Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Middle English: "Sir Gawayn and þe Grene Knyȝt") is a late 14th-century Middle English chivalric romance. It is one of the best known Arthurian stories, with its plot combining two types of folklore motifs, the beheading game and the exchange of winnings. Written in stanzas of alliterative verse, each of which ends in a rhyming bob and wheel, it draws on Welsh, Irish, and English stories, as well as the French chivalric tradition. It is an important example of a chivalric romance, which typically involves a hero who
Treason in Arthurian legend him traitor, and despite announcing that they will take him to Arthur unharmed, instead try to attack him when he opens the door. Lancelot reacts by arming himself and slaying all the knights who come through the door, including Sir Agravain. Lancelot's slayings would not have been defined as treason under the Statute of 1352, which covered “the slaying of the royal chancellor, treasurer, or justices, but only when they are sitting and acting in their public capacity.” Agravain was only given leave to kill Lancelot if his traitorous guilt was made manifest. Thus he was not acting as an