Arthurian literature in Middle English: The Canterbury Tales, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Le Morte d'Arthur

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 40. Chapters: The Canterbury Tales, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Le Morte d'Arthur, Sir Gawain and the Carle of Carlisle, Sir Perceval of Galles, Libeaus Desconus, The Wife of Bath's Tale, Sir Degrevant, Sir Launfal, The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle, The Awntyrs off Arthure, Layamon's Brut, Alliterative Morte Arthure, Breton lai, Sir Cleges, Ywain and Gawain, The Greene Knight. Excerpt: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a late 14th-century Middle English alliterative romance outlining an adventure of Sir Gawain, a knight of King Arthur's Round Table. In the poem, Sir Gawain accepts a challenge from a mysterious warrior who is completely green, from his clothes and hair to his beard and skin, save for his red eyes. The "Green Knight" offers to allow anyone to strike him with his axe if the challenger will take a return blow in a year and a day. Gawain accepts, and beheads him in one blow, only to have the Green Knight stand up, pick up his head, and remind Gawain to meet him at the appointed time. In his struggles to uphold his oath, Gawain faithfully demonstrates the qualities of chivalry and loyalty until his honor is called into question by a test crafted by the lady of the castle in which much of the story takes place. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is one of the better-known Arthurian stories, which date back to the 12th century. The poem survives in a single manuscript, the Cotton Nero A.x., that also includes three religious pieces, Pearl, Purity, and Patience. These works are thought to have been written by the same unknown author, dubbed the "Pearl Poet" or "Gawain Poet." All four narrative poems are written in a North West Midland dialect of Middle English. The story thus emerges from the Welsh and English traditions of the dialect area, borrowing from earlier "beheading game" stories and highlighting th...