The Adventures of Sir Gawain the True

Ah, King Arthur and all his knights. Who cares if he never existed, or if he was a Roman soldier, or some random Celt. Who cares if his table was round or oblong or ovoid. What matters are the legends, the tales of knights errant, of battles lost and won, of magic and Merlin, of faithful hearts and hearts untrue, of living for love, and dying for it. Then there are the knights: Galahad, Lancelot, Bedevere, Bors, Gawain and the others.

There is another knight also, a knight not of the Round Table the Green Knight, a giant not just clothed in green, but green from head to foot. The tale of how Sir Gawain was challenged by the Green Knight, and all that happened as a result, is one of the earliest romances written in what is recognizably the English language: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. While its a rip-roaring story, its not exactly accessible. Think Chaucer, but more obscure.

Well, thank Merlin for Gerald Morris. He has taken this story, and turned it into a hilarious, lively, truly rip-roaring but easy to read new book: The Adventures of Sir Gawain the True, the latest in a series called The Knights Tales. Gerald Morris storytelling style is a treat: funny, energetic, and straightforward. For example, the book opens thus: Now, everyone who knows anything at all about knights knows that they used to dress in metal suits and bash each other off their horses with pointy sticks called lances. This only makes sense, of course. Anyone who happened to have a metal suit, a horse, and a pointy stick would do the same. Well, quite. And when Gawain slays a dragon he doesnt mutter "forsooth" or "egads" or any such nonsense. He shouts, I won again! Wouldn't you?

Like other books in the series, Sir Gawain the True is illustrated by Aaron Renier in a friendly and appealing style, which manages to make the Green Knight suitably frightening and impressive, but still sort of safe in a cartoon-villain kind of way. In fact, the illustrations find that same balance between the innate grandness of an Arthurian legend, and the fun (but NOT fluffy) modern retelling.

Thats worth saying again. This book is fun times ten to read, but nevertheless retains the power of the original legend. It points out that promises matter, as do manners. It also shows that keeping your promises is not always straightforward, especially when your conscience suggests a different course of action.

And if none of the above has convinced you that you need to read Sir Gawain the True immediately, then hear ye this. This book has dragons, damsels and cat-juggling. It has magic, jousting and fuzzy bunny slippers. Really, what more could you ask for?