Gawain Poet

Lore & Background

The Gawain Poet is unidentified. Various scholars have suggested that the poem is attributable to a member of the landed Massey family of Cheshire, and in particular John Massey of Cotton. This is not widely accepted, however, and the labels "Pearl Poet" or "Gawain Poet" are still preferred. The language of the poems shows that the poet was a contemporary of Geoffrey Chaucer, John Gower, and William Langland, who are sometimes (following the suggestion of academic John Burrow) collectively called the Ricardian Poets in reference to the reign of Richard II of England. All four poems of the Cotton MS Nero A X manuscript are in the same Middle English dialect, localised to the area of north-western Staffordshire, north east Shropshire and south-eastern Cheshire, in the English Midlands. It is, therefore, thought most likely that the poet was a native of north Shropshire, east Cheshire or west Staffordshire and was writing in the latter part of the 14th century: based particularly on the narrative voice of Pearl, the poet is thought to have been male. Internal evidence indicates that all four works were probably written by the same author, though their similar dialect and presence in the same manuscript have usually been taken as the strongest evidence of common authorship.

Reader's Guide

The Gawain Poet's significance lies in producing some of the most highly regarded Middle English poetry, notable for its sophisticated literary style, alliterative verse, and detailed knowledge of hunting, heraldry, and courtly life. The poet shows a deep knowledge of the Vulgate Bible and Christian theology, though with an interest in the literal sense of biblical sources rather than allegorical interpretation. The poet's works are central to the Alliterative Revival of the late 14th century, and the single surviving manuscript, Cotton MS Nero A.x, is the only Middle English manuscript collection consisting solely of alliterative poems. Despite extensive scholarly investigation, the poet's identity remains unknown, and the labels 'Gawain Poet' or 'Pearl Poet' are still preferred over any proposed attribution.

Did You Know?

• The Gawain Poet is sometimes called the Pearl Poet, after one of the four poems in the same manuscript.
• All four poems survive in a single manuscript, British Library Cotton MS Nero A.x, the only Middle English manuscript collection consisting solely of alliterative poems.
• The poet shows a deep knowledge of the technical vocabulary of hunting, as in the description of the horn signals in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
• J. R. R. Tolkien and E. V. Gordon concluded in 1925 that the poet 'had Latin and French and was well enough read in French books, both romantic and instructive' and that 'his home was in the West Midlands of England'.
• The poet is thought to have been male, based particularly on the narrative voice of Pearl.