Yvain: Calogrenant tells his mortifying story

About the scene and clip:
The solo performer recounts and embodies Calogrenant’s story of how he was defeated by his powerful adversary (the husband of Laudine).  It is hearing Calogrenant’s story that makes Yvain want to go the magical fountain and prove his own valor.

About the work:
Yvain is one of the five surviving romances by Chrétien de Troyes, who is often considered the father of Arthurian romance. This great work, in octosyllabic rhymed couplets, was composed for Marie, Countess of Champagne, around 1170. The romance recounts the adventures of Yvain, a knight of King Arthur’s court, who wins the beautiful Laudine in marriage (having killed her husband in single combat). He then loses both her love and his honor through his failure to keep a vow to return home from his knightly activities by an agreed-upon date. The second half of the romance is devoted to adventures in which Yvain, accompanied by a lion, creates a new name for himself (the “Knight with the Lion”), recovers his honor through a series of good deeds, and finally wins back his wife.

About the genre:
Medieval romances are typically long narratives of love and adventure in which an aristocratic hero (or occasionally a heroine) proves himself in combat and courtship. Medieval romance arose in France and Anglo-Norman England in the 12th century and spread through Western and even Eastern Europe. Many early romances tell the stories of knights and ladies at King Arthur’s court. In the 12th and 13th centuries, romances are composed in verse (typically octosyllabic rhymed couplets), and are commonly performed aloud from memory by minstrels; romances are also sometimes read aloud. In the 13th century, some romances begin to be written in prose; public and private readings become more frequent.

About the edition/translation:
Yvain or The Knight with the Lion, trans. Ruth Harwood Cline, Athens, GA, University of Georgia Press, 1975, pp. 15ff. Old French: Le Chevalier au Lion (Yvain), ed./trans. David F. Hult, in Romans de Chrétien de Troyes, eds./trans. J.M. Fritz et al, Paris, Classiques Modernes/ Livre de Poche, 1994.

About the performer/ensemble: 
William Hutto is a student in the Meisner Studio at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts (2012).

About the production:
This performance was created for the course “Acting Medieval Literature,” taught by Prof. Timmie (E.B.) Vitz at New York University in spring 2012. It was videoed by Samantha Ehrenberger and edited by Abigail Wahl.

Gawain: Gawain arrives at the Green Chapel—the Green Knight is sharpening his axe!

About the scene and clip:
Gawain arrives at the Green Chapel where he hears the Green Knight sharpening his blade (with grim sound effects) and they meet.

About the work:
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, one of the best loved works of medieval literature, is an anonymous Middle English romance of the 14th century. The style is “alliterative”: each poetic line is dominated by a certain letter sound that is repeated.

The story: At Christmas, a strange, huge, all-green knight arrives at King Arthur’s court. He challenges all present to an exchange of blows with his great axe. Gawain accepts, and cuts off the knight’s head—but the green man does not die! Rather, he picks up his head and, before riding away, reminds Gawain that in a year it will be his turn to receive his blow. Gawain, in his dutiful quest for the Green Knight, encounters many adventures—in particular, at a castle where he has an exchange of gifts with the lord, and where the lady attempts repeatedly to seduce the virtuous and honorable Gawain. He finally finds the Green Knight—in a surprising conclusion to the romance.

About the genre:
Medieval romances are typically long narratives of love and adventure in which an aristocratic hero (or occasionally a heroine) proves himself in combat and courtship. Medieval romance arose in France and Anglo-Norman England in the 12th century and spread through Western and even Eastern Europe. Many early romances tell the stories of knights and ladies at King Arthur’s court. In the 12th and 13th centuries, romances are composed in verse (typically octosyllabic rhymed couplets), and are commonly performed aloud from memory by minstrels; romances are also sometimes read aloud. In the 13th century, some romances begin to be written in prose; public and private readings become more frequent.

About the edition/translation:
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight [Parallel Text Edition], tr. Simon Armitage, New York/London, W.W. Norton & Company, 2007; IV, ll. 2197ff, pp.167ff.

About the performer/ensemble: 
Kingsley Nwaogu is a major in the Experimental Theatre Wing at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts (2012).

About the production:
This performance was created for the course “Acting Medieval Literature,” taught by Prof. Timmie (E.B.) Vitz at New York University in spring 2012. It was videoed by Alexander Herron and edited by Abigail Wahl.

Gawain: Gawain, in his beautiful armor, prepares to leave Arthur’s court

About the scene and clip:
The performer describes Sir Gawain’s glorious armor, singing and using another student as a live prop.

About the work:
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, one of the best loved works of medieval literature, is an anonymous Middle English romance of the 14th century. The style is “alliterative”: each poetic line is dominated by a certain letter sound that is repeated.

The story: At Christmas, a strange, huge, all-green knight arrives at King Arthur’s court. He challenges all present to an exchange of blows with his great axe. Gawain accepts, and cuts off the knight’s head—but the green man does not die! Rather, he picks up his head and, before riding away, reminds Gawain that in a year it will be his turn to receive his blow. Gawain, in his dutiful quest for the Green Knight, encounters many adventures—in particular, at a castle where he has an exchange of gifts with the lord, and where the lady attempts repeatedly to seduce the virtuous and honorable Gawain. He finally finds the Green Knight—in a surprising conclusion to the romance.

About the genre:
Medieval romances are typically long narratives of love and adventure in which an aristocratic hero (or occasionally a heroine) proves himself in combat and courtship. Medieval romance arose in France and Anglo-Norman England in the 12th century and spread through Western and even Eastern Europe. Many early romances tell the stories of knights and ladies at King Arthur’s court. In the 12th and 13th centuries, romances are composed in verse (typically octosyllabic rhymed couplets), and are commonly performed aloud from memory by minstrels; romances are also sometimes read aloud. In the 13th century, some romances begin to be written in prose; public and private readings become more frequent.

About the edition/translation:
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight [Parallel Text Edition], tr. Simon Armitage, New York/London, W.W. Norton & Company, 2007; II: ll. 590ff; pp. 61ff.

About the performer/ensemble: 
Katie Eisenberg is a Drama student in the Experimental Theatre Wing at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts (2012).

About the production:
This performance was created for the course “Acting Medieval Literature,” taught by Prof. Timmie (E.B.) Vitz at New York University in spring 2012. It was videoed by Samantha Ehrenberger and edited by Abigail Wahl.

Gawain: The Green Knight—All green!

About the scene and clip:
The performer describes the amazing greenness—in every detail!—of the Green Knight, using another student, dressed all in green, as a living prop. 

About the work:
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, one of the best loved works of medieval literature, is an anonymous Middle English romance of the 14th century. The style is “alliterative”: each poetic line is dominated by a certain letter sound that is repeated.

The story: At Christmas, a strange, huge, all-green knight arrives at King Arthur’s court. He challenges all present to an exchange of blows with his great axe. Gawain accepts, and cuts off the knight’s head—but the green man does not die! Rather, he picks up his head and, before riding away, reminds Gawain that in a year it will be his turn to receive his blow. Gawain, in his dutiful quest for the Green Knight, encounters many adventures—in particular, at a castle where he has an exchange of gifts with the lord, and where the lady attempts repeatedly to seduce the virtuous and honorable Gawain. He finally finds the Green Knight—in a surprising conclusion to the romance.

About the genre:
Medieval romances are typically long narratives of love and adventure in which an aristocratic hero (or occasionally a heroine) proves himself in combat and courtship. Medieval romance arose in France and Anglo-Norman England in the 12th century and spread through Western and even Eastern Europe. Many early romances tell the stories of knights and ladies at King Arthur’s court. In the 12th and 13th centuries, romances are composed in verse (typically octosyllabic rhymed couplets), and are commonly performed aloud from memory by minstrels; romances are also sometimes read aloud. In the 13th century, some romances begin to be written in prose; public and private readings become more frequent.

About the edition/translation:
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight [Parallel Text Edition], tr. Simon Armitage, New York/London, W.W. Norton & Company, 2007; I: ll. 147ff; pp. 31ff.

About the performer/ensemble: 
Selina Fonseca is a Drama student in the Stonestreet Studio at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts (2012).

About the production:
This performance was created for the course “Acting Medieval Literature,” taught by Prof. Timmie (E.B.) Vitz at New York University in spring 2012. It was videoed by Samantha Ehrenberger and edited by Abigail Wahl.

Gawain: Lady’s second seduction attempt fails

About the scene and clip:
The performer recounts and embodies dialogue between the Lady (attempting, for the second time, to seduce Sir Gawain) and the virtuous knight; he heightens the drama—and the comic value—of the scene by the use of modern recorded music.

About the work:
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, one of the best loved works of medieval literature, is an anonymous Middle English romance of the 14th century. The style is “alliterative”: each poetic line is dominated by a certain letter sound that is repeated.

The story: At Christmas, a strange, huge, all-green knight arrives at King Arthur’s court. He challenges all present to an exchange of blows with his great axe. Gawain accepts, and cuts off the knight’s head—but the green man does not die! Rather, he picks up his head and, before riding away, reminds Gawain that in a year it will be his turn to receive his blow. Gawain, in his dutiful quest for the Green Knight, encounters many adventures—in particular, at a castle where he has an exchange of gifts with the lord, and where the lady attempts repeatedly to seduce the virtuous and honorable Gawain. He finally finds the Green Knight—in a surprising conclusion to the romance.

About the genre:
Medieval romances are typically long narratives of love and adventure in which an aristocratic hero (or occasionally a heroine) proves himself in combat and courtship. Medieval romance arose in France and Anglo-Norman England in the 12th century and spread through Western and even Eastern Europe. Many early romances tell the stories of knights and ladies at King Arthur’s court. In the 12th and 13th centuries, romances are composed in verse (typically octosyllabic rhymed couplets), and are commonly performed aloud from memory by minstrels; romances are also sometimes read aloud. In the 13th century, some romances begin to be written in prose; public and private readings become more frequent.

About the edition/translation:
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight [Parallel Text Edition], tr. Simon Armitage, New York/London, W.W. Norton & Company, 2007; III: ll. 1770ff; pp. 139ff.

About the performer/ensemble: 
William Hutto is a student in the Meisner Studio at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts (2012).

About the production:
This performance was created for the course “Acting Medieval Literature,” taught by Prof. Timmie (E.B.) Vitz at New York University in spring 2012. It was videoed by Alexander Herron and edited by Abigail Wahl.

Gawain: Gawain’s guide discourages him from seeking the Green Knight

About the scene and clip:
The guide that is to lead Sir Gawain to the Green Knight’s chapel discourages him from going to meet that brutal, murderous wild man, advising him to flee while he can.

About the work:
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, one of the best loved works of medieval literature, is an anonymous Middle English romance of the 14th century. The style is “alliterative”: each poetic line is dominated by a certain letter sound that is repeated.

The story: At Christmas, a strange, huge, all-green knight arrives at King Arthur’s court. He challenges all present to an exchange of blows with his great axe. Gawain accepts, and cuts off the knight’s head—but the green man does not die! Rather, he picks up his head and, before riding away, reminds Gawain that in a year it will be his turn to receive his blow. Gawain, in his dutiful quest for the Green Knight, encounters many adventures—in particular, at a castle where he has an exchange of gifts with the lord, and where the lady attempts repeatedly to seduce the virtuous and honorable Gawain. He finally finds the Green Knight—in a surprising conclusion to the romance.

About the genre:
Medieval romances are typically long narratives of love and adventure in which an aristocratic hero (or occasionally a heroine) proves himself in combat and courtship. Medieval romance arose in France and Anglo-Norman England in the 12th century and spread through Western and even Eastern Europe. Many early romances tell the stories of knights and ladies at King Arthur’s court. In the 12th and 13th centuries, romances are composed in verse (typically octosyllabic rhymed couplets), and are commonly performed aloud from memory by minstrels; romances are also sometimes read aloud. In the 13th century, some romances begin to be written in prose; public and private readings become more frequent.

About the edition/translation:
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight [Parallel Text Edition], tr. Simon Armitage, New York/London, W.W. Norton & Company, 2007; IV: ll. 2091ff; pp.161ff.

About the performer/ensemble: 
Dash Finley is a Film and TV student in New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts (2012).

About the production:
This performance was created for the course “Acting Medieval Literature,” taught by Prof. Timmie (E.B.) Vitz at New York University in spring 2012. It was videoed by Samantha Ehrenberger and edited by Abigail Wahl.

Gawain: Second seduction attempt

About the scene and clip:
Bertilak’s wife attempts, for the second time, to seduce Gawain, using all the arguments—and all the charms—at her disposal. (Again, he resists.)

About the work:
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, one of the best loved works of medieval literature, is an anonymous Middle English romance of the 14th century. The style is “alliterative”: each poetic line is dominated by a certain letter sound that is repeated.

The story: At Christmas, a strange, huge, all-green knight arrives at King Arthur’s court. He challenges all present to an exchange of blows with his great axe. Gawain accepts, and cuts off the knight’s head—but the green man does not die! Rather, he picks up his head and, before riding away, reminds Gawain that in a year it will be his turn to receive his blow. Gawain, in his dutiful quest for the Green Knight, encounters many adventures—in particular, at a castle where he has an exchange of gifts with the lord, and where the lady attempts repeatedly to seduce the virtuous and honorable Gawain. He finally finds the Green Knight—in a surprising conclusion to the romance.

About the genre:
Medieval romances are typically long narratives of love and adventure in which an aristocratic hero (or occasionally a heroine) proves himself in combat and courtship. Medieval romance arose in France and Anglo-Norman England in the 12th century and spread through Western and even Eastern Europe. Many early romances tell the stories of knights and ladies at King Arthur’s court. In the 12th and 13th centuries, romances are composed in verse (typically octosyllabic rhymed couplets), and are commonly performed aloud from memory by minstrels; romances are also sometimes read aloud. In the 13th century, some romances begin to be written in prose; public and private readings become more frequent.

About the edition/translation:
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight [Parallel Text Edition], tr. Simon Armitage, New York/London, W.W. Norton & Company, 2007; III: ll. 1508ff; pp.121ff.

About the performer/ensemble: 
Katie Henry is a major in Dramatic Writing at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, with a minor in History (2012).

About the production:
This performance was created for the course “Acting Medieval Literature,” taught by Prof. Timmie (E.B.) Vitz at New York University in spring 2012. It was videoed by Samantha Ehrenberger and edited by Abigail Wahl.

Gawain: The two ladies of Bertilak’s court

About the scene and clip: 
The performer describes and embodies the two women of Sir Bertilak’s court—the one young and beautiful, the other an ugly crone.

About the work:
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, one of the best loved works of medieval literature, is an anonymous Middle English romance of the 14th century. The style is “alliterative”: each poetic line is dominated by a certain letter sound that is repeated.

The story: At Christmas, a strange, huge, all-green knight arrives at King Arthur’s court. He challenges all present to an exchange of blows with his great axe. Gawain accepts, and cuts off the knight’s head—but the green man does not die! Rather, he picks up his head and, before riding away, reminds Gawain that in a year it will be his turn to receive his blow. Gawain, in his dutiful quest for the Green Knight, encounters many adventures—in particular, at a castle where he has an exchange of gifts with the lord, and where the lady attempts repeatedly to seduce the virtuous and honorable Gawain. He finally finds the Green Knight—in a surprising conclusion to the romance.

About the genre:
Medieval romances are typically long narratives of love and adventure in which an aristocratic hero (or occasionally a heroine) proves himself in combat and courtship. Medieval romance arose in France and Anglo-Norman England in the 12th century and spread through Western and even Eastern Europe. Many early romances tell the stories of knights and ladies at King Arthur’s court. In the 12th and 13th centuries, romances are composed in verse (typically octosyllabic rhymed couplets), and are commonly performed aloud from memory by minstrels; romances are also sometimes read aloud. In the 13th century, some romances begin to be written in prose; public and private readings become more frequent.

About the edition/translation:
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight [Parallel Text Edition], tr. Simon Armitage, New York/London, W.W. Norton & Company, 2007; II: ll. 950ff; p. 85.

About the performer/ensemble: 
Douglas Widick is a Drama student in the Stella Adler Studio at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts (2012).

About the production:
This performance was created for the course “Acting Medieval Literature,” taught by Prof. Timmie (E.B.) Vitz at New York University in spring 2012. It was videoed by Samantha Ehrenberger and edited by Abigail Wahl.

Troilus: Reading in a paved parlor

About the scene and clip:
This clip is a two-part dramatization of Book 2, lines 78-119, of Troilus and Criseyde, performed in Middle English with Modern English subtitles. Part I dramatizes the scene in which Criseyde and her friends are reading aloud to each other in a paved parlor. Part II recreates how medieval audiences would have experienced Chaucer’s poem.

About the work:
The great 14th-century English poet Geoffrey Chaucer is primarily famous for The Canterbury Tales, but he is also the author of several other major works. In Troilus and Criseyde, he retells the tragic story of the Trojan prince, Troilus, and Criseyde. (This story is actually more medieval than classical: it comes from the Roman de Troie by the 12th-century French poet Benoït de Sainte-Maure; Boccaccio also tells the story in Il Filostrato, which is Chaucer’s primary source.) Chaucer tells of Troilus’ love for the beautiful young widow, Criseyde; his extreme timidity as a lover; the intervention of her uncle Pandarus on their behalf; their love-affair; her move to the Greek camp (being forced by her father to do so); her taking of a new lover, the Greek warrior Diomedes; and the heartbroken Troilus’ death in battle. The work is written in “rhyme royal” (seven-line stanzas in iambic pentameter). Shakespeare drew heavily on Chaucer’s poem for his tragedy Troilus and Cressida.

About the genre:
Troilus and Criseyde to some degree defies genre classification, but it draws strongly on romance tradition.

Medieval romances are typically long narratives of love and adventure in which an aristocratic hero (or occasionally a heroine) proves himself in combat and courtship. Medieval romance arose in France and Anglo-Norman England in the 12th century and spread through Western and even Eastern Europe. Many early romances tell the stories of knights and ladies at King Arthur’s court. In the 12th and 13th centuries, romances are composed in verse (typically octosyllabic rhymed couplets), and are commonly performed aloud from memory by minstrels; romances are also sometimes read aloud. In the 13th century, some romances begin to be written in prose; public and private readings become more frequent.

About the edition/translation:
The Riverside Chaucer, eds. Larry Benson, Robert Pratt, F.N. Robertson, Oxford, Oxford Paperbacks, 3rd Rev. Ed., 1988: Troilus and Criseyde, Book 2, lines 78-119.

About the performer/ensemble:
Prof. Joyce Coleman produced and directed the film. Kevin Caliendo (actor, screenwriter), Mark Collett (actor, screenwriter), Christina Norman Dotson (actor, screenwriter), Emily Duda (actor, costumer), Lee Green (actor, location scout), Kimberly Martinson (Antigone, music researcher), Alex Miner (actor, screenwriter), and Ryan Schaller (actor, “Siege of Thebes” researcher) are all graduate students in English and History at the University of Oklahoma (2006). Prof. David Levy (“Philosophical Strode”) is an emeritus professor of History, and Prof. Alan Velie (“Moral Gower”) is a professor of English, both at the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Lynne Levy (Chloe) and Dr. Dan Ransom are, respectively, the Managing Editor and the Director of the Chaucer Variorum. Dr. Elisabeth Dutton (Criseyde) teaches at Oxford University.

About the production:
This video was created for a graduate course taught by Prof. Joyce Coleman at the University of Oklahoma in spring 2006: “Authorship through Medieval Eyes.” The film was shot on April 13, 2006 at the University of Oklahoma. Copies of the video with detailed liner notes are available through Prof. Joyce Coleman of the University of Oklahoma. We offer our thanks to her, a member of the advisory board of the website, for allowing us to use this clip.

Gawain: Green Knight’s challenge

About the scene and clip:
This clip gives a somewhat abridged performance of the opening scenes of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Linda Marie Zaerr tells the story in Middle English, with brief summary passages in Modern English. Laura Zaerr accompanies her on a harp.

About the work:
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, one of the best loved works of medieval literature, is an anonymous Middle English romance of the 14th century. The style is “alliterative”: each poetic line is dominated by a certain letter sound that is repeated.

The story: At Christmas, a strange, huge, all-green knight arrives at King Arthur’s court. He challenges all present to an exchange of blows with his great axe. Gawain accepts, and cuts off the knight’s head—but the green man does not die! Rather, he picks up his head and, before riding away, reminds Gawain that in a year it will be his turn to receive his blow. Gawain, in his dutiful quest for the Green Knight, encounters many adventures—in particular, at a castle where he has an exchange of gifts with the lord, and where the lady attempts repeatedly to seduce the virtuous and honorable Gawain. He finally finds the Green Knight—in a surprising conclusion to the romance.

About the genre:
Medieval romances are typically long narratives of love and adventure in which an aristocratic hero (or occasionally a heroine) proves himself in combat and courtship. Medieval romance arose in France and Anglo-Norman England in the 12th century and spread through Western and even Eastern Europe. Many early romances tell the stories of knights and ladies at King Arthur’s court. In the 12th and 13th centuries, romances are composed in verse (typically octosyllabic rhymed couplets), and are commonly performed aloud from memory by minstrels; romances are also sometimes read aloud. In the 13th century, some romances begin to be written in prose; public and private readings become more frequent.

About the edition/translation:
One edition of this frequently-edited work is Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, ed. J. R. R. Tolkien and E. V. Gordon, 2nd ed. revised by Norman Davis, Oxford, Clarendon, 1968.

About the performer/ensemble:
Linda Marie Zaerr is Professor of English at Boise State University and a professional performer of medieval literature who has performed widely at scholarly conferences and given many concerts. In her performances she narrates, acts, sings, and plays the vielle. Laura Zaerr, who lives in Oregon, teaches at the University of Oregon and at Willamette University in Salemis; she is a professional harpist and composer who performs widely.

About the production:
This clip is taken by permission from a DVD of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight that was produced by TEAMS and the Chaucer Studio with Shira Kammen, Laura Zaerr and Linda Marie Zaerr. Copies of the DVD can be purchased from the Chaucer Studio. For further information, contact the director of the Chaucer Studio, Professor Paul Thomas (paul_thomas@byu.edu; phone: 801-422-2531).