35) 159 noted, "the M. E. alliterative poets often alliterated an unstressed verbal prefix, a practice contrary to 0. E . custom." The translation shows some changes: five primary stresses and an aaa/aa alliterative pattern . (VII) ME &tended Line in Relation to OE Type E-Lift, Half-Lift, Drop, Lift

I

\

I

I

I

(119 on)

Wylde werbles and wy3t/wakned lote. a a a a x

I. I I I. I Warblmgs, wild and wonderful,/awakened sounds. x a a a a Even if the final e of Wylde is sounded, this on-verse fits expanded OE Type E with a drop between the lift and half-lift. (See Pope [1966] 116 for examples in OE .) If the -e of Wylde is not pronounced, there is initial clashing stress in the line. Either way, the effect is almost the same.The poet frequently placed heavy stress on an opening syllable for variation, and another stressed syllable following so closely may be read as secondary. The alliterative pattern of the translation-aaa/ax-is the same as that which is found in the ME line, but the rhythm of the translation is slightly different. It seems preferable to scan the Modern English line with five primary stresses, due to the clear sounding of unstressed syllables in between. (VIII) ME &tended Line in Relation to OE Hypennetric Verses

I

Sipen a

I

I

pe sege and pe assaut/wal3 a

a

I

I

I

sesed at Troye . a

(1 on)

x

I

I

I

After the siege and the assault/had ceased at Troy. a

a

a

x

The term "Hypermetric Verses" is used here to distinguish the ME extended line with three primary stresses in the on-verse from the preceding examples of Categories VI and VII that were apparently influenced by OE Types D and E. Triple primary-stress patterns often prevail in on-verses of Gawain, especially when the stressed syllables alliterate and are clearly separated by unstressed syllables. The first syllable of Sipen, since it carries alliteration and is in the opening word of the poem, is read here with primary stress. All the poems in the MS begin 260

with a heavily stressed syllable that alliterates. In C/annesse, Pacience, and Perle, the opening words have been used as titles for the poems. Patterns in the translation of line 1 differ, since After, at the start, carries neither stress nor alliteration.

The Rhymed Parts of Gawain Below are scansions of the first 'bob and wheel' (lines 15-19) in ME and in the translation. The main feature is the ABABA end-rhyme scheme, but alliteration also appears in the rhyming portions at the end of stanzas in Gawain.

I

wyth wynne, (a)

a

I

I

I

Where werre, and wrake, and wonder (a)

a

a

. I

a

.I

I

B1 sype3 hal3 wont pennne, x

(a)

x

I

a

I

I

And oft bope blysse and blunder x (a)

a

a

I

I

I

Fu! skete hal3 skyfted synne. a

a

a

'th.JOY, I

Wl

X

Where w/r, and wrfck, and wtnder (a)

a

a

a

Prevfiled during m/ny a pl/y, (a)

x

x

I

a

I

.

And often both bliss and bl/oder x

(a)

a

a

\ k / .. / / T oo turns as m sieges at Troy. a a x a

The rhythm is usually rising in these rhyming portions. The very short 'bob' contains one stressed syllable; the 'wheel' has three stressed syllables in each of its four lines. In line 15, wyth alliterating with wynne may be accidental; in line 16, the alliteration of l-wiere with other words in the line may also be accidental. The alliteration1:>fhat~ with -inne in line 17 may be accidental, but the poet did sometimes employ vocalic alliteration on unidentical vowels with initial h before a vowel mixed into the pattern. The translations of lines 17 and 19 are quite different from the ME originals. 261

(See the bottom notes on page 4 for the literal meanings.)

Dialect and Language Dialect Lancashire, Derbyshire, Cheshire, and Staffordshire are four counties to which the four poems of the MS-Pearl, Cleanness, Patience, and Gawain-have been assigned, but it is difficult to determine any one place in this Northwest Midland area. Morris, Early English Alliterative Poems(1864) xxi-xl, in examining details of dialect and grammar, favored Lancashire, Serjeantson (1927) 327-28 favored Derbyshire, and McIntosh (1963) 5 said of Gawain that it "can only fit with reasonable propriety in a very small area either in SE Cheshire or just over the border in NE Staffordshire." Morris, p. viii, noted that in these poems, "the uniformity and consistency of the grammatical forms is so entire, that there is indeed no internal evidence of subsequent transcription into any other dialect than that in which they were originally written ." Hulbert (1921) said one cannot tell if Gawain was composed in the East or the West of the North Midlands, but Menner (1922), while not attempting to pinpoint a specific county, refuted Hulbert's contention and established with solid evidence the Northwest Midland dialect for the four poems in the MS. (See also Menner [1926a] and Gordon (1953] xliv-lii for further discussion.) A non-dialectal piece of evidence that indicates a specific county is the naming in Gawain 701 of the wyldrenesse of "Yrale, which is located in Cheshire. As Davis (1967) xxvi observed, the poet's mentioning of this region "surely implies that he was writing not far from it." Many features favor the Northwest Midland dialect. The following examples are all from Gawain: (1) e3' (or es) endings for some pr. pl. forms of verbs-trayle3' 'track' 1700; (2) pr . p. ending in ande-glyterande 'glittering' 2039; (3) dropping of inflectional endings-Bretaygne 'Britain's' 25, an uninflected genitive; (4) use of the auxil. v. con 'did' 230; (5) retention of aw from OE aw-knawen 'known' 348 [OE cnawan]; (6) unvoicing of final plosives-bront 'sword' 588 (instead of brond); (7) rounding of a to o before nasal consonants as in ha11de(458) alongside honde (206); (8) development of OE eo to u-rurd 'clamor' 1916 [OE reord]; (9) representation of OE y (or y) as u-fust 'fist' 391 [OEjyst] .

Language Vocabulary: Davis (1967) 138 counted approximately 2650 different words in Gawain (excluding 55 proper names), most of them native, but about 750 French and about 250 Scandinavian. A rough estimate here on a percentage basis is OE 60%, OF 30%, and ON 10%. Crediting Kaiser (1937) 154-68, Davis, p. 139, stated: "Scandinavian words form the most important element in the body of words identifiable as characteristic of texts written in the north and north midlands." Aertsen (1987) discussed northern words in Gawain, many of which are Scandinavian loanwords, and concluded that "dialect words are used in alliterative poetry for the sake of alliteration, since the majority of instances of dialect words are found in alliterating position" (184). P.B. Taylor (1989) counted Norse loanwords in Gawain and "found at least forty vocabulary items whose particular sense in the poem 262

seem to merge Old English with Old Norse meanings" (179). Taylor concentrated on a vocabulary of wisdom and included some discussion of Old French.

Spelling and Phonology: (The following study discusses forms that may present problems. The examples are all from Gawain, unless otherwise noted.) The letters i (y) and e are sometimes interchangeable. For example, him (hym) 'him' and hem 'them' are the usual spellings for the sg. and pl. pronouns, but in line 49 him denotes 'to them', in 229 hym denotes 'them', and in 862 hem denotes 'him'. The letters u, v, and sometimes w are interchangeable phonologically. The scribe almost always wrote v initially even when the sound is u, as in words like vnder 158, vpon 159, and vp 229 [OE under, upp-on, and up.) In words of French derivation, initial v represents its Mod. E. sound, as in verayly 866 [from AF veray], but occasionally initial u, as in uerayly 161, denotes the same sound. Note the alliteration on the sound of v in 161: "And alle his vesture uerayly wal3 clene verdure." The letter w represents the sound of v in wenged 1518 [OF venger]. In blwe 'blue' 1928 [OF bleu], w has the sound of u. Within a word, the graph u often represents consonantal v-gouemour 'governor, ruler' 225 [OF govemi!or]. A qu often appears instead of oo-quen 20 instead of l'.Jien 1727 [OE hwrenne]. Initial l1h from OE hw alliterates with w even when it is spelled qu: "Quatsoeuer I wynne in pe wod hit worpe3 to youre3" (1106). Davis (1967) 137 noted that the convention is reversed in three places: in lines 74 and 2492, ooene denotes 'queen' [OE cwen]; in 877, whyssynes denotes 'cushions' [OF cuissin]. The alliteration confirms the initial k sound: "Whyssynes vpon queldepoyntes pa koynt wer bope." Of the two graphs that are not found in Modern English, P (thorn) causes no difficulty because it always represents th, as in pe 'the'. However, 3 (yogh) was used for a variety of sounds. In the first three categories below, 3 is called yogh. (1) The sound of Mod. E. y occurs initially, as in 3oure3 1381-yowre3 1037. After the vowels e or i (y), the sound is found in words like y3en 'eyes' 82 and he3e 'high' 281. Sometimes gh is substituted: highe 5. (2) The w sound occurs in the following groups, with the spelling gh sometimes coming in:fol3ande 145 (cf folewande 'following' in Pearl 1040); inno3e 514/innowe 1401/innogh 'enough' 404. (3) Before t and after e, i (y), the graph 3 has the voiceless fricative sound (front palatal) of German ich-myp 'might, power' 2446 [OE mihte]. Before t and after the back vowels a and o, 3 represents the voiceless fricative sound (back velar) of German doch-jJop 'thought, intent' 645 [OE }Ji5ht].The same sound occurs finally in a word like jJa3 'though' 497 [OE jJeah]. (4) In this fourth category, the graph 3, from the letter z, has the sound of Mod. E. z in 3eferus 'Zephyrus' 517 from Latin Zephyrus. It seems that 3 ands in final position were sometimes used interchangeably for the voiced and voiceless spirants /z/ and Isl. The sound is probably voiced /z/ infynde3 718 and the same in fyndes 'finds' (Patience 98). In the suffix of berdle3 'beardless' 280 [OE beardleas], the final 3 is probably voiceless Isl (cf berdles in Cleanness 789 .) The ending 13, from OF tz (representing the sound Its/ which was later simplified to Isl), appears in words like dot3, got3, and wat3, the usual ending, but note the variant spellings: dos 1308, gos 935, and was 169. The sound of final t3 in the poems of this MS is usually presumed to be Isl, but McLaughlin (1963) 99-100, noting that the graphic sequence 13 is not used only for the voiceless spirant Isl, argued that there is enough evidence to favor its interpretation as the voiced spirant /z/. 263

Grammar: The following examples are limited to unusual employment of some parts of speech in Gawain. (1) Nouns: The following coll. nouns without -s or -:r are translated in the plural: mony ... tyme 'many times' 22; mony ... lorde 'many lords' 38. The uninflected gen. occurs in Bretagne kynges 'Britain's kings' 25 and Vryn son 'Urien's son' 113. There are also examples of the dative case for nouns without preceding preposition (synthetic or infl. at on ... pat oper': Rhetorical Description and Morgan la Fay in SGGK." PCP 23, 60-66. NEALE (1968), Robert. "SGGK." UE 20, 41-46. NEAMAN (1976), Judith S. "Sir Gawain's Covenant: Troth and Timor Mortis." PQ 55, 30-42. NEILSON (1900), George. "Huchown of the Awle Ryale." TGAS 4, 252-393. NEILSON (1900-01), G. "Sir Hew ofEglintoun and Huchown off the Awle Ryale: A Bibliographical Calendar and Literary Estimate." PRPSG 32, 111-50. NEILSON (1901), G. "Huchown of the Awle Reale." Chamber's Cyclopaedia of English Literature. Vol. I. London and Edinburgh: Chambers, pp. 171-75. NEILSON (1902), G. Huchown of the Awle Ryale, the Alliterative Poet: A Historical Criticism of Fourteenth Century Poems Ascribed to Sir Hew of Eglintoun. Glasgow: MacLehose. (Revision of Neilson [1900] entry.) NEWHAUSER (1990), Richard. "The Meaning of Gawain's Greed." SP 87, 410-26. 299

NEWMAN (1989-1990), Florence .

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Hunting Treatises The Art of Hunting. Ed. Sir Henry Edward Leigh Dryden, 1844. Revised by Alice Dryden. Northampton: Mark, 1908. (Contains works cited below: La Venerie de Twiti in Anglo-Norman (Twiti was huntsman to Edward II); The Craft of Venery, a fifteenth-century translation of Twiti; and a Modem English translation of the thirteenth-century French poem La Chace dou Cerf.) The Boke of Saint Albans. By Dame Juliana Bemers. (Printed at Saint Albans in 1486.) Reproduced in Facsimile by William Blades. London: Elliott Stock, 1905. (The hunting section was edited by Gunnar Tilander as Juliana Barnes Boke of Huntyng. Karlshamn: Johanssons, [1964).) La Chace dou Cerf. Editee et Traduite en Fra~ais Moderne par Gunnar Tilander. Stockholm: Offset-Lito, 1960. The Master of Game. Written c. 1410 by Edward of Norwich, Second Duke of York. Ed. W.A. & F. Baillie-Grohman. London: Published for the editors by Ballantyne, Hanson & Co., 1904. Modernized edition, London, 1909. The Noble Arte of Venerie or Hunting. By George Gascoigne. (Formerly ascribed to George Tuberville-See J. Robertson, MLR 37 [1942] 484-85.) Imprinted at London (by H. Bynneham) for Christopher Barker, 1575. Reprinted page for page and line for line from the Bodleian Copy of the black-letter edition of 1576. Oxford UP, 1908. The Tretyse ojJHuntynge. Ed. Anne Rooney. Brussels, 1987. La Venerie de Twiti (with The Craft of Venery). Ed. Gunnar Tilander. Uppsala: Almqvist and Wiksell, 1956.

TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS (See also Elisabeth Brewer [1992] in Bibliography I.)

Celtic Fled Bricrend-The Feast of Bricriu. Ed. and Tr. George Henderson. London: Published for the Irish Texts Society by D. Nutt, 1899. The Mabinogion. Tr. Gwyn Jones & Thomas Jones. London: Dent, 1949. Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Weuh Triads. Ed. Rachel Bromwich. Wales UP, 1961.

French Benoit de Sainte Maure. Le Roman de Troie. Ed. Leopold Eugene Constans. 6 Vols. Paris: Firmin Didot, 1904-1912. 314

Le Chevalier a l'Epee. See entry for La Mule sans Frein. Chretien de Troyes: Arthurian Romances. Tr. W.W. Comfort . London : Dent, 1914. (Contains Erec et Enide, Cliges, Yvain, and Lancelot.) Christian von Troyes, der Percevalroman. In Auswahl Herausgegeben von Alfons Hilka. Halle: Niemeyer, 1935. Christine de Pisan. Livre de la Mutacion de Fortune. Ed . Susan Solente. 4 Vols. Paris, 1959-1966. L'Estoire de Lancelot cmLac . In Vols. 3-5 of The Vulgate Version of the Arthurian Romances. (Cited below.) L'Estoire de Merlin (including the Livre d'Artus as its continuation). In Vol. 2 of The Vulgate Version of the Arthurian Romances. (Cited below.) Graelent and Guingamor: TIW Breton Lays. Ed . Russell Weingartner . New York : Garland , 1985. Henry, Duke of Lancaster . Le Livre de Seyntz Medicines. Ed . Emile Jules Fran~ois Arnould. Oxford : Published for the Anglo-Norman Text Society by B. Blackwell, 1940. The High Book of the Grail: A Translation of the 13th-Century Romance of Perlesvaus. By Nigel Bryant. Cambridge, 1978. (See also Perlesvaus, cited below.) Hunbaut. Ed. Jakob Stiirzinger & Hermann Breuer. Gedruckt fiir die Gesellschaft fiir Romanische Literatur . Dresden, 1914. Der lderroman. Ed. Heinrich Gelzer. Gedruckt fiir die Gesellschaft fiir Romanische Literatur . Dresden, 1913. (See also The Romance of Yder, cited below.) Lancelot-Grail: The Old French Arthurian Vulgate and Post-Vulgate in Translation. Norris J. Lacy, General Editor. 5 Vols. New York : Garland , 1993-1996 . Le Livre de Caradoc. In 11ie Continuations of the Old French Perceval of Chretien de Troyes: The First Continuation. Ed. William Joseph Roach . (Mixed Redaction in I, 84-238; Long Redaction in II, 195-377; Short Redaction in III, 131-205.) Pennsylvania UP, 1949-1955. The prose redaction is in Tresplaisante et Recreative Hystoire cmTrespreulx et Vail/ant Chevallier Perceval le Galloys. Avec Privilege ... Jehan Longis et Jehan Sainct Denis. Paris, 1530. (Library of Congress; MLA Rotographs, 8.) Folios LXXXIX-CI. Livre de Carados. In Chrestien de Troyes' Perceval le Gallois; ou, Le Collie du Graal. Ed. Charles Potvin. Vol. 3. Mons : Dequesne-Masquillier, 1866-1871. Lull, Ramon . Livre de l 'Ordre de Chevalerie. Ed . Vincenzo Minervini . Bari: Adriatica, 1972. William Caxton translated and printed Lull's work in 1484 as Book of the Order of Chyualry . Ed . Alfred T .P. Byles. EETS, OS, 168. Oxford UP, 1926. Mandeville'sTravels: Texts and Translations. Ed. Malcolm Letts. London: The Hakluyt Society, 1953. (Vol. 1, 2nd Series, No. 101, contains a modernized version of the Middle English Egerton text; Vol. 2, 2nd Series, No . 102, contains the Paris text.) The Middle English Versions of Partollope of Blois. Ed . A . Trampe Bodtker. EETS, ES, 109. Oxford UP, 1912. (See also Partonopeu de Blois, cited below.) La Mort le Roi Artus . In Vol. 7 of 111eVulgate Version of the Arthurian Romances. (Cited below .) La Mule sans Frei11and Le Chevalier a l'Epee. In Part I of TIW Old French Gauvain Romances . Ed. D.D.R. Owen with R.C . Johnston. Edinburgh : Scottish Academic Press , 1972.

315

Ordene de Chevalerie. In Two Early Old French Didactic Poems: Le Roman des Bies, L'Ordene de Chevalerie. Ed. KeithBusby. Amsterdam:Benjamins,1983. Partonopeu de Blois: A French Romance of the Twelfth Century. Ed. Joseph Gildea. 2 Vols. Villanova UP, 1967-1970. Perceval: The Story of the Grail: Chretien de Troyes. Tr. Nigel Bryant. Cambridge,1982. Perlesvaus: Le Haut Livre du Graal. Ed. William A. Nitze & Thomas A. Jenkins. Chicago UP, 1932-1937. La Queste del Saint Graal. Ed. Albert Pauphilet. Les Classiques Fran