Tbe green belt is Gawain's final defenseagainst indifferent nature and bis own mortality, but be is also bearingnature's colors. Tbe man wbose reputation and very being stands forcompromise, a mediation between court and nature, or self and otber,bas finally crossed a boundry. Leaving the court and entering the naturalworld, be now seems more exposed than ever before.But at the end of this compromised arming sequence, we come uponwbat is, in its quiet way, one of tbe most significant scenes in the poem:Tbenne watz Gryngolet graype, pat gret watz and buge,And bade ben sojourned sauerly and in a siker wyse:Hym lyst prik for poynt, pat proude bors penne.Pe wy3e wynnez bym to and wytez on bis lyreAnd sayde soberly bymself and by bis soth swerez,"Here is a meyny in pis mote pat on menske penkkez.Pe mon bem maynteines,joy mot be baue;Pe leue lady, on lyue luf bir bityde!"

Wtld nature is also part of this scene, the moat surrounded by trees whoseboughs frame the castle. But the emphasis of the passage is on the chival-ric life that it shelters and reflects. The massive scale of this structureimplies strength and safety; its fantastic array of roofs, towers, and otherarchitectural curiosities suggests the richness and complexity of thechivalric culture within. The castle embodies courtly chivalry, just asGawain's annor is a chivalric skin, both a protection and an extension ofthe inner man.

Except for her gray eyes, Guinevere is visible only through details of hersetting. Her piace at the high table is adomed ("dubbed"), but also shel-tered: curtains on both sides, over her head a canopy of red Toulousesilk, and-the ultimate luxury-ample tapestries from Turkestan, insetwithjewels. The best ("comlokest") gems are of course the aristocraticgray eyes themselves, nested within priceless fabrics demonstrating theexclusiveness of her position at court.