but time is too tight to tell how they went.

The nick to his neck was healed by now;

thereabouts he had bound the belt like a baldric –

slantwise, as a sash, from shoulder to side,

laced in a knot looped below his left arm,

a sign that his honour was stained by sin.

So safe and sound he sets foot in court,

and when clansmen had learned of their comrade’s return 2490

happiness cannoned through the echoing halls.

The king kissed his kinsman and so did the queen,

and Gawain was embraced by his band of brothers,

who made eager enquiries, and he answered them all

with the tale of his trial and tribulations,

and the challenge at the chapel, and the great green chap,

and the love of the lady, which led to the belt.

And he showed them the scar at the side of his neck,

confirming his breach of faith, like a badge

of blame. 2500

He grimaced with disgrace,

he writhed in rage and pain.

Blood flowed towards his face

and showed his smarting shame.

‘Regard‚’ said Gawain, grabbing the girdle,

‘through this I suffered a scar to my skin –

for my loss of faith I was physically defaced;

what a coveting coward I became it would seem.

I was tainted by untruth and this, its token,

I will drape across my chest till the day I die. 2510

For man’s crimes can be covered but never made clean;

once entwined with sin, man is twinned for all time.’

The king gave comfort, then laughter filled the castle

and in friendly accord the company of the court

allowed that each lord belonging to their Order –

every knight in the brotherhood – should bear such a belt,

a bright green belt worn obliquely to the body,

crosswise, like a sash, for the sake of this man.

So that slanting green stripe was adopted as their sign,

and each knight who held it was honoured for ever, 2520

as all meaningful writings on romance remind us;

an adventure which happened in the era of Arthur,

as the chronicles of this country have stated clearly.

Since fearless Brutus first set foot

on these shores, once the siege and assault at Troy

had ceased,

our coffers have been crammed

with stories such as these.

Now let our Lord, thorn-crowned,

bring us to perfect peace. AMEN 2530

HONY SOYT QUI MAL PENCE

About the Author

Simon Armitage was born in West Yorkshire in 1963. In 1992 he was winner of one of the first Forward Prizes, and a year later was the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year. Among his collections of poetry are Kid, Book of Matches, The Universal Home Doctor, Tyrannosaurus Rex versus The Corduroy Kid and Seeing Stars. His acclaimed translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was published in 2007.

Copyright

This ebook edition published in 2010
by Faber and Faber Ltd
Bloomsbury House
74–77 Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3DA