Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

One of the oldest Arthurian romances, Sir Gawain and The Green Knight was written by an unknown author at some time in the Middle Ages. The original is, to modern eyes, virtually unreadable, due to the way the English language has changed, and it becomes vital that these old tales are translated into the modern idiom, or else they be lost to us.

I first came across this tale by watching the movie “Gawain and the Green Knight”, a 1970s adaptation which played fast and loose with the text. It's not great, but I loved it. The same director remade it in the 80s as “Sword of the Valiant”, but the less said about that, the better. The best, most faithful adaptation of this tale is an ITV production first aired in the 1990s, written by David Rudkin. It captures the atmosphere of the poem brilliantly and I recommend you seek it out (it's on DVD).

Simon Armitage has done a brilliant job of translating this epic poem into modern English, capturing it's strange, fantastical atmosphere but keeping the heart of the poem alive. The poem tells of the Green Knight, who challenges Arthur's knights one New Year's Day to a test of their mettle. To give one blow, the best they can muster, of the Green Knight's axe to said knight, and in return receive a like blow one year from that day. Of all Arthur's knights it is Gawain who steps up, deals the blow and sets in motion a quest that will take him up to the following New Year: to find the Green Knight at his Green Chapel and receive the axeblow.

There's an wintry, autumnal air to the poem and Gawain finds himself tested in many ways, both physical and mental. He must remain true to his knight's code and not sully the name of Arthur. He finds lodging at year's end at a manor house, home to a lord and his wife. Hospitality is offered and accepted and while the lord hunts all day, Gawain must deal with the other occupants of the house. What is won in the hunt is offered to Gawain, so long as he offers to the lord what he has won during the day.

The climax is at the Green Chapel, where Gawain again encounters the giant knight, who is strangely familiar....

If, like me you're a sucker for Arthurian tales, then read one of the oldest as told by Armitage. Recommended.