Treason in Arthurian legend his unwillingness to reveal the affair to Arthur and his concealment is a violation of Arthur's trust. Gawain is duplicitous throughout Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. He is tempted by the wife of Bertilak, a lord who offers his home to Gawain. While Gawain eventually learns the harms of duplicity, Gawain violates “his responsibility to honor the host-guest relationship”. Gawain keeps the magical girdle, refusing to honor his agreement with Bertilak that he will give everything Lady Bertilak gives to Gawain to the Lord. Instead, Gawain hides the girdle. This treason against the Lord necessitates a physical punishment from
Green Knight uses a sacred text to subdue it. The Green Knight eventually gains so much control over the sprite through this text that he convinces it to take a sword and strike off its master's head. The name "Bertilak" may derive from "bachlach", a Celtic word meaning "churl" (i.e. rogueish, unmannerly), or from "bresalak", meaning "contentious". The Old French word "bertolais" translates as "Bertilak" in the Arthurian tale "Merlin" from the Lancelot-Grail Cycle of Arthurian legend. Notably, the 'Bert-' prefix means 'bright', and the '-lak' can mean either 'lake' or "play, sport, fun, etc". "Hautdesert" probably comes from a mix of