Beheading game

A beheading game is a trope or motif of medieval romance in which the players exchange blows which could decapitate their opponent. The most famous example is in the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and the earliest known form is in the Irish story of Fled Bricrenn (Bricriu's Feast).[1][2]

The Green Knight has survived beheading by Gawain in this 14th century manuscript.

References

Strite, Sheri Ann (1991), "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: To Behead or Not to Behead — That is a Question" (PDF), Philological Quarterly, University of Iowa, 70: 1–12
Tracy, Larissa (2012), "The Real Story of the Beheading Games", Heads Will Roll: Decapitation in the Medieval and Early Modern Imagination, BRILL, pp. 207–232, ISBN 9789004211551

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[Strite-1] Strite, Sheri Ann (1991), "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: To Behead or Not to Behead — That is a Question" (PDF), Philological Quarterly, University of Iowa, 70: 1–12

[Tracy-2] Tracy, Larissa (2012), "The Real Story of the Beheading Games", Heads Will Roll: Decapitation in the Medieval and Early Modern Imagination, BRILL, pp. 207–232, ISBN 9789004211551