Set against the background of the Black Death of 1348, Giovanni Boccaccio's undisputed masterpiece recaptures both the tragedies and comedies of medieval life and is surely one of the greatest achievements in the history of literature.
The epic poem of honor and bravery Written by an anonymous fourteenth-century poet, "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" is recognized as an equal to Chaucer's masterworks and to the great Old English poems, "Beowulf" included. A green-skinned knight offers the Knights of the Round Table a simple but deadly challenge--a challenge taken on by the brave Sir Gawain.