as translated by Marie Boroff

The origin of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is obscure. Although nothing is known about the author, a number of educated guesses can be made based on the one surviving manuscript of the poem. It is written in the language of the northwest midlands of England in the latter half of the fourteenth century, and the physical characteristics of the manuscript itself indicate that it was produced at a time very near 1400. Details in the poem support this date; the dress of the characters, the architecture of Bertilak’s castle, and the general emphasis on the luxurious splendor of courtly life all suggest that it was composed c. 1350-1400. An intimate knowledge of the habits and dress of the noble classes is evident as well, which probably means that the poet was...