PLM-Gaw

A Further Adventure of Sir Gawain

By Patrick Walsh
The following poem is a sequel to “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,” which was written by an anonymous English poet late in the fourteenth century.

In the sequel, as in the original, Sir Gawain, a prized knight of King Arthur’s court, is the main character. The two poems also share stanza CI, which serves as the conclusion of the original poem and the beginning of the sequel.

The original poem describes Gawain’s bravery as he accepts the challenge of a supernatural adversary, and his further gallantry as his faith, honor and integrity are tested. Gawain’s only major failure occurs when he accepts a magic green baldric, or girdle, which will protect him when he battles the dreaded Green Knight. Because he has used this unfair advantage, Gawain has acted like a coward, and he decides to always wear a green band of some sort as a symbolic punishment.

King Arthur and the other knights assure Gawain that his fear is an inherent human trait, and is nothing to be ashamed of: for this reason, they too agree to wear bands of green.

The sequel is based on the supposition that Gawain, although appreciative of the other knights’ sympathy, finds it excessive and unwarranted for a man of his stature. As such, he sets out to find a new adventure that will truly allow him to prove his courage once and for all, and for all of history.

The sequel, with its unrhymed, alliterative meter divided into separate stanzas, is faithful to the form of the original.

CI
‘Look, my lord,’ said Gawain, the lace in his hand.
‘This belt confirms the blame I wear on my neck,
My bane and debasement, the burden I bear
For being caught by cowardice and covetousness.
This is a figure of the faithlessness found in me,
Which I must needs wear while I live.
For man can conceal sin but not dissever from it,
So when it is once fixed, it will never be worked loose.’
First the kind, then all the court, comforted the knight,
And all the lords and ladies belonging to the Table
Laughed at it loudly, and concluded amiably
That each brave man of the brotherhood should wear a baldric,
A band, obliquely around him, of bright green,
Of the same hue as Sir Gawain’s and for his sake wear it.
So it ranked as renown to the Round Table,
And an everlasting honor to him who had it,
As is rendered in Romance’s rarest book.
Thus in the days of Arthur this exploit was achieved,
To which the books of Brutus bear witness;
After the bold baron, Brutus, came here,
The siege and assault being ceased at Troy

Before.

Such exploits, I’ll be sworn,

Have happened here of yore,

Now Christ with his crown of thorn

Bring us bliss evermore! AMEN.

I
And so it was for several seasons come and gone
That the knight known as sir Gawain reigned as humblest of men.
The court unceasingly consoled the courteous knight,
And the grand honor of good Sir Gawain again
Was lauded throughout the land.
Yet, the knight was not taken with this praise;
He sought to set the matter straight,
That a person of such knightly importance might not be pitied.
Confused by his emotions, Sir Gawain sought the high counsel of Arthur the king.
‘I am forlorn,’ the knight told the good king,
‘No good is known to him that is pitied.
I implore thee, Arthur, to issue an edict,
Deeming it unlawful to do what I have done.’
Wise King Arthur answered knowingly,
‘You do not need an edict, good Sir knight.
An adventure that you can describe to the Christmastide dais
Will erase the erroneous conceptions the court

Promulgates.’

The answer then both men knew,

That Gawain should soon leave,

In hopes of returning renewed

With a tale for the Table to receive.

II
Gawain set out in Nature’s ninth month
For Scotland, to search out dragons of all sorts.
But when winter’s white sheet fell early,
Gawain and Gringolet, his single companion,
Were laid low in the land
Now known as Northumbria.
Not another man nor beast traveled near.
Although his hunting prowess could,
For the time, keep the knight sufficiently,
Snowy hands assured his solitude.
He ran a bear out of its hard stone lair,
Then made the dwelling warm against the cold.
Odd are the effects of being alone.
No matter the man; many have melted
Like the snow melts in spring
Under the all powerful lance of loneliness.
Even Gawain, whose wits were well tuned
From countless courtesies he had acquired,
Was unprepared for such an impertinent

Peril.

Gringolet’s tear

Touched him, as in faith he swore

‘I will not be cowardly

As I was once before!’

III
Gringolet rolled in restless sleep
While Gawain dreamed a dream with opened eyes
Of the court at Camelot, and crowded the fire
To thaw his hands.
Gawain beseeched the Son of God:
‘Reveal your reasons for this errant journey,
That this faithful knight might know its necessity.’
His prayer was not long prayed
When a great wind howled into the cave, shaking him
And quaffing the fire’s flame.
It seemed to Sir Gawain that something had arisen from the snow.
And so it was that a great white beast-man,
Lost against the white blanket’s glow,
Stood menacing the good knight, whose mind was mired in

Astonishment.

‘My mind is playing tricks,

Tricks I cannot abide.’

Gawain’s emotions were mixed

But foremost was his pride.

IV
Though the snow rebel robbed him of his sight,
Gawain fought, for he was forever a knight.
His mind was withered with loud white sounds,
And yet he fought on against his great foe.
The beast of white was not of this world; he bewildered the knight.
A slash of his mighty arm finished Gawain’s gallantry.
Gawain lay in the snow; and he
Seemed to be encompassed by its pureness and majesty.
He could not fight the cold that attacked his very soul.
When a while had passed away,
The snow man vanished, and Gawain was alone.
He was weak and tired, and dreamt again of Arthur’s Table.
He could see that Arthur and Guinevere were sad.
The court was mourning the loss of the courteous knight.
His courtesy and social grace had been of little use
In this, his final, solitary

Fight.

Gawain’s armor grew cold

And his senses dim;

Gringolet, his loyal friend of old,

Came to lie beside him.

V
The chill air seemed to close the offensive wounds;
His blood began to ease under his steed’s tender care.
His mind had ceased to see his situation
But Gawain’s body had begun its own rehabilitation.
Suddenly he could see himself, lying in the snow,
And he was warm.
Consciousness came only momentarily, though,
And Gawain was again asleep with his dreams.
This sleep was long, and when he awoke he saw
That it had taken its toll.
His hurts and aches aside, Gawain knew he had to return home.
That awful trip was a fight in itself; it would fill many separate books.
Suffice it to say the knight’s good faith and strong spirit saw him home to

Camelot.

After he lay

Gathering strength and support

For a year and a day,

Gawain agreed to address the court.

VI
Gawain had told no one but Arthur
Of his trials in the sterile wilderness;
The king had understood, and was proud.
Gawain told the court his tale, and
The reaction of the coveted knights caused a great commotion.
Gracious and lovely Guinevere begged the court’s indulgence;
‘Surely it is no longer necessary, Sir Gawain,’ she said,
‘To be branded with the baldric after such bravery?’
Gawain, granted Guinevere’s grace, addressed the gathering.
‘The band of green is a mark of our mortal entombment.
We cannot escape our obligations to proper society,
But, stripped of our senses, we still fight, because we are Arthur’s knights.
His lofty aims have allowed us to achieve great things,
And to overcome our craven human nature.
Our dedication to these ideals survives beyond all; even beyond

Death.’

And the knights as one confirmed

To Heaven’s door dedication is indeed the key

Gawain’s tale for them had so discerned

And that all were better for it was plain to see.

-- from Pace Literary Magazine, Fall, 1983

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