MODULE 2: Perils and Adventures
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and the Arthurian Romance
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and the Arthurian Romance
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Preserved on a single surviving manuscript dating from around 1400, composed by an anonymous master, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was rediscovered only two hundred years ago and published for the first time in 1839. One of the earliest great stories of English literature after Beowulf, the poem narrates the strange tale of a green knight on a green horse who rudely interrupts the Round Table festivities one Yuletide, casting a pall of unease over the company and challenging one of their number to a wager.
The virtuous Gawain, nephew of King Arthur, accepts and decapitates the intruder with his own axe. Gushing blood, the knight reclaims his head, orders Gawain to seek him out a year hence, and departs. Next Yuletide Gawain dutifully sets forth. His quest for the Green Knight involves a winter journey, a seduction scene in a dreamlike castle, a dire challenge answered -- and a drama of enigmatic reward disguised as psychic undoing.
Preserved on a single surviving manuscript dating from around 1400, composed by an anonymous master, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was rediscovered only two hundred years ago and published for the first time in 1839. One of the earliest great stories of English literature after Beowulf, the poem narrates the strange tale of a green knight on a green horse who rudely interrupts the Round Table festivities one Yuletide, casting a pall of unease over the company and challenging one of their number to a wager.
The virtuous Gawain, nephew of King Arthur, accepts and decapitates the intruder with his own axe. Gushing blood, the knight reclaims his head, orders Gawain to seek him out a year hence, and departs. Next Yuletide Gawain dutifully sets forth. His quest for the Green Knight involves a winter journey, a seduction scene in a dreamlike castle, a dire challenge answered -- and a drama of enigmatic reward disguised as psychic undoing.
LITERARY TEXTS
Poetry
Fitt 2 (lines 491 - 1125) Fitt 3 (lines 1126-1997) Fitt 4 (lines 1998 - 2531) Stories
Lectures & Presentations |
OTHER MEDIA
Online Resources
- Ancient Mysteries: Camelot, 1995 (documentary)
Online Resources
- The Camelot Project: A Robbins Library Digital Project hosted by the University of Rochester.
- Arthuriana: Studies in Medieval History and Legend
- Luminarium: Anthology of English Literature: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
- The Cotton Nero A.x. Project: Digital Facsimile and Commentary of the single surviving manuscript of Sir Gawain and the
- BBC Documentary of SGGK: Poet and SGGK translator Simon Armitage follows Gawain through some of Britain's most beautiful and mystical landscapes and reveals why an absurd tale of a knight beheading a green giant is as relevant and compelling today as when it was written.
- Aberdeen Bestiary: A medieval collection of short descriptions and illustrations about all sorts of animals, both real and imaginary. (Hosted by Labyrinth.)
- International Heraldry and Heralds
- Hero's Journey
TERMINOLOGY
Alliterative verse
Bob and Wheel Chivalry Chivalric romance |
Courtly love
Legend Middle English |
AUDIOBOOK GALLERY.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight PART 1
Lines 1 - 490 Translated by Simon Armitage Sir Gawain and the Green Knight PART 3, Volume 1
Lines 1126 - 1557 Translated by Simon Armitage |
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight PART 2
Lines 491 - 1125 Translated by Simon Armitage Sir Gawain and the Green Knight PART 3, Volume 2
Lines 1558 - 1997 Translated by Simon Armitage |
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight PART 4
Lines 1998 - 2531
Translated by Simon Armitage
Lines 1998 - 2531
Translated by Simon Armitage
VIDEO GALLERY.
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Chivalry in the Middle Ages (2m 37s)
Getty Museum |
The Life and Legend of King Arthur (45m)
A Documentary by The History Channel |
IMAGE GALLERY.