Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: Fifteen Translations
Discover the best Sir Gawain and the Green Knight translations in this curated list of 15 essential books. From classic verse renditions to scholarly editions by J. A. Burrow and collections including Pearl and Sir Orfeo, explore the finest medieval poetry for lovers of Arthurian legend.
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Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
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A splendid new translation of the classic Arthurian tale of enchantment, adventure, and romance, presented alongside the original Middle English text. It is the height of Christmas and New Year’s revelry when an enormous knight with brilliant green clothes and skin descends upon King Arthur’s court. He presents a sinister challenge: he will endure a blow of the axe to his neck without offering any resistance, but whoever gives the blow must promise to take the same in exactly a year and a day’s time. The young Sir Gawain quickly rises to the challenge, and the poem tells of the adventures he finds—an almost irresistible seduction, shockingly brutal hunts, and terrifyingly powerful villains—as he endeavors to fulfill his promise. Capturing the pace, impact, and richly alliterative language of the original text, W. S. Merwin has imparted a new immediacy to a spellbinding narrative, written centuries ago by a poet whose name is now unknown, lost to time. Of the Green Knight, Merwin notes in his foreword: “We seem to recognize him—his splendor, the awe that surrounds him, his menace and his grace—without being able to place him . . . We will never know who the Green Knight is except in our own response to him.”
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Sir Gawain and The Green Knight (Oxford World's Classics)
by Harrison, Keith
No summary available.
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Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
by J. A. Burrow
The Green Knight, a mysteriously powerful creature, tests the honor and courage of King Arthur's youngest knight.
