Sir Gawain and the Green Knight with Pearl and Sir Orfeo, Anonymous, translated by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkien. William Morrow (ISBN: 9780358724209) 2021 (first published 1975).

Summary: Tolkien’s translation of three 14th century poems, retaining rhyme, meter and alliterative schema.

You may not realize it, but the various stories of Middle Earth were not the only works of J.R.R. Tolkien. He also translated into modern English three fourteenth century poems, including an edition of the Arthurian poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. He initially collaborated with E.V. Gordon on an edition in 1925. Tolkien also worked on translations of Pearl and Sir Orfeo. However, these were unpublished at his death, and the first to be published with the editorial work of Christopher Tolkien. This is a new edition of that work.

Sir Gawain is probably the most familiar. A Green Knight appears before the round table issuing a challenge, which Arthur accepts but then Gawain accepts to spare his king. The challenge is to strike a blow at the knight’s neck. But Gawain must then seek out the knight, appearing the following New Year’s Day, and allow the knight to do the same. Gawain beheads the knight, who then picks up his head, walks off, holding Gawain to his pledge. Most of the poem is Gawain’s quest to find the knight. By Christmas Eve, he still hasn’t found the knight but arrives at a castle where he can attend mass and stay over Christmas, since the Green Knight lives just two miles away. Gawain’s encounter with the Knight is a kind of anti-climax, the real trial is with the lady of the castle.

Pearl represents an allegory of the loss of what is precious, a young man’s quest, which reminds one of Pilgrim’s Progress where the quest for the Pearl, personified as a maiden takes on a spiritual character of repentance and salvation.

Sir Orfeo is another quest poem in which Sir Orfeo loses his wife Heurodis to a fairy king. He seeks her for many years in the forest where she was last seen. Finally, he spots her and by disguise, finds his way to the king’s court. But to win her and then to be restored to his own throne!

One of the distinctions of Tolkien’s translations is that he retains the meter, rhyme, and alliterative scheme of the original. An appendix on verse forms explains this. I have not read any other edition of these works so I cannot assess how successful Tolkien was. However, I can say that the translation flows and never bogs down the stories of these poems.

This edition also includes the text of the “W.P. Ker Memorial Lecture on Sir Gawain.” The lecture is helpful in appreciating the tension between courtly manners and the perfection of character with which Sir Gawain struggles.

All three poems concern quests. A common theme is that the formation of the character of the questor through the decisions he makes is perhaps even more significant than the object of the quest. We may think we are shaping our life quest when in fact it is shaping us.

The three poems are all treasures I am glad to have found. The translation and editing of the Tolkiens, father and son, is a bonus!

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