At the turn of the year

'But now I must tell you about the Great Wheel that turns. It is a circle that takes everything back to its beginning. There is nothing that doesn't return in the end to where it came from. The stars in the sky stir in a great circle, which is how it was when our Creator first made them, separating the light from the darkness. The sun and the moon are also fixed on the wheel, rising and setting in a circle. The seas rise and fall according to the seasons, marking out passages of time that are spokes upon the Great Wheel. And what is more, no one can reckon the scale of what happens. Small actions bring great changes: this is the meaning of the wheel. Man is no more than a fledgling bird perched on the rim of that wheel whose spokes reach inwards into eternity where the eye of Him who made us sees everyting, knowing who we are, and what we may be. From where we stand, we can only see one thing at a time, each coming after the other, every word and action taking the place of whatever came first. It's the same in the lives of people. When we stand at the top of the wheel, we think we can command everything, that all the world is under our power, but something small we did once still works away, turning with the wheel, and then the result of the little deed comes to fruition. The downward flight begins and everything that was great and good turns to ruin and ashes. Where do I stand on the Wheel, everyone can ask himself.'

Sir Gawain and the Green Maiden, Fitt the Second.

Hardcover / paperback / etext

The full text of an imagined sequel to Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. A novel and an inquiry into times and circumstances. The legend continues