Excerpt: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Part 4 (lines 2485-2521)
".... [Gawain] wore that gleaming belt slanted 2485
Across his tunic, tied beneath
His arm, as a sign and token of the sin
He'd committed, and his sorrow and shame. And so,
He arrived at court, safe and sound.
And the king, when he heard, called to his knights, 2490
Laughing, delighted, that Gawain was home.
And he kissed his knight, and the queen kissed him,
And a host of noble soldies greeted him,
Asked his adventures; and he told them marvelous
Things, never concealing his hardships, 2495
Told them of the chapel, described the green knight,
Talked of the lady, and at last of the belt.
He showed them the faint scar on his neck,
Sign of treachery, given as a loving
He groaned, admitting it,
In his face, as he mourned it.
"My Lord," said Gawain, lifting the belt, 2505
"This band and the nick on my neck are one
And the same, the blame and the loss I suffered
For the cowardice, the greed, that came to my soul.
This sign of bad faith is the mark of my sin:
I'll wear it on my waist as long as I live, 2510
For a man may hide an injury to his soul,
But he'll never be rid of it, it's fastened forever."
The king consoled him, and all the court,
And they laughed and resolved, then and there,
That lords and ladies of Arthur's Table 2515
Would each of them wear a slanted belt
Around their waists, woven of green,
To keep company with their well-loved Gawain.
And that belt was the glory of Arthur's Round Table;
Its knights wore it forever more,
As the best books of romances tell." 2521
