Another thing as I cannot resist talking about my favourite medieval text. The pearl poet is so human with the way (he presumably) writes. There is so much love poured into this text and this story it feels almost autobiographical- like we get a view into the creative psyche of writers in this time and what it means to be creative throughout time. I’m giving a lecture on this exact topic on my campus next week so I’m so happy to have this appear on my feed as I take a break from writing my lecture notes!!
I live in the North-West of England — not very far from the Cheshire / Staffordshire border, in fact — and for those not familiar with this part of the world, you may be interested to know that Northern English accents and dialects are still to this day noticeably different from those in London and the South. (Although not as different now as they were once.) There are definitely Northern dialect words that you don't hear anywhere else — and one of them is "fell" for "hill / mountain", which is of course that Old Norse word "fjall" in modern form! It's not used in Cheshire (we don't have many big hills), nor in the Peak District to the east, but hills are definitely fells further north in Lancashire, Yorkshire, and most of all in Cumbria / the English Lake District. I spend a lot of time in the latter and I can say for sure, up there you always go walking up in the fells, never the "hills"!
Not sure I will be able to join in the reading group, but this is definitely a piece of Middle English literature I should get to know better, especially now I know the author came from near where I now live!
My parents bought me a book of this story as a child due to my name which is one of my earliest memories. Lovely to hear it being discussed again as an adult.
YESSSS I love Gawain so much. Getting my teeth into pearl next and it’s a very different beast!
Another thing as I cannot resist talking about my favourite medieval text. The pearl poet is so human with the way (he presumably) writes. There is so much love poured into this text and this story it feels almost autobiographical- like we get a view into the creative psyche of writers in this time and what it means to be creative throughout time. I’m giving a lecture on this exact topic on my campus next week so I’m so happy to have this appear on my feed as I take a break from writing my lecture notes!!
I live in the North-West of England — not very far from the Cheshire / Staffordshire border, in fact — and for those not familiar with this part of the world, you may be interested to know that Northern English accents and dialects are still to this day noticeably different from those in London and the South. (Although not as different now as they were once.) There are definitely Northern dialect words that you don't hear anywhere else — and one of them is "fell" for "hill / mountain", which is of course that Old Norse word "fjall" in modern form! It's not used in Cheshire (we don't have many big hills), nor in the Peak District to the east, but hills are definitely fells further north in Lancashire, Yorkshire, and most of all in Cumbria / the English Lake District. I spend a lot of time in the latter and I can say for sure, up there you always go walking up in the fells, never the "hills"!
Not sure I will be able to join in the reading group, but this is definitely a piece of Middle English literature I should get to know better, especially now I know the author came from near where I now live!
My parents bought me a book of this story as a child due to my name which is one of my earliest memories. Lovely to hear it being discussed again as an adult.
Do you know the Birtwistle opera based on the poem? It’s not an easy listen but is hauntingly dramatic.
https://open.spotify.com/album/6GItS5pt7ZXGy6CTybTBxm?si=pWAYR0NmTg6ZqYT6tl4uqw
Does anyone know which edition has the facing Middle English original?
Which translation is most literal?