The Exchange of Winnings at Bertilak’s Castle
A record in The Hawthorn Archive, preserving folklore with its place, type and source context attached.
During his stay at a remote castle in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain agrees to exchange whatever he gains indoors for whatever his host wins while hunting. The bargain is repeated over successive days and turns an apparently courteous household arrangement into a test of honesty.
The alternating scenes of hunting and conversation invite comparison between different forms of pursuit, pressure and restraint. Their careful arrangement is one of the poem’s distinctive literary features. The episode also prepares for the later revelation that Gawain has not disclosed everything he received.
Evidence: medieval romance, not a documented household custom. Source trail: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, British Library Cotton MS Nero A X; modern critical editions.