Gawayne and the Green Knight: A Fairy Tale

The most haunting test of honor in all of Arthurian legend, retold as a fairy tale. When a mysterious Green Knight rides into King Arthur's Christmas court and offers his neck to any champion bold enough to strike him, Sir Gawayne accepts. One clean blow severs the knight's head. But the head rises, speaks, and reminds Gawayne of a promise: meet me at the Green Chapel in one year, and I will return the favor. Thus begins Gawayne's year of waiting, wandering through a realm where magic and mortal danger intertwine. He encounters a fairy lady whose love could save him or destroy him, tests of chivalry that probe his courage, and the slow approach to an appointment that may cost him his life. This is the original story of Gawain before it became a scholastic curiosity: a tale of a knight who is not the bravest or the strongest, but who must learn that honor means nothing without the will to keep one's word when keeping it might kill you. Lewis writes with the gentle grace of a fireside storyteller, making the medieval wonderment accessible without dimming its dread.