(above: win this original print; see the end of this update)
Today, 26th July 2018, is a special day. It is the day when my translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is officially published. I wanted to share a few final thoughts on this wonderful poem as part of what is most likely my last update for this book - a book which you have most generously helped to create.
I am pleased to say that the book can now be purchased anywhere in the world and, in particular, in the bookshop of the British Library itself, where the actuall Gawain manuscript now resides and is again on display. Gawain has truly come home. He is launched on a brand new journey of discovery across Logres and beyond.
Distant voices, still lives...
For me, working on Gawain, and on other poems of the Alliterative Revival, is truly fascinating. I view these works as real windows on a distant age and, crucially, as important witness documents to an age now lost to us. I see them not merely as poems but as unconscious witnesses to behaviour, protocol, ritual, and daily life. Translating and interpreting Gawain has been a privilege and, from an historian's point of view, a duty.
One element I am particularly interested in is the process of interpretation. As well as translating the poem and illustrating it, a key focus for me has been to shed a light on the poet's life and times.In particular, trying to decode not so much the voice of the poet but the very world he witnessed. I do not see the work as a poem alone. It is an historical document.
While many of the great episodes in the poem place the reader in carefully crafted scenes for the purpose of drama and plot, it is the sub elements of a story which reveal greater insight. Some fascinating examples in Gawain concern the cult of Mary, the ritualistic dressing for doomday (particularly in Fitt 2 when Gawain is prepared for paradise), the description of Hautdesert reflecting those knights made wealthy by the Hundred Years War, the reference to the wilderness of Wirral, the people and functionaries behind the hunt.
Time to dig deeper...
So it is that when I am working on the poems of the Allliterative Revival, I am drawn to dig deep, to open my mind as to what the poet actually saw. To avoid being closed down by the narrative and actually see the world beyond the painting. This is particularly so in the supporting notes and additional material I have included in Gawain, which I hope you have enjoyed.
I've just written an update to my work on King Arthur's Death which highlights this issue (read it here). It is fascinating to think that the short-hand of poets - the life they knew but did not know they were telling future readers - is now a fundamental piece of historical, as well as literary, evidence.
These poems offer a fascinating insight into their time; Gawain is packed with it and so is King Arthur's Death. Both these poems, and all the others of the Revival offer rich pickings for the historian. I can't wait to share that with you as I work on Arthur, if, of course, you are prepared once again to indulge my passion.
Goodbye from me - but not goodbye for ever
So, as this new translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight begins its journey into another green world, a new story unfolds. While my work on the book has ended, a new journey begins. I cannot stop here. The voice of these unknown northern poets lures me still.
Hence, while this may well be my final update for Gawain, it is not goodbye from me. I am currently translating King Arthur's Death through Unbound and writing regular updates for this as I progress with its translation and illustration. It would be lovely to have you on board for this work (if you've not joined already of course).
If you would like to pledge support, you can do so and save 10% on any pledge up to £100 by using the code GAWAIN10 in the promo code box when you pledge (please pledge here). (NB. This promo code is only open to pledgers for Gawain so please keep it to yourself).
One lucky winner too...
Also, one lucky pledger at hardback level or above will also be in with a chance of winning an ORIGINAL LINOCUT print (worth £425) - once we reach 250 pledges (currently we're on 144). The print is shown at the top of this update - printed area 12" x 12" on 250gsm Somerset Paper, hand-pulled, editioned and signed by me. Everyone who has pledged already is in with a chance too - so don't worry!
This journey into the Alliterative Revival of the Fourteenth Century is far from over. Indeed, it has barely just begun.
Thank you.
Michael Smith
Translator, Printmaker and champion of the Alliterative Revival