SirGawain and the Green Knight: A Short IntroductionDuring the second half of the14th Century, there occurred a literary phenomenon called the"Alliterative Revival." Suddenly, in the North and West of England,there appeared poems in a style that had not appeared in English literature(what little there was of it) since shortly after the Norman Conquest. This wasthe alliterative style of Beowulf and other Anglo-Saxon poems. It was used fora variety of purposes, though primarily in a narrative mode: there arealliterative poems composed to celebrate victories in battle, and a large groupof romances about Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.Not a lot isknown about the circumstances in which these poems were written. What evidenceis available to scholars suggests that alliterative poems were favored by theprovincial gentry in those parts of England where the tradition had survived(as an oral tradition) during the long period in which English was the languageonly of peasants and commoners. Reflecting this background, they tend to becelebrations of chivalry and the knightly virtues - but not all. One of thebest alliterative poems, Piers Plowmanwas widely read throughout England by tradesman and educated members of themiddle class, and expressed their moral and religious concerns. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is consideredthe definitive masterpiece of the Alliterative Revival; it both embodies itstradition and surpasses it. It tells its story with wit and panache, usingnarrative techniques not used until the rise of the novel. And it somehowmanages to affirm the positive values of chivalry, while telling a story thatsubverts much of its self-important posing. Gawain's heroic strength as aKnight of the Round Table is primarily demonstrated by his ability to chop offthe head of defenseless guest. His knightly honor is confirmed mostly by hiswillingness to take a long journey to give the (miraculously surviving) guest achance to finish their game ... and perhaps him ... off with a return blow. Helives up to his reputation in Arthurian romance as an inveterate lover of theladies by flattering a lady who practically throws herself at him without everletting her touch him -- and his successful defense of his chastity is maderidiculous when the lady convinces him to wear her girdle to his engagement toget his head chopped off, on the rather far-fetched assurance that it willprovide magical protection. And yet he comes off as an exemplary knight, thebest in Arthur's court, with real courage, honor, and moral purity.Unfortunately,the language of the poem is impossible for anyone but a scholar to read. Notonly is it in the Middle English of the 14th Century, which at its closest tomodern English (as in Chaucer) is readable only with some effort, but it's inan obscure dialect of the north west Midlands of England, and uses all kinds ofwords that are totally obsolete today. So it's impossible for most people toread it in the original. Even worse, most of the translations I have seen failto do it justice. Far too manytake the "medieval chivalry" angle a bit too seriously, and make thepoem sound stilted, arcane, full of stuffy self-important chivalroussentiments. It's anything but: few poems are more down to