The Pearl-Poet is also called the Gawain-Poet. He probably lived in the second half of the fourteenth century. Not much is known of this author, except that he wrote Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Patience, Cleanness, and Pearl. These four poems are preserved in a unique manuscript (BL Cotton Nero A.x.).

He might possibly be also the author of St. Erkenwald;  which is to be found in another manuscript, but shows structural and stylistical similarities with the other texts. Tests of phonology, syntax, accidence, rhyme and vocabulary place the poet in the Northwest Midlands area.

The Pearl-Poet uses alliterative verse throughout his works which was flowering at that time. He is therefore one of the representatives of the so-called 'alliterative revival'.

His use of concepts of theology and biblical stories and of classical works show that he must have been an educated and well-read man. His very detailed descriptions of hunting scenes and court festivities, of heraldry, and of armour reveal an intimate familiarity with courtly life, but this is about all we can learn of him through his texts.

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The Pearl-(Gawain-)Poet
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