Diu Crône is a curious work. We know exactly who wrote it -- Heinrich von dem Türlin. We know nothing else about him, beyond his name; all attempts to trace down anything further have failed or led to doubtful results. We know it was written between about 1220 and 1240, but nothing about the circumstances. It is an Arthurian work that draws on a wide range of other Arthurian works; but its Grail story is unique in that it is Gawein (as it is spelled here) who achieves the Grail. (In the main traditions, as represented by, for instance, The Quest of the Holy Grail, Gawain fails because despite his promise he continually does not follow through.) The title, which means The Crown, refers to the poem itself, which compares itself to a crown full of gems. Like many works of its day, but perhaps more than most Arthurian works, the book has a reputation for trying to stuff everything and the kitchen sink into the story.
The Crown is, of course, the next fortnightly book. I will be reading J. W. Thomas's 1989 translation. It was somewhat difficult to find. Mine is a used library discard from Pine Manor College, which no longer exists, as such -- after some rocky years it was assimilated into Boston College in 2020, and then repurposed within Boston College under the name 'Messina College' earlier this year. I mention this, because I find it sometimes interesting to know the routes a book took to me, particularly when it's very much not the kind of book you can just grab off of Amazon at any time.