At the New Year's festival, a towering foreign knight, dressed entirely in green, appears at King Arthur's court and challenges the knights of the Round Table: he wishes to face the bravest among them, who shall strike him. A year and a day later, this knight must seek out the Green Knight to receive a return blow. Gawain accepts the challenge and beheads the knight. To the horror of the court, the stranger picks up his head and rides away. The noble Gawain must now embark on the journey to the Green Chapel, the agreed-upon site for their battle, a year later. Along the way, he arrives at a castle, where he is warmly welcomed. The lord of the castle proposes a game for entertainment: he will go hunting and in the evening present his guest with the spoils, while the guest must hand over everything he has gained during the day at the castle to the lord. For Gawain, this is a tough test.