King Arthur & the Matter of Britain
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Elaine of Astolat
Gawain
is the eldest son of Lot of Orkney and Morgause. He is the
nephew of Arthur and one of his closest companions. He is the brother of
Gareth, Gaheris and Agravaine, and the half-brother of Mordred.
"Gawain figures prominently in many romances. In France he is generally
presented as one who has adventures paralleling in diptych
fashion but not overshadowing the hero's,
whether that hero be Lancelot or Perceval. In the English tradition,
however, it is much more common for
Gawain to be the principal hero and the exemplar of
courtesy and chivalry, as he is in Sir Gawain and the
Green Knight and the other Arthurian romances of
the Alliterative Revival." -- from the Introduction at
The Camelot Project, The University of Rochester
The English Romances
Sir
Gawain and the Green Knight in Middle English, edited by J.R.R.
Tolkien and E.V. Gordon, revised by Norman Davis, 1967 (at the
University of Virginia), in the original orthography:
SIÞEN þe sege and þe assaut watz sesed at Troye
Þe bor3 brittened and brent to bronde3 and askez
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,
translated into modern English prose by Jessie L. Weston (second edition, 1900),
at the Camelot Project:
After the siege and the assault of Troy, when that burg was destroyed and burnt to ashes...
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,
a verse translation by Jessie L. Weston (c. 1900) at In Parentheses [PDF]:
Since Troy's assault and siege, I trow, were over-past
To brands and ashes burnt that stately burgh at last
J.R.R. Tolkien's translation was published in
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, Sir Orfeo (1975).
Sir Gawain: Eleven Romances and Tales
edited with extensive introductions and commentary by Thomas Hahn, at TEAMS:
-
The
Grene Knight
-
The
Awyntyrs off Arthur [The Adventures of Arthur]
-
The
Avowing of Arthur
-
The
Jeaste of Sir Gawain
-
The
Knightly Tale of Gologras and Gawain
-
The
Marriage of Sir Gawain
-
Sir
Gawain and the Carle of Carlisle
-
The
Carle of Carlisle
-
The
Turke and Sir Gawain
-
The
Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell
-
King
Arthur and King Cornwall
Ywain
and Gawain, edited by Mary Flowers Braswell, from
Sir Perceval of Galles and Ywain and Gawain, also at TEAMS.
Continental Texts
Three tales translated by Jessie L. Weston
at Mary Jones's Celtic Literature Collective
(New !):
- Sir Gawain and The Lady of Lys, from the Perceval Continuation One (Pseudo-Wauchier) [French]
- Sir Gawain and the Grail Part One, also from the Perceval Continuation One (Pseudo-Wauchier)
- Diu Krône, selections from the Grail Episode [German]
Online Resources for Tales of Gawain
Gawain:
Texts, Images, Basic Information at the Camelot Project.
Sir Gawain and the
Green Knight by Anniina Jokinen is part of the Anthology of Middle English
Literature and includes links to essays and student projects on Gawain.
Sir Gawain and the Green
Knight by Kim Neininger at Pace University includes
A Character
Analysis of Sir Gawain as Presented in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
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2 January 2005