Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Maria Bullón-Fernández (a professor of medieval literature, famed for her seafood paella) recommends Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. "It is a beautifully constructed medieval story about a knight who at the beginning of the story accepts a challenge and agrees to have his head chopped off a year later by the Green Knight. On his way to meet the Green Knight, he stays at a castle and is seduced by a lady, but manages to resist her seduction except for one small detail. The story combines Celtic and folk motifs with fascinating Arthurian and courtly conventions. Among many other things, it is an intriguing story about pride and the fear of failure, as well as sex and the fear of death."

An excerpt from Part One, III, of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
This king lay at Camelot one Christmastide
With loyal lords, liegemen peerless,
Members rightly reckoned of the Round Table,
In splendid celebration, seemly and carefree.
There tussling in tournament time and again
Jousted in jollity these gentle knights,
Then in court carnival sang catches and danced;
For there the feasting flowed for fully fifteen days
with all the meat and merry-making men could devise,
Gladly ringing glee, glorious to hear
Debonair rejoicing by day, dancing at night!
All was happiness in the height in halls and chambers
For lords and their ladies, delectable joy.

Read about or purchase Sir Gawain and the Green Knight