. . .
Spelling my troubles, except just this:
Tomorrow I'm going to the green man and his axe,
Tomorrow without fail, as God guides me."
And the best of Arthur's knights came to him,
Iwain, and Eric, and many more,
Sir Dodinel de Sauvage, the Duke of Clarence,
Lancelot, and Lionel, and Lucan the Good,
Sir Bors, and Sir Bedivere ---strong men, both---
And other proud knights, with Mador de la Port.
They came to the king, all of them, to counsel
Gawain, but their hearts were heavy. In secret
Thoughts, that day, Arthur's hall
Rang with silent lament, sorrow
For so good a man as Gawain, on so hard
A quest.
But Gawain only smiled:
"Should I waste my time
With fear? Wether pleasant or wild,
Fate [Love] must be put to the test."
So he rested that day, then rose the next morning
And at dawn called for his armor. It was brought,
But first a rich red rug was spread
On the floor: gold armor gleamed where it lay.
Then Gawain stepped forward, took steel in his
hands,
And over a doublet of Tharsia silk
Fastened a hood, tied at the neck
And lined inside with thick fur. Then hammered
Steel shoes were set on his feet, and his legs
Wrapped all around with well-hinged metal,
With armored knee-plates, polished bright
And fastened tight by golden cords;
Thigh-plates, elegant and thick, closed
Around his strong muscles, and were laced
In place. And then his mail-shirt, metal,
Woven like silk, hung shimmering on his chest,
And polished arm-pieces, and beautifully bent
Elbow joints, and steel gloves,
And all the equipment he needed, and owned,
For that ride,
Draped with heraldic designs---
And gold spurs on his feet,
And his good sword at his side,
And a sash belted neat.
And Gawain's gear shone rich, the smallest
Laces and loops glowing with gold.
Ready in armor, he stood at the altar
For mass to be chanted, then came to the king
And the assembled knights of Arthur's court,
And took courteous leave of lords and ladies,
Who kissed him, commended him to Christ, then
walked him
There where Gringolet stood ready, his saddle
Of gleaming leather, hung with gold,
Studded with new nails, and a stripped bridle,
Trimmed and tied with gold. And Gringolet's
Breast-plates, and shining saddle-skirts,
And tail-armor, and the cloth on his back, matched
His saddle-bows, all set on a background
Of rich gold nails that glittered like the sun.
Then Gawain lifted his lined helmet,
Sewn like steel, and quickly kissed it;
It sat high on his head, clasped behind,
With delicate embroidered silk on the neckband,
Decorated with jewels along its length
And with birds stitched on the seams, parrots
Perched among painted purple flowers,
And turtle doves, and lovers' knots
So thick that ladies could have sewn them for seven
Winters.
And around the top
Of his helmet were a crop
Of diamonds, brown and white, sprinkled
In a magic knot.
Then they carried in his shield, striped with bright
red;
A pentangle star, painted pure gold,
Shone at its center. He swings it by the belt,
Then tosses it across his neck. And the sign
Of that star, its perfect points, fitted
That prince, and I'll tell you how, though it hold up
This tale. Solomon shaped that star---
Triangles blended in triangles---as a symbol
Of truth, for each of its angles enfold
The other, and fastens the other, five
In all and everywhere endless (and everywhere
In England called the infinite knot).
And Gawain wears it by right, on his bright
Armor, faithful five ways and each way
Five times, a noble knight, as pure
As gold, as good as any knight in any gleaming
Castle
And worthy of that star,
The noblest of men in asking
And telling, the hardest
For words to baffle.
His five senses were free of sin;
His five fingers never failed him;
And all his earthly hope was in Christ's
Five wounds on the cross, as our creed tells us;
And whenever he stood in battle his mind
Was fixed, above all things, on the five
Joys which Mary had of Jesus,
From which all his courage came---and was why
This fair knight had her face painted
Inside his shield, to stare at Heaven's
Queen and keep his courage high.
And the fifth of his five was love and friendship
For other men, and freedom from sin,
And courtesy that never failed, and pity,
Greatest of knightly virtues---and these noble
Five were the firmest of all in his soul.
And all these fives met in one man,
Joined to each other, each without end,
Set in five perfect points
Wholly distinct, yet part of one whole
And that whole seamless, each angle open
And closed, wherever it end or begin.
And so the pentangle glowed on his shield,
Bright red gold across bright red stripes,
The Holy pentangle, as careful scholars
Call it.
And Gawain was ready,
And his lance steady
From Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Translation by Burton Raffel, Signet Classics
Signet & Mentor Books 1948: "Good Reading for the Millions"
