Word: axes
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Dates: during 1890-1899
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...first half describes the appearance in the court of King Arthur, at Yuletide, of a stalwart knight all clad in green, who challenges the assembled knights to a strange contest. The green knight offers to allow any man present to deal him a blow with his axe on condition that he (the green knight) may deal a return blow a twelvemonth hence at the Green Chapel. Sir Gawain is the only knight valiant enough to accept the challenge. Accordingly, with a ponderous blow he chops off the green knight's head. But the latter picks his head up again...
...Year's Day coming round, Sir Gawain proceeds to the "Green Chapel," where he finds the green knight. The latter strikes, but the axe only makes a slight scratch on Sir Gawain's neck, because it is protected by the green lace. Thereupon the green knight reveals his identity with the lord of the castle and says that the visits of his wife to Sir Gawain's bed chamber were but to try his purity...
...scene opens at King Arthur's court at Christmas. During the festivities a huge knight clad in green enters and challenges anyone to exchange blows with him. Gawain accepts and testing the knight's axe, cut off his head at a blow. The Green Knight, however, unhurt picks up his head and rides off. Gawain is to go to a place called Green Chapel and receive his return blow in a year. After All-Hallow Feast, Gawain sets out for the Green Chapel. At Christmas time he comes to a castie, whose owner, a huge knight, tells him that...
...fatality that had dragged Gunnar to his death seems now to pursue the family of Njal. The conspicuous character in this second part is Skarphethin, stalwart, always grimly smiling with his battle axe upraised. He kills his foster brother, and when at the Olthing a bully upbraids him, he smiled and striking forward said "Do now one of two things Thorkell foul-mouth, sheath your sword and set down or I'll drive the axe into your head, and cleave you down into the shoulders." Thorkell sat down. Njal and his sons are attacked and the house set on fire...
...broken is because they are so trivial; since it is far harder to do a small, comparatively unimportant thing than a great one. A man should try to change himself morally and begin a thoroughly new and good life. A single bough may be hard to cut off; the axe should be laid at the root of the tree. Each day should be systematically mapped out, as by that means so much of what one ought to do can be accomplished that there will be little time left to spend in yielding to temptation...