I've read Tolkien's translation and the translation in the Norton Anthology of English literature. The verse translations by Marie Borroff are also helpful. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is one of my works of literature. 

I just started section II. I really enjoyed how the author

I just finished section II. I think I have been watching and listening to too many mysteries because I suspect

I would recommend reading Tolkien’s translation of Sir Gawain even if you have read the poem in another translation.  Tolkien was an expert on medieval literature and you might like it as much as The Lord of the Rings.  It would have been interesting if Tolkien had made a translation Mallory’s King Arthur stories. I wonder what C.S. Lewis would have done with them, but it seemed that he preferred writing his own stories over translating other people’s works of literature. Both Lewis and Tolkien gave us so much of the medieval world. 🙂

@twigs re: second spoiler: You're right, that is an odd bargain to make with a guest. Do you think the host wants

@mel I definitely don't think it is option a. 

@mel @inkling

When I was reading I noticed that there was a mention of a Sir Wawain. It seemed  odd but as it seemed to be a question of identity I thought maybe there was a knight called Wawain. I found it again a little later and that time it did seem to be about identity. See the passages below.

I was wondering  why the term Wawain  appeared. 

I have finsihed the 3rd part. It seems like a bad idea for Gawin to

Right, thanks for the A2A, Twig’s! And Happy New Year, everyone! How appropriate for the Gawain story. 😘 

Without going into too much detail, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a Middle English poem that has retained the metrical style of Old English poetry. In other words, the form of the poetry was already somewhat old-fashioned at the time it was written.

Old English poetry relies most on alliteration, rather than rhyme. Each line is split into two, and there are usually two main words on the first half that set the alliteration, and one more main word on the second half that echoes it.  There are of course variations: sometimes you will get two main alliterated words in the second half, or you’ll get double alliteration. Some of the alliterative techniques that you find in Gawain you wouldn’t find in Beowulf, because the form has still developed over time. Vowels are allowed to alliterate with one another, and certain consonant clusters will not (sp does not alliterate with st).

Let’s look at some examples:

That is the ryche ryal king | of the Rounde Table,      a a | a x (normal)

And hit watz Wawen himself | that in that won syttez,

Comen to that Krystmasse, | as case hym then lymped.

When the lorde hade learned | that he the leude hade,

Loude laghed he therat, | so lef hit hym thought, (ll. 905-909)

. . .

And the teccheles termes | of talking noble,

Wich spede is in speche | unspurd may we lerne,

Syn we haf fonged that fine | fader of nurture.

God hatz geven us | his grace godly for sothe,

That such a gest as Gawan | grauntez us to have. (ll. 917-921)

(Text taken from The Broadview Anthology of British Literature: Concise Edition, Vol. A, 3rd ed. [Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2017]])

In line 906, “Wawen” is needed to alliterate with w, while in line 921, “Gawan” is needed for the alliteration with g. So, to fit the rule for alliteration, the poet sometimes uses an alternative for Gawain’s name as you noted. 

When translating an older poem into modern English, translators have to decide whether the meaning is more important to capture than the experience of reading it. Many now choose to do blank verse or even turn it into prose, so that the meaning is closer.  Tolkein is totally the kind of translator who would want to retain features of the original poetry, while still trying to be faithful to the meaning. It's very hard to do. But I assume that that's why he also occasionally uses "Wawain"--he's also trying to convey the alliterative style.

In terms of why Gawain can also be called “Wawen,” a quick glance at his page on Wikipedia shows that he goes by a number of different names, depending on the tradition, language, etc. It looks as though his Welsh name starts with a Gw-, so different languages or storytellers went with G or W, depending on what they preferred.

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