For students of Middle English, Andrew and Waldron's The Poems of the Pearl Manuscript has been the key edition of the four Pearl poems (the best-known of which is Gawain and the Green Knight) for 30 years. Now, with the changing needs of today's student in mind, the editors have undertaken the most comprehensive revision of the book since its inception.The revised edition includes a new introduction providing historical, literary and cultural contexts for the poems. It also incorporates a revised and updated bibliography, minor changes to the text and glossary, and significant revision and updating of the explanatory notes. In addition the authors have provided for the first time a complete prose translation of the four poems for students to use as a working tool. Access to a digital copy of this translation, conceived as a complement and companion to the new edition, is included with this book.
Preface
Abbreviations
Introduction
1. The Manuscript
2. Authorship
3. Pearl
4. Cleanness
5. Patience
6. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
7. The Four Poems
Select Bibliography
Note on Language and Metre
TEXT AND EXPLANATORY NOTES
Note to the Text
Pearl
Cleanness
Patience
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Glossary
Appendix: Passages from the Vulgate