Sir Gawain and The Green Knight PDF - Overview
Sir Gawain and The Green Knight translated by Jessie L. Weston, It is a late 14th century Chivalric romance in middle English, It is written by an unknown author and the title was given centuries later. Its plot combining two types of folk motifs, first was the beheading game and second is the exchange of winnings, written in stanzas of alliterative verse.
Sir Gawain and The Green Knight is one of the best-known Arthurian stories, it draws on Welsh, Irish, and English stories, as well as the French Chivalric tradition. It is an important example of a Chivalric romance, which typically involves a hero who goes on a quest which tests his prowess. It remains popular in modern English renderings from J. R. R. Tolkien, Simon Armitage, and others.
Sir Gawain and The Green Knight
Short summary of Sir Gawain and The Green Knight
The story describes how Sir Gawain, a knight of King Arthur’s Round Table, accepts a challenge from a mysterious “Green Knight” who dares any knight to strike him with his axe if he will take a return blow in a year and a day. Gawain accepts and beheads him, at which the Green Knight stands, picks up his head, and reminds Gawain of the appointed time.
In his struggles to keep his bargain, Gawain demonstrates chivalry and loyalty until his honour is called into question by a test involving the lord and the lady of the castle at which he is a guest. The poem survives in one manuscript, Cotton Nero A.x., which also includes three religious narrative poems: Pearl, Cleanness, and Patience.
All four are written in a North West Midlands dialect of Middle English, and are thought to have been written by the same author, dubbed the “Pearl Poet” or “Gawain Poet”.