a small tree which has sharp thorns and produces white or pink flowers

a fence of wooden posts which are driven into the ground in order to protect people from attack.

a walled outwork or tower to protect a gate or drawbridge of a fortification

an ornament

undressed

animal's skin

skills

evening

to the place that has already been mentioned

the part of a church containing the altar

dark

three-leaved herb

a frame which supports climbing plants

tired; dull

generously

in the air

perhaps

brief involvement

direct

Christmas season

history

repay

Indeed

travel

against

high-pitched sounds

asked; begged

kids

created

I wonder if Gawain is staying because the king wants him to or because he wants to be with the young lady longer.

Since the king wanted him to stay so badly I'm wondering if he's lying about how far the green chapel is.

He is very close to the green chapel.

This is another test; if Gawain will give into temptations and desire for the woman or if he will continue on his journey to death.

He seems to be a very courteous guest and treat the women with respect.

This is beginning to remind me of Lanval- where a knight has temptation over a women who is more beautiful than those he's known.

I still think the true test is the journey. There's the harsh conditions and the psychological aspects of isolation. He also believes that he did something wrong to deserves this.

I think this is foreshadowing that he will find a shelter that is very comfortable and hard to give up before he goes to his battle.

I'm starting to winder if the true test was if he'd go on the journey.

He should have been given the rank of a duke ( I wonder what he did previously to deserve this). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dukedom

I wonder if the writer is being so descriptive and prolonging Gawain's journey. I believe Gawain's desires to take the journey slow and extend his life/fate as long as possible.

5= a religious reference to Christian beliefs.

The name of Gawain's horse. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gringolet

A contrast with the Green Knight, who had no armour, and Gawain is decked out in armour.

The wheel of fate and fortune has seemed to turn against him.

Gawain is already recognizing his fate. He acknowledges that there's nothing he can do, so he might as well accept his outcome.

The entire kingdom and all of the knights and people seem to love and support Gawain.

If any of you are brave enough, step up and swing this ax. If you do, it's yours to keep.

12 day pagan winter holiday

The green knight isn't here to wait around, he heard about the esteemed knights of the round table and wants something from them. Also he is unarmed and doesn't want a fight.

This story is full of detail (Sometimes I feel to a unnecessary extent), yet when the seasons pass that only takes one section.

The seasons seem to start passing quickly- probably because Gawain doesn't want time to pass.

That kind of adventure is seen as a gift?

This entire piece I kept wondering why this game was necessary? Is the giant just testing Arthur and his knights' characters? The word choice, rhyming patterns and descriptions are very beautiful!

Everything just continues on well and calmly-like nothing has happened.

This almost seems almost unnecessarily cruel for the other knights to do.

He claims he is the weakest? But he's a knight that guards Guinevere?

Well it took him a minute but Gawain is the only knight that stands up.

I think there's significance in the fact that according to the knight he is a "giant" and Arthur belittles him down to a "horseman". I also think there's significance that the green knight has no name- it further distances him from the human world.

I wonder if they are just confused about why he wants to have this beheading game, or if they see this as a threat to their king?

It's interesting and it says something about Arthur's character that he merely calls himself the "head of this house" instead of King Arthur, since the title of king is much more powerful.

I wonder if this is a hint or foreshadow about the survival of the beheading challenges.

Very powerful diction and imagery, with the giant and the horse being greener than grass.

He seems to have some sort of connection to nature.

I think his physical appearance is almost foreshadowing the challenge, because if he looks like that than it seems Gawain's loyalty is tested.It seems that if Gawain accepts the knights proposal then death is almost certain.

The knots make the horse distinguishable, also with gold and green is makes the hair seem almost majestic.

He's sizing them up

Beside= Next to https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beside Gawain must be very high ranking if he's next to the queen. I wonder how Guinevere will be portrayed in this one, because in Lanval she's known for starting problems with Knights with her desires.

It's interesting that this "Green Knight" shows up with no shield, sword or armor, and instead a handful of holly. Swords and shields are so symbolic of knighthood where as holly has historically been a symbol for magic, eternal life and even Christ's Crucifixion. I wonder if the author is trying to liken the Green Knight to some mystical or sacred being?/

Not only does King Arthur seem respectable because he had others served before him, but he also seems very active and hands on. "He liked his life lively" suggests that King Arthur isn't the type of king to have someone else do something for him.

"Somewhat boyish" suggests to me that he is still somewhat young, considering at this time Kings could be in their 20's and have the throne.

Gifts are given similar to today's representation of Christmas. It seems common in these stories that giving gifts are a kind of power that people are showing off.

Christian religious reference. These knights seem to be perfect, or so remarkable that even God recognizes their greatness or heroism.

Foreshadowing a future problem.

Since they are surrounded by the best men it makes Gawain stand out for his bravery since he volunteered for Arthur.

Christmas= a religious holiday.

Britain seems to currently be the most powerful nation/region in the world. King Arthur reminds me of Beowulf, where he seems to be the most powerful born king.

Sounds like one eye-catching shield though.

"At heart had wonder" meaning he didn't let himself show any real expressions on the outside?

I like how the adjectives "straight and tall" really gives you a visual representation of the kings formality and image. Similar to the way most kings are portrayed.

a loyal and committed attitude

is the beheaded knight magical?

this should be an interesting rhythm to listen to!

a hollow container used to give shape to molten or hot liquid material (such as wax or metal) when it cools and hardens.

Interesting that the people were serving themselves. This means that they had alot of food since anyone could grab whatever

This is very typical for the bishop to lead the table, usually around this time of history this was very common. Doesnt really happen anymore

This makes me respect Arthur because of this kind and caring gesture that he has for everyone

Great form on imagery. The description of their outfits sounds very lavish and high class. I know that embroidery, especially hand embroidery can be very expensive because it takes alot of time

amusement, especially as expressed in laughter.

wow, its crazy to see how much people like him. Also giving gifts to the king seems like a norm in this time

pleasant to look at; attractive.

So does this mean that they ate alot?

It seems that these men are drinking and having a good time

resulting from or showing sincere and intense conviction.

a member of the lowest order of the British nobility. The term “Baron” is not used as a form of address in Britain, barons usually being referred to as “Lord.”.

archaic, poetic/literary, or jocular form of often.

He is already giving me a vibe of being kind of self centered from him naming this with his own name.

faithful

a large tree with pale green leaves which is often planted in parks in towns and cities

sky

hurry

any of various unrelated plants, esp ones formerly used to cure diseases

a feeling of comfort that makes you feel less sad

in order to avoid

attractive

harsh or grating

before

stop

a set of straps that is put around a horse's head and mouth

a large strong horse

lower parts of the legs

said

shaped or cut with an ax

discerned

bright

below

move forwards away from a particular point in different directions

dressed

an archaic word for embroider

complicated

cheerful

glowing; gleaming

appearance

the hips and the inner surface of the legs where they join the trunk of the body

the back of the neck

more appropriate

a city in S France, on the Garonne River

If something such as clothing or cloth is embroidered with a design, the design is stitched into it.

platform

almost, but not completely or exactly

hindrance to free action or movement

one of these warriors, is the great-grandson of the perfidious knight, Aeneas of Troy.

careless and stupid mistake

uh maybe because he knew he couldn't be killed.....

Bet this is what most of us were thinking.

She doesn't care what he's looking like right now or that he feels a bit uncomfortable. She just really wants to be with him right there.

He doesn't feel comfortable at all. I can really feel this to be honest I mean who would feel comfortable being seen by someone before getting dressed for the day? I also feel he likes her enough to care to dress more appropriately and simply just look good for her. I think that's pretty cool.

This feels so discreet. I'm not too sure he's going to like that.

This was very good wordplay. I painted a very good image in my head.

Interesting diction. Not just simple as "The next morning."

I mean does he really have a choice? I think he'd punished otherwise.

This makes it sound very serious and surely this is a huge risk.

If you want something you usually must give something in return. You never know when a particular somebody's favor could be very valuable. And for anyone to even want to do you a favor, you'd have to be in really good terms with them. So being understanding to all people is great.

Being away from the rest can always do you some good at times.

I enjoyed reading this compared to the other readings we have done so far. It was very easy to follow along I did not have to go back and re read parts, I went through it and understood it fairly well. I think it was an amazing story. It truly opened up truths about the world. Such as how the world is ugly and things don't always go smoothly as we'd like them to even in love. But even then love can be seen through all odds of the world.

Is this fantasy type of love or reality type?

A knight left his horse for this?? Now that definitely sets his character apart, gives him a personality.

Absolutely love how she recognizes these maidens in more of a glorified manner than the knights or other men in the stories. You can really see the gender role part of writing appearing here

a young nobleman acting as an attendant to a knight before becoming a knight himself.

Starting off with fearless knight and courteous lord then saying he is removed is confusing just because the reader wonders if he has these qualities than why is he being removed.

lowest order of British nobility

She seems to appear as a very brave writer. She has taken upon writing styles that are different than others. Makes her stand out a lot more than the other writers.

I could imagine how big of deal this must have been during the 12th century. Woman power all the way.

Form of medieval French and English romance literature. They are often only 600-1000 words which is fairly short.

Her work was known by Royal Court, King Henry II of England. Great to see a woman's name in these writings.

This story was honestly kind of confusing to me. It seemed as if he was cheating. Either way my favorite part of this story was the words that he had used to describe the women that he was admiring. It seemed quite romantic which is what I love about any story so it was a good read.

I'm actually really surprised that she is the one to step out and go for it and not him. It is so common to see the guy make the first move or most the efforts in starting a relationship. It's very cool to see even at this time that the girl was the one and stepped out to get what she wanted.

Seems a little over the top for just meeting them. But at this time and situation it could've been a flirtatious gesture maybe? I'm not sure but to me it would be creepy.

Seems to not be thinking straight. I feel like this lustful act of men is seen throughout a lot of romantic stories.

They must have been wearing some tightly revealing clothing which seems as its noted what took his attention.

Seems like some kind of envy going on between the two.

This is actually today. A holiday that is still celebrated by Christians in the belief of the Holy Spirit.

Excited to see a writing by one of the first female writers. I'm sure at this time it was a big deal.

This is an easy read, compared to Beowulf and Sir Orfeo. I like it being unconventional telling of a powerless man being rescued by a "supernatural" woman. It makes me think of Wonder Woman, but Wonder Woman is more like a real, flesh and blood woman to me, while the Maiden is too good to be true. On the other hand, their "romance" doesn't really touch me, because their encounter is really brief and focuses more on physical intimacy, and also the Maiden is too surreal to me.

depart

I wonder why they keep using the word "friend"?

Women in this lay play an active role in romantic relationships, especially a physical one.

This is very nice of her to do. This makes me respect her and it changes the way that I felt about her in the beginning of this story

Squires were young nobleman who served a knight by running him errands and such. Usually these young men would also go on to become Knights themselves. So in a way it was like they were "Shadowing" these Knights too.

This is awesome. It shows what exactly makes May so good to them.

Since May is close to summertime I picture the month full of nice sunny days and just a beautiful time to be outside.

This was super hard to read, I felt some parts really contradicted themselves which made it really hard to follow along fully. Other than that the story was very well written. Really followed along the themes of love and loyalty with magical figures. Glad the ending was positive, love romantic stories that end happily.

land attached to a manor and retained for the owner's own use

hold out (something) to someone for acceptance; offer.

Seems like a dark side of a fairy story.

Sounds like straight out of a movie scene. A very romantic imagery.

If he says all this then why is he losing hope so much? At least that's what it seems with the line following these lines.

Showing a sign of weakness

What does this mean? Couldn't seem to find it via internet

Whoa! The tone of the reading completely shifted with these lines. It seemed so sweet and kind until this. Interesting!

to grow or develop quickly; flourish

If she is full of love and all then why can 'none' tell her loveliness? This line seems to be a little bit misguiding. Seems like she's highly praised other wise.

the practice of performing as a minstrel.

Very cool that the King himself excels at this as well. Very well respected talented in this era.

Be happy and joyful of the heroic ages

blue comedy, is humorous entertainment that ranges from bordering on indelicacy to gross indecency --- Joke

Beliefs about elves, dwarfs, gnomes, trolls, mermaids, brownies, pixies, leprechauns, and many other beings found in world folklore.

So far this had to be my favorite reading. Of course because it was romantic but I kept saying 'Awe' to like every other sentence. Definitely a super sweet love story that was a pleasure to read. I found this reading to be an easier read even though there were some words that were hard to define. Overall I loved it.

Ancient people of Celtic origin who lived in the area of the United Kingdom before and during Roman times.

This is sad, but super heart heavy to see how in love he was with her and how high he thought of her.

Here you can see how much he misses her and probably most likely could still smell her scent.

Sounds like Ruth from the Bible

Here he seems to be trying to find out where he went wrong in the relationship and how could she be trying to leave with all the love that they had.

have meal

This shows that the king truly cared for the queen and didn't marry her just because he needed a wife to rule with.

They seem like the perfect power couple of this time.

Sir Orfeo is an ancestor of King Pluto and Queen Juno

It's kind of funny to read how extremely long how the introduction to the performance is. It seemed to be a little extensive but a great way to catch the readers attention. Especially if they are into romance type stories.

A short romance story

Highly recognized person

Does this mean he didn't live a full life?