What better way to spend Halloween than reading a story that begins with a beheading? For the next week or so, we'll be discussing Arthurian Literature, beginning with a look at " Sir Gawain and the Green Knight ," the anonymous tale of a test of courtly love, involving a supernatural green knight and a bet. For more information on the poem, read this introduction . I've also included a prose translation that you can compare with the verse translation we have in our book.