Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by anon., translated by Simon Armitage; narrated by Bill Wallis | 2008; originally published circa 1390 | Blackstone Audio | Audiobook $ 39.80
One of the earliest great stories of English literature, the poem narrates in crystalline verse 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 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 dream-like castle, a dire challenge answered — and a drama of enigmatic reward disguised as psychic undoing.
My list for Classics Club includes several titles that were written pre- printing press, from the middle ages and back into antiquity. I thought it would be a shame to compile a list of must-read works and leave off some of the oldest literature humanity has produced. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, of the 14th century, is the oldest of the titles I’ve read for this project so far.
The poem is the story of the titular Sir Gawain, a knight of King Arthur’s court who is challenged by the mysterious Green Knight and must face a test of his honor. The authorship of the poem remains a mystery, though it has been translated into modern languages and adapted for the theater many times; even the history of the illuminated manuscript in which it was found is a mystery up until the early 1600’s.
I admit that I was ready to be either completely bewildered or completely bored by this one. Poetry is not really my bailiwick, and for some reason a print version of the book was difficult to find at my local libraries; I’m grateful to have had access to the audio version. I need not have been so skeptical. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a short but engaging tale which has captured people’s imaginations for centuries for good reason!
I was somewhat surprised to find that the latter half of the audiobook was a narration of the original version in Middle English. My understanding is that the print version of this translation is presented with the modern language translation on one page and the original on the facing page. For the audiobook, the narrator completed the story in modern language first, followed by the original. I know nothing about Middle English, but assume that the narrator knew what he was doing. This was quite interesting to listen to; I understood much of what was being said with some concentration, though many of the words seemed tantalizingly familiar yet still incomprehensible. It was rather like listening to somebody who you know is speaking English, but with such a thick accent that it might as well be a different language.
This would be a good choice for any reader who enjoys Arthurian adventures, or Medieval fantasy-ish stories in general. And I highly recommend this audiobook if you’d like to hear what the poem in its original form actually sounded like!
Links:
- Images from the illustrated manuscript at the British Library
- Gawain Poet profile from the Poetry Foundation
- Official website of Simon Armitage
- Poetry lectures by Simon Armitage at the University of Oxford
Publication information: Armitage, Simon (transl). Sir Gawain and the green knight. Ashland, OR: Blackstone Audio, 2008. Audiobook.
Source: Public library, via Hoopla.
Disclaimer: I am not compensated, monetarily or otherwise, for reviews of books or other products.
