Dear Patron

I am writing to thank you for supporting my work; as I write, William and the Werewolf is now 75% funded and hopefully this year will see it reach its financial target and bring this fabulous fourteenth century romance to a whole new audience.

It's certainly been a tough year for everyone so I am particularly grateful for your help with this undertaking; with all the work I have been doing in the background, I hope you'll find that the results have been worth waiting for.

Many patrons of William have also supported my earlier translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. With the recent cold snap, I was reminded of the wintry scenes within that magnificent romances and have put together a film showing a number of its many superb descriptions of the northern winter landscape of six centuries ago.

As you probably know, what we now call Middle English was not a standardised language; it was spoken and written in a number of dialects which, in their written form, are highly distinctive.

The dialect of Gawain is described as North Midlands, or North-West Midlands; it has a direct feel to it which enables a graphic and emphatic delivery by the speaker. By contrast, the dialect of William and the Werewolf is thought to be Southern Worcestershire or Warwickshire; its delivery is much softer and its words less direct, giving a real sense of warmth to the audience.

If you're not familiar with Middle English, and in particular the poems of the Alliterative Revival of the fourteenth century, the film will show you the source material I work with in my translations. I will put together a special one for William and the Werewolf in the near future. 

In the meantime, enjoy the film - and enjoy the festive season!

Michael Smith

Translator and Printmaker