Note 2 — I

.

Page 10.

—

If any in this hall holds himself so hardy.

This, the main incident of the tale, is apparently of very early date. The oldest version we possess is that found in the Irish tale of the

Fled Bricrend

(Bricriu’s feast), where the hero of the tale is the Irish champion, Cuchulinn. Two mediæval romances, the

Mule sans Frein

(French) and

Diu Krône

(German), again attribute it to Gawain; while the continuator of Chrétien de Troye’s

Conte del Graal

gives as hero a certain Carados, whom he represents as Arthur’s nephew; and the prose

Perceval

has Lancelot. So far as the mediæval versions are concerned, the original hero is undoubtedly Gawain; and our poem gives the fullest and most complete form of the story we possess. In the Irish version the magician is a

giant

, and the abnormal size and stature of the Green Knight is, in all probability, the survival of a primitive feature. His curious

colour

is a trait found nowhere else. In

Diu Krône

94

we are told that the challenger changes shapes in a terrifying manner, but no details are given.