A green horse great and tall;
A steed full stiff to guide,
In broidered bridle all
He worthily bestrides

Dating from around 1400 and composed by an anonymous writer, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was first translated and published almost 200 years ago. Its epic nature has not been dimmed by time: the classic story of a knight on a green steed challenging Sir Gawain to a monumental wager, it is a strange tale full of decapitations, seduction and magic.

Soon to be brought to the big screen, Sir Gawain is one of the earliest great stories of English literature.