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A review by bioarla
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, with Pearl and Sir Orfeo by Unknown, Terry Jones, J.R.R. Tolkien
4.0
This book includes three English medieval poems: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl and Sir Orfeo, composed between the 13th and 14th century and here translated by J.R.R. Tolkien. Of the three, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is my favourite: an example of chivalric romance, it belongs to the Arthurian folklore and tests the chivalric code of honour of the Knights of the Round Table, and of the young nephew of King Arthur, Sir Gawain. When a gigantic green knight interrupts the Christmas Feast at Camelot, Sir Gawain is the one accepting his challenge: he will strike the mysterious knight and win his magnificent axe, and in return he will accept to take a blow from the green knight in a year and a day time. Sir Gawain thinks the challenge is easily won by beheading his opponent with a single blow, but this is a land of magic and tricks…
Pearl is very different in tone, more difficult in the interpretation, and reminds me of Christian medieval allegories: a father is desperate for the loss of his pearls and while asleep, he dreams of meeting a Pearl maiden with whom he starts a very long and yes, sometimes boring, theological discussion.
Finally, Sir Orfeo: I didn’t know anything of this poem, the shortest of the three, and it is a beautiful mixture of Greek mythology (the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice) with Medieval English folklore (fairy tales).
Given that all the three stories are written as poems and in old English, it is not always easy to follow them (especially Pearl), but you'll like them if you are interested in either English folklore, English Medieval literature or just in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien.
Pearl is very different in tone, more difficult in the interpretation, and reminds me of Christian medieval allegories: a father is desperate for the loss of his pearls and while asleep, he dreams of meeting a Pearl maiden with whom he starts a very long and yes, sometimes boring, theological discussion.
Finally, Sir Orfeo: I didn’t know anything of this poem, the shortest of the three, and it is a beautiful mixture of Greek mythology (the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice) with Medieval English folklore (fairy tales).
Given that all the three stories are written as poems and in old English, it is not always easy to follow them (especially Pearl), but you'll like them if you are interested in either English folklore, English Medieval literature or just in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien.