Sir Gawain and

The Green Knight

ny of King Arthur's other knights might have shirked their responsibility, and taken flight, but not Sir Gawain, he was far too noble for that. Even as King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table partied, Sir Gawain was out searching for the large green man with an axe who would cut his head off. Sufficient to say he was having a bad week.

king Arthur (seen here in gray) partying wildly while

his nephew Sir Gawain was out to face his certain death

With his only information being that he was to search for a Green Chapel but like whenever you or I want directions no one knew where the Green Chapel was. So he decided to ride out of the kingdom as far as he could even if it took him as far away from England as was possible. He wasn't running away. He was just going to look for the Green Knight on another continent. There's a difference. He was far too noble and good to run away.

Gawain, decked out in armor, and with a spear held high, rode through England. On his shield was a large red star (pentangle). Much like the one below this paragraph.

Death, and peril faced Gawain at every turn. Yet, Gawain didn't really care and bravely searched the forest for his nemesis despite the horrors which lay there in.

(Sir Gawain at the beginning of his quest to seek out the Green Knight)

(Re-creation of the Forest and one horror

which Gawain bravely ignored despite the desperate pleas for help)

Please note: The story mentions that he did find the time to fight serpents, wolves, wild men of the woods, bulls, bears, and giants, but says nothing about the giant mosquitoes which carry off small babies.

For nearly a year he rode. By the winter he found himself cold, and in a winter wasteland.

Unfortunately the only clothes he packed was his suit of armor.

So he froze, but this didn't deter him. He just kept on searching for the Green Knight.

Click here to get to my bibliography

Now here are some links to better web pages.

www.alchemyweb.com...gawain.htm - This is a very entensive web page for Gawain and the Green Knight

rodent.lib.rochester.edu...gawmenu.htm - A biography of Sir Gawain, and an assortment of literature that he has appeared in.