Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Details
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (c. 1400, author unknown) is the greatest poem in Middle English literature and one of the supreme works of the entire medieval tradition. On New Year's Day at Camelot, a vast supernatural figure entirely green — skin, hair, horse, and armor — rides into Arthur's hall and proposes a challenge: any knight may strike him with his own axe, on condition that he submit to a return blow in one year's time. Gawain accepts, strikes off the Green Knight's head, and watches in horror as the figure calmly retrieves it, reminds Gawain of their appointment at the Green Chapel, and rides away. We'll leave at this and dive into the brilliant alliterative verse story.
I'm reading the Oxford World's Classics translation by Keith Harrison:
https://a.co/d/01p3zAiv
There are several other translations available though; please share possibilities if you find a good one.
