Green Knight

The Green Knight is a mysterious figure in Arthurian legend who first appeared in the 14th-century masterpiece *Sir Gawain and the Green Knight*. Known in Welsh as *Marchog Gwyrdd*, in Cornish as *Marghek Gwyrdh*, and in Breton as *Marc'heg Gwer*, he is revealed to be Bertilak de Hautdesert in the original poem, though he appears as "Bredbeddle" in the related work *The Greene Knight* and the ballad *King Arthur and King Cornwall*.

In *Sir Gawain*, Morgan le Fay transforms Bertilak into the Green Knight to challenge Arthur's court, while *The Greene Knight* attributes his transformation to a different enchantress with the same purpose. Both versions feature him sending his wife to test Gawain's virtue. The ballad *King Arthur and King Cornwall* reimagines him as one of Arthur's most formidable champions and an exorcist. Throughout Arthurian literature, he serves as both judge and challenger of knights, inspiring a complex mixture of awe and terror in those who encounter him.

The Green Knight's defining characteristic - his green skin and clothing - has sparked extensive scholarly debate. Various interpretations connect him to the Green Man of medieval art, Celtic mythological figures, or even a personification of the Devil as a "pagan" Christian symbol. C.S. Lewis praised him as "as vivid and concrete as any image in literature," while scholar J.A. Burrow considered him the most challenging Arthurian character to interpret.