This time of year always cheers us; we only need to turn to Chaucer's opening lines to the Canterbury Tales to learn of the joy of spring for example. Nature of course was very close to writers in the middle ages; the Gawain-poet, as you know, was a master of natural description.
One of the joys of working on the Alliterative Morte Arthure (King Arthur's Death) is that the anonymous Arthur-poet, a contemporary to both these great writers, was no less skilled in his use of nature to set the scene and manipulate the reader.
I've made a brief film sharing with you three sections which use nature to great effect and reveal how the poet uses nature to create mystery, as well as employing it as a precursor to magical and even monstrous scenes. In the film, I read from the original manuscript and also include my translation of the poem which I'm currently crowdfunding with Unbound. I'm no Laurence Olivier or Chris Packham but I hope you enjoy it!
If you like what you hear and you've not yet supported the book, I'd be delighted if you felt it worth your support to take it over the line. We're now very close - just 14% away - from being fully funded; if you'd like to support the book and help this work become reality I would be truly honoured. Please do pledge here.
Thank you once again for your support
Michael Smith,
Author, Translator, Printmaker