Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon my Darlings.    Today’s post is about revisiting Sir Gawain and the Green Knight as a Yuletide tradition!   For those less familiar with the tale, it actually takes place during the Yuletide season, with the beginning of the story happening at a Christmastide Feast on New Year’s.  

Now, let’s get into why the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a perfect Yuletide tale to revisit in the Winter!    The poetic tale begins by describing this Christmastide Feast as taking place over fifteen days, which is why it is often translated as already going into the New Year when the plot begins.    When the Green Knight arrived at the Court of Camelot during this Festive Feast, he brought all the attention upon himself.    He was a huge man with Green skin, Green garb, leaves, and twigs adorning him, and on a giant Green steed.   He is wild and untamed with the energy of the woodland infusing every inch of his visage.

The Green Knight wasted no time in challenging each member in attendance at the Court to a game.    This is the famed Beheading Game, which no one is brave enough to take up the challenge for, except for Sir Gawain, nephew of King Arthur.    He swiftly went up to the Green Knight and taking the Knight’s own ax beheaded him with a single blow!   The whole of the Court was stunned, but they became horrified when the Knight picked up his own head and the head spoke “One year hence.”   This was the confirmation of how the game was said to end, any blow the Knight took would be returned to the man who had attacked him in a year’s time.    

The next we see of Gawain is actually a whole year later when the plot picks up again.   He is ready to set off to meet the Green Knight at the Green Chapel to receive his blow in punishment for having accepted the challenge of playing the Beheading Game.    Throughout the text, Gawain is challenged to prove his worthiness of the classical Knightly Virtues.    It is important for Gawain to be challenged not only because he is a young Knight, and Knights are regularly tested in medieval legends, but also because he is in line to become King after Arthur since he is Arthur’s nephew and Arthur has no heir of his own.   It should also be noted that as the son of the King’s sister, he has a better claim to the throne than anyone in old Celtic tradition, as they had matrilineal descent of the crown, meaning that the crown would pass from King to the son of the King’s sister!    This makes the testing of Gawain two-fold, to show worthiness as a Knight and as a future Monarch!

The most important part of the tale takes place when Gawain meets up with Sir Bertilak, a Nobleman who lives very close to the Green Chapel, and offers him a place to stay until he needs to complete his quest.    Once at the home of Bertilak, he meets Lady Bertilak and an old woman who is held in high regard by the couple.   Sir Bertilak tells Gawain that he will go out hunting each day and whatever he catches will be given to Gawain, as long as Gawain gives him anything he receives at his castle in the meantime.   This is the part of the story where over the next days, usually three days, Gawain gives Bertilak kisses (as Lady Bertilak had kissed Gawain multiple times when her husband was out).   On the final day, Gawain does not give Bertilak an enchanted mantle given to him for protection by Lady Bertilak.

When the time comes to meet the Green Knight, he does so willingly.    He offers his neck before the ax, and the Knight swings three times, but only slightly nicking Gawain on the final blow.   He revealed his true identity at that time, he had always been Sir Bertilak, made into the Green Knight via the Faery Glamour of the Goddess Morgana!    He then went on to explain the whole tale to Gawain, Morgana had sent him off to the Christmastide Court of Camelot in hopes of scaring Guinevere to death, but when that had not worked, she had seen Gawain’s potential as a ruler, so she set about testing him with the help of Bertilak and his Lady.    She had been disguised as the old lady all along!    The only reason he was even nicked by the blade was that he had not given up his enchanted garment, which was deceitful and against the Knightly Virtues.   In the end, Gawain had proven himself and was now the Knight of the Goddess, as John Matthews calls him!

I hope you have enjoyed this overview of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight with commentary about why it is such a great tale for this time of year.    Merry Christmas and Blessed Winter Solstice to those celebrating!    What is your favorite thing about this story?   Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! 

Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is the Green Knight.   I found the image on https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Green_Knight.

Tarot Note: I have a page offering tarot and oracle readings for those interested in these services!    I am very happy to be offering these readings to my treasured readers at White Rose of Avalon!  Link to page: https://whiteroseofavalon.life/tarot-and-oracle-readings/

Further Reading

• Sir Gawain and the Green Knight 
• Sir Gawain: Knight of the Goddess by John Matthews