10 May

10 May is the date Sir Gawaine gives in his final letter for the battle at Dover in which he was struck again in the old wound inflicted by Sir Launcelot. In the account of his death, the date fixes the moment when Gawaine’s regret over his quarrel with Sir Launcelot becomes a last request: that Sir Launcelot return, see his tomb, and help King Arthur against Sir Mordred.

The Date in Gawaine’s Letter

After the fighting at Dover, the dying Gawaine asks for paper, pen, and ink so he can write to Sir Launcelot in his own hand. He says that on 10 May he was struck upon the old wound Sir Launcelot had given him before the city of Benwick, and that this wound has brought him to his death. He emphasizes that his death comes from his own actions, not from Sir Launcelot’s fault.

The date appears twice in the letter’s account of events. Gawaine identifies 10 May as the day of the blow at Dover, and says that when he writes, only two and a half hours remain before his death. The letter thus records both the day of the fatal recurrence and the short interval between Gawaine’s last appeal and his death.

Dover and the Consequences of the Wound

The injury occurs after King Arthur and his forces land at Dover and drive Sir Mordred’s people into flight. Gawaine is found in a boat, gravely wounded. When he explains the renewed wound, he describes the battle as a consequence of his own haste and wilfulness, and admits that he would not make peace with Sir Launcelot.

Gawaine tells King Arthur that the division had helped bring about the war: Sir Launcelot and his kin had kept the king’s enemies in check, and Gawaine’s refusal to reconcile with him left that support absent. He urges Sir Launcelot to return across the sea, see his tomb, pray for his soul, and rescue King Arthur, whom he says is beset by the traitorous Sir Mordred. Gawaine also reports that Sir Mordred sought to take the crown and marry Queen Guenever, who had shut herself in the Tower of London.

A Last Appeal and Its Aftermath

The letter turns the date from a bare marker into part of Gawaine’s attempt to repair what his earlier choices have damaged. He asks that the world know he sought his own death and that Sir Launcelot should not be blamed. His plea joins personal reconciliation to the kingdom’s immediate danger: the man he had opposed is also the knight he believes can help save King Arthur.

Gawaine dies at noon, after receiving the sacrament, and King Arthur has him buried in a chapel within Dover Castle. The narrative confirms the wound at his tomb. His death does not end the fighting: King Arthur soon learns that Sir Mordred has formed a new battle line at Barham Down and rides to meet him. In this sequence, 10 May anchors both the private cost of the breach between Gawaine and Sir Launcelot and the continuing conflict between King Arthur and Sir Mordred.