Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, and Sir Orfeo

Its Christmas at Camelot and King Arthur wont begin to feast until he has witnessed a marvel of chivalry. A mysterious knight, green from head to toe, rides in and brings the courts wait to an end with an implausible challenge to the Round Table: he will allow any of the knights to strike him once, with a battle-axe no less, on the condition that he is allowed to return the blow a year hence. Arthurs brave favorite for the challenge is Sir Gawain

AccompanyingSir Gawain and the Green Knightin this book areSir Orfeo, a medieval version of the story of Orpheus and Euridice, a love so strong that it overcame death, andPearl, the moving tale of a man in a graveyard mourning his baby daughter, lost like a pearl that slipped through his fingers. Worn out by grief, he falls asleep and dreams of meeting her in a bejewelled fantasy world.

Interpreted in a form designed to appeal to the general reader, J.R.R. Tolkiens vivid translations of these classic poems represent the complete rhyme and alliterative schemes of the originals. This beautifully decorated text includes as a bonus the complete text of Tolkiens acclaimed lecture on Sir Gawain.