Sir Gawain and the Green Knight : With Pearl and Sir Orfeo

This smart new paperback edition presents the fully-reset text of three medieval English poems, translated by Tolkien for the modern-day reader. These works are rich with romance, tragedy, love, sex, and honour, and are accompanied by a beautifully decorated text. As a bonus, this edition includes the complete version of Tolkien’s acclaimed lecture on Sir Gawain.

Featured Poems:

• Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: A romance and fairy-tale for adults, brimming with life and colour. Beyond its enchanting narrative, it serves as a powerful moral tale, delving into religious and social values.
• Pearl: An elegy on the death of a child, imbued with a profound sense of personal loss. Like Sir Gawain, it also explores sophisticated and moving debates on intangible matters.
• Sir Orfeo: A slighter romance from an earlier and distinct tradition, which was a special favourite of Tolkien’s.

The three translations preserve the complete rhyme and alliterative schemes of the originals. Additionally, this edition uniquely includes the full text of Tolkien’s acclaimed 1953 W.P. Ker Memorial Lecture on Sir Gawain.

Written around 1400 by an unknown author, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Pearl continue to resonate as remarkable works of medieval English literature.