was deadened now with dread.

For that scalp and skull now swung from his fist;

towards the top table he turned the face

and it opened its eyelids, stared straight ahead

and spoke this speech, which you’ll hear for yourselves:

‘Sir Gawain, be wise enough to keep your word

and faithfully follow me until I’m found

as you vowed in this hall within hearing of these horsemen. 450

You’re charged with getting to the green chapel,

to reap what you’ve sown. You’ll rightfully receive

the justice you are due just as January dawns.

Men know my name as the green chapel knight

and even a fool couldn’t fail to find me.

So come, or be called a coward for ever.’

With a tug of the reins he twisted around

and, head still in hand, galloped out of the hall,

so the hooves brought fire from the flame in the flint.

Which kingdom he came from they hadn’t a clue, 460

no more than they knew where he made for next.

And then?

Well, with the green man gone

they laughed and grinned again.

And yet such goings on

were magic to those men.

And although King Arthur was awe-struck at heart

no sign of it showed. Instead he spoke

to his queen of queens with courteous words:

‘Dear lady, don’t be daunted by this deed today, 470

it’s in keeping that such strangeness should occur at Christmas

between sessions of banter and seasonal song,

amid the lively pastimes of ladies and lords.

And at least I’m allowed to eat at last,

having witnessed such wonder, wouldn’t you say?’

Then he glanced at Gawain and was graceful with his words:

‘Now hang up your axe – one hack is enough.’

So it dangled from the drape behind the dais

so that men who saw it would be mesmerised and amazed,

and give voice, on its evidence, to that stunning event. 480

Then the two of them turned and walked to the table,

the monarch and his man, and were met with food –

double dishes apiece, rare delicacies,

all manner of meals – and the music of minstrels.

And they danced and sang till the sun went down

that day.

But mind your mood, Gawain,

keep blacker thoughts at bay,

or lose this lethal game

you’ve promised you will play. 490

FITT II

This happening was a gift – just as Arthur had asked for

and had yearned to hear of while the year was young.

And if guests had no subject as they strolled to their seats,

now they chattered of Gawain’s chances in this challenge.

And Gawain had been glad to begin the game,

but don’t be shocked if the plot turns pear-shaped:

for men might be merry when addled with mead

but each year, short-lived, is unlike the last

and rarely resolves in the style it arrived.

So the festival finishes and a new year follows 500

in eternal sequence, season by season.

After lavish Christmas come the lean days of Lent