Evolving drafts of 'Now through England's realm...'

Simon Armitage – translating Gawain

Notes and drafts for Simon Armitage's translation of 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight' show how his working practices evolved as he worked on the poem.

Introduction by Simon Armitage

Introduction to resource, written by Simon Armitage

Evolving drafts of 'Once the siege...'

Description of the evolving drafts in Simon Armitage's translation of Gawain

Gawain first section drafts from BC/MS20c/Armitage/2/9

‘Once the siege…’ in the early notebook

Earliest draft for Gawain.

First version of ‘Once the siege…’ in the Gawain notebook

Drafts for first section of Gawain from Gawain notebook, page one.

Second version of ‘Once the siege…’ in the Gawain notebook

Drafts for first section of Gawain from Gawain notebook, pages two and three.

Third version of ‘Once the siege…’ in the Gawain notebook

Drafts for first section of Gawain from Gawain notebook, pages four and five.

Gawain first section typed draft from Early Notes file BC/MS20c/Armitage/1/21/1

Early drafts of ‘Once the siege…’

Description of first typed up draft of first stanza of 'Gawain'.

Gawain first section early notes from BC/MS 20c/Armitage/1/21/1

Early notes for ‘Once the siege…’

Description of annotated printout of first stanza of Gawain.

Gawain first section, draft #1 from BC/MS20c/Armitage/1/21/1

First draft of ‘Once the siege…’

Description of first typescript draft of first stanza of Gawain

Gawain first section typed draft #2 from BC/MS20c/Armitage/1/21/1

Second draft of ‘Once the siege…’

Description of second typed up draft for first stanza in 'Gawain'

Gawain first section typed draft #3 from BC/MS20c/Armitage/1/21/1

Third draft of ‘Once the siege…’

Third typed draft of first stanza of 'Gawain'.

Gawain first section typed draft #4 from BC/MS20c/Armitage/1/21/1

Fourth draft of ‘Once the siege…’

Fourth typed up draft of first stanza of 'Gawain'.

‘Once the siege…’: lines in detail

Description of development of first two lines of 'Gawain'.

Evolving drafts of 'Now through England's realm...'

Description of drafts for lines 691-739.

'Now through England's realm...' in the Gawain notebook

Description notebook drafts for lines 691 - 739, Gawain.

First version of 'Now through England's realm...' in the Gawain notebook

Second pages of drafts

Second version of 'Now through England's realm...' in the Gawain notebook

Third page of drafts in Gawain notebook

Third version of 'Now through England's realm...' in the Gawain notebook

Pages of drafts from Gawain notebook.

Gawain line 691 section early notes from BC/MS20c/Armitage/1/21/1 (1of2)

Early notes for 'Now through England's realm...'

Typescript early notes for lines 691 - 739, Gawain.

Gawain line 691 section typed draft #1 from BC/MS20c/Armitage/1/21/1 (1of2)

First draft of 'Now through England's realm...'

First typed draft for lines 691 - 739, Gawain.

Gawain line 691 section typed draft #2 from BC/MS20c/Armitage/1/21/1 (1of2)

Second draft of 'Now through England's realm...'

Second typescript draft of lines 691 - 739, Gawain.

Gawain line 691 section typed draft #4 from BC/MS20c/Armitage/1/21/1 (1of2)

Third draft of 'Now through England's realm...'

Third typed draft of lines 691 - 739, Gawain.

Writing a poetic translation: defending the work

Notes on the introduction to Gawain, back of Gawain notebook.

Writing a poetic translation: translating dialect

Notes on introduction to Gawain, back of Gawain notebook.

Writing a poetic translation: pronunciation

Notes for introduction to Gawain, back of Gawain notebook.

Translating Gawain Bibliography: Ecocriticism

Research resources for Simon Armitage's 'Gawain'

Armitage and Ecocriticism

Resources for studying Armitage and Ecocriticism

Ecocriticism and the Late Medieval

Extended Gawain Bibliography

The two stanzas beginning “Now through England's realm he rides and rides" (ll. 691 – 739) form one of the most famous and recognisable sections of the poem. They describe Gawain setting off in search of the Green Chapel to fulfil his side of the deal made with the Green Knight.

The drafts show the development of this section, and illustrate the evolution of Armitage's working practice. This section of the Gawain notebook would be the last time that he worked on the stock and the bob-and-wheel simultaneously during this translation.

These drafts show Armitage exploring the use of dialect in the poem, centred around the pivotal term of "wodwos", the word which first attracted him to the idea of a translation. The work involved in translating the poem's wide, eclectic vocabulary for a modern audience also becomes clear in the differences between the Faber & Faber and Norton translations of this section, and illustrate how Armitage's translation has continued to evolve beyond its first publication.