All printings of the 1st Edition w/ Jackets

This article is an introduction to Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, edited by JRR Tolkien and EV Gordon. It was first published by the Oxford University Press in 1925. These volumes of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight are scholarly editions of the Middle English romance. Tolkien was responsible for the glossary and for the text of the poem, while Gordon produced the majority of the accompanying notes. This article does not cover Tolkien's translation of the story into modern English, which was first published in 1975, there are some accompanying images of variants of those volumes at the end of this article however.


All printings of the 1st Edition without Jackets

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a late 14th-century chivalric romance in Middle English alliterative verse. The author is unknown; the title was given centuries later. It is one of the best-known Arthurian stories, with its plot combining two types of folk motifs: the beheading game, and the exchange of winnings. Written in stanzas of alliterative verse, each of which ends in a rhyming bob and wheel, it draws on Welsh, Irish, and English stories, as well as the French chivalric tradition.

It is an important example of a chivalric romance, which typically involves a hero who goes on a quest which tests his prowess. It remains popular in modern English renderings from J. R. R. Tolkien, and others, as well as through film and stage adaptations.

The story describes how Sir Gawain, who was not yet a knight of King Arthur's Round Table, accepts a challenge from a mysterious "Green Knight" who dares any man to strike him with his axe if he will take a return blow in a year and a day. Gawain accepts and beheads him, at which point, the Green Knight stands, picks up his head, and reminds Gawain of the appointed time. In his struggles to keep his bargain, Gawain demonstrates chivalry and loyalty until his honour is called into question by a test involving the lord and the lady of the castle at which he is a guest.

The poem survives in one manuscript, Cotton Nero A.x., which also includes three religious narrative poems: Pearl, Cleanness, and Patience. All four are written in a North West Midlands dialect of Middle English, and are thought to be by the same author, dubbed the "Pearl Poet" or "Gawain Poet".

1925 1st Printing

2,500 copies printed. Page edges untrimmed. Contains a tissue guard on the title page, and errata slip towards the front of the book.



1925 Edition, Facsimile Jacket

Stamped ax ornament and border on upper board are in gilt. Logo present on spine of binding.





1925 Edition

1930 2nd Printing

Corrected edition. Variants have been seen both with and without tissue guards over the plates. This one is one without a tissue guard. Nearly same dimensions as the 1st printing.



1930 Edition

Variants have been seen both with and without the top edges of the pages trimmed. Stamped ax ornament and border on upper board are in gilt. Logo present on spine of binding.


1930 Edition

1936 3rd Printing

Size reduced somewhat. Top edges of pages trimmed.



1936 Edition

Stamped ax ornament and border on upper board are plain, very difficult to see in lower light. Logo present on spine of binding


1936 Edition

1946 4th Printing

Size reduced even further, most likely printed to Britain’s postwar economy standard. Top edges of pages trimmed. Back of the dust jacket altered.


1946 Edition

No stamped ax ornament or border on upper board. Variants have been seen with and without logo on spine of binding.


1946 Edition

1949-1955 5th - 7th Printings

Top edges of pages trimmed. No stamped ornament or border on upper board.


1949, 1952, & 1955 Editions

Logo present on spine of binding. Much smaller and thinner than the earlier printings and for the most part uniform.


1949, 1952, & 1955 Editions

1960-1966 8th - 10th Printings

All page edges trimmed. No stamped ornament or border on upper board. Boards varying shades of green.


1960, 1963, & 1966 Editions

Logo present on spine of binding. Dust jacket completely redesigned.


1960, 1963, & 1966 Editions

2nd Edition Hardback and Paperback

1967 Hardback & 1968 Paperback Editions

Using a number of sources of information, including Tolkien's later notes on the subject, Norman Davis revised Tolkien and Gordon's earlier work - largely rewriting the Introduction, Notes and appendices on Metre and Language in the process.


1967 2nd Edition next to 1925 1st Edition

Reprinted many times

The size of the book (but not the text) was reduced for the paperback volumes as well as some reprints of the hardback volumes but just how many times these were produced is unclear. According to tolkienbooks.net this volume was being reprinted well into the 1990s.


All Editions w/ Jackets

Size of the book much enlarged and dustjacket completely redone in design for this new hardback edition.


All Editions without Jackets

Translation into modern English

1975 GA&U and HMCO Editions with the 2020 HC Deluxe Edition

Edited by Christopher Tolkien and published in 1975 together with Pearl, and Sir Orfeo. This was the first of his father's works that Christopher prepared for publication after Tolkien's death in 1973. I have included just a few variants, but it is not an exhaustive list. That article will have to wait for another day


Various Paperback Editions

All images from the collection under The Hill

For more information

1. J.R.R. Tolkien A Descriptive Bibliography - Wayne G. Hammond with the assistance of Douglas A. Anderson (Oak Knoll)
2. Deagol's Site - Tolkienbooks.net

TCG YouTube Video on Sir Gawain