a combination of these two Celtic themes. While there are other tales whose Celtic elements can be examined, these three are most likely among the best examples. A major aspect of Celtic literature within "Lanval" is the theme itself, the story that a fairy mistress falls in love with a mortal. In the story Lanval by Marie de France, an unpopular knight of the court becomes the lover of a mysterious and otherworldly woman. Though he breaks his promise to keep their love a secret, he is eventually reunited with her (Marie de France 154-167). Cross states that, "The influence one medieval romance of Celtic stories involving both the fairy mistress and the Journey to the Otherworld has long since been recognized". While we are never told whether or not Lanval's lover is a fairy, it is most certain that she is a woman of supernatural origin. You can even find a very similar example to the story of "Lanval" in the Irish story called "Aidead Muirchertaig maic Erca". One of the only differences between the original Irish stories and that of "Lanval" is the fact that Marie de France's story is more Christianized and erases any overtly Pagan elements. There are also many other examples of a fairy mistress bestowing favor upon a mortal man within Irish folklore. After providing many examples of this theme within early Celtic literature, Cross states that, "Those given (examples) above demonstrate beyond the possibility of doubt that stories of fee who hanker after mortal earth-born lovers and who visit mortal soil in search of their mates existed in early Celtic tradition…". In "Sir Gaiwan and the Green Knight" the theme of the Beheading Test is prevalent. According to Alice Buchanan's article: "The Irish Framework of Sir Gawin and the Green Knight," she states: the theme of Beheading texts, which occurs in Arthurian Romances, French, English, and German, from about 1180 – 1380, is derived from an Irish tradition actually existent in a MS. Written before 1106" In "Sir Gaiwan and the Green Knight," it's Gawain's head which is at stake. This is where the "Beheading Game" comes into place. This is when a supernatural challenger offers to let his head be cut off in exchange for a return blow. It is said that the first texts in which the "Beheading Game" is shown is in the Middle Irish tale of Bricriu's Feast. However,