Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, translated by Simon Armitage

15th June 2010
My partner, Philippa, and I, took a trip on the Metro into Manchester last night to hear the poet, Simon Armitage, read from his works.  The event was held in Chetham's Library, the oldest library in the English speaking world. I wanted to hear the poet because I much enjoy his translation of the Middle English poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a tale of decapitation and honour served.

Armitage’s West Yorkshire dialect gives just something extra to the words.  Poets are to be heard.

And thinking about the Yorkshire dialect – The theatre group, Northern Broadside has wonderful torsion and tension in its productions because of the use of it.

My dad was from a part of Yorkshire once known as the East Riding.  He told me the Yorkshire man’s toast:

Eat all, drink all and pay nowt.
Hear all, see all and say nowt.
And if tha dust owt for nowt
Do it for thi sen*
So here’s to me and my wife’s husband –
Not forgetting misen*

*(and if you do anything for nothing do it for yourself)

*(myself)

My dad had a Selby dialect and swore that anyone with the full Yorkshire ‘U’ sound, as in ‘electric buulb’ would have a good Latin tongue, His rendering of ‘Sic Luceat Lux Vestra!’  - would have had ‘em cheering in the Capital in Rome.  So let your light shine.