[3] King Arthur, looking out of the window of his court at Caerleon, sees a boat with a dead knight on it.
Alerted by a servant girl (called Marot), Gawain introduces himself to the court as Kay.
Gawain escapes with Gahariet, returning to the nearby castle of the Black Knight, where they are besieged by Gautdestroit.
She says she's promised to wear her clothes like this until she meets Gawain, the knight destined to avenge her husband, Raguidel.
The Hippeau 1862 edition has a plot summary (in French) in the introduction (pages III to X[4]) and Gaston Paris gives a plot summary (also in French) in his 1888 essay Romans en vers du cycle de la Table ronde (pages 49–50).
[5] Gaston Paris addresses the issue, citing several contemporaries (Mussafia, Michelant, Meyer, etc.)