Gawain, knight of the goddess : restoring an archetype

Foreword by Mildred Leake Day.

1 The British Cuchulainn. 2 The rise of Gawain. 3 The green gome: otherworldly chivalry and the round table. 4 A knight adventurous: Gawain and women. 5 The fall from grace: Gawain's path to the grail. 6 Mary's knight: the grail champion restored. 7 The death of Gawain: a hero transformed. Appendix 1 - The childhood of Gawain. Tr. by Prudence Jones. Appendix 2 - The arming of Gawain. Appendix 3 - The chapel in the green. Appendix 4 - The sweet sorrow. Appendix 5 - Aspects of the goddess in the major texts

'Gawain was once the most important knight at Arthur's court, a shining example of all that was best in chivalry at the time. However, as the popularity of the Arthurian romances grew the character of Gawain diminished, leaving him represented as a villain rather than as Champion of the Goddess. How this transformation came about, and the reasons why, are explored here by John Matthews.'

Hardcover