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The first poem and the longest is Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The story is something of a 'spinoff' from the standard Arthurian tales that populated the Medieval (and modern) periods. The poem begins in the Arthurian Court, with Arthur and Guinevere presiding over a Christmas-tide festival. Sir Gawain is sitting with the queen and other notables when a massive knight, covered in green garb, rushes into the court. He then challenges any knight of the round table to strike him on the condition that he may return the favor in one year and a day. Gawain takes up the offer, decapitating the Green Knight, who then picks up his head and rides off.