38 pages • 1 hour read
AnonymousA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
The story begins in King Arthur’s Britain, the origins of which the poet traces to ancient Greece and Rome. It is New Year’s in Camelot, and the court is celebrating the Christmas season with feasts, gift-giving, and tournaments. The lords and ladies settle down to eat, but Arthur is reluctant to begin without first hearing of or witnessing a “marvel” of some kind.
Just as the first course arrives, the door to the hall is thrown open and a huge green man atop a green horse rides in, carrying a holly branch in one hand and a green ax in the other. The court watches in amazement as the Green Knight rides up to the dais and demands to speak to the king. Arthur identifies himself, and the Knight explains that he has come to see for himself the court that possesses such an exalted reputation. To that end, he proposes a “Christmas game” (283): he will allow one of Arthur’s knights to swing his own ax at him, on the condition that that same knight seek him out in a year and a day and allow the Green Knight to do the same.
When the Knight’s offer meets with silence, he begins to mock the knights for their cowardice.
By Anonymous
Arabian Nights
Anonymous
Arden of Faversham
Anonymous
A Woman in Berlin
Anonymous
Bible (New Testament): English Standard Version
Anonymous
Bible: Old Testament: English Standard Version
Anonymous
Deuteronomy
Anonymous
Diary of an Oxygen Thief
Anonymous
Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep
Anonymous
Everyman
Anonymous
Hebrew Bible
Anonymous
Holy Bible
Anonymous
Homeric Hymns
Anonymous
Judith
Anonymous
Laxdaela Saga
Anonymous
Lazarillo De Tormes
Anonymous
Mahabharata
Anonymous
Nibelungenlied
Anonymous
Njals Saga
Anonymous
One Thousand and One Nights
Anonymous
Popol Vuh
Anonymous