Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Fit I

I

When the siege and the assault were ceasèd at Troy,
When the burg had been broken, and burnt to ashes,
The wight that the trains of treason there laid
Was tried for his treachery, the truest on earth:3
It was Éneas4 the Athel5 and his high kindred
Who kingdoms then conquered, and princes became
Of all the wealth, well-nigh, in the West Isles.
Sóon as the róyal Rómulus to Rome made his way,
That burg with great pomp then builded he first
And named it his own name, as now it is called:
Ticius6 in Tuscany townships founded,
Langobard in Lombardy lifted up homes,
And far o’er the French flood Felix Brutus
On many a bank full broad, Britain he set,
well fain.
War and woe and wonder
On that fair land have lain,
And oft both bliss and blunder,7
Time and time again.

II

Now when Britain had been built by Brutus the prince,
Bold men there bred, that lov’d battle and strife
And at times a many wrought teen and trouble;
More wonders, I wis, on this wold have befallen
Than on any other I wot of, since those ancient days.
But of all that here built, that of Britain were kings,
Áy was Árthur the noblest, as I have heard tell;
And so an adventure I essay to show you,
Which many men reckon a main marvel,
All wonders o’ertopping that of the Table are told.
If ye’ll listen to my lay but a little while,
I shall tell ’t you this tide, as in town I heard it,
with tongue.
Well is it writ for you
In story brave and strong,
Linkèd8 with letters true;
In land has so been long