The Green Knight

To use: Shake well before applying 4 drops for 5-6 hours of ever-developing scent. Can be used on the skin as an eau de toilette, as a room scent, in a slow-release diffuser — the full number of potential uses is still being explored.

The 1 oz and 3 mL amber bottles both have glass droppers; the 1 oz bottle has a matte finish; the 1 mL is an amber glass sampler with a plastic applicator. Each bottle has individual flourished labels and is shipped in kraft-paper packaging — all so you can experience life as a member of the late-Renaissance gentry, receiving a delivery from your favorite apothecary.

I typically sell the 1 mL sample size for $4.50 each, the 3 mL size for $12, and the large 1 oz. bottle for $30. Contact me if interested in a larger number and/or a shipping estimate, though be advised that due to The Green Knight being an alcohol-based perfume, it can only be shipped via ground to U.S. addresses.

Preorders encouraged due to small batch numbers; keep reading for more information about this rich perfume…

What does it smell like?

The Green Knight is a very rich, warm, aromatic scent; a wine mulled with fruit and spices and set before the wood fire in a professor’s winter-bound library, warm and ready for a gathering of Medievalist scholars to read Arthurian verse aloud before toasting to the new year.

It opens to the bright, sweet-spice of cinnamon and clove, with bergamot playing a cooler green, like ivy, twining underneath.

The woody notes then begin to show, though still with spices at its base, like a forest cunningly depicted on a tapestry hung in a castle’s great hall and imbued with the flavors of a hundred feasts. The Green Knight finally settles into well-worn leather and spice, an open saddlebag that has carried decades’ worth of Silk Road gifts and sweet subtleties for a lord’s banquet. The end, when it comes, returns the wearer to a faint abiding spicy-sweet clove, like the memory of a well-played evening.

Ingredients List for The Green Knight (version 2.0)

• Hennessy Cognac
• lavender essential oil (E.O.)
• bergamot E.O.
• clove E.O.
• rose E.O.
• cinnamon E.O.

While no official safety assessment has been made, the recipe I’ve developed appears to be safe for personal perfume based on the International Fragrance Association‘s standards for Category 4 products as of March 2024. Be aware, though, that essential oils (and what little I could discover about cognac based on reports rather than specific chemical analysis) are considered Natural Complex Substances and the chemical composition, based on the IFRA Annex, can only be generalized.

Why does it say “version 2.0”?

Because historical recipes don’t write down everything — much like modern recipes don’t always tell you “how” to fold in the cheese! — recreating these recipes requires a lot of trial and error. I’m very happy with how this scent turned out, but I may keep experimenting with different variations on the process, so the numbers may keep moving up.

All perfumes are labeled with their version number — if you find that I’ve moved on to the next variation, but you love the one you have, just let me know! Because I work in small batches, I can easily remake the version you want to keep on hand. 

Why is it called The Green Knight?
Though the recent film isn’t obvious about it, the Medieval chivalric romance, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is an Arthurian verse poem that starts with a Christmas game. To call the poem a Christmas story, though, the way we might consider the holiday today, is similar to the amusing argument that Die Hard is primarily a Christmas movie. This eau de toilette has the clove-and-cinnamon spice of modern Christmas scent profiles, but its fruity richness, cool greenery, and smooth leather warmth shifts the scent to something that can be used throughout the year — much the way the whole year passes before Sir Gawain must play against the Green Knight again.

Working from my example
The road to experimental archaeology — and fun with historical plausibility — is one of trial and error (mostly error!). Anyone can start playing like me, though; to learn more about how I drafted this perfume, or see what further research I do, you can find my write-ups here: Regarding scents.

Historically “Inaccurate” (and related safety warnings)

While I have a lot of fun recreating these recipes and I hope you enjoy them as well, here are some important reminders:

1. Some historical ingredients are poisonous, difficult to source, or actually illegal to source, so most products I develop aren’t fully historically “accurate.” If I can’t omit the ingredient or find a reasonable alternative, I won’t be selling it.
2. These products are created for entertainment and educational purposes only, in small batches in my studio and kitchen (and, therefore, under non-sterile-factory conditions where cross-contamination is possible). The safety of these products has not been determined; I self-test everything I sell, and I don’t sell things I don’t love, but keep your own safety in mind first. 
3. While I generally try to recreate recipes as I find them, in The Green Knight‘s case in particular everything I make here has to be considered, baseline, historically inaccurate. Don’t rely solely on my ingredients lists as a historical source; if you have any questions or want to dig into what I may have changed, feel free to drop me a line!

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