This Ballantine Books edition, translated by J.R.R. Tolkien, features three medieval English poems (author known): Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, and Sir Orfeo.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight follows the noble knight Sir Gawain as he accepts a challenge from the mysterious Green Knight, leading to a test of his courage and honor.
Pearl is a dream vision poem where a grieving father encounters his deceased daughter in a heavenly landscape, engaging in theological and philosophical discussions.
Sir Orfeo retells the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice in a medieval English setting, focusing on the journey of Sir Orfeo to rescue his wife from the fairy kingdom.
About the Translator
J.R.R. Tolkien was a renowned British writer, philologist, and academic, best known for his epic high fantasy works such as The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. He was also a professor of Anglo-Saxon at the University of Oxford and had a deep interest in medieval literature, which influenced his translation of these medieval English poems.
