Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
In Our Time13 Joulu 2018

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

In a programme first broadcast in 2018, Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the jewels of medieval English poetry. It was written c1400 by an unknown poet and then was left hidden in private collections until the C19th when it emerged. It tells the story of a giant green knight who disrupts Christmas at Camelot, daring Gawain to cut off his head with an axe if he can do the same to Gawain the following year. Much to the surprise of Arthur's court, who were kicking the green head around, the decapitated body reaches for his head and rides off, leaving Gawain to face his promise and his apparently inevitable death the following Christmas.

The illustration above is ©British Library Board Cotton MS Nero A.x, article 3, ff.94v95

With

Laura Ashe Professor of English Literature at Worcester College, University of Oxford

Ad Putter Professor of Medieval English Literature at the University of Bristol

And

Simon Armitage Poet and Professor of Poetry at the Universities of Leeds and Oxford

Producer: Simon Tillotson

Jaksot(1078)

Mars

Mars

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the planet Mars. Named after the Roman god of war, Mars has been a source of continual fascination. It is one of our nearest neighbours in space, though it takes about ...

11 Tammi 200741min

Jorge Luis Borges

Jorge Luis Borges

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and work of the Argentinian master of the short story, Jorge Luis Borges. Borges is one of the greatest writers of the 20th Century, best known for his intrigu...

4 Tammi 200742min

Constantinople Siege and Fall

Constantinople Siege and Fall

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the siege of Constantinople in 1453. When Sultan Mehmet the Second rode into the city of Constantinople on a white horse in 1453, it marked the end of a thousand years ...

28 Joulu 200642min

Hell

Hell

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss hell and its representation in literature and the visual arts, through the ages from Ancient Egypt to modern Christianity. Why do certain religions have a Satan figure ...

21 Joulu 200627min

Indian Mathematics

Indian Mathematics

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the contribution Indian mathematicians have made to our understanding of the subject. Mathematics from the Indian subcontinent has provided foundations for much of our ...

14 Joulu 200642min

Anarchism

Anarchism

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Anarchism and why its political ideas became synonymous with chaos and disorder. Pierre Joseph Proudhon famously declared “property is theft”. And perhaps more surprisi...

7 Joulu 200642min

The Speed of Light

The Speed of Light

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the speed of light. Scientists and thinkers have been fascinated with the speed of light for millennia. Aristotle wrongly contended that the speed of light was infinite...

30 Marras 200642min

Altruism

Altruism

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss altruism. The term altruism was coined by the 19th century sociologist Auguste Comte and is derived from the Latin “alteri” or "the others”. It describes an unselfish a...

23 Marras 200642min

Suosittua kategoriassa Historia

olipa-kerran-otsikko
gogin-ja-janin-maailmanhistoria
mayday-fi
huijarit
mystista
tsunami
totuus-vai-salaliitto
rss-ikiuni
konginkangas
rouva-diktaattori
rss-subjektiivinen-todistaja
sotaa-ja-historiaa-podi
rss-i-dont-like-mondays-2
tiedetta-ja-sirkushuveja-vanhojen-aikojen-podcast
rss-peter-peter
rss-kirkon-ihmeellisimmat-tarinat
maailmanpuu
rss-iltanuotiolla
romani-podcast
rss-kalmakabinetti