*_Sir Lancelot would have failed that test wholeheartedly_* .

Poor Robert Holdstock, nobody remembers him anymore. He was an award winning science fiction/fantasy author back in the 80's and 90's. He wrote the magnificent "Mythago Wood" in 1984, and its sequel "Lavondyss" four years later. Lavondyss is a haunting novel that leans a lot on the legend of the Green Knight, and of course on the myth of the Green Man. I highly recommend you to read these books if you haven't already done so. Christmas greetings from Finland! Hyvää joulua!

A lot of King Arthur stories revolve around Christmas and Easter. It was a Christmas tournament when Arthur drew the sword from the stone. I love Tolkien's take on this one! Merry Christmas, Jess! May Yule be as festive as it was at Beorn's house!

Thanks for reading to us.

I never realized Tolkien had all this content outside the LOTR saga, by which I just finished. So, thanks for introducing me to it. Apparently, the journey has just begun.

Jess, Now is the time you take the dive and try and record a full audiobook reading of the Trilogy . Never Before has the world had a female version and hearing these shorter readings makes me think how amazing that would be. Maybe do a video about "my favorite passages from the books read out loud" type deal and perhaps ask your community to help fund the project. OR just keep on keeping on and do some more cool short story essay dives like this one here.

Apparently there was a Christmas tradition in the late Victorian period of telling scary stories at Christmas. The knight’s be heading qualifies, so I waited until Christmas evening day to watch the video. An enjoyable read Thank you

A beauty bent on ballads bade us bless the book.

Hi, I come to GATGK from a Welsh perspective and the holders of the original tale. I grew up about 20 minutes from the location of the green hall (the Wirral Forest), have been an Arthurian enthusiast since i was told tales by my grandmother as a child in North Wales, and publish a gaming magazine based around the Arthurian Cycle. Simon Armitage, the poet, writes that the author was a monk writing in a Lancastrian dialect of Middle English but wrote of an area he knew and left unnamed, but deemed to be the Wyrel. With respect, the pronunciation is G'wayne (in English) or G'-wine (in modern Welsh). We know this because of his Welsh name mentioned with Arthur's real name on Eliseg's Pillar. That name being a subversion of Owain (O-wine) or Gwalchmai in Welsh [probably]. Obviously, the original tale featured Cernnunos or the Green Man heavily, and the question of Gawain's chastity was likely a Norman French invention. I used to spend hours every weekend in Mold library reading all the books and texts on 'Arthur', Emrys, Llud, Gwynhyfar, Cei, Peredur, and his nephew and heir apparent, Gawain. As you mentioned, citing Troy or Brutus is where medieval British scribes said we came from as a nation but the 3 tests of Gawain betrays its Greek roots. One major stone in the shoe for modern Arthurian scolars is that Eliseg's Pillar gave us the lineage of Cunedda who came from Lanarkshire on the bidding of Gwerthyrn (Vortigern) to north Wales to defend against the Irish. One of his descendants was Owain Ddantgwyn, 'White Tooth', who became warlord of Powys upon Vortigern's death. Being a Philipsian, i believe Arthur's name is derived from his habit of wearing a bear pelt in the winter. At his Summer court in Viroconium his Brythonic subjects would call him the 'bear of Britain' (Arth ap Prydein) and in Chester (his winter court Caer Leon) his Romanised subjects called him Ursus Britannicus or British Bear. Arth-Ursus. Really, i love the literature but sifting through the French and Jersais stuff to get through to the original Brythonic is exhausting. Im learning so much by watching your channel, which i discovered today. Thank you!

What a Christmas present! Jess reading poetry in front of a fireplace! This was a great start to my holidays

I first came across the Tale of the Green Kight when I was 14. It was a german translation. It hit real Nostalgia to hear this Tale again, now 16 Years later. Also, it's interessting to listen to this in English - the original language of this story.

I read Tolkiens translation. It's one of my favorite stories aside from my more Hobbity lit.

As an addict of Arthurian Literature, I have learned there are many pronunciations and spellings of names in the various tales. Sir Gawain is my personal favorite of Arthur’s knights and I love the tale of the Green Knight. I’ve read a number of those tales you spoke about. One of my high school English teachers turned me onto Arthurian Literature decades ago and I now have a bookcase devoted to various tales from several points of view. I added Tolkien’s book three years ago. Thank you for reading and sharing. Merry Christmas Jess!

I feel so relaxed after listening to you read. Have a great Christmas..!

The knights in atrhurian legends always feel so naive that it's hard not to try them, if they are as noble as they think of themselves. I understand a perspective of Morgan and Green Knight, it had to be lots of fun watching Gawain trying to fulfill the expectations laid on him by court, religion and himself. I knew this story as a child. I also watched the movie and I think it was marvelous, even though it was a parallel for something different than the original. Thank you for your work, your videos are always a nice part of my week.

Two for flinching. ;) My first exposure to the story was the film Sword of the Valiant with Sean Connery. While it's a cheesy 80's film, and the effects don't hold up, Sean Connery elevates the whole thing. It's a really haunting and evocative story, full of meaning. What strikes me most is the passage to adulthood and maturity. Merry Christmas to you Jess and your friends and family.

Forgive me for this correction, but it got me to thinking. The Five Wounds of Christ are literal: two hands, two feet, and the spear in His side. The image of the Crown of Thorns was a much later set of prayers associated with the Rosary prayers, which after the time of the Albigensians often replaced the saying of the 150 Psalms in the Psalter; the Rosary prayers prompted by the Dominican Order. Anyway, I was thinking about the 5 Wounds being equal except for the last Wound, the spear in the side, which was so extreme. And in presentation of ideas, Anglo Saxons would not say "if ... then" but "tha ... tha," not making use of time. "The higher they stand, the harder they fall." Many of the rules and questions of the Green Knight are like that: a unity between subject and object, not a more Latin "if... then" argument about time. Sir Gawain is only a little concerned about death. So the Five Virtues are shown as continuously connected. One more note: Greek (Byzantine) musical theory approximates the musical scale as 72 steps called moria, and their symbol for music therefore is the five-pointed star. This has nothing to do with anything pagan; the books about it are in Greek Seminaries (such as Holy Cross in Brookline MA, authored by Savas). Greeks just view music that way, and as something continuous. It does have a Christmas vibe, like Dickens's Christmas Carol, because it questions all the attitudes of the church, and ultimately, virtue saves his life. It is honest virtue though, and not a sort of political posturing. Merry Christmas to all!

Thanks for the reading Jess, and here's to a video on Tolkien's translation of Beowulf down the line.

My favorite Christmas read

Merry Christmas, Jess! What a wonderful listen this was as I prepared for the holiday this morning. ❤

Just fabulous - thank you! Someday I would love create a harp accompaniment for someone reading this!

Thank you, Jess. This was beautiful. I'm very glad to have found your channel. Merry Christmas.

This is one of my favorite stories of Arthur's knights. You told it well and you analysis helped deepen my appreciation.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. You did a good job balancing the narration and explanation.

I hope you had a very Merry Christmastide and a Happy New Year. Thank you so much for sharing your passion for Tolkien and Mideval fiction.

I enjoy your readings ! Thank you for sharing reminds me of my childhood inspires me to share with my kids!

merry Christmas! thanks for the great content this year and always!

Merry Christmas! Thanks for reading us the story, I enjoyed it. I heard about it in one or the other form during my childhood, but never from start to finish.

You read and reveal the poem exceedingly well. Thoroughly enjoyed.

New to the channel, but a long time Tolkien fan. Enjoyable listen. I enjoy your content. Thank you.

What a wonderful and relaxing listen. Merry Christmas!

I'm so glad I found your channel. You are an excellent story teller. I am reminiscent of the story tellers who came to my elementary school to show us new books and acted out the stories in ways that engaged our young minds and enthralled us to pick up books and read for ourselves. Keep up the good work, we are most appreciative.

Thanx so much for setting me down by the fire, and reading such a fun&sweet story to me, Jess! Happy 2024 to you&yours.

Jess , thanks for another great video ! Hope you have a Very Merry Christmas ! 🥶🧊🌨️✨🎄🎁🦌☃️❄️🎅⛄💚❤️

Fun Fact: The feast on Christmas Eve is just a bunch of kinds of fish, because it was Christmas Eve, and the religious practice was to eat no red meat/poultry for all of Advent until Christmas Day. Five wounds of Christ are nail holes in each foot and hand, and a hole in his side where the centurion poked him with his spear. On a personal note: I think Gawain had two "sins" -- lying to Bertelak about the sash, and perjuring himself at confession.

That was delightful, thank you. Happy Holidays however you celebrate them.

i love that your doin this, and yes i made it through the whole thing, i read alot of tolkiens stuff when i was in my teens but that was like 25 years ago. Thank you for getting me some of the works i missed

Really good way to come to the christmas mood. Merry Christmas!

This is my first time hearing this story and it was delightful. I am a huge fan of Tolkien and the medieval time period. An amazing way to relax after being overwhelmed. Building Legos and listening to the story. I did not guess that the Lord was also the Green Knight, but now that it is said I do see the tests more clearly. Thank you, Jess!

What a nice presentation of this masterful treatment of the classic tale! It is very much appreciated, and I will surely revisit your telling. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and New Year.

The 5 stigmata Jess are the Crown of thorns, the two wrists, the side and the two feet count as one since a single nail was used. Depending on who is telling it Eastern or Western.

this video is GOLD thank you so much for all the information!

This was really enjoyable to listen to, would love more similar videos from you. Thanks.

Thanks for this story, Jess. Merry Christmas and may more of your dreams come true during the next year. Best wishes.

This was a great listen for my holiday traveling tonight. Almost the exact length of my drive to go see some family. The extended reads are really enjoyable!

This was my first exposure to this story, and I enjoyed it immensely. Thank you for presenting it so thoughtfully. Since you asked, I will say that I was not surprised to learn that Lord Bertilak was the Green Knight. :) Thanks again for another great video! Discovering your channel was one of the few good things that happened to me in 2023, and I look forward to more of your content!

Firstly, my thanks for your reading of this tale. If a vital story tellers gift is that your listener stays with you until the end, then you have that gift. Although I have long been aware of the poem I had not read it until this last year. I read reviews of the movie retelling and made a bargain with an old friend that we would both see the film and then meet up in some hills on the border between England and Wales and talk about it while we walked. Unfortunately, this has not yet happened, and so I also read Simon Armitage's excellent modern translation. My wife has now given me his translation of Pearl for Christmas, and I have the pleasure of reading it to look forward to. It is a powerful story and one that I am wonder glade to have read. My hope is that every man would be humbled by hearing the story or reading it. We should all wear a green girdle about our necks. I wonder if would have been able to have resisted the beautiful lady. I fear that I would not. And I would definitely have taken the girdle to protect my own life. Having said that I do feel that the gentle and chivalrous games that men and women played with one another represent one of the best, and most delightful expressions of the relationship between men and women that I can think of. I really don't think that we have progressed since that time although a dear friend in Germany, a high school teacher, tells me that she has always tried to teach the boys in her classes how to be charming in their treatment of girls and women.

crazy just finished the movie today then this pops up

One of my favorite stories of all time. I wrote many papers while in university about this very work since being first exposed to it in a Medieval Lit class.

10:23 his long loins?.... this guy had it all....

I think the first time I heard the story of Gawain and the Green Knight was when it was re-told by Dael Kingsmill. The second time was by Overly Sarcastic Productions. The third time was when I watched the movie. But this is the first time I hear the original text (well, a translation of it, but close enough).

My mother named me Gwalchmai so i've heard all sorts of things about my name, never knew Tolkien wrote a book about it!

This was excellent, thanks for making this - everything about it was perfect! I would like to make a humble request for a reading of Tolkien's The Fall of Arthur, perhaps on a day like Pentecost?

Tolkien’s translation is my favorite. His personal writing style fits so well with the tale here. Love reading it. -T

Fantastic, thank you for this it was such a pleasant time and very well explained!

I first came across this when I studied Middle English literature in my second year at university (1981). I still have the book with that and "Pearl" and other poems. Rime was also used in traditional Irish poetry, which had complicated rules about rhyme and alliteration. French tends to use a mix of rhyme and particularly syllable count in poetry because it doesn't have a heavy stress accent. The theme of the eldritch figure who issues a beheading challenge to the warriors in the hall is even older. I think the stigmata would be hands and feet (all pierced by nails) and one in the side (pierced by a spear), but I could be mistaken.

Thanks for making this video, it was an enjoyable, relaxing and thought provoking listen! :) As well as the ties to nature you point out, I feel like the Green Knight represents ancestry and the idea of a deep, (and recently rediscovered, thanks to Greek scholars migrating from Byzantium to Italy in the late 1400's) forgotten past, a sort of judgment of the ages. The 1500's in Britain was a time when people were taking an academic interest in hillforts, Roman remains and ancient monuments, and were no doubt delving in to round barrows and finding large numbers of bronze socketed axes. They had a somewhat confused idea of the chronology of cultures and sites, and tried to link what they could to classical writings. it is likely that the Neolithic Longbarrows would have been lumped in with the far more numerous Bronze Age Round Barrows and Bowl Barrows etc., and so the idea of barrow burials and bronze weapons/tools would go hand in hand (and would probably have been attributed to Druids, Romans or Celts, incorrectly). As you were reading, it struck me that this poem that is so old to us, may have been seen to be promoting some pretty radical ideas in the Christin 1500's, despite the Christian morality ensconced in it!

Great reading- I love this story and feel the recent film was magnificent, wyrd, and wise -🌳

I took a literature course in university as one of my electives, and we covered this story. At this time, I had too much anxiety to speak up, but the professor was asking students to throw out some thoughts they had about the story, about interesting subtext, etc... I got too nervous to speak up, so after the class was over, I went to the professor... I pointed out that the only way any character could live up to the high standards of the Green Knight, the high standards of chivalry, was to be a supernatural being. The Green Knight didn't have to feel fear of death or worry about consequences, he can just reattach his head and go about his life, but for a regular human to face all that took a tremendous amount of courage and acceptance of the death to come... Gawain, as flawed a human as he is, still rose to the moment, however imperfectly. The professor chastised me a little for not bringing that up during the class, it was a great point, he said, and one he himself hadn't thought of or vocalized (he didn't do it meanly, he meant it as encouragement to speak up in the future, it was more of a "I wish you had said that!" more than anything else) I've never forgotten that, or this story, because of that experience, and now I have an additional reason to forever remember it: The reminder that even the nost virtuous and brave human will still make mistakes, but can still raise to the occasion, make amends, and make things right... It's the choices we make at the end of the day that matter, and even if you falter, you can do the right thing in the end. At least... These are the things I took away from it. I like this story. I did not like the film adaptation I saw of it recently, I understood they were trying to subvert expectations, but it felt like it ruined it instead. Anyway, thanks for coming to my TedTalk, I'll be going back into my cave of irrelevance now 😅

I should finally read this I have had it on my book shelf for years

Great stuff. Merry Christmas

Really good video. I thoroughly enjoyed it. As far as the sin gawain committed by agreeing to the terms of the game and then breaking one could interpret it as lying. He wasn’t honest though it is understandable why he did what he did. The story is definitely an interesting study on morality and what causes us to make the choices we do.

Merry Christmas, Jess! I hope you have a wonderful holiday. A whole video dedicated to Tolkien's translation work and the overall art of translations could be really cool, and for pointers/ideas I recommend watching "Radical Translations: Maria Dahvana Headley, Emily Wilson, and Madeline Miller" where they discuss exactly that and Headley talks about the various translations of Beowulf including Tolkien's. Also, you might take interest in the video "Legends Summarized: King Arthur" by Overly Sarcastic Productions as well as the comic book series Once & Future by Kieron Gillen and Dan Mora because both place a great deal of emphasis on the ways in which the Arthurian mythos has evolved as a result of the differing cultures (Britain and France) and societal values of whatever era certain iterations were written in.

I was ready to be bored but I really enjoyed your reading. Happy new year !

I first heard about Gawain and the Green Knight in an English college class. Then I realized that I had Tolkien’s translation in a box set of Tolkien books I got for Christmas a few years back. It was an interesting story. Definitely a more complex medieval tale, as far as the morals and messaging goes. Usually medieval fairy tales (especially Brothers Grimm) tend to be more straightforward when it comes to the message/moral. At least that’s what I remember from reading those way back when.

Wonderfully done! I'm sure you're aware the story itself is much older. For example there is a similar story with Cuchullain in Gawains place. Instead of the green knight it is a giant who turns out to be Cu Roi.

Merry Christmas Jess!

Only experience was the movie that you mentioned, which i liked more than my wife did, but it was still pretty... Edgy lol Don't think the movie pulled the identity of the knight at all, and gawain was quite opposite in morality. I liked this read a lot more

The five wounds are the nail holes in each hand and foot and the spear wound in the side. I always used to wonder about the crown of thorns as a kid too, but apparently that, like the lashes on the back aren’t counted.

I think the first translation I heard was the W. S. Merwin (also a great translation imo). I somehow had not known that Tolkien translated this story 😅 Happy new year!!

I have never heard of that Story and I love it. But I also loved the whole setting you choose. Even your dress looks like chrismas, were did you find it? It looks all so beautiful. Merry Chrismas, Kind regard, Anna

Ah yes, the Green Knight! My favourite work by Tolkien outside of his own legendarium. It is a rare occurence when a language scholar is also a true artist and poet. We are very lucky the Professor was both.

Merry Xmas! thank you

Hey Jess, Been watching your videos and I really enjoy your stuff. Just thought I should give you a little correction, rhyming poetry comes from the Irish, not the French. eg. the Latin poems of Oengus mac Tipraiti (d. 745)

There is a delightful novel adaptation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Gerald Morris by the title "The Squire, His Knight, and His Lady", 2nd of a 10-book series of Arthurian retellings. It is well worth anyone's time, assuming they have a fondness for Arthurian tales, absurd situations, and acerbic banter. Having been reminded of them, I have some re-reading to do - and I'll certainly look up Tolkien's version of the poem again as well!

RE: Gs and Ws being interchangeable; It strikes me that some modern English dialects, developed long after Shakespearean influence, will happily exchange the G sound for a V sound, which is practically "next door" with W and the W is *often* the V sound, too. Similarly, F and V might get exchanged.

It would have helped to have watched your video before seeing the recent movie version. It was rather confusing, but you have helped me understand it a lot better.

Thank you 😊❤ plz do more reading I loved it . Maybe Lord of the rings with your takes added

I would say that, rather than a “happy medium” he is able to prioritize what is most important of the various codes that he tries to live out.

You’ve done a video on Frankenstein. I’ve thought you would do an excellent job with Dr Jykell and Mr Hyde. I’ve heard different theories on his potion. When I suggested, during a lunch break, that the potion was distilled alcohol two coworkers strongly disagreed, but the two borderline alcoholics tentatively agreed with my theory.

Merry Christmas!

this is AMAZING!

1:17:30 -- RE: The Law of Chivalry; 2 side points which I can't ignore from the story. First is that Gawain is a guest in the household of the unknown lord; and second, that prisoners of war (or circumstance) were often ransomed. See also: C.S. Lewis' "Space" Trilogy with a main character called Ransom, a philologist.

What the book is about, courtly life, is not interesting, but the way Tolkien talks about it, with Old English language and alliteration is interesting.

I had a feeling that the Lord was the green knight. But i had no idea it was a test. That was the twist, for sure. Thank you, Jess!! Once again, you've taught me something new. I only knew of Galwain from Monty Python and the Holy Grail😂😂. I am such a novice in this area. Was never a big reader. My universe has expanded a little more!You're doing great, my dear! Keep up the good work. Can't wait to see what's next!! Love it❤

There was a very faithful to the source material movie made of this a few years ago. It is worth watching.

Fun fact, Reynard became so popular in France, "renard" is now the french word for fox, instead og "goupil" which was the old frenhc word for it. Fox however come from proto-germanic fuhsaz ;)

Fire side readings is a good vibe. I could listen to any sort of stories, Even if non Tolkien and the like.

I enjoyed your video very much. If I could one make one minor point, I noted several times that you pronounced the word buffett as buffet. It should be pronounced like Warren's last name, not Phoebe's. 😁😉

Just fyi: the 5 Wounds of Christ are the ones that He received on the Cross: 1 in each hand, 1 in each foot, & the lance that pierced His side. I think it’s so interesting how the story explores the difference between chivalry and morality and shows that they don’t always equal each other (what is valued as social convention doesn’t always line up with what’s actually right).

I think the five wounds of Christ are the two on the hands (the stigmata), the one in the side (where water and blood came out) and two on the feet or ankles, where a single spike or nail would have held both feet in place.

It happens at Christmas, or at least starts at Christmas, so it is a Christmas story. On this 2nd of Yule, Happy New Shire Year!

This was lovely, thank you. It’s a little off Tolkien, but I’d love to hear your thoughts on tristan and isolde. Have you read Love in the Western World by Denis e Rougemont?

Merry Christmas

Morgan le Fey isn't just a sorceress in King Arthur's Court, she is Gawain's aunt, sister to Morgause, Gawain's mother, and, in fact, sister to King Arthur, which is why Gawain is known as the King's sister-son.

Woot I love this one

23:40 Lol. “… and headed off”. Yes he did.

1:20:50 -- RE: The "Man-Made Nature" of King Arthur's Court; I actually took notice that you chose to use an excerpt from Gawain's departure in which it is explicitly noted that his livery is plastered with pentagons and references to 5. Pentangular solutions are man-made, 100%, and they must be aware of the chaotic Green as being that which is being tamed, or domesticated. Supposing that we could agree to set aside all "occult" explanations for the number 5 being associated with Humans it is particularly striking to see 5-point systems for cosmology all over the Earth, regardless of the sub-group of human culture we examine. There are 5 days in the week for "different" planets, and 2 days for the Sun and the Moon. There are 5 basic "elements" (Fire, Earth, Air, Water, Quintessence), or any other thing. There are pentatonic scales for musical instruments. The "pattern seeking" inherent with having 5 fingers (by chance or any other reason) has made this a very, very old human cultural pattern. I'm also reminded of something I read from the 19th century, which suggested that 1 acre of wild pasture might yield 1 ton of produce annually, but that a reasonable amount of effort by 1 farmer to make that acre agricultural would yield 10 or even 100 times the amount of produce. This in an age before chemical fertilizers derived from industrial processes, or a tractor.

Good job on the pronunciation. Check Simon Roper and/or Jackson Crawford for other attempts.

Have you done a ranking video for all the King Arthur adaptations? 1:25:12