or moan.’

The pretty one replies:

‘Nay, noble knight, you mean

you’ll pass to me no prize.

No matter. Here is mine.’

She offers him a ring of rich, red gold,

and the stunning stone set upon it stood proud,

beaming and burning with the brightness of the sun;

what wealth it was worth you can well imagine. 1820

But he would not accept it, and said straight away,

‘By God, no tokens will I take at this time;

I have nothing to give, so nothing will I gain.’

She insists he receives it but still he resists,

and swears, on his name as a knight, to say no.

Snubbed by his decision, she said to him then,

‘You refuse my ring because you find it too fine,

and don’t dare to be deeply indebted to me;

so I give you my girdle, a lesser thing to gain.’

From around her body she unbuckled the belt 1830

which tightened the tunic beneath her topcoat,

a green silk girdle trimmed with gold,

exquisitely edged and hemmed by hand.

And she sweetly beseeched Sir Gawain to receive it,

in spite of its slightness, and hoped he would accept.

But still he maintained he intended to take

neither gold nor girdle, until by God’s grace

the challenge he had chosen was finally achieved.

‘With apologies I pray you are not displeased,

but I must firmly refuse you, no matter how flattered 1840

I am.

For all your grace I owe

a thousand thank-yous, ma’am.

I shall through sun and snow

remain your loyal man.’

‘And now he sends back my silk‚’ the lady responded,

‘so simple in itself, or so it appears,

so little and unlikely, worth nothing, or less.

But the knight who knew of the power knitted in it

would pay a high price to possess it, probably. 1850

For the body which is bound within this green belt,

as long as it is buckled robustly about him,

will be safe against those who seek to strike him,

and all the slyness on earth wouldn’t see him slain.’

The man mulled it over, and it entered his mind

that this girdle being given could be just the job

to save him from the strike in his challenge at the chapel.

With luck, it might let him escape with his life.

So relenting at last he let her speak,

and promptly she pressed him to take the present, 1860

and he granted her wish, gave in with good grace,

though the woman begged him not to whisper a word

of this gift to her husband, and Gawain agreed;

those words of theirs within those walls

should stay.

His thanks are heartfelt, then.

No sooner can he say

how much it matters, when

three kisses come his way.

Then the lady departed, leaving him alone, 1870

for the man had amused her as much as he could.

And once she has quit he clothes himself quickly,

rises and dresses in the richest of robes,