Sir Gawain And The Green Knight, Pearl, And Sir Orfeo

I am a huge fan of the medieval masterpiece "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight," and so grateful that history was kind enough to leave us with a single surviving copy of it, so that we could realize how diverse, imaginative and rich in cultural mythology that Medieval society was. While we don't know the identity of the "Gawain Poet," his (or her) legacy has allowed us to realize that a local, native English literary tradition was thriving in the 14th century, and that many more masterpieces lost to us likely existed. I had read this poem years ago in a modern translation, and was instantly smitten .... The imagery that hearkened back to a deeply observant and poetic vision of the world, which so often seems lost in our digital-obsessed, anti-intellectual society today; the deft weaving of ancient pre-Christian symbolism with Christian themes prevalent at the time of the poem; the epic of Sir Gawain's quest, his inner turmoil and -- ultimately -- his humanity as he wrestled to reconcile his fear of what he was sure to be impending death with his sense of moral and chivalric duty: All these elements deeply resonated with me.As one with a deep and abiding love for and fascination with Old English and Middle English literature, culture, history and the medieval sensibility, I had come to want to experience this epic, powerful poem in its original tongue -- the northern Middle English dialect of the Gawain Poet. Finding such a copy -- and more than that, a version where the idiosyncrasies of that dialect's Middle English orthography were left intact (not standardized into Modern English equivalents) proved more challenging that I expected.When I learned that J.R.R. Tolkien -- not just beloved author of his own epic mythology, but eminent Old English (and linguistic scholar) -- had written his own analysis of the poem, and presented it, orthographically, virtually unchanged from the original, I was ecstatic. Tolkien's insights are to be trusted, and this particular book provides useful appendices on pronunciation of Middle English, notes on word meanings and interesting notes about the original manuscript in which the poem was discovered, and other fascinating context.For anyone with a love of historical English literature, this poem is a must, and I highly recommend reading this poem, if possible, in the original Middle English. So much is ultimately lost in translation -- especially when authors strive to preserve the unique alliterative structure of the poem. For those who might be intimidated by the quirks and inconsistencies of Middle English spelling, and the strangeness of several of the words, never fear: Middle English bears many similarities to Modern English, and once one gets a feel for the pronunciation (and becomes more acquainted with some key Middle English vocabulary), it becomes a thoroughly enjoyable and enriching experience to travel back nearly 700 years to recite this magnificent treasure of English literature in its original tongue.

This is a collection of three alliterative verse poems written in the 14th century by an anonymous author. J.R.R. Tolkien translated them from Chaucer era Middle English and provides essays that are included in the book.Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, an Arthurian epic poem, is easily the longest and most well known story. It examines the chivalric code and its conflict with morality, sexual desire, honor and ultimately, mortality. The plot revolves around a "beheading game" with a mysterious Green Knight who gallops in into King Arthur's court during a yuletide feast and challenges any amongst the king and his assembled knights to decapitate him using the Green Knight's own battle axe. The offer comes with the promise that the one delivering the blow would appear in a year's time and present his own neck on the Green Knight's chopping block. Gawain accepts the challenge.The intrigue centers around a mysterious king whom Gawain visits en route to his appointment with the Green Knight. Is the king a shape-shifted Green Knight, and is his alluring and seductive wife also the king and or the Green Knight putting Gawain through his true chivalric test as a knight before the beheading? No spoilers here!The poem Pearl is pure Christian allegory, and is rather tedious. A bereaved father dreams that his deceased young daughter is one of the 144,000 selected virgins (as described in the Book of Revelations) blissfully sitting at the hand of the Lamb of God. She reveals her blessedness and the holy city in the dream and relieves her father of the regret and loss that he constantly struggled with when contemplating her mortal remains decaying in her grave .My favorite was the third epic poem, Sir Orfeo, because it delves into the land of Faerie and the kidnapping of a king's beautiful wife by the Faerie King. The devastated king becomes a vagabond in exile until he devises a clever plan to extricate his wife from Faerie.

Beautiful book poem like & enlightening too!

Me está encantando la historia y todo el proceso que se llevó a cabo para la recopilación y traducción del poema. Constituye en una travesía en la naturaleza humana y cuán frágil puede llegar a ser. El honor, la fe y la fidelidad son siempre cuestionados y atacados por terceros, si tienes la fuerza de voluntad necesaria para aceptar que eres humano y que eras de vez en cuando te hace noble.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, and Sir Orfeo is a collection of Tolkien’s translations of these medieval poems—a collection I’ve been meaning to get around to for some time.Having read and enjoyed some other translation works of Tolkien’s (eg. The Fall of Author; The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun; Kullervo), I knew what to expect with this and wasn’t disappointed.For me, all three works are certainly worth the time. Pearl often gets voted least liked out of the three. Which is a shame, because, though different in style to the others, it’s still poignant. The show stealer, however, in my opinion, would be the inclusion of Tolkien’s lecture on Sir Gawain—I relished every word of his insight.

Muito bom.

Un'edizione preziosa e meravigliosa dei libri di Tolkien, cominciata per celebrare il trentesimo anniversario della pubblicazione postuma de "Il Silmarillion" e coinvolge tutte le opere del professore di Oxford. Congratulazioni alla HarperCollins Publishers per questa edizione da un lettore italiano appassionato di Tolkien.

Chegou então a lua de setembroPrenunciando inverno em seu luar.E Gawain viu, já perto de dezembro,Iminente o perigo a enfrentar.Sir Gawain foi escrito a noroeste da Inglaterra no final do século XIV. Sim, significa 1300s. Velho como é, Sir Gawain foi escrito em inglês. Mas não o tipo de inglês que você conhece. Está escrito em um dialeto do inglês medieval chamado North West Midland. O inglês medieval era uma linguagem muito menos padronizada do que o inglês moderno é hoje. Esse dialeto tem muitas palavras emprestadas do galês; ele também tem muitos remanescentes do anglo-saxão, a língua falada na Inglaterra antes de se misturar com o francês. Felizmente para nós temos a excelente versão em inglês moderno de JRR Tolkien – autor de “O Senhor dos Anéis”, reconhecida referência em todo o mundo.O núcleo da narrativa é conhecido como o “desafio” ou “jogo da decapitação”. O autor introduz com maestria um segundo elemento chamado “tentação”, onde a reputação de Gawain como “honrado cavaleiro da corte” é colocada em jogo. O autor revela espantoso talento artístico na construção da trama e o seu estilo de escrever é excepcional. Por exemplo, a tradicional e original passagem das estações; o relato elaborado do armamento de Gawain, preciso e contemporâneo nos detalhes; as animadas cenas de caças, igualmente exatas e hábeis; os elegantes diálogos entre Gawain e sua sedutora, os quais revelam sua sensibilidade na caracterização. Em essência, o autor demonstra que conhece profundamente o ser humano, sua fragilidade e grandeza.O poema é parte da tradição do romance medieval, o que significa que se concentra na jornada ou busca de um único cavaleiro (aqui, Sir Gawain) e o que ele aprende sobre si mesmo e sua cultura no processo de uma grande aventura. O nobre Gawain aceita o desafio de um cavaleiro misterioso. Não, não é um cavaleiro mascarado nem negro, e sim um cavaleiro verde.O verde do Cavaleiro Verde, juntamente com o aspecto selvagem de sua morada, provavelmente representa sua conexão com o mundo natural. O deserto pelo qual Gawain cavalga assim que ele parte da corte de Arthur e, mais tarde, para a Capela Verde, representa um forte contraste entre o mundo civilizado de Arthur e os tribunais de Bertilak. Enquanto o mundo civilizado é governado por códigos de cavalheirismo e amor, o mundo natural é um lugar mais caótico onde predomina o instinto animal de sobrevivência.As cenas de caça no poema demonstram que os homens tentam dominar e impor rituais e regras até mesmo neste mundo. Personagens lutam com o mundo natural constantemente. O poema coloca Gawain contra a passagem natural das estações, o clima frio e invernal e seus anseios naturais por sexo e sobrevivência. Os personagens mostram que a divisão entre homem e mundo natural pode ser mais ilusória do que realidade.Enfim, o personagem do Cavaleiro Verde representa o entrelaçamento do animal e do humano na natureza humana. As cenas de caça em "Sir Gawain e o Cavaleiro Verde" enfatizam as tentativas dos homens de dominar e impor ordem ao mundo natural. Tudo isso transmitido com um domínio de foco narrativo que hoje chamaríamos de cinematográfico.Boa leitura!