This is a translation of three medieval tales. "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" and "Pearl" are two poems by an unknown author written in about 1400. "Sir Gawain" is a romance, a fairy-tale for adults, full of life and colour; but it is also much more than this, being at the same time a powerful moral tale which examines religious and social values. "Pearl" is apparently an elegy on the death of a child, a poem pervaded with a sense of great personal loss: but, like "Gawain" it is also a debate on much less tangible matters. "Sir Orfeo" is a slighter romance, belonging to an earlier and different tradition. The three translations represent the complete rhyme and alliterative schemes of the original.

Author Biography

J.R.R.Tolkien (1892-1973) was a distinguished academic, though he is best known for writing The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, plus other stories and essays. His books have been translated into over 30 languages and have sold many millions of copies worldwide.