Overal enker-grene – the symbolism of the colour green in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
- Michael Smith
- Sep 29
- 7 min read
Updated: Oct 8
One of the most startling creations of Middle English poetry is the Green Knight in the fourteenth century masterpiece Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (SGGK). But what is the significance of his colour?
Green - a colour of the supernatural?
When King Arthur demands some story or adventure to liven his ennui at Camelot one Christmas, the court is disturbed when in comes a figure on horseback who is “overal enker-grene” [l. 150]. He is green all over – clothes, flesh, horse and even his weapon, his great “Danish axe” or “guisarme”. But does this colour hold significance?
In her essay on the supernatural in SGGK, Helen Cooper argues that the colour is not finite in meaning but is fundamentally contributory to the ambiguity of the poem. Green could represent come kind of folkloric nature figure, rebirth and renewal, even a sense of the devil. Or it might not.
None of these meanings is fundamentally stated in the poem; we are instead left to be disturbed by the notion of a man who is green all over – and a vibrant (enker) green at that.
What shade of green is the Green Knight?
When the Green Knight enters the hall, we see him as both physically and visually aggressive and discordant. He seems ‘half-giant’ [l. 140] but, being only a head taller than the next man [l. 333], he is not a giant.
His colour suggests he might be a ‘fayryʒe’ or 'fantoum' (a fairie, or supernatural being, or an illusion) [l. 240] but he is not named as such. He fails to dismount and has contempt for the king [ll. 221-231]. He wears no armour but carries a razor-sharp axe and a holly bough [ll.203-213].
Despite his monstrous beheading challenge ll. 283-300], the Green Knight makes clear that should he have wished for battle, he has armour at home for such a purpose [ll. 265-282]. Instead, he is trimmed in green furs, wears exquisitely finished clothes which emphasise his waist and has tight-fitting hose [ll. 143-198]. Curiously, despite the time of year, he rides barefoot, or at least without shoes ll. 160].
However, when Gawain lets the axe fall and the Green Knight's head falls to the ground, he bleeds like a human being, unlike a ghost or ghoul [421-429]. But, unlike a human, he picks up his head and then speaks to the court before leaving, demanding that Gawain find him in a year’s time at the Green Chapel [ll.430-546].
Green-skinned and green-haired [l. 2228], full-blooded [l. 441], and with blood-red eyes [l. 304], he seems half man, half monster. His lair, a chapel which is also green, sounds ominous.
The price of green
Clearly, this green figure is startling and is sufficient to deliver for Arthur the adventure he craved. But at what price? He could have lost his own life had he taken up the beheading challenge, but Gawain stepped in to save the day [ll. 339-374] and now Gawain’s faith and reputation are to be tested in some unknown corner of the realm.
Despite the laughter and jesting of the court after the Green Knight leaves, his challenge still hangs in the air like the axe itself, hung above the dais by the victorious Gawain [ll. 467-486]. We are told not only of Gawain’s personal anxiety [ll. 487-496] but also of the criticism of the court at Arthur’s own folly [ll. 672-686].
And so it is that Gawain must set off in search of his nemesis if he is to meet him again as promised when the Green Knight will behead Gawain in return. Yet we do not see the Green Knight again until the final ‘Fitt’ of the poem.
A colour to tarnish reputations
In the meantime, during the third 'Fitt', we are shown another world – one of seduction and deceit in which his host, Lord Bertilak hunts for game in the forest while his wife attempts to seduce Gawain.
This world of deception, manipulation and vanity nearly breaks Gawain as his loyalty to his host is continuously tested against a skillful poetic backdrop involving three hunting scenes.
However, while we think at the Fitt's end that we can move onto the final chapter, the lady's gift of the green girdle to Gawain [ll. 1827-1866] reminds us still of the dark power of green which overshadows the subsequent narrative.
The girdle, a protection against any threat, suggests that Gawain relies more on it than on his faith in Mother Mary (whose image graces the back of his shield) [ll. 644-649], and on the "Endless Knot" of purity (which, in the form of and interlocking pentangle, graces its front) {ll. 619-665].
Gawain, now protected by the green girdle, is shown the way to the Chapel by Bertilak’s increasingly surly and manipulative guide [ll. 2091-2155]. But this is no normal chapel, instead, it is a frightening “chapel of meschaunce (doom)” [l. 2195] where perhaps the Devil might sing his matins at midnight [l. 2188].
The Chapel, set on a snow-white plain within a barrow next to a blubbering stream [ll. 2171-2174], is not an entrance to the underworld, however. Inside it is dank and damp but with green vegetation handing down from above [l. 2190].
Yet it is noticeable that when Gawain climbs on top of it to summon the Green Knight [l. 2198], his host does not emerge from within the Chapel but from a crack in the limestone karst on the opposite bank of the river [l. 2221].
Now, against a backdrop of virgin snow, the Green Knight reappears dressed exactly as before [ll. 2227-2230]. When he eventually nicks Gawain’s neck with the tip of his axe, we see Gawain’s sacrificial blood drop onto the snow [ll. 2309-2314].
Finally, as the Green Knight explains all that has happened and the reasons behind it, we see Gawain ashamed of his conduct [ll. 2369-2372]. More, in despair at the green girdle he has been granted, he says he will wear it forever as a badge of shame [ll. 2429-2438].
The symbolism of the colour green in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Ultimately, it seems, the symbolism of the colour green in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is less about folklore and more about narrative technique.
Green is not so much a colour of the supernatural or the underworld but is instead seen as a token of dark forces, intent on subverting a Christian world and challenging the indolent complacency of its secular lord, King Arthur.
Arthur, partying at Christmas, brought the Green Knight on himself out of a demand for earthly adventure rather than spiritual salvation. Gawain, loyal to his lord and seeking to keep him from danger, took up the Green Knight’s challenge and, through arrogance, beheaded the stranger.
Similarly, later in the story, the luf-talking Gawain with a reputation stretching far and wide for his courtesy, knighthood and manners [ll. 1508-1534], falls victim to his own vanity. His eyes diverted by his inability to resist temptation, he accepts the green girdle from the lady as a token of protection, thereby valuing his life more than his honour or his duty to his host.
Yet despite everything, and having heard Gawain's story in full, Arthur cannot bring himself to learn its true message. Instead, he breezily brushes off Gawain's worries and decides that everyone should wear the band of green to celebrate the story as some kind of joyous adventure [ll 2513-2518].
But what they all fail to acknowledge is that the Green Knight is a rule-breaker, a rule-maker but not a rule-taker.
He emerges from nowhere to lay down new laws and later disappears to whence he came; although he states he is Lord Bertilak, it is not clear whether Bertilak is the figure into whom the Green Knight shape-shifts, instead of the other way round.
Ultimately, neither the Green Knight nor Bertilak are knights who pays homage to King Arthur; indeed, both are unknown to the king. If Arthur rules all of Logres, he doesn’t rule the part where the Green Knight lives.
The Green Knight is a law unto himself, unknown, unmanageable, and a force unbound from the rigid world of Arthur and his court.
So it seems that in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, green is not a colour of the supernatural, nor is it a colour of nature or re-birth. Instead, it is a token of threat, subversion and summary justice. Green is for Danger.
Michael Smith, author, translator, printmaker
For further reading on the supernatural elements within Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, please see: Helen Cooper, "The Supernatural" in A Companion to the Gawain-poet, edited by Derek Brewer and Jonathan Gibson (1997), pp. 277-291.
Buy the book - and original linocut prints
Michael Smith's translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, in addition to original linocut illustrations from the book plus linocut prints featuring episodes from the story are all available from Mythical Britain.
About the author, Michael Smith
I am a British author, translator and illustrator. I am currently studying for my PhD at the University of York, where I am researching the effective representation of Middle English romance.
My books, including a translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and the Alliterative Morte Arthure, are available through all the usual outlets. My translation of The Romance of William and the Werewolf was published in 2024.
All my books feature my own linocut prints as their illustration; many of my prints are held in private collections worldwide.
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