Sir Gawain and the Green Knight recap

During Arthur's New Year feast, a supernatural Green Knight challenges the court to exchange axe blows. Gawain beheads him, but the visitor calmly retrieves his head and orders Gawain to meet him in a year. Keeping his promise, Gawain journeys to a distant castle, where Lord Bertilak proposes another exchange: the lord's hunting gains for anything Gawain receives at home. Bertilak's wife tests Gawain for three mornings. He returns her kisses to his host but conceals a green girdle she claims can protect his life. At the Green Chapel, the Green Knight reveals himself as Bertilak. Two harmless strokes reward Gawain's honesty on the first two days; a third nicks him for hiding the girdle. Morgan le Fay devised the adventure through magic. Gawain returns ashamed of yielding to fear, but Arthur's court welcomes him and adopts the green sash as a common emblem.

At Camelot, King Arthur delays eating at a New Year feast because he hopes to hear of a marvel or challenge. An immense Green Knight rides into the hall, entirely green in body and dress, carrying an axe but wearing no armor. He offers a game: any knight may strike him once with the axe if the challenger agrees to seek him out and accept a return blow in a year and a day. When Arthur prepares to answer the provocation, his nephew Gawain asks to act in his place. Gawain takes the axe and beheads the visitor. The Green Knight remains alive, lifts his severed head, and reminds Gawain to find him at the Green Chapel when the appointed time arrives. The figure rides away, leaving the court astonished. Arthur resumes the celebration, while Gawain now bears a public promise whose fulfillment appears certain to kill him.

As the next winter approaches, Gawain leaves Camelot to honor his agreement. Armed and carrying a shield marked with the five-pointed emblem of his ideals, he travels through severe weather and unfamiliar country, faces dangers, and prays for shelter before Christmas. He finds a magnificent castle whose lord, Bertilak, welcomes him generously. Gawain is introduced to Bertilak's beautiful wife and an honored old woman in her company. When Gawain explains that he must soon reach the Green Chapel, Bertilak assures him that it is nearby and invites him to rest until New Year's Day. The host proposes an exchange during the remaining days: Bertilak will hunt and give Gawain everything he wins outside, while Gawain must give him whatever he gains while staying in the castle. Gawain accepts the apparently lighthearted bargain.

For three days Bertilak hunts while his wife visits Gawain's bedroom. Her flirtatious conversation places him between two duties: he must not insult his hostess, but he must not betray his host. On the first day he accepts one kiss and later gives one kiss to Bertilak in exchange for a deer. On the second he receives and returns two kisses while Bertilak brings home a boar. On the third morning, after stronger pressure, Gawain accepts three kisses and a green silk girdle. The lady claims the girdle can prevent its wearer from being killed, and Gawain, frightened by the axe blow awaiting him, agrees to conceal the gift. That evening he gives Bertilak three kisses but withholds the girdle, while Bertilak presents the fox taken in the hunt. Gawain goes to confession and prepares to leave, outwardly ready for his appointment but privately relying on the hidden charm.

A guide leads Gawain toward the Green Chapel and urges him to escape, but Gawain refuses to break his word. At the strange earthen site, the Green Knight appears and raises his axe. He stops the first stroke when Gawain flinches, then deliberately withholds a second. The third stroke only nicks Gawain's neck. The Green Knight reveals that he is Bertilak and explains that the three attempts corresponded to the three days of their exchange. Gawain was honest about the first two days, but the cut marks his concealment of the girdle on the third. The entire adventure was enabled by Morgan le Fay, the old woman at the castle, who wanted to test Arthur's court and frighten Guinevere. Bertilak forgives Gawain and invites him back, but Gawain bitterly acknowledges that fear led him into dishonesty. He returns to Camelot wearing the girdle as a sign of his fault. After hearing his confession, Arthur and the Round Table welcome him and agree to wear green sashes in fellowship.

At the Green Chapel, the Green Knight makes two feigned strokes, then gives Gawain a small cut with the third. He explains that he is Bertilak, transformed through Morgan le Fay's magic, and that the blows correspond to the three days of the exchange agreement. Gawain honestly returned the lady's kisses on the first two days, so the first two strokes do not touch him. On the third day he concealed the green girdle, hoping it would save his life, and the small wound marks that failure. Bertilak regards the fault as understandable and offers reconciliation, but Gawain condemns his own fear and dishonesty. He returns to Camelot wearing the girdle as a sign of his failing and tells the court the entire story. Arthur and the knights answer by adopting green sashes themselves, turning Gawain's private emblem of shame into a shared badge and welcoming him home.