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The Gawain Poet

The "Gawain Poet", or less commonly the "Pearl Poet", is the name given to the author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, an alliterative poem written in 14th-century Middle English. Its author appears also to have written the poems Pearl, Patience, and Cleanness; some scholars suggest the author may also have composed Saint Erkenwald. Save for the last (found in BL-MS Harley 2250), all these works are known from a single surviving manuscript, the British Library holding Cotton Nero A.x. This body of work includes some of the most highly-regarded poetry written in Middle English.

The Gawain Poet is unidentified. One suggestion is that the poem is attributable to John Massey, a member of the landed gentry from Cheshire. This attribution of the poems of Cotton Nero A.x is not widely accepted, however, reflected in continued use of the labels "Pearl Poet" or "Gawain Poet".

Books by The Gawain Poet

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Cover image

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Poetry Romance
Heroism Honesty Chivalric Romance

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a late 14th-century Middle English chivalric romance. The author is unknown; the title was given centuries later. It is one of the best known Arthurian stories, with its plot combining two types of folk motifs, the...

Pearl Cover image

Pearl

Poetry Fiction
Heroism Myths Imagination Monsters

Pearl is a late 14th-century Middle English poem that is considered one of the most important surviving Middle English works. With elements of medieval allegory and dream vision genre, the poem is written in a North-West Midlands variety of Middle En...

Gawayne and the Green Knight (Lewis Translation) Cover image

Gawayne and the Green Knight (Lewis Translation)

Poetry Fantasy Romance Adventure
Adventure Romance Loyalty Honor Magic Chivalry Knights Courtly Love Arthurian Legend Green Knight Temptation Medieval Literature Alliterative Verse Sir Gawain Lady Elfinheart

Charlton Miner Lewis' version of Gawayne and the Green Knight, a late 14th century alliterative romance, is written in modern language telling the story of the Green Knight's challenge to Gawayne, and the romance between Sir Gawayne and Lady Elfinhea...

Gawayne and the Green Knight Cover image

Gawayne and the Green Knight

Fantasy Romance Adventure
Morality Adventure Romance Honor Medieval Fantasy Chivalry Courtly Love Knight Arthurian Legend Green Knight Temptation Round Table Lady Elfinhart

Published in 1903, Gawayne and the Green Knight is a modern-language retelling of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a 14th-century verse romance following a young knight of the Round Table. During Christmas celebrations, a mysterious, entirely green k...

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Neilson Translation) Cover image

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Neilson Translation)

Fantasy Romance Adventure
Adventure Romance Fantasy Chivalry Arthurian Legend Green Knight

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 tale, Sir Gawain accepts a challenge from a mysterious warrior who is compl...

Pearl (Jewett translation) Cover image

Pearl (Jewett translation)

Poetry
Rhyme 14th century Pearl Northern dialect Elegiac poem Young daughter Alliterative poetry Middle English verse Sophie Jewett's translation

Pearl is an elegiac poem written in the 14th century by the Gawain Poet. It is considered a masterpiece of Middle English verse and reflects on the death of a young daughter, pictured as a pearl lost in a garden. Sophie Jewett's translation from the...

Pearl (Coulton translation) Cover image

Pearl (Coulton translation)

Poetry Fantasy Religion
Allegory Spirituality Grief Medieval Literature New Jerusalem Christian mysticism Paternal love Eternal bliss Human loss Divine revelation Visionary poetry Religious symbolism

Pearl is a late 14th-century Middle English poem by an unknown author, thought to be the same as the author known as the Gawain Poet, who also wrote the poems Gawain and the Green Knight, Patience, and Cleanness. It is a dream vision poem in which th...

Syr Gawayn and the Grene Knicht Cover image

Syr Gawayn and the Grene Knicht

Poetry Fantasy Romance Adventure
Christmas Honor Medieval Chivalry New Year Arthurian Legend Green Knight Temptation Sir Gawain King Arthur Camelot Quest

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a 14th-century chivalric poem that narrates the adventures of Sir Gawain, a knight of King Arthur's court, as he embarks on a perilous quest to fulfill a pact made with the mysterious Green Knight. The poem is known...

Pearl (Weston translation) Cover image

Pearl (Weston translation)

Poetry Philosophy Religion
Allegory Narrative Verse Christian Elegy Grief Middle English Mediaeval Dream vision

Pearl is a Middle English poem by the Gawain Poet, written in the late 14th century. The poem tells the story of a man who dreams of a pearl that he has lost. The pearl is a symbol of his daughter, who died as a young child. The man's grief over the...