[0]. Page 2.—_Carol._ Dance accompanied by song. Often mentioned in old
romances.
[1]. Page 4.—_Agravain_, “_à la dure main_.” This characterisation of
Gawain’s brother seems to indicate that there was a French source at
the root of this story. The author distinctly tells us more than
once that the tale, as he tells it, was written _in a book_. M.
Gaston Paris thinks that the direct source was an Anglo-Norman poem,
now lost.
[2]. Page 10.—_If any in this hall holds himself so hardy._ This, the
main incident of the tale, is apparently of very early date. The
oldest version we possess is that found in the Irish tale of the
_Fled Bricrend_ (Bricriu’s feast), where the hero of the tale is the
Irish champion, Cuchulinn. Two mediæval romances, the _Mule sans
Frein_ (French) and _Diu Krône_ (German), again attribute it to
Gawain; while the continuator of Chrétien de Troye’s _Conte del
Graal_ gives as hero a certain Carados, whom he represents as
Arthur’s nephew; and the prose _Perceval_ has Lancelot. So far as
the mediæval versions are concerned, the original hero is
undoubtedly Gawain; and our poem gives the fullest and most complete
form of the story we possess. In the Irish version the magician is a
_giant_, and the abnormal size and stature of the Green Knight is,
in all probability, the survival of a primitive feature. His curious
_colour_ is a trait found nowhere else. In _Diu Krône_ we are told
that the challenger changes shapes in a terrifying manner, but no
details are given.
[3]. Page 19.—_For Yule was over-past._ This passage, descriptive of the
flight of the year, should be especially noticed. Combined with
other passages—the description of Gawain’s journey, the early
morning hunts, the dawning of New Year’s Day, and the ride to the
Green Chapel—they indicate a knowledge of Nature, and an observant
eye for her moods, uncommon among mediæval poets. It is usual enough
to find graceful and charming descriptions of spring and early
summer—an appreciation of _May_ in especial, when the summer courts
were held, is part of the stock-in-trade of mediæval romancers—but a
sympathy with the year in all its changes is far rarer, and
certainly deserves to be specially reckoned to the credit of this
nameless writer.
[4]. Page 22.—_First a rich carpet was stretched on the floor._ The
description of the arming of Gawain is rather more detailed in the
original, but some of the minor points are not easy to understand,
the identification of sundry of the pieces of armour being doubtful.
[5]. Page 24.—_The pentangle painted thereupon in gleaming gold._ I do
not remember that the pentangle is elsewhere attributed to Gawain.
He often bears a red shield; but the blazon varies. Indeed, the
heraldic devices borne by Arthur’s knights are distractingly
chaotic—their legends are older than the science of heraldry, and no
one has done for them the good office that the compiler of the
Thidrek Saga has rendered to his Teutonic heroes.
[6]. Page 26.—_The Wilderness of Wirral._ This is in Cheshire. Sir F.
Madden suggests that the forest which forms the final stage of
Gawain’s journey is that of Inglewood, in Cumberland. The geography
here is far clearer than is often the case in such descriptions.
[7]. Page 29.—_’Twas the fairest castle that ever a knight owned._ Here,
again, I have omitted some of the details of the original, the
architectural terms lacking identification.
[8]. Page 43.—_With blast of the bugle fared forth to the field._ The
account of each day’s hunting contains a number of obsolete terms
and details of woodcraft, not given in full. The meaning of some has
been lost, and the minute description of skinning and dismembering
the game would be distinctly repulsive to the general reader. They
are valuable for a student of the history of the English sport, but
interfere with the progress of the story. The fact that the author
devotes so much space to them seems to indicate that he lived in the
country and was keenly interested in field sports. (Gottfried von
Stressbourg’s _Tristan_ contains a similar and almost more detailed
description.)
[9]. Page 65.—_I will give thee my girdle._ This magic girdle, which
confers invulnerability on its owner, is a noticeable feature of our
story. It is found nowhere else in this connection, yet in other
romances we find that Gawain possesses a girdle with similar powers
(cf., my _Legend of Sir Gawain_, Chap. IX.). Such a talisman was
also owned by Cuchulinn, the Irish hero, who has many points of
contact with Gawain. It seems not improbable that this was also an
old feature of the story. I have commented, in the Introduction, on
the lady’s persistent wooing of Gawain, and need not repeat the
remarks here. The Celtic _Lay of the Great Fool_ (_Amadan Mor_)
presents some curious points of contact with our story, which may,
however, well be noted here. In the _Lay_ the hero is mysteriously
deprived of his legs, through the draught from a cup proffered by a
_Gruagach_ or magician. He comes to a castle, the lord of which goes
out hunting, leaving his wife in the care of the Great Fool, who is
to allow no man to enter. He falls asleep, and a young knight
arrives and kisses the host’s wife. The Great Fool, awaking, refuses
to allow the intruder to depart; and, in spite of threats and
blandishments, insists on detaining him till the husband returns.
Finally, the stranger reveals himself as the host in another shape;
he is also the _Gruagach_, who deprived the hero of his limbs, and
the Great Fool’s brother. He has only intended to test the _Amadan
Mor’s_ fidelity. A curious point in connection with this story is
that it possesses a prose opening which shows a marked affinity with
the “Perceval” _enfances_. That the Perceval and Gawain stories
early became connected is certain, but what is the precise
connection between them and the Celtic _Lay_ is not clear. _In its
present form_ the latter is certainly posterior to the Grail
romances, but it is quite possible that the matter with which it
deals represents a tradition older than the Arthurian story.
[10]. Page 88.—_Morgain le Fay, who dwelleth in my house._ The enmity
between Morgain le Fay and Guinevere, which is here stated to have
been the _motif_ of the enchantment, is no invention of the author,
but is found in the _Merlin_, probably the earliest of the Arthurian
_prose_ romances. In a later version of our story, a poem, written
in ballad form, and contained in the “Percy” MS., Morgain does not
appear; her place is taken by an old witch, mother to the lady, but
the enchantment is still due to her spells. In this later form the
knight bears the curious name of _Sir Bredbeddle_. That given in our
romance, _Bernlak de Hautdesert_, seems to point to the original
French source of the story. (It is curious that Morgain should here
be represented as extremely old, while Arthur is still in his first
youth. There is evidently a discrepancy or misunderstanding of the
source here.)
[11]. Page 90.—_A baldric of bright green, for sake of Sir Gawain._—The
later version connects this _lace_ with that worn by the knights of
the Bath; but this latter was _white_, not _green_. The knights wore
it on the left shoulder till they had done some gallant deed, or
till some noble lady took it off for them.
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