The greatest of
King Arthur's knights of
the Round Table, according the Celtic sources, Sir Gawain is Arthur's nephew. He is the eldest son of
King Lot of Orkney and Arthur's sister
Morgause, and he has at least three younger brothers: the knights
Agravain,
Gareth, and
Gaheris. The most famous tale about Sir Gawain to modern readers is
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight about a beheading contest between Gawain and a supernatural Green adversary, Sir
Bercilak.
Gawain is a re-anglicization of the French spelling Gauvain, from the original Celtic Gwalchmei, which means "Hawk of May." Geoffrey of Monmouth called him "Gualguanus," and Wace called him "Walwein." Judging from the way medieval poets rhymed the name, "Gawain" was usually pronounced with the stress on the first syllable.