"The guests looked on. They gaped and they gawked

and were mute with amazement: what did it mean

that human and horse could develop this hue,

should grow to be grass-green or greener still,

like green enamel emboldened by bright gold?"

It's New Year's Eve at King Arthur's court, and suddenly, a giant green figure on a green horse rides into the hall and presents a challenge. Whoever can defeat him in one stroke can keep his axe, but must be prepared to receive the same blow in a year and a day. Sir Gawain accepts the challenge and beheads the Green Knight—who simply picks up his severed head and rides off. When the young knight arrives at Green Chapel to keep his part of the bargain, will he survive an encounter with the Green Knight?

Written by an anonymous poet in the late 14th century, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is one of the earliest surviving works of English literature.

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