Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

King Arthur’s court is celebrating a New Year’s feast when a mysterious knight suddenly appears at their table. His skin, hair, clothing, and even his horse are entirely green, and he carries a holly branch as well as a large axe, symbolizing both life and death. This Green Knight proposes a beheading game to test the courage and honor of Arthur’s knights: any knight may strike him with an axe, on the condition that the Green Knight may return the blow in one year and a day. To protect King Arthur, Sir Gawain, his nephew, accepts the challenge and beheads the Green Knight—only to watch the Gre