Although the legend of the king who retrieved the fabled sword from the stone is well-known, this is not his story but rather that of his nephew. When Sir Gawain wakes up in a brothel, his girlfriend Essel has asked him to go to church, even though he does not want to. Gawain lives with his mother as well.
Christmas Day is here. King Arthur, Gawain’s uncle, is hosting a feast with the other knights and Queen Guinevere at his home. Arthur requests that Gawain revel him with stories, however Gawain says he has none to tell. Guinevere just says he has none to tell YET. The Green Knight, a massive tree-like being on horseback, then interrupts the feast.
The court is informed by this Green Knight that he would like them to participate in a game in which he and one of the other knights present will trade axe blows. The chosen knight will get the first strike, but he has to wait a whole year for the Green Knight to give him a strike back.
When their visitor makes fun of the knights’ cowardice, Arthur steps up and offers himself as a contender. The knights do not respond. Sir Gawain halts the king just as he is getting ready to strike with the axe and offers himself instead.
Arthur even permits him to use Excalibur for the deed. To openly let Gawain take a swing, the Green Knight lays down his axe and bows. He removes the Knight’s head, and the corpse picks up the head to remind Gawain to find him in a year.
Gawain is getting ready to set out on his quest, and the whole year is almost up. Essel attempts to work him out of it so he might remain with her and they might begin a family, yet Gawain feels it is his obligation to finish this job. In the wake of addressing his mom and Arthur, Gawain takes a pony and sets out.
Gawain rides through a field full of bodies after spotting a fox watching him on his journey. A scrounger approaches Gawain and converses with him until Gawain makes reference to he is venturing out to the House of prayer. The scrounger gives him headings, however as Gawain begins to ride away, the man requests a prize as a trade-off for his direction. Gawain gives him a solitary coin and progresses forward with his excursion. While going through the forest, Gawain is addressed by two different foragers allied with the first.
Before leaving Gawain there, they tie him up, steal his horse, and take the axe of the Green Knight. Gawain cuts himself free as he clings to his sword.
Gawain makes a night’s rest at a house before continuing his journey. The spirit of a woman named Winifred summons him and pleads with him to retrieve her head from the lake. Gawain consents to do so however asks her what he will receive consequently, and the inquiry seems to outrage her. Before returning to the house, he dives underwater and extracts her skull. Winifred’s head then, at that point, addresses Gawain to obviously caution him about proceeding to track down the Green Knight. Gawain is additionally compensated with a hatchet like the one he was formerly conveying.
Gawain continues the excursion the next morning. He walks by a group of walking female giants. One of them appears to try to grab him when he asks for help, but the fox eventually returns and howls a tune to the giant. Together with the fox, the giant and her group respond with a similar musical noise.
Gawain eats a few mushrooms, but they make him sick and make him see ghosts. He winds up at the home of a couple, referred to just as Ruler and Woman, the last option that Gawain’s identity is attracted to. Additionally, the two share a home with a deaf and elderly blind woman. Several offers Gawain cover after he educates them concerning his excursion. The Lady makes an advance on Gawain during his time with them in exchange for a sash that she claims protects the wearer from harm. She tells him that he is not a knight by giving him a handjob and wiping her hand on his.
Gawain begins to leave when he is found by the Ruler, who had recently requested that that Gawain provide for him what he is offered in return. The Ruler kisses Gawain and endeavors to allure him, however Gawain misleads him to receive in return. The Master then gives Gawain the fox, which he had caught as game.
Drawing nearer to the Sanctuary, the fox then, at that point, addresses Gawain and cautions him that he will be moving toward his destruction assuming he satisfies his part of the arrangement. Gawain simply responds by attempting to strike the fox with his sword, but the fox flees.
When Gawain reaches the Green Chapel, he discovers the Green Knight asleep. In the wake of staying there for north of a day, Christmas Day shows up, and the Knight stirs. Gawain lays his hatchet to the Knight’s feet and gets ready for the Knight to return the blow that was managed to him.
The Knight appears and makes two false strikes—one to congratulate Gawain for not flinching and one to frighten him. The third strike lands, however it just injuries Gawain. The Green Knight then reveals that his real name is Bertilak, that he is the lord of the castle where Gawain has been staying, and that he has been putting Gawain through his paces. He explains that he has struck Gawain three times for lying when he kept the green girdle hidden on the third day of the hunt. He likewise makes sense of that the elderly person at the palace is Morgan Le Faye, a wizardess, who is the power behind the entire game “decapitating game” and who needed to test Arthur’s court. Gawain returns to Camelot, where he receives a hero’s welcome despite his embarrassment and the green girdle on his arm as evidence of his failure. King Arthur admires his humility when he confesses his sins and orders the court to wear symbolic green bands in solidarity.
The Green Knight answers, “What else might there be?” After that, Gawain runs away from the Chapel.
Gawain appears to be riding a new horse on his way home. He returns to Arthur and Guinevere, who are ill and on their deathbeds. Gawain is knighted by Arthur, and when Arthur dies, he takes over as king. Gawain reunites with Essel, falls in love with her, and they have a son together. However, the child is taken from Essel right away, and she is left crawling in pain before being abandoned in the slums. Gawain later weds another sovereign and lays with her, yet he never eliminates the scarf that the Woman gave him. Years pass, and Gawain seems, by all accounts, to be a troubled lord. His son is killed in battle and lives to be an adolescent. As he faces his subjects, he sees Essel in the group gazing at him with scorn. Gawain has a daughter with the queen, but they leave him because he is getting old and gray and his castle is being attacked by enemies. Gawain takes off the sash while he is alone and getting ready for defeat, and his head falls off.
This was only a dream that Gawain was encountering, as he is still in the Sanctuary planning for the Knight to swing his hatchet. Gawain says he is prepared before removing the sash and giving it to the Knight. The Green Knight then knelt down in front of Gawain and gently commends him for his bravery. He then says to Gawain, “Now, off with your head,” and he playsfully runs his finger across his neck.
