The Poems of the Pearl Manuscript

EXETER MEDIEVAL TEXTS AND STUDIES General Editors: Vincent Gillespie, Marion Glasscoe and M.J. Swanton The Poems of the Pearl Manuscript © Malcolm Andrew and Ronald Waldron 2007 First published in 2007 by University of Exeter Press Reed Hall, Streatham Drive Exeter EX4 4QR UK www.exeterpress.co.uk The Poems of the Pearl Manuscript Pearl, Cleanness, Patience, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight A Prose Translation by Malcolm Andrew and Ronald Waldron Contents Preface v A Note on the Translations vi Translations: Pearl 1 Cleanness 29 Patience 71 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight 85 Preface Our intention in these translations has been to provide close, accurate prose versions of Pearl, Cleanness, Patience, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The translations are based on our latest edition of The Poems of the Pearl Manuscript (University of Exeter Press, fifth edition 2007). We are acutely aware that the experience of reading a translation is a poor and feeble substitute for that of reading an original text. These translations are, therefore, offered in the hope that they will facilitate un- derstanding of four fine poems – and will lead readers to, rather than away from, the original texts. MALCOLM ANDREW AND RONALD WALDRON July 2007 A Note on the Translations Our intention has been to translate the poems into plain and unadorned prose, staying as close to the original as modern English idiom will allow, in order to reveal what may loosely be termed the ‘literal’ sense of the text. Readers approaching these poems from an acquaintance with Chaucer’s works will already be aware that one of the chief difficulties of Middle English for the modern reader is the occurrence of now-obsolete meanings in familiar-looking words or expressions: gentle meaning ‘noble’, quaint meaning ‘elegant’ or ‘intricate’, kind meaning ‘nature’ or ‘natural’, and so on. There are numerous examples of this sort of pitfall (sometimes called ‘false friends’) in these poems. Thus, for instance, in Sir Gawain 34, we believe that stori denotes ‘written chronicle’ rather than simply ‘story’, in Pearl 407, louez probably means ‘approves of ’ rather than ‘loves’; and in Patience 473, ‘pleasant’ makes better sense than ‘wild’ for wyl. Interpretations such as these are based on the recorded history of the word together with a consideration of its context, and are discussed in the notes to the edition. Alliterative poetry presents special problems which arise from the nature of the style and metre in which it is written. For the commonest concepts, such as ‘man’, ‘go’, or ‘fight’, the alliterative poet made free use of numerous synonyms with different initial letters. In Patience 63-97, a passage of 33 lines, the poet uses no fewer than seven different verbs of motion, with reference to Jonah’s response to God’s command that he should go to Nineveh: glyde (past tense glod, 63), rayke (65, 89), sweye (72), tee (87), com (78), aproche (85), and pass (97). Other near-synonyms for ‘go’ can be found elsewhere in the poems: bowe (Cleanness 482, Sir Gawain 2077), ferk (Sir Gawain 1072), sech (to) (Cleanness 563, Sir Gawain 1052), threnge (Patience 354), wende (Cleanness 777), and, of course, go itself (Patience 348). While individual words may express particular shades of meaning, and it is sometimes rewarding to allow for this in one’s reading, metrical considerations are undoubtedly influential in the poet’s choice, and in many instances the general sense (in this case ‘come’ or ‘go’) can be a satisfactory translation. A Note on the Translations vii Alongside this apparent levelling of vocabulary, it should be recognized that a prose translation must necessarily fail to express many layers of meaning latent in the original text, since the language of poetry works as much by what it suggests as by what it denotes. In many contexts the translator is forced to choose between two meanings, both of which may be perceived to be present to a sensitive reader of the poem. This is the case, for instance, in Sir Gawain 4, Watz tried for his tricherie, where tried ap- pears to mean both ‘tried (legally)’ and ‘famous’, or in Pearl 259, where the word cofer suggests both ‘jewel case’ and ‘coffin’. Examples such as these are analysed in the notes to the edition but have to be treated more arbi- trarily in a translation. These are, moreover, poems which characteristically use paronomasia (wordplay) to conduct searching explorations of the various potential meanings and connotations of certain key words. In the sixth section of Pearl (lines 301-60), deme is used in a variety of senses, among them ‘judge’, ‘ordain’, ‘censure’, ‘condemn’, ‘allow’, ‘expect’, and ‘understand’. A more sustained example of this tendency occurs in Cleanness, where the Middle English clene is used to denote or suggest a wide range of qualities, including ‘(morally) pure’, ‘(physically) clean’, ‘chaste’, ‘bright’, ‘fine’, ‘exact’, and ‘perfect’. Other terms treated by the poet in a similar way include cortaysye and trawthe, while much of the legal terminology in Pearl (in addition to deme) has been shown to have multiple meanings. Such bold and inventive use of language presents the translator with a considerable challenge. In attempting to render the precise meaning of words in each context, we are conscious that a prose translation greatly weakens the poetic impact of the original. Again it must be emphasized that the translations cannot be a substitute for the poems themselves. One of the recurring features of these poems is their tendency to switch freely between the past and present tenses, particularly during passages which describe action (as, for instance, in Cleanness 129-60, Patience 247-81, and Sir Gawain 1126-77). After careful consideration, we decided not to make any attempt to regularize this feature in our translations. We have, on the other hand, not felt bound to render the Middle English adverb ful (‘very’, ‘fully’, ‘entirely’, etc.) when used for emphasis. viii Poems of the Pearl Manuscript: A Prose Translation In places where we have felt it necessary to add words, either to clarify meaning or to provide explanation, we have used square brackets, with ‘i.e.’ or ‘lit.’ (‘literally’) where appropriate. The translations of Pearl and of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight retain the stanza divisions of the original poems. In the cases of Cleanness and Patience – the originals of which are not, in our view, divided into stanzas (see the Introduction to the edition, pp. 16 and 19) – we have divided the narra- tive into paragraphs at what we regard as appropriate junctures. These divisions, of course, have no manuscript authority whatever. We have pro- vided regular line numberings, within square brackets, in order to assist the reader with the process of identifying passages in the translations with equivalent passages in the original texts. Pearl I Lovely pearl, which it pleases a prince to set radiantly in gold so bright: I declare assuredly that I never found her equal in value among those of the orient. So round, so lovely in every setting, her sides were so slender, so smooth; wherever I judged bright gems, I set her apart in uniqueness. Alas! I lost her in a garden; through the grass to the ground it slipped from me. I languish, grievously wounded by the power of my love for that spotless pearl of mine. [13] Since it sprang from me in that place, I have often watched, longing for that precious thing which used formerly to dispel my sorrow and increase my happiness and all my well-being – that oppresses my heart grievously, [and] causes my breast to swell and burn in sorrow. Never yet did a song seem to me to have such sweetness as a moment of peace let steal over me. In truth there used to come fleetingly to me many [such moments]. To think of her complexion clad, as now, in mud! O earth, you disfigure a beautiful jewel, my own spotless pearl. [25] That place is bound to be overspread with spice-bearing plants, where such wealth has run to decay; yellow and blue and red blooms shine there most brightly towards the sun. Flower and fruit cannot be faded where it [i.e. the pearl] sank down into the dun clods, for every plant must grow from dead seeds; otherwise no wheat would be brought to the homes [i.e. brought in, harvested]. Every good thing always has its origin in a good thing: so lovely a seed could not fail to be productive, so that flourishing spice plants would not shoot up from that precious spotless pearl. 2 Pearl lines [37–84] [37] I entered that green garden, that place which I describe in words, in August on a festival, when corn is cut with sharp sickles. On the grave- mound where the pearl had rolled down, these bright and beautiful plants cast a shadow: gillyflower, ginger, and gromwell, and peonies scattered everywhere at intervals. If it was lovely to look at, still fairer was the scent that wafted from it, where that precious one lives, I believe and know, my precious spotless pearl. [49] Before that place I clasped my hands together because of the chilling sorrow that seized me; a desolating grief lay deep in my heart, though reason would have reconciled me. I mourned my pearl that was imprisoned there, with fierce arguments that fought insistently. Though the nature of Christ taught me comfort, my wretched will was ever tormented in grief. Such perfume rushed to my brain that I fell upon that flowery turf; I slipped into a sudden sleep on that precious spotless pearl.

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