Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

by Anonymous

Overview

King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table are in the middle of a Christmas feast when a green-skinned knight offers them a simple but deadly challenge. A challenge the brave Sir Gawain quickly-and fatefully-accepts. Brilliantly translated by distiguished poet Burton Raffel, this is a lyrical, accessible version of one of the most beloved tales in Arthurian literature.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781843796510
Publisher:	Naxos Of America
Publication date:	07/01/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	201 KB

About the Author

Paul Battles is Professor of English at Hanover College.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Introduction
A Note on the Text

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Appendix A: From Caradoc

Appendix B: The Story of the False Guenevere and Bertelay

Appendix C: From The Knight with the Sword

Appendix D: From Edward of Norwich, Second Duke of York, The Master of Game

Glossary

Select Bibliography and Works Cited

Editorial Reviews

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is arguably the greatest poem surviving in English from any period, and Paul Battles’ edition is the ideal introduction to it. The text has been reconsidered at every level, and the notes and glossary take in the latest scholarship, but the scholarship never threatens to overwhelm the beauty and power of the poem. The new appendices on sources and analogs are especially valuable.” — Tom Shippey, Professor Emeritus, Saint Louis University

“Among the increasing number of translations of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, it is good to be able to welcome a new edition of the poem itself. The very richness of the poem’s verbal detail and the subtlety of its philosophical argument require a mastery of the original text, and in this edition the beginning student is fortunate to have not only a learned guide but also a sensible one who writes with engaging clarity and is tolerant of the diversity of critical opinion. The text itself is supplied not only with marginal glosses and succinct, informative notes but also a full glossary. The four well-chosen appendices are worthy of special mention, providing valuable source material that places the poem in its authentic context of Arthurian romance and aristocratic culture.” — Gerald Morgan, Trinity College Dublin

From the Publisher

"Among the increasing number of translations of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, it is good to be able to welcome a new edition of the poem itself. The very richness of the poem's verbal detail and the subtlety of its philosophical argument require a mastery of the original text, and in this edition the beginning student is fortunate to have not only a learned guide but also a sensible one who writes with engaging clarity and is tolerant of the diversity of critical opinion. The text itself is supplied not only with marginal glosses and succinct, informative notes but also a full glossary. The four well-chosen appendices are worthy of special mention, providing valuable source material that places the poem in its authentic context of Arthurian romance and aristocratic culture."

Gerald Morgan

"Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is arguably the greatest poem surviving in English from any period, and Paul Battles' edition is the ideal introduction to it. The text has been reconsidered at every level, and the notes and glossary take in the latest scholarship, but the scholarship never threatens to overwhelm the beauty and power of the poem. The new appendices on sources and analogs are especially valuable."

Tom Shippey