Almost nothing is known about The Pearl Poet. The author's name comes from the first poem, Pearl, found with the Sir Gawain manuscript. The Pearl Poet is thought to have written four poems, Pearl, Purity, Patience, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The poems were probably written around 1370, which would make the poet a contemporary of Geoffrey Chaucer. Although The Pearl Poet did not live in London, the center of England's cultural activities at the time, his narrative technique demonstrates a sophistication equal to that of his London peers.