Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
by Anonymous
Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- c. 1375-1400
- Era
- Medieval
- Form
- Romance and tale
- Language
- Middle English
- Length
- Short · 120 ppunder 120 pages
- Difficulty
- Moderate2 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendSir Gawain and the Green Knight, translated by Simon ArmitageW. W. Norton, 2008Alliterative verse that keeps the poem's energy, with the Middle English on facing pages.
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At Arthur's New Year feast a huge green knight offers to take a blow from an axe if the striker will accept one in return a year later. Gawain beheads him; the knight picks up his head and rides off. Gawain sets out the next winter to keep his word, and at a castle on the way is entertained by a lord who proposes to exchange each day's winnings, while the lady of the house tries to seduce him. He accepts a green girdle that is said to protect him and hides it. At the Green Chapel the knight, who is the lord in disguise, nicks his neck for the concealment, and Gawain returns to Camelot ashamed.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns Sir Gawain and the Green Knight are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
