Wauchier de Denain

I'd hoped to like this more than I did as Gawain is one of my favourite knights and was treated quite badly by the later romancers, including Malory. Here I hoped to find a more sympathetic portrayal, which I did, but stylistically and narratively, I wasn't gripped.

Likes: Gawain is the epitome of chivalrous conduct (despite bedding the Lady of Lys out of wedlock, though this is something of a Romance trope). Gawain has his waxing/waning strength in tune with the position of the sun. There are some interesting descriptions of courtly life and King Arthur's interactions with his knights.

Dislikes: Wauchier de Denain's insistence that everything was the best, most beautiful "whatever" in the world, but beyond his powers of description, or that the books from which he drew his story had much to say about "whatever" but he didn't want to bore his readers by copying down the description. Lazy!! I'm sure he must have left out a lot of connecting plot points and motivations, as these seemed generally lacking. I think I unconsciously filled in stuff from other Arthurian romances I've read.

So, all-in-all I wouldn't recommend this as an introduction to Arthurian literature, but if you've got some grounding in the cycle then there is actually much of interest, hence my 4-star review despite my carping.… (meer)