"But of all those who dwelt there, of the British kings
Arthur was always judged noblest, as I have heard tell.
And so an actual adventure I mean to relate
Which some men consider a marvelous event,
And a prodigious happening among tales about Arthur.
If you will listen to this story just a little while
I will tell it at once, as I heard it told
in court.
As it is written down
In story brave and strong,
Made fast in truthful words,
That had endured long." (25-36)

We're right at the beginning of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in this passage, and our narrator wastes no time telling us that the poem is part of the Arthurian tradition. What's more is, it's going to be a doozy. If you trust this narrator dude, that is.

Getting into the (Arthurian) Groove

Right from the get-go, the narrator places the work we're about to read in the broad tradition of Arthurian literature. And he assures us that this isn't going to be just any tale of Arthur and his knights. It's going to be "a prodigious happening among tales about Arthur."

What does he mean by that? That we're in for some Cream of the Arthurian Crop, kiddos.

And the Gawain Poet knows how to deliver. What more could you ask for to kick things off but a gigantic green knight entering the hall and getting his head chopped off—and then living to tell the tale? Well, that's where the whole concept of a "marvelous event" comes in.

Remember: the Arthurian tradition is situated firmly within the medieval romance genre, which can involve a variety of supernatural events. We'd say getting your head chopped off and surviving to tell the world about it is one "marvelous event," indeed.

Another important aspect of Arthurian literature is its emphasis on the knightly brotherhood, and the lofty chivalric traits that make these knight-bros All That.

In this quote, we have Sir Gawain, who is the best and brightest of the knights. He immediately steps up to take on the "actual adventure" when the Green Knight wants to throw down. In many tales like this, Sir Gawain serves as Arthur's stand-in, because it's really not kosher for kings to be gallivanting off on adventures every time "duty calls." Why?

They're supposed to be back at the capital, holding down the castle and seeing to all that law and order stuff. You know, generally kinging it up. And getting impaled with a lance would definitely put a damper on ruling a kingdom, don't you think?

And Gawain's the natural choice for taking Arthur's place. He's Arthur's nephew—his next-of-kin. So he gets to have all the fun, you might say. But he also gets to face all of the danger.

Speaking of Arthur...

Notice the heavy focus on hearing and speaking in this passage. We've got the phrases, "as I have heard tell," "if you will listen," and "I will tell it [...] as I have heard it told." All this talky-language seems a bit of out of place, considering we're actually reading the poem, right?

The verse even explicitly points to the fact that we're reading a poem: "As it is written down [...] / in truthful words."

Well, don't jump to too many conclusions, friends. All of these references make sense when we consider that alliterative verse (of which Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is an example) was originally associated with the Anglo-Saxon oral tradition. Also, the earliest stories of King Arthur from the Welsh tradition probably circulated by ye olde bards way, way before they were ever written down.

The interesting thing is, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a text that we might consider reasonably difficult. It even calls attention to its own textuality; its unique bob and wheel verse form (as seen in this very quote) would not be effective if the poem were only recited. You've got to see it on the page.

So, this work is workin' it at the intersection of the oral tradition and the poetic innovations made possible by the page. Which is totally appropriate for a work that comes out of the Middle Ages, when the oral tradition was dominant—right up until the printing press got brought over to England. Pretty cool, huh?