Part 3 The World of Romance Roman de Tristan: Tournament, c. 15th century. “On a great festival such as this [King Arthur] would eat no meat till he had heard some strange tale of adventure, of the deeds of princes, or feats of arms, some great wonder which he might listen to and believe.” —Sir Gawain and the Green Knight 171 Archivo Iconografico, S.A./CORBIS 00171171 U1P3-845482.inddU1P3-845482.indd Sec2:171Sec2:171 11/29/07/29/07 9:40:229:40:22 AMAM BEFORE YOU READ from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight LITERATURE PREVIEW READING PREVIEW Connecting to the Story Reading Strategy Monitoring In Anglo-Saxon England, knights such as Sir Gawain Comprehension were expected to uphold the highest standards of When you read, stop periodically to check your com- honor. As you read the selection, think about how prehension, or understanding, of the story. To get the you define honor. most from your reading, you should be able to recall Building Background and summarize key ideas, characters, and events. The author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is Reading Tip: Taking Notes As you read, jot down unknown to us, but scholars have pieced together notes on important characters and events. Use a chart clues to the poet’s identity. Because of the dialect in similar to the one below to get started. which Sir Gawain is written, scholars have concluded that it was composed in northwest England about 1370. The poet’s sophisticated technique and his Character or Event Significance knowledge of French and Latin point to an educated Sir Gawain accepts a Gawain is risking his man who was familiar with the ways of the aristocracy. challenge from the life and his honor for Some writers have characterized Sir Gawain as a ruthless, Green Knight. the king. bloodthirsty warrior; others have emphasized his nobility and courage. The tale of the Green Knight represents the latter category, because in it Sir Gawain is shown to pos- sess the ideal traits of a knight at the Round Table: Vocabulary strength, skill, courage, humility, courtesy, and loyalty. copiously (ko¯ pe¯ əs le¯) adv. plentifully; p. 175 Setting Purposes for Reading The seashells were scattered copiously around the beach after they had been washed in at high tide. Big Idea The World of Romance intrepid (in trep id) adj. fearless; courageous; Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is set in an imagi- p. 177 The intrepid woman dashed back into the nary medieval world of enchanted castles and perilous burning house to save the family dog. quests. Read to learn about the challenges Sir Gawain faces in a test of honor. dauntless (dont lis) adj. daring; not easily dis- couraged; p. 186 Dauntless despite the loss of his Literary Element Archetype supplies, the explorer pressed forward. An archetype is a character type, a setting, an image, blithe (bl¯th) adj. carefree; lighthearted; p. 187 or a story pattern that appears frequently in literature I wish we could be children again, when we were across many cultures. Read to see how many arche- naively blithe. types you can identify. Vocabulary Tip: Synonyms Words that have the See Literary Terms Handbook, p. R1. • same or nearly the same meaning are called syn- onyms. Synonyms are always the same part of Interactive Literary Elements speech. Handbook To review or learn more about the literary elements, go to www.glencoe.com. OBJECTIVES In studying this selection, you will focus on the following: • analyzing archetypes and conflict • understanding characteristics of medieval romance • reviewing and summarizing to monitor comprehension 172 UNIT 1 THE ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD AND THE MIDDLE AGES 00172-0192172-0192 U1P3APP-845482.inddU1P3APP-845482.indd 172172 11/8/07/8/07 10:34:1210:34:12 AMAM Translating Gawain Translators of Sir Gawain face tremendous challenges is presented in two translations. Below, you will find in trying to capture the style and subtleties of meaning the first twenty-four lines as translated by John found in the original text. Each translator will meet Gardner. Then on the next page you will find a longer those challenges in different ways. To provide a sense translation of the work by Brian Stone. of those differences, the opening part of this selection Translated by John Gardner Splendid that knight errant° stood in a splay of green, 1 knight errant: a knight who wanders And green, too, was the mane of his mighty destrier;° the land, searching for adventure. 2 destrier (des tre¯ ər): war horse. Fair fanning tresses enveloped the fighting man’s shoulders, And over his breast hung a beard as big as a bush; 5 The beard and the huge mane burgeoning° forth from his head 5 burgeoning (bər jən in): sprouting; Were clipped off clean in a straight line over his elbows, growing. And the upper half of each arm was hidden underneath As if covered by a king’s chaperon,° closed round the neck. 8 chaperon (sha pə r¯on): hood. The mane of the marvelous horse was much the same, 10 Well crisped° and combed and carefully pranked with knots,° 10 crisped: curled. pranked with knots: decorated with bows. Threads of gold interwoven with the glorious green, Now a thread of hair, now another thread of gold; The tail of the horse and the forelock were tricked the same way, And both were bound up with a band of brilliant green 15 Adorned with glittering jewels the length of the dock,° 15 dock: the fleshy part of a horse’s tail. Then caught up tight with a thong° in a criss-cross knot 16 thong: a narrow strip of leather used for binding. Where many a bell tinkled brightly, all burnished° gold. 17 burnished: polished or rubbed So monstrous a mount, so mighty a man in the saddle smooth. Was never once encountered on all this earth 20 till then; His eyes, like lightning, flashed, And it seemed to many a man, That any man who clashed With him would not long stand. SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT 173 00172-0192172-0192 U1P3APP-845482.inddU1P3APP-845482.indd 173173 66/22/06/22/06 9:13:209:13:20 AMAM Translated by Brian Stone King Arthur and his knights sit at the Round Table,14th century fresco. Runkelstein Castle, South Tyrol, Italy. es, garbed all in green was the gallant rider, Y And the hair of his head was the same hue as his horse, And floated finely like a fan round his shoulders; And a great bushy beard on his breast flowing down, 5 With the heavy hair hanging from his head, Was shorn below the shoulder, sheared right round, So that half his arms were under the encircling hair, 174 UNIT 1 THE ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD AND THE MIDDLE AGES Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY 00174-0189174-0189 U1P3SEL-845482.inddU1P3SEL-845482.indd 174174 11/29/07/29/07 9:38:509:38:50 AMAM Covered as by a king’s cape, that closes at the neck. The mane of that mighty horse, much like the beard, 10 Well crisped and combed, was copiously plaited With twists of twining gold, twinkling in the green, First a green gossamer, a golden one next. His flowing tail and forelock followed suit, And both were bound with bands of bright green, 15 Ornamented to the end with exquisite stones, While a thong running through them threaded on high Many bright golden bells, burnished and ringing. Such a horse, such a horseman, in the whole wide world Was never seen or observed by those assembled before, 20 Not one. Lightning like he seemed And swift to strike and stun. His dreadful blows, men deemed, Once dealt, meant death was done. 25 Yet hauberk° and helmet had he none, 25 hauberk (ho bərk´): a long shirt of Nor plastron° nor plate-armor proper to combat, chain mail worn as armor. 26 plastron: a metal breastplate worn Nor shield for shoving, nor sharp spear for lunging; under a hauberk. But he held a holly cluster° in one hand, holly 28 holly cluster: Holly represents good That is greenest when groves are gaunt and bare, luck and shows that the knight comes in peace. 30 And an axe in his other hand, huge and monstrous, A hideous helmet-smasher for anyone to tell of; The head of that axe was an ell-rod° long. 32 ell-rod: almost four feet. Of green hammered gold and steel was the socket, And the blade was burnished bright, with a broad edge, 35 Acutely honed° for cutting, as keenest razors are. 35 honed: sharpened. The grim man gripped it by its great strong handle, Which was wound with iron all the way to the end, And graven° in green with graceful designs. 38 graven: carved. A cord curved round it, was caught at the head, 40 Then hitched to the haft° at intervals in loops, 40 haft: handle. With costly tassels attached thereto in plenty On bosses° of bright green embroidered richly. 42 bosses: raised decorations. In he rode, and up the hall, this man, Driving towards the high dais,° dreading no danger. 44 dais (da¯ əs): raised platform. 45 He gave no one a greeting, but glared over all. His opening utterance was, “Who and where Is the governor of this gathering? Gladly would I Behold him with my eyes and have speech with him.” Big Idea The World of Romance How can you tell from the description in lines 1–20 that the “gallant rider” is a knight? Vocabulary copiously (ko¯ pe¯ əs le¯) adv.