The Gawain-poet (also called the Pearl-poet) is name given by scholars to the probable author of the four poems surviving in a single manuscript--British Library, Cotton Nero A.x--written at the very beginning of the fifteenth century.

The four poems, Pearl, Cleanness (also called Purity), Patience, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, share common features of date (late fourteenth century), dialect (northwest Midlands), and style, which suggests that they have a common author--although this cannot be proven. They are written in an alliterative style, characteristic of the date and region.

The poet's language and style make for difficult reading, largely because of the poet's use of regional dialect and frequent archaism. At the same time, his verbal artistry is unparalleled in English literary history.

The subject matter of the four poems ranges from didactic religious material, to dream vision, to chivalric romance, embracing a vast range of vignettes into medieval culture and every-day life. For the modern reader, the work of the Gawain-poet provides a fascinating introduction to the world of the late Middle Ages.