The poem begins at Christmas during the early days of King Arthur’s court, when a massive, green-skinned knight on a green horse enters court and demands that someone trade blows with him. Gawain accepts and chops off the Green Knight’s head. However, the Green Knight survives and tells Gawain that he must come to the Green Chapel to have the blow returned to him in a year’s time. A year passes, and Gawain sets off to find the Green Chapel. During his journey, he comes across a castle in the middle of the forest, and the lord of the house makes him a deal that he will give Gawain whatever he kills on his hunt if Gawain gives him whatever he finds in the castle. Over the course of three days, a beautiful lady seduces Gawain, and he accepts her kind words and kisses but never breaks his vow of chastity. At the end of the three days, the lady gives Gawain a girdle which will protect him from harm. The next day, Gawain leaves the castle to go meet his death. When he enters the Green Chapel, the Green Knight is waiting for him. He swings once at Gawain’s head, but Gawain flinches away and the Knight reprimands him for it. The Knight swings again, and Gawain holds his ground, this time receiving a cut on the neck. The Green Knight then reveals that Gawain has passed his test. He was the lord of the castle, Sir Bertilak de Hautdesert, and the lady who seduced Gawain was his wife. By staying chaste and accepting the blow, Gawaine has proven himself to be a noble knight. Gawain, though, cannot accept this, and returns home to King Arthur’s court in shame. The court lauds him as a hero, but Gawain wears the lady’s girdle for the rest of his life as a reminder of his failures.