{"id":2414,"date":"2016-02-25T16:00:36","date_gmt":"2016-02-25T21:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.nd.edu\/manuscript-studies\/?p=2414"},"modified":"2017-10-11T11:30:25","modified_gmt":"2017-10-11T15:30:25","slug":"gawains-lying-laughter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/manuscript-studies\/2016\/02\/25\/gawains-lying-laughter\/","title":{"rendered":"Gawain’s Lying Laughter"},"content":{"rendered":"

The plot of Gawain and the Green Knight <\/em>centers around agreements. Gawain\u2019s search for the green chapel begins in an attempt to fulfil his vow to exchange blows with the Green Knight.<\/p>\n

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The Green Knight leaves, holding his decapitated head; Sir Gawain and the Green Knight<\/i>, England, c. 1400; British Library, Cotton MS Nero A.x, f. 90v.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The journey leads into a second set of agreements\u2014in the three days that he stays with Bertilak (the green knight in disguise), he and Bertilak agree to exchange whatever winnings they gain by day when they meet again at night. Although Gawain successfully exchanges winnings two out of the three nights, kissing Bertilak for each kiss Bertilak\u2019s wife gave him, he keeps a girdle that Lady Bertilak claims protects the wearer from blows: \u00deer is no ha\u00feel vnder heuen tohewe hym \u00feat my\u021dt<\/em> (1853).<\/p>\n

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Gawain’s girdle isn’t the only powerful girdle in medieval literature. Here St. Cuthbert’s girdle cures Aelfflaed. Bede, Prose Life of Cuthbert, Durham, last quarter of the 12th century; British Library, Yates Thompson MS 26, f. 48v.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Thomas D. Hill argues that Gawain\u2019s failure to exchange the girdle is only a venial sin. He bases this argument on Augustine and Aquinas. St. Augustine says that jokes are not lies because the speaker\u2019s disposition and tone are joking. Hill then proposes that tone and disposition must also apply to Thomas Aquinas\u2019s much later concept of jocose lies, or lies that are told for pleasure, which Aquinas categorizes as venial sins.<\/p>\n

Hill\u2019s article points out that each exchange of gifts and vow to exchange them on the next day drips with the language of games, joking and laughter (283). Since the agreement to exchange winnings was made for entertainment under mirthful conditions, he suggests that Gawain\u2019s decision to keep the girdle is a venial sin\u2014St. Augustine argues that jokes are not lies. However, Augustine\u2019s jokes use extralinguistic cues like tone of voice and demeanour to communicate the truth non-verbally.<\/p>\n

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Bertilak preparing to return Gawain’s blow; Sir Gawain and the Green Knight<\/i>, England, c. 1400; British Library, Cotton MS Nero A.x f. 125v.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This doesn\u2019t happen with Gawain and the girdle. At the exchange where he keeps the girdle, he is <\/em>mirthful. The text calls him \u201cSir Gawayn \u00fee gode, \u00feat glad watz with alle\u201d (1925), speaks of his joye, <\/em>\u2018joy\u2019, and emphasizes that he and Bertilak \u201cmaden as mery as any men mo\u021dten\u201d (1953). Despite this display of gladness, joy and mirth, Gawain\u2019s disposition does nothing to communicate that he has the girdle. In fact, it conceals his oath-breaking\u2014Gawain blends into the mirthful atmosphere that Bertilak has established at each of the previous exchanges of winnings.<\/p>\n

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Lines 1935-1971 of Gawain<\/i>, in which Gawain and Bertilak exchange winnings for the last time; Sir Gawain and the Green Knight<\/i>, England, c. 1400; British Library, Cotton MS Nero Axx f. 117r.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This is the opposite of St. Augustine\u2019s jokes\u2014Gawain\u2019s non-verbal communication assists his deception of Bertilak.<\/p>\n

Bertilak\u2019s laughter, mirth, and games also conceal lies of omission. He withholds information that he can survive a beheading, that he is also the Green Knight, and that he\u2019s asked his wife to tempt Gawain. Yet, he controls the atmosphere of each exchange. He challenges Gawain to a Crystmas gomen, <\/em>a Christmas game, and appears in the midst of a feast (283). This decision also places the exchange of winnings in the Christmas season\u2014he tells Gawain to come a year afterwards. While Bertilak portrays both oaths as entertainment, their apparent levity both masks and contrasts Bertilak\u2019s darker intentions. Unlike Augustine\u2019s jokes, the non-verbal communication and mirth of Gawain aids in deception rather than revealing the truth.<\/p>\n

Rachel Hanks
\nPhD Candidate
\nDepartment of English
\nUniversity of Notre Dame<\/p>\n

Works Cited<\/p>\n

Andrew, Malcolm, and Ronald Waldron. The Poems of the Pearl Manuscript: Pearl, Cleanness, Patience, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight<\/em>. Univ of California Press, 1982.<\/p>\n

Hill, Thomas D. \u201cGawain\u2019s Jesting Lie: Towards an Interpretation of the Confessional Scene in Gawain and the Green Knight.\u201d Studia Neophilologica<\/em> 52, no. 2 (January 1, 1980): 279\u201386. doi:10.1080\/00393278008587778.<\/p>\n

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A medieval depiction of a feast; Speculum humanae salvationis<\/i>, London, 1485-1509; British Library, Harley MS 2838, f.45r.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The plot of Gawain and the Green Knight centers around agreements. Gawain\u2019s search for the green chapel begins in an attempt to fulfil his vow to exchange blows with the Green Knight. The journey leads into a second set of agreements\u2014in the three days that he stays with Bertilak (the green knight in disguise), he … <\/p>\n

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