Stanzas 10-11 (ll. 203-249): The Green Knight Begins to Speak Flashcards
(39 cards)
“Whether”
as in
“Whether had he no helme ne hauberghe nauther” (l. 203)
“However”
“Pysan”
as in
“Ne no pysan ne no plate that pented to armes” (l. 204)
“Metal collar”
“plate that pented to armes”
as in
“Ne no pysan ne no plate that pented to armes” (l. 204)
“plates that belonged to armour”
“Ne no schaft ne no schelde to schowve ne to smyte.” (l. 205)
“No spear nor a shield to thrust or pierce.”
“holyn bobbe”
as in
“Bot in his on hand he had a holyn bobbe” (l. 206)
“sprig of holly”
“That is grettest in grene when greves are bare,” (l. 207)
“Which is [one of] the greenest things [to be seen] when groves are bare”
“unmete”
as in
“And an axe in his other, a huge and unmete” (l. 208)
“extraordinary”
(Note that the second half of this line needs to precede the first in a prose translation, i.e. “And in his other, a huge and extraordinary axe”)
“A spitous sparthe to expoun in spelle, whoso myghte:” (l. 209)
“A grim battleaxe to describe with words, whosoever might try!”
“The hed of an elnyerde the large lanthe hade,” (l. 210)
“The head [of the axe] was the full length of an ell-rod”
“grayn”
as in
“The grayn all of grene stele and of gold hewen” (l. 211)
“spike [atop the axe]”
(Lit. “projection”– one can imagine that there is a spike that juts out the top of the axe as a result. I have rendered it this way, although other translators take it to mean the socket or casing that holds the blade in place.)
“The bitte burnist bryght, with a brod egge” (l. 212)
“The blade, with a long cutting edge, [was] brightly polished”
“wel schapen to schere”
as in
“As wel scahpen to schere as scharpe rasores;” (l. 213)
“well adapted to cut”
“stele”
as in
“The stele of a stif staf the sturne hit by gripped” (l. 214)
“shaft”
“sturne”
as in
“The stele of a stif staf the sturne hit by gripped” (l. 214)
“strong man”
(Note: adj. for n. again)
“yrn”
as in
“That was wounden with yrn to the wandes ende” (l. 215)
“iron”
“to the wandes ende”
as in
“That was wounden with yrn to the wandes ende” (l. 215)
“for the full length of the staff”
“in gracious werkes”
as in
“And all bigraven with grene in gracious werkes,” (l. 216)
“with elegant designs”
“A lace lapped aboute, that louked at the hede
And so after the halme halched ful ofte,
With tried tasseles thereto tached inoghe
On botouns of the bryght grene brayden ful riche.” (ll. 217-220)
“A lace cord wound about, and was fastened at the head [of the axe]; also, entwined very often along the handle were fine tassels, plentifully attached on buttons of the [same] bright green [that were] fashioned very splendidly.”
(Conjugation is the challenge here; word translation is doable)
“heldes him in”
as in
“This hathel heldes him in and the halle entres,” (l. 221)
“makes his way in”
(Note: verbs of motion are often reflexive in middle English; that is, they are often directed at the subject: “I make my way”, as opposed to “I go”.)
“Drivande”
as in
“Drivande to the high dese, dut he no wothe.” (l. 222)
“heading straight”
(Lit. “driving”; try to convey that same force of motion in his movement)
“dut he no wothe.”
as in
“Drivande to the high dese, dut he no wothe.” (l. 222)
“he feared no danger.”
“Haylsed”
as in
“Haylsed he never one, bot high he overloked.” (l. 223)
“Greeted”
“warp”
as in
“The first word that he warp, ‘Where is,’ he sayde,” (l. 224)
“uttered”
“gyng”
as in
“The governour of this gyng? Gladly I wolde” (l. 225)
“household”
