Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Pearl Poet

Imagine sitting around a huge, round, stone table with your closest friends. A fire is blazing, and the holidays are in full swing. Suddenly, an uninvited guest appears; oddly enough, he is green. Clearly, some magic is afoot. Then, after interrupting the celebration, the Green Knight proposes a challenge. Is there anyone brave enough to take the knight's ax and serve him a blow on the neck in return for a blow from the Green Knight's ax in exactly one year? Understandably, the knights are caught off guard. Even King Arthur is not sure whether or not he should accept, but after the Green Knight mocks him, he agrees. No one can dare call King Arthur a coward. However, Sir Gawain, a heroic knight and Arthur's nephew, rises to the challenge. Grabbing the Green Knight's ax, he boldly severs the knight's head, and, unbelievably, the knight picks up his head off the floor and rides off, after instructing Sir Gawain to meet him at the Green Chapel in exactly one year. Sir Gawain is sure he has sealed his own doom.