In The Pearl Poet's Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, after two failed attempts to seduce Gawain, Lady Bertilak grants the knight a gift in response to his disinterest and the inability to give her a memory of any kind. While Gawain refuses the gift of the exquisite red gold ring, Lady Bertilak gives him a sash made of green silk and embroidered with gold thread. Gawain initially rejects this gift as well, insisting that he will accept nothing until he has completed the Green Knight's challenge. But Lady Bertilak counters and claims that the belt possesses magical qualities, and Gawain accepts the gift, convinced that it would grant him immunity against the Green Knight's blade. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Therefore, promised protection is the first meaning that Gawain associates with the belt, as it apparently fulfilled its function of safeguarding him, although not in the same sense as Lady Bertilak claimed. His belief in the magical properties of the belt gave him the certainty that perhaps he could be spared from death and convinced him to tell the truth, making it a reason for his survival. As the Green Knight, who revealed himself to be Lord Bertilak, said: "Confessing your failures you are free from guilt / and have openly paid penance under the point of my axe" (2391-92). And so, the belt represents both Gawain's fall and salvation, a double-edged sword that will always be part of him and haunt him for years to come. Likewise, the belt serves as a memento of Gawain's encounter with the Green Knight under Morgan le Faye's orchestrations. It was also the offending object that helped solve the mystery of the Green Knight's identity and reveal the motivations of those in Castle Hautdesert. In the final moments of the battle, Lord Bertilak, like his wife, offers the belt as a gift. “It is yours, Sir Gawain, / a memento of our meeting when you mingle and mingle / with princes and kings” (2396-98). Therefore, the belt serves as an ever-present reminder to Gawain to remain humble and always remember the time when his chivalric virtues failed him in a time of danger, against the influence of Morgan le Faye. Furthermore, the belt, like the scar on his neck, is evidence of Gawain's sin. Although he has not attracted Lady Bertilak's attention any more than she has given him, his failure to be sincere is his misfortune and his mistake. After privately confessing his sins to the priest and gaining absolution, Gawain did not consider mentioning the belt to Lord Bertilak, only giving him the three kisses he had "won" from Lady Bertilak earlier. Aside from the "sash", the girdle is called "love lace" (1874) throughout the poem, an implication of how Gawain is tied to his secrecy and his sin; “Once sin is entangled, it sticks forever” (2512), as he describes. This ties him to his personal shame, convincing him to seek repentance by wearing the belt for the rest of his days, and demonstrating negativity and a sense of finality in his view of the events that occurred. King Arthur, on the other hand, holds the much more optimistic view that the belt represents respect and unity among the lords and ladies of his court. Since Gawain had volunteered as "the weakest of [Arthur's] warriors and the weakest in spirit" (354) to accept the Green Knight's challenge, the decision to have all of Arthur's knights wear a green sash serves as a show of gratitude, and demonstrates the camaraderie within the brotherhood of members..