SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT

Most fans of Arthurian legend will be familiar with the story of Sir Gawain And The Green Knight. This epic poem was written in the 1300’s, and there is a detailed article in Wikipedia for those who are not already acquainted with the tale. The author of the work wrote in a Middle English dialect that is incomprehensible to us today. What you hear in this video is a simplified adaptation for modern English speakers. For movie fans, there is also a film, SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT, which came out in 2021.

The original story concerns a strange “game”, having to do with life, death, honor and chivalry. This video concerns only the beginning of the “game”, and it all unfolds on Christmas Eve in the court of King Arthur. One of the interesting things about the story is that it is about a time when Christianity was first introduced to Britain, and existed alongside “The Old Ways” of magic and nature worship.

The hurdy-gurdy I am playing is of the early design that was called a “chifonie” or “symphonie”. I use a variety of effects, including a Whammy pedal, that have been created for guitar players. These allow me to shift pitch and add simple harmonies which players could not have done centuries ago.

When you watch this video, the first thing you are probably going to ask yourself is ‘What the heck is that pyramid thingee?’ That is a very special type of amplification system made by LA VOIX DU LUTHIER in France. It is called “LA PYRAMIDE” and it is not a conventional cone speaker. It is a resonator, specifically designed to lend acoustic vibrancy and “life” to any sound that is fed into it. For the curious, there is a website: la-voix-du-luthier [dot] com.

For those who like to add a little zest to their Christmas spirit, the story of The Green Knight should fill the bill quite nicely!

Merry Christmas everyone.

[renfygg]

"His skin was as the leaves in spring.
His eyes, of gleaming gold
And on his shield he bore the arms
Of antlered gods of old" sent shivers down my spine

[IIImobiusIII]

At one point, there was only one copy of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The owners estate burned down but not before he ran in and saved a couple of his most precious manuscripts. That was a man who understood the mission.

[TheFoolOnTheHill_]

It's so fun hearing these ancient and medieval legends rendered into song by such a talented mind, performed on authentic instruments. I can't get enough.

[bliss]

A round of applause please for this lovely rendition.

[MickeyCuervo]

For those who may not know, the "Morgan y Dylwythen Deg" he refers to is a character that's pretty famous, or infamous, depending on the telling, in Arthurian myth. Tylwyth Teg, in Welsh, translates to "fair folk" where we get the word "fairy" from. Thus, Morgan of the Fairies, or Morgan le Fey. (Yeah, it sounded like Ds and not Ts when he sang it, but that's Celtic initial mutation for you. It's also the noun first and the adjective after.)

[baraskparas]

A man who aught to have a whole music faculty at a top university under his direction .

[Eurazba]

The tapping of fingers on the instrument to imitate the galloping of a horse was such a fun detail!

[thegoldenmonkey]

This is unironically up there with your telling of the epic of gilgamesh. I was enamoured by your performance. Peter pringle putting out another banger, please complete the story too

[monty]

BABE WAKE UP NEW PETER PRINGLE VIDEO JUST DROPPED

[TheFoolOnTheHill_]

Peter Pringle might be the most underrated musician ever.

[monty]

Oh my god, and the little riff on the gurdy that you played in the Death of King Arthur is back

[numinasarcadia]

Oh yes! More hurdy gurdy after so long. Thank you again for this lovely masterpiece Mr. Pringle.

[chenstormstout]

The Green Knight has always been one of my favorite Arthurian stories.

[KenkuRogue]

The lyrics as best as I could transcribe- because i felt driven to (blame the auto-generated transcript)

It was the Eve of Christmas
The Good King and his Knights
were gathered in a holy kirk
to celebrate the light
they came in all humility
no shield was seen, nor sword
to bow their heads in reverance
for the birthing of our Lord.

when all were knelt in prayer,
there came a mighty blow,
upon the doors which opened wide
unto the winter snow.
and on a steed of holly-green,
and bourne by winter winds,
a knight in armor, axe in hand
came riding, riding in.

(clippity cloppity clip clap clop)

the ringing of the hooves on stone
was the only sound
as the knight rode in, dismounted,
and set foot on holy ground.
his skin was as the leaves in spring,
his eyes of gleaming gold,
and on his shield he bore the arms
of antlered gods of old.

in a voice low and soft he spoke,
"Good friends, do not fear-
I propose a simple game
for one among you here;
if one of you will fight me
on this Christmas-Tide,
then will I depart this house,
and peace will here abide."

"But any wound I suffer here
at the hand of any man,
be it great or be it small
as a scratch upon the hand,
we shall agree by sacred oath,
before the fight begins;
that such a wound-
just one year hence-
I shall inflict on him."

Now Morgan y Dylwythen Deg, sister of the king
had a son, a fearless knight
the one they call Gawain
he was among the gathered throng
and thought to put an end
to this strange intruder
and the king's honor defend
Sir Gawain stepped forward
and raised his voice aloud
"I'll take your challenge, and the oath,
and fight you here and now!"
he grasped the great green axe
and raised it o'er his head
the green knight did not raise a hand
but knelt in prayer, instead.

he swung the mighty axe
and the deed was done
the green knight's head fell on the stones
and so, Gawain had won!
there were no shouts of praise...
and only silence reigned,
as blood spilled out on holy ground
at the feet of Sir Gawain...

then to defy the laws of men,
and the power of death defeat-
the headless body raised itself
and stood upon its feet!
then to its severed head it walked,
as if it were unharmed
with sightless hands, it took the head
and held it in its arms.

To the gathered throng it spoke
in a voice for all to hear
"Now we agree, you come to me
on this night, in a year.
when in the Chapel Green we meet,
then, as is my right-
I'll do to you what you did to me
upon this holy night."

"The chapel you will find
to the North, a six-day ride
just ask about, and you will find
just where the chapel lies."
With that, the green knight mounted,
his head under his arm
on thundering hooves, rode out again
into the winter storm...

(Clap clop clippity clippity clappity clippity clappity)
[my thanks to ​ @Morgan Pollard for the correction]

[JamesRDavenport]

I never tire of the internet's bard-in-residence, Peter Pringle.
You are a welcome edition to our trove of knowledge. Thank you!

[kebabmarley]

Last year i went down a rabbit hole after watching the movie. Even though we usually treat Arthurian legends as mythology it's interesting to see the crossovers to historical figures. One of the stories involving Sir Gawain is the "lothly lady" if you want to google it. But this story is also accredited to this "real" irish king dude Niall of the Nine Hostages from around 400 AD.

Also what's funny is that a lot of Irish & Scottish surnames trace back to this King's linage: O'Neill, O'Boyle, O'Bradley, Campbell, Cannon, Coleman, Connor, Devlin, O'Doherty, O'Donnell, Donnelly, Egan, Flynn, Gallagher, Gormley, Hynes, Kane, McGovern, McLoughlin, McManus, Molloy, O'Reilly, O'Rourke and Quinn (found on google). Funny to think how much folklore came from family rumors being passed on for generations

[pragmatica]

Merci beaucoup Peter pour ce cadeau qui nous aidera à passer au travers de l'hiver Québécois! (On ne t'a pas oublié ici)

[thearomaofbananas]

hes bac and like his namesake, once you pop you just cant stop. love these unique works peter.

[hyperactivehyena]

What I wouldn't give to hear you tell the whole story. My favorite, and never before so masterfully told. Thank you so much for this

[nocturnered]

The first video i found from this channel was Lament for Gilgamesh, and i cant say how much i found interesting hearing all the ancient songs, i couldn't image what channel like this could exist