Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Written around 1400 in Middle English by an unknown hand, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a mysterious poem about an uncanny event that takes place in the legendary realm of King Arthur. In this program, renowned Gawain translator Simon Armitage seeks a richer understanding of the poem by walking the fading trail that ends at the Green Chapel, the climax point of the famously alliterative epic that is equal parts adventure story, supernatural tale, steamy romance, parable, and tribute to nature. Enthralling! Readings and commentary by Armitage are interwoven throughout the narrative.

In this fabled classic 14th-century romantic poem, Sir Gawain, a knight of King Arthur's Round Table, takes up the Green Knight's challenge to strike him with an axe if the challenger will take a return blow in a year and a day. Sir Gawain accepts and cleaves off the Green Knight's head expecting him to die, but the Green Knight picks up his head and reminds Gawain to meet him in a year and a day, which he does—and the adventure is only just beginning. This video takes a look at the poem as well as the people and places behind the prose, visiting actual places described and exploring the legend.