A Companion to the Gawain-Poet

Derek Brewer and Jonathan Gibson, eds. A Companion to the Gawain-Poet. Ardiurian Studies 38. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 1997. Pp. xii, 422 plus 18 black-and-white plates; maps and line drawings.

Few works of late-medieval literature enjoy the critical and pedagogical attention awarded to "Sir Gawain and die Green Knight" (and, to a much lesser extent, die diree other poems accompanying it: "Patience," "Purity," and "Pearl") . A lively modern English translation of "Gawain" in die Norton Anihologv oj English Literature, a volume devoted to it in die Modern Language Association's teaching series, and a steady stream of critical essays have certainly ensured the poem's ubiquity in undergraduate literature surveys, Ardiurian literature courses, and graduate-level reading lists, despite its complex form and daunting dialect. Mindful of such proven authence appeal, this collection aims to engage important historical, cultural, and critical issues about die poems and dieir audiorship; die results are engaging, if of mixed utility for the medievalist.

Part of the problem lies in the collection's construction. The editors...