In Which Sir Gawain Announces Himself to the University of Hoode

A merry morrow, good sirs and ladies. I am Sir Gawain, the Knight of the Surcoat, son of Morguese, and nephew of his most prestigious majesty, King Arthur. Of all the bold knights benched at Arthur's Round Table, I am surely the weakest and least wise. It was, after all, my foolishness that lost the challenge of the Green Knight. I eternally wear the green sash he had given me as a symbol of my humility. It goes over my helmet and hooded cloak I usually wear, which is inlaid with ermine and fitted with tassels of gold. My shield is embedded with a gold pentacle painted red, with a picture of the Holy Virgin on the inside. All this I take on my horse, Gringalet, who is always dressed in armor and chain-mail as I am.

This pentacle is to remind me of the five groups of five ideas which I must never forget: The five senses, five fingers, the five wounds of Christ, the five joys, and five virtues: bounty, brotherhood, courtesy, purity, and compassion. By the mercy of our Lord Christ, many people continue to have faith in my humble works, as many common people have stated of me “there is hardly he equal anywhere on earth”. I kindly accept these remarks, but surely at the least Sir Lancelot could best me in tournament if the challenge were ever presented!

I was originally born in Tintigal, the son of King Lot of Cornwall and his wife, Lady Morguese, the sister of Arthur's mother. But this close relation to Arthur was kept secret from me. When I had reached maturity, I traveled to Rome and entered the service of his Holiness, Pope Sulpicious. For many years, I served missions from the Holy Father to protect Jerusalem, that Holy city, from attacks by the Ishmaelites. After proving myself as a knight, I returned to Britain to defend it from Saxon invaders. But here I encountered Arthur and Sir Kay, his brother, who challenged me in combat. After defeating both of them, I learned my true heritage as nephew of the High King. From that time forward, I became a Knight of the Round Table, where Sir Kay and Bishop Baldwin became my closest friends.

With these people I have gone on many merry quests, helping each other to remain safe from danger, which involves not only protection of our lives and Arthur's, but also protection of our chastity from fair maidens that sought us with their wiles. In one instance, however, I was compelled by my duty to protect the king to marry the ugliest hag of the realm, named Ragnelle. It was by doing so that Arthur could obtain the knowledge of what women desire most, in order to complete the riddle that wagered his life.

However, I learned from this maid that she was actually under a curse, so that she will be ugly only until someone loves her. Now that we were married, she would be either beautiful by day or by night, and ugly otherwise, the choice being mine. However, I instead gave the choice to her, saying that I would take whatever her decision was. This action, of giving a woman free choice, was in fact what women desire most, and so the breaking of this ancient riddle simultaneously broke the curse as well. She thus remained the most beautiful lady of the realm, save only for Lady Guinevere, both by day and night.  

In due time, she brought forth my only son, Gingilain. Gingilain is also known as the “Fair Unknown” in Camelot, as his true lineage I have kept secret until he should meet the same trials that I endured to discover myself. Ragnelle herself, however, perished at a young age while Gingilain was still in the crib. Many winters later, however, I was united in matrimony a second time, this time to a lady named Carla who I rescued from the dolorous Castle of Carlisle.

It was after this adventure that I encountered the Green Knight, who challenged me to smote off his head if I could endure the same blow. So I smote off his head, but as sorcery would have it, he remained unharmed from this and summoned me the next year to his Chapel where I would receive my fate. But when I had journeyed to the Castle near the Green Chapel, the maid there summoned me to her chamber where she produced the enchanted green sash, the source of the Green Knight's power. Anyone who wore the sash would not be taken out by any blow. So I eagerly took this sash and beat the Green Knight at his own game, but was horrified to discover that this was a test of my courage and courtesy the entire time. In shame, I continue to wear the sash as a symbol of my humility.

I also have led many armies in the name of Arthur, most importantly in the war against the Romans when they were ruled by the tyrant Lucius. I commanded the first invasion of Aquitaine that encountered Lucius' army, and if not for a sudden fall of morale, we would have taken the Emperor right then and there. I myself fought a prolonged single combat with Lucius until my fellow Cornishmen fell back into retreat. I saved them in their flight, however, and returned to Arthur's bosom where we could engage the Romans again another day.  

Thus is surmised the wondrous deeds of Sir Gawain, the Knight of the Surcoat. As for many other acts of this noble knight, which took place with the quests described here, they can be found in the History of the Kings of Britain (Book 9), the Rise of Sir Gawain, the Wedding of Sir Gawain, the Tale of Sir Gawain and Carl of Carlisle, and the Tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight