01-10-2005, 03:19 PM | #1 |
Hobbit
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Sir Gawain and the Green knight
On one of the other threads someone meantioned the story of Sir Gawain and the green Knight does anybody know who he is or what the stary is about
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01-10-2005, 03:38 PM | #2 |
Advocatus Diaboli
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01-10-2005, 03:43 PM | #3 |
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It was a medieval romance with rather complex mythological undertones. It was an attempt to use pre-christian archetypes incorporated into a "new" christian world to make commentary about faith, nobility, bravery, honesty, chastity and temptation. It uses classic archetypes like the female as the seducer which is a common theme in both christian and pre christian traditions. It also incorporates the very pre-christian notion of the immortality of plant based nature and the spiritual importance of the hunt while weaving it together within the purely medieval framework of The Quest.
Umm… hope that helped…
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01-10-2005, 03:48 PM | #4 |
Elf Lord
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Beregrond,
There is a translation by Tolkien with introduction and notes that may help. It is found in the collections of works by Tolkien and usually references another translation of his PEARL.
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01-10-2005, 04:42 PM | #5 |
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its a knights of the round table sort of thing, and i inked, you took the words right out of my mouth
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01-10-2005, 05:37 PM | #6 | ||
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Discuss Arthurian legends here!
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01-20-2005, 08:32 AM | #7 |
Elentári
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I've only heard it mentioned in connection to Tolkien so I thought he wrote it. Who did write it?
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01-20-2005, 09:17 AM | #8 |
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*calls for moving truck*
*loads thread* *moves to appropriate forum*
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01-20-2005, 04:51 PM | #9 | |
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01-20-2005, 05:01 PM | #10 | ||
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Wasn't it originally written in Welsh? Tolkien is among many translators of this verse, and probably the best known.
Vaaaal, merge with the Athurian Legends thread pleeeease. *whines* IIRC this is the oldest Arthurian Legend known to date. Odd that Arthur himself is barely in it - only the beginning and the end. (Though he is a bit of a catalyst by insisting that someone go on an adventure.)
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"I can add some more, if you'd like it. Calling your Chief Names, Wishing to Punch his Pimply Face, and Thinking you Shirriffs look a lot of Tom-fools." - Sam Gamgee, p. 340, Return of the King Quote:
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01-20-2005, 05:16 PM | #11 | |
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01-20-2005, 05:21 PM | #12 | |
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I plowed thru it (the Tolkien version) but it's pretty thick ... some good, some bad, but didn't really grab me.
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01-20-2005, 06:32 PM | #13 | ||
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Alright... if you insist Val...
Ri, here's a great retelling of this legend, by Gerald Morris. A Squire, His Knight, and His Lady is a sequel to A Squire's Tale. They are completely brilliant, great for all ages. EDIT: It's "A Squire, His Knight, and His Lady" that's the retelling of "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight".
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"I can add some more, if you'd like it. Calling your Chief Names, Wishing to Punch his Pimply Face, and Thinking you Shirriffs look a lot of Tom-fools." - Sam Gamgee, p. 340, Return of the King Quote:
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01-20-2005, 07:30 PM | #14 |
Elf Lord
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Currently available:
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight/Pearl/Sir Orfeo by Ballantine Books with Preface by Christopher Tolkien. The Introduction, translations, and notes are by JRRT as best constructed and available. I highly recommend this for Tolkien fans as it gives insight into the translator's professional life and interests and the works themselves are enjoyable and thought-provoking. I have wondered at the association of the Green Knight and the entity known as "the Green Man" in pre-Christian Britain. Can any enlighten me on a connection or lack thereof?
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Inked "Aslan is not a tame lion." CSL/LWW "The new school [acts] as if it required...courage to say a blasphemy. There is only one thing that requires real courage to say, and that is a truism." GK Chesterton "And there is always the danger of allowing people to suppose that our modern times are so wholly unlike any other times that the fundamental facts about man's nature have wholly changed with changing circumstances." Dorothy L. Sayers, 1 Sept. 1941 |
01-20-2005, 10:19 PM | #15 | ||
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But in this tale we see a merging of this ancient pagan green man figure with the chivalrous noble god centered ideal of medieval knighthood. A strange combination to us now but perhaps the perfect transitionary vehicle for telling the message the poet wants to tell. And we are chance witnesses to this moment of transition.
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01-20-2005, 11:39 PM | #16 |
Elf Lord
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IR,
Thanks for the info. Would you give consideration to the idea (very Tolkienish) that Christianity was in the process of subsuming by fulfillment the pagan mythologies? In its baldest and boldest form it asserts that the pagan illuminations understood by the falling of the Light onto pagan minds was gathered back from prismatic refraction into the Light of the World, Christ Jesus, and the true Source of Illumination revealed to be the Logos. the contention of both Lewis and Tolkien was that was the case, which is why they so willingly and well use the mythologies. And, I acknowlege the great, insuperable difficulty of an agnostic finding a romance satisfactory to their purposes!
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Inked "Aslan is not a tame lion." CSL/LWW "The new school [acts] as if it required...courage to say a blasphemy. There is only one thing that requires real courage to say, and that is a truism." GK Chesterton "And there is always the danger of allowing people to suppose that our modern times are so wholly unlike any other times that the fundamental facts about man's nature have wholly changed with changing circumstances." Dorothy L. Sayers, 1 Sept. 1941 |
01-21-2005, 02:32 AM | #17 | |
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"If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you." Gandalf to Pippin Psalm 107:31 |
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01-21-2005, 08:10 AM | #18 | |
Elentári
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01-21-2005, 09:40 AM | #19 | |
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I keep meaning to read it (Tolkien's version of course) but I have too much Old English at the moment... |
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01-21-2005, 12:02 PM | #20 | |||
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"I can add some more, if you'd like it. Calling your Chief Names, Wishing to Punch his Pimply Face, and Thinking you Shirriffs look a lot of Tom-fools." - Sam Gamgee, p. 340, Return of the King Quote:
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