Quote 4
. . . "You have fully repeated, in exact terms,
Without omission the whole covenant I put to the king;
Except that you shall assure me, sir, on your word,
That you will seek me yourself, wherever you think
I may be found upon earth, to accept such payment
As you deal me today before this noble gathering."
(392 - 397)
The Green Knight further invokes the rules of chivalry when he asks for Gawain’s word that he will seek him out in one year to receive his "payment." The Middle English term translated as "word" here is "trawthe," or troth, a loaded term that refers to a knight’s oath, or promise, which he must keep as a matter of honor. Also important in this passage is the Knight’s reference to the blow he will give Gawain as "such payment as you deal me today." This characterizes their game as an exchange of payments, a concept that will become very important later on in the tale.
Quote 5
"Yet further," said the man, "let us make an agreement:
Whatever I catch in the wood shall become yours,
And whatever mishap comes your way give me in exchange.
Dear sir, let us swap so, swear me that truly,
Whatever falls to our lot, worthless or better."
"By God," said the good Gawain, "I agree to that,
And your love of amusement pleases me much."
"If someone brings us a drink, it will be an agreement,"
Said the lord of that company.
(1105 - 1113)
In this scene, Gawain gets roped into another game. As in the exchange of blows he has agreed to with the Green Knight, according to the terms of Lord Bertilak’s proposal, the two men will exchange their "winnings" at the end of each day. Lord Bertilak will yield whatever he has hunted in the woods to Gawain in exchange for whatever Gawain has won in the hall. The two men seal their agreement with a drink.
Quote 6
"First I threatened you playfully with a pretence,
And avoided giving you a gash, doing so rightly
Because of the agreement we made on the first night,
When you faithfully and truly kept you pledged word,
Gave me all your winnings, as an honest man should.
That other feint, sir, I gave you for the next day,
When you kissed my lovely wife and gave me those kisses.
For both occasions I aimed at you two mere mock blows
without harm.
True man must pay back truly,
Then he need nothing fear;
You failed me the third time
And took that blow therefore."
(2345 - 2356)
Here the Green Knight reveals that he is also Lord Bertilak, and that he has combined the two games between himself and Gawain into one. The results of the beheading game are dependent upon Gawain’s behavior in the exchange-of-winnings game. Technically, the Green Knight fulfills the terms of the beheading game because he does strike Gawain with his axe – it’s just that he chooses only to wound him rather than sever his head completely. This is important because the Knight states that "true man must pay back truly."