Arthuriana Volume 4 Issue 2 1994 (Doi 10.2307/27869057) Gregory W. Gross - Sir Gawain and The Green Knight Secret Rules - Sex, Confession, and Truth in Sir Gawain and The Green Knight

Secret Rules: Sex, Confession, and Truth in "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight"
Author(s): Gregory W. Gross

Source: Arthuriana, Vol. 4, No. 2, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (SUMMER 1994), pp. 146174
Published by: Scriptorium Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27869057 .
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Secret Rules: Sex, Confession, and Truth in

Sir Gawain and theGreenKnight
GREGORYW. GROSS
The
Gawain-poet
to his
community
chooses
an erotic
to
relation
plot
complicate Gawain's
of 'trawê.' Gawain's
seduction by
and to themeaning
the lady subjectshim to thepower of confessionaltechnique,and to a
that shift his sense of'trawê'

from
disciplinary mode of individualization
to a new one, which first
its traditional meaning
(promise; covenant)
sense of
emerges in the fourteenth century and endures in the modern
truth,' as the objective
In
state of that which
is real. (GWG)
his annotations of Sir Gawain
and theGreen Knight, Sir Israel Gollancz

at
line 1880, that the Gawain-poet probably did not notice that his
notes,
to a priest
to make a
plot requires Gawain
sacrilegious, invalid confession
is
his
commits
confession
Gawain
Gollancz
because
claims,
(123).1
sacrilege,
to
not
the
tell the priest of his intention
keep
willfully incomplete: he does
greengirdle (whichthe ladyhas justgivenhim) inviolationof his bargain
to exchange winnings in their

its
'hunting' game. Despite
as a
a
stature
note
Gollancz's
debate
about
Gawain's
brevity,2
ignited scholarly
truthful knight. Most of the judgments have been negative. In 1955 George
was
not only of
sacrilege,
guilty
Englehardt, for example, declared thatGawain
but also of superstition because he put faith in the supposed power of the
to protect him from harm. And John Burrow
in 1959 that
suggested
girdle
medieval
readers would have seen irony in the lines describing the priest's
with her husband
they would have known that absolution is

invalidated by the penitent's failure tomake a complete confession. As Michael
was one of a veritable
Foley points out, by themid-1960s Burrow's reading
chorus of voices raised in denunciation of Gawain's faulty confession' (73).5
The critical determination thatGawain stands guilty of a willful lapse in
absolution
of Gawain
because
truthfulness suggests more about the limits of the humanist view of the self
Arthuriana
146

4.2 (1994)
SEX, CONFESSION, AND TRUTH
INSGGK
H7
to 'truth.' I contend that the humanist

complex relation
to be an autonomous moral agent whose
it assumes Gawain
to speak 'the truth' is
in place, is
understanding of his obligation
already firmly
blind to the way inwhich the poem presents Gawain's subjectivity and the
than about Gawain's
view, because
idea of 'truth' as evolving, mutually constituting constructs. In this article,

rather than pass one more judgment on the 'truthfulness'ofGawain's confession
itself, Iwill examine instead how the tension between the obligation to confess
and thewill to keep secrets, especially in its focus on sexual desire, acts upon
Gawain, marking a sea change in the historically specific senses of'truth' [ME
'traw]3e'], and inGawain's constitutive relation to them. Borrowing Foucault's
on
in the process of
of secrecy and confession
an erotic
to
I
the
chooses
seek
individualization,
poet
plot to
explain why
- and to his
- and
to
how,
'trawl>e'
community
complicate Gawain's relation
in the conclusion of the poem, Gawain's confession of his 'secret' upon his
ideas
the function
sense of'truth' as an
signals the germination of themodern
The
of
my argument will be
development
objective epistemological category.
divided in two parts. In the first half, 'Gawain's Paradoxical Secret,' I will
as a technique of power in order to argue
employ Foucault's view of confession
that in SGGK confession and seduction unfold within the same relations of
return toCamelot
power and share the same discursive technique. As a player in the scheme to
testGawain, the lady ofHautdesert acts as both temptress and confessor, leading
to admit to secret sexual desire by provoking it.4Her double role, I
Gawain
contend, makes sense out of the paradox
even
a
though
signification of sexual liaison
Gawain and the lady.5The second section,
the operation of secrecy and confession as
distinct modes of individualization described
of the green girdle, that is, the

one does not take
place between
'Truth from 'Trawê',' discusses
the key difference between two
moves from
by Foucault. Gawain
to the other, I suggest, in his move from Camelot to Hautdesert,

result
with the
that, upon his return home, he possesses a radically different
sense of what itmeans to be a knight of'trawj>e.'
one mode
GAWAIN'S PARADOXICAL SECRET

In Power/Knowledge Michel Foucault tells his interviewers that his first
volume on the history of sexuality is the only work he ever began without
at
start. In fact, he says that right up to the
knowing what he would call it the
lastmoment he could not think of a title for it. 'History of Sexuality' was
an
finally chosen, he admits, for lack of anything better. But his book did have
- 'Sex and Truth' - which he
he
earlier tentative title
says
dropped, although

148
ARTHURIANA
he does not explain why. The switch in titles seems

perplexing when Foucault
one
as
an
the
virtue
of
of
the
earlier
speaks
encapsulation of the nagging question
to
that led him
undertake his project: what had to happen in the
history of
theWest/ he asks, Tor the question of truth to be posed in
to sexual
regard
pleasure' (209)?
not until the nineteenth century that
Although it is
sexology the science
sex
of
emerges, Foucault claims that the strange endeavor to tell the truth of
sex has itsultimate
origins centuries earlier. Painting in broad strokes, he cites
Wo
great procedures for producing the truth of sex/ First, there is the tradition
of ars erotica found in societies from Rome
toChina
inwhich sexual
pleasure
in terms of its intensity, its
specific quality, itsduration, its reverberations in the body and the soul/ all of
which constitute a secret' body of
to be
a
knowledge
divulged only by master
to his
a
course
within
formal
of
initiation
into
disciple
learning {History of
to this
Sexuality 57). Opposed
procedure, which Foucault names the 'masterful
secret,' is theWestern tradition of the confession. Codified by theChurch in
1215 as an annual sacramental obligation for all Christians (of the age of
discretion), confession has always taken sex as itsprivileged theme. The focus
on sex in the administration of sacramental confession
changes somewhat,
to Foucault,
the
more
seventeenth
attention is paid
according
century:
during
to the
to
of
desire
itself
than
the
blunt
admission
of
sexual acts. The
analysis
more
he
more
'attributed
and
Counter-Reformation,
claims,
importance in
penance ... to all the insinuations of the flesh: thoughts, desires, voluptuous
imaginings, delectations, combined movements of the body and the soul. . .
shifting themost important moment of transgression from the act itself to the
- so
difficult to perceive and formulate - of desire'
stirrings
{History 19-20).
While I accept Foucault's
a
of
such
description
development in the practice
of sacramental confession, I argue that his
placement of it in time should be
amended. I believe that it is
already well underway by the lateMiddle Ages.
Foucault himself qualifies his assignment of it to the seventeenth
century by
conceding that 'this scheme for transforming sex into discourse had been devised
Indeed, penitential
long before in an ascetic and monastic setting' {History20)
scrutiny of the stirringof desire in themind as an instance of sexual trangression
can be observed, for
example, inRobert Mannyng's popular fourteenth-century
manual
penitential
Handlyng Synne. Mannyng dwells upon the sinfulness of
is experienced
for its own sake and
evaluated
'fylêsof j3oght'(7566) and exhorts,'Yn shryfte

forget
noghtof Ipyse(7585).
If itmay be assumed that the

was familiarwith the administration
Gawain-poei
of penance - and it is generally
he probably served his patron in a
that
agreed

INSGGK
149
clerical capacity (Salter 106)

then I contend that it is not anachronistic to
that
the
SGGK
argue
operation of confession as a scheme for
figures
sex into discourse.'
transforming
Foucault's aim is to elucidate the evolution of confession from a sacramental
to a
over
practice
general 'ritual' for producing order and exercising power
arenas
The
wide
of
confession
into
dissemination
of
individual subjects.
many
social life has made
it so entrenched and naturalized
inWestern
civilization
that it is rarely recognized as a mode of producing, organizing, and wielding

power. 'The obligation to confess is now relayed through so many different
we no
so
points, is deeply ingrained in us,' Foucault claims, 'that
longer perceive
it as the effectof a power that constrains us; on the contrary, it seems to us that
truth, lodged in our most secret nature, "demands" only to surface' {History
60). But what is it about confession thatmakes it a reliable instrument for the
and exercise of power? The short answer, Foucault suggests, is that

is a ritual that always unfolds within a power relationship' (61,
sets up and pays
emphasis added). In other words, the very form of confession
respect to a hierarchized relationship between the one who confesses and the
one who listens.The listener, Foucault argues, is 'a partner who is not simply
the interlocutor but the authority who requires the confession, prescribes and
production
confession
to
judge, punish, forgive, console, and
appreciates it, and intervenes in order
reconcile (61-62). The hierarchical relationship between confessor and penitent
is the heart ofwhat Foucault calls pastoral power,' a technique whose origin is
located in Christian institutions but whose pattern has been re-employed in
state ('The
Subject and Power'
shapes by the modern Western
are
two with special
features
of
the
782). Among
pastoral power
principle
importance: first, the effect of pastoral power is both individualizing and
is a form of power 'which does not look after just
totalizing. In other words, it
new
political
community but each individual in particular, during his entire life.'

second, the domain of its operation is the 'interior' life of the subject.
thewhole
And
is, pastoral power cannot be exercised without knowing the inside of

them reveal
peoples minds, without exploring their souls, without making
to
Because
its
is
and
individualize
secrets'
effect
their innermost
(783).
subordinate people at the same time by coaxing them, under authority, to
- and sexual articulate the particulars of theirmental
lives, pastoral power,
- the truth of the
in Foucault's view, 'is linked with a production of truth
That
individualhimself (783).
The
Tender.
view of confession as a mode
In his conclusion
of social control is shared by Thomas

to Sin and Confession on theEve of theReformation

ARTHURIANA
I50
Tentler discusses
three principle features of the sacrament of confession as a
comprehensive and organized system of social control' (345). The firstof these
is the authority of the priest,which, he claims, is symbolized by the penitent s
to assume an etiquette of deference to the confessor,' and is exercised in
duty
the priest's duty not only to judge, but to investigate the penitent's conscience
on the superior status of the priest
through interrogation. Tentler's comments
vis- -vis the penitent coincide with Foucault's discussion of the power
structures the
practice of confession. The second principle of
relationship that
confession thatTentler describes is its goal of obedience, obedience not only
to priests, but tomorality and law,which, he claims, 'is the substance of this
form of social control.' The Church's elaboration ofmoral and legal norms, its
extensive codification of sins, the scrutiny it paid to the idea of consent, its
multiplication of technicalities and special circumstances in the administration
of penance - all of these served to preserve authority for itsown sake, enshrined
in a holy and impersonal law' (346) J And the third principle of confession
forTentler is that the focus of its power is 'the conscience of the individual.'
The practice of confession urges upon the penitent the
obligation toward self
or
he
which
she
internalizes
the
values
of the system. Similar
scrutiny, through
to Foucault's elaboration of the
of
inside
pastoral power'
play
people's minds,
Tentler's discussion emphasizes that 'Social control
through sacramental
confession can only be effective if religious values have been internalized, so
that sinswill cause pain and repentance will be sincere even ifno other human
is looking' (130). In the colonization of the conscience one can most
clearly
see the
and
of
in
confession
unison.
powers
individualizing
totalizing
working
Immanent in the form and practice of confession, then, is the

blueprint
for a kind of power that is exercised by training one to search for
knowledge of
oneself within oneself. As such, confession produces an inverted form of the
disciple's relationship to knowledge in the ars erotica. The truth of the 'secret'
in the ars erotica is guaranteed by the
authority of the tradition represented in
themaster, and isbestowed on the
Western practice
disciple from above. In the
of confession, on the other hand, the veracity of the secret is
guaranteed 'from
below [by] the bond, the basic intimacy in discourse, between the one who
speaks and what he is speaking about' {History 62, emphasis added). Secrecy is
the sign of that reflexivebond in the practice of confession, not of the
particular
nature of the information
or of the
divulged
exclusivity of the audience for
whom it is intended as in the ars erotica.The
subject of the secret is the speaking
or
herself.
subject him

INSGGK
If it is a commonplace observation among critics of SGGK that Gawain

makes a faulty confession to the priest, its corollary is that he makes a good
one to the Green
Knight. The classic statement of this position ismade by
Burrow
in 'The Two Confession
Scenes in Sir Gawain
and theGreen Knight
where he argues that in contradistinction to the first scene of confession with

the priest, inwhich Gawain only partakes of the 'sacramentum exterius,' that
is, the outward verbal forms of confession and absolution without sincere
intentions (74), the second scene with the Green Knight illustrates a proper
confession because it follows exactly the Churchs three specifications for the
necessary for forgiveness: that the penitent be sorry for his sins
(contrition), that he confess them fully and sincerely (confession), and that he
make restitution for them (satisfaction).8 It is no surprise to find such clear
disposition
to penitential doctrine,? Burrow argues, because in late medieval

parallels
literature the drama of sin and penance is a source of realistic awareness of
human character and motive' (A Reading 183).10
I do not dispute Burrows claim that the poem is heavily influenced by
want to argue, on the contrary, that his
reading does
penitential doctrine. I
not go far enough, for it presents only one half of the equation. Gawain,
indeed, behaves toward theGreen Knight in the role of the sorrowful penitent.
But does theGreen Knight fully exemplify the role of the confessor? It is true
that he mimics
the formula for absolution
afterGawain
confesses
to him at
the Green Chapel:

'I halde hit hardily hole, pe harm jât I hade.
t>ou art confessed so elene, beknowen of py mysses,
And hatz pe penaunce apert of pe poynt ofmyn egge,
I halde pe polysed of pat plygt and pured as elene
As pou hadez neuer forfetedsy >enpou watz fyrstborne.'11

(2390-94)
['Such harm as I have had, I hold itquite healed.

You are so fullyconfessed, your failingsmade known,
And bear the plain penance of the point ofmy blade,
I hold you polished as a pearl, as pure and as bright
As you had lived freeof fault since firstyou were born.']
But despite his official pronouncement of forgiveness, I believe theGreen
a shallow representation of the
figure and duty of the
Knight provides only
more
confessor, or,
precisely, of the operation of 'pastoral power' in the
of the penitent. Gawain's scene with the Green Knight describes
the surrender of the secret under the authority of the confessor to punish and
conscience

ARTHURIANA
152
not illustrate the internal creation of the secret under the

forgive, but it does
same authority. In other words, Gawain's confession to theGreen Knight does
not illustrate theway inwhich pastoral power' first constructs truth as a secret
within the subject, a secret authenticated by 'the basic intimacy in discourse
between the one who speaks and what he is speaking about' {History ofSexuality
62).
I suggest, therefore, that there is another, subtler, less exact, but more
to be drawn between the action of the poem and the action
profound parallel
In the lady's attempted seduction of Gawain we can see an

imitation of the confessional technique and power dynamic described by
Foucault and Tender. Her interrogation ofGawain, and his deferential posture
towards her, exemplify theworking of 'pastoral power' to elicit the penitent s
innermost secret thoughts and desires. Even though Gawain wills not to act
of confession.
on his desire, the lady succeeds nonetheless in exposing itspresence. The

girdle,
then, is an appropriate symbol for secrecy because of its paradoxical status:
reason Gawain has for

despite the practical
accepting it, it is the objectification
of his hidden sin - sin not as an overt act of sexual pleasure, but the stirringof
sexual desire in the recesses of his heart. The
lady's exploration of Gawain's

conscience, her ferretingout of his desire, isdramatically projected in symbolic
form in the action of the hunt, which
takes place
(significantly)
In
the
the
particular,
simultaneously.12
'breaking up' of the slain animals
violent opening up of the carcasses, the ordered and precise dissection of internal
parts
vividly suggests by analogy the lady's determined investigation of
Gawain's interior state. *3
The
relation between
the hunt and the lady's investigation (comme

of
conscience
Gawain's
confessor)
may be observed in three parallel trends.
as
moves
to boar to fox, itseffortgrows more intense
the
hunt
from
deer
First,
so
too
each day, and
does the lady's search for evidence of Gawain's sexual
desire. Second, as the hunters' catch becomes smaller and less dignified, from
the abundance of plump deer on the firstday to the single 'foule fox feile [foul
fox pelt]' (1944) on the last, the lady'smethods for hounding out Gawain's
concealed desire inexorably isolate that desire as shameful.*4And third, because
in each instance the seduction scene is inserted in themiddle of the
hunting
scene, between the point atwhich the quarry is chased out of hiding and the
point at which it is slaughtered, the lady's interrogation of Gawain is imaged
as both the
discovery and anatomization of something hidden. In addition,
each of the three dialogues between the lady and Gawain marks a deeper level
inGawain's subjection to the play
of'pastoral power.'

INSGGK
153
On
the firstday of the seduction game, the chief resultof the ladys interview
is the establishment of the power relationship that lies at the
heart of confessional technique. From the very start,Gawain assumes what
with Gawain
Ten tier describes as the penitents etiquette of deference.' After feigning sleep
the lady steals into his chamber at dawn, Gawain at last rouses himself
when
to
speak with her. She begins by teasing him about taking him by surprise,
and he replies,
'Me schalworJ)e at yourwilie and pat me wei lykez
For I selde me gederly and êê aftergrace
And pat ispe best, be my dome, forme byhouez nedef
(1214-16)
['Be itwith me as you will; I am well content!
For I surrendermyself, and sue foryour grace,
And that isbest, I believe, and behooves me now.']
as
Although Gawain speaks thesewords playfully, part of formulaic courtly
in a bind, under the lady's
he
himself
nonetheless
reveal
that
feels
banter, they
control. Phrases that denote his chivalric submission to her will ('Me schal
- me
behouez nede') give familiar
êlde me sederly
wor]De at your wilie'
set
tone for the entire three-day
structure to his
of
and
the
helplessness
feeling
trial.Moreover, his deference to her permits her to play the paradoxical double
role of confessor and temptress: he must faithfully respond to questions that
lead towards moral danger. On the second day of bedside banter, the thrust
shifts from setting up the power relationship between the lady and Gawain to
on sex, the
training the focus of their exchange
privileged theme of confession.
After coaxing the second kiss fromGawain,

to her:
speaks of love
'. . . I haf seten by yourself
the lady complains
here
that he never
sere twyes,
et herde I neuer of your hed helde no wordez

Pat euer longed to luf, lasse ne more/ (1522-24)
['. . .here by your side I have sat for two days
Yet never has a fairphrase fallen fromyour lips
Of the language of love,not one littleword!']
like the boar being hunted by the lord,Gawain refuses to yield
to the lady's advance; by
pleading humbleness he deflects her request to speak
of love.Yet the lady's persistent questions about love, and the narrator's comment
on them, point to her twin role as temptress and confessor:
Stubborn

ARTHURIANA
154
Pus hym fraynedpat fre,and fondet hym ofte,

For to hafwonnen hym towoê, what-so scho po^t ellez
(1549-50)
[Thus she questioned thatman and temptedhim often,

To have brought him towrong, whatever her intent]*5
In the pairing of the verbs Trayn [ask, put to test] and Tonde'
we
[tempt]
can sense the
awareness
a
nature
of
the
double
of her task. As
lady's
knowing
in
to
test
the
orchestrated
scheme
she
Gawain,
participant
carefully
recognizes
her ultimate position as a confessor of sorts,

to interrogate [Trayn]
intending
him subtly - but persistently - to uncover his sin. But as merely the actor in
this play of seduction, she also knows that in order to uncover his adulterous
desire, shemust spark it [Tonde']. Hence, one can see the difficulty in rendering
a
single translation of these two lines.As Andrew andWaldron note, in addition
to its sense as wrong, sin' or 'harm,' theword woê' can also be read as the
verb woo.' The second half-line of 1550 (whatso scho po^t ellez') could then
no
imply though she had
genuine desire for his advances' (264nl550).l6The
at once
is
lady
intimately involved in the creation of Gawain's sin and cooly
in the exposure of it. Yet her

technique, as both temptress and
same.
is
the
confessor,
The third day of the exchange-game makes emphatic that the ultimate
to elicit the innermost secret.
goal of pastoral power' is
Having received only
kisses from Gawain on the previous days, the lady is now more direct and
aggressive in her effort to seduce him. With her bosom and back seductively
displayed, she comes to Gawain's chamber and sits on his bedside, laughing
and smiling. Gawain at last begins to be swayed by her
beauty:
detached
So fautles of hir feturesand of sofyne hewes,

Wi3t wallande joyewarmed his hert. (1761-62)
[So faultlessher features,so fairand so bright,
His heart swelled swiftly
with surging joys.]
And he begins to respond to her seductiveness in kind:
With smoê smylyngand smolt pay smeten into tnerte,
Pat alwatz blis and bonchef pat breke hem bitwene,
and wynne. (1763-65)
[With pleasant and gentle smiles theyfall intomirth,
And all thatburst forthbetween themwas bliss, happiness,
and joy.]1?

INSGGK
155
The 'blis and bonchef ]3atbreke hem bitwene is perhaps a mild allusion
to the
potential for sexual consummation, and as such functions as an oblique
caution against themoral danger that threatens Gawain. The narrator, in fact,
reports that the lady expresses her desire so explicitly thatGawain fears either
he might be forced to breach courtly manners by refusing her 'lodly'
or,with even graver consequences, he might succumb
[distastefully] (1772)
to her temptation and thus be a traitor to the lord of the castle.
Because he deems his fidelity to the lord to be more binding than his duty
courtly lover (1774-1775), he gently laughs off the ladys sexual overtures,
and she at last abandons her hopes for love.When
she asks Gawain to give her
as a
a small
as
to soothe her sorrow,he refuses even this.
gift, such his glove,
Although
he delivers his refusal in such a way as to flatter her honor, arguing that a
to her great
triflingglove would be insultingly incongruous
dignity, his words
nonetheless are ambiguous and betray his realmotive: he does not want to
a
create thewrong impression by
giving her love-token when no love has been
shared. He
tries to persuade her,
'Bot to dele yow, fordrurye, J)atdawed bot neked!

Hit isnot your honour to haf at J)istyme
A gloue for a garysoun ofGawaynez giftez.' (1805-07)
['Bur a love-token, lady,were of littleavail;
It is not to your honor to have at this time
A glove as a guerdon fromGawain's hand.']
In their gloss of these lines Andrew and Waldron
suggest two possible
as
to
as a love
can
of
the
lines
be
read
'but
1805-06
passage:
readings
give you,
...
.
.
not
to
is
worth
of
little
token, something
.'; or, line
your dignity
equal
can
as
a
to
be read
'But
make you present for the sake of love 1805, alone,
not be very fitting.' (They do remark, however, that the former

as an undertone, the
is
better
reading
syntactically.)18With the latter reading
so
to
Gawain's
reveals
resolve
after
passage
(especially
strongly tempted
being
sin) to avoid any representation of a sexual attachment to the lady.
thatwould
The lady counters Gawain's stubbornness, of course, by urging him at

least to accept a token from her even ifhe cannot allow himself to give one.
After he flatly refuses her costly gold ring- 'Iwil no giftez' (1822) - she offers
him the silk girdle. Still, Gawain stands firm.Only when she tells him that the
girdle possesses the power to protect him from physical harm, does he agree to
he had about its sexual
it, putting aside whatever misgivings
Yet
the
sexual suggestiveness of the girdle is heightened even
suggestiveness.
accept

ARTHURIANA
i56
furtherwhen
She
the lady implores him to keep the gift a secret from her husband.
. . .biso3t
hym forhir sake disceuer hit neuer
Bot to lelly layne frohir lorde; (1862-63)
[. . .besought him forher sake never to reveal it,
But to conceal it faithfullyfromher lord.]1^
Gawain
a
readily agrees keep it secret between them:
. . .
pe
leude
hym
acordez
Pat neuer wyge schulde hitwyt, iwysse,bot pay twayne,

For no3te. (1863-65)
[. . . and the knight agrees
That never should anyone perceive it, indeed, except for the two
of them.]20
Spearing emphasizes that the establishment of the secretoccupies the central
position in the poems plot. In commenting on the simultaneity of the hunt
and the seduction, he suggests that if the poem were a film, themoment of
Gawain's vow of secrecy ought to occur precisely as the hunters' clamor is
raised to announce the death of thewily fox (217).21
As soon as Gawain pledges secrecy to the lady, she departs, and Gawain
rises from bed to dress himself. In the course of
on his
putting
regal clothes, he
some
is careful to lay the girdle out of
As
if
Gawain's
causal
connection,
by
sight.
concealment
of the girdle leads him directly to the confessional:
When ho watz gon, SirGawayn gerez hym sone,

Rises and richeshym in araye noble,
Lays vp pe luf-lacepe ladyhym ra3t,

Hid hit fulholdely per he hit eftfonde.
Sythencheuely to pe chapel choses he pe waye,
Preu lyaproched to a prest and prayed hym pere
Pat he wolde lystehis lyfand lernhym better
How his sawle schulde be saued when he schuld seyeheên. (1872-79)
[When shewas gone, SirGawain got fromhis bed,
Arose and arrayedhim inhis rich attire;
Tucked away the token the temptresshad left,
Laid it reliablywhere he looked for itafter.
And thenwith good cheer to the chapel he goes,
Approached a priest in private, and prayed to be taught
To lead a better lifeand liftup his mind,
Lest he be among the lostwhen he must leave thisworld.]

INSGGK
157
narrator indicates that Gawain's confession to the

Although the
priest is
- he
more
and
'schewed
his
/
Of
and Jê
pe
complete
thorough
mysdedez,
to
the least]' (1880-81) mynne [showed his misdeeds / From the largest
does not hesitate to dissemble later in the day when the lord returns
to the castle from his fox-hunt.
Eagerly initiating the exchange of winnings
with the lord, Gawain not only withholds the girdle, offering him only the
three kisses he received from the lady, but lies to him as well, assuring him that
Gawain
with thekisses pertlypayed [is]\)tchepez JâtI a^te [all thatI owe here is
overwhether or not Gawain
openly paid]' (1941). Critics who argue
knowingly
concealed in confession his intentions to deceive the lord are rattled, I believe,
by the speed with which Gawain's brazen lie comes on the heels of his complete'
seem to them to be
confession. What
incongruous scenes, however, are not
at all, for
secrets and
incongruous
confessing
keeping them are two sides of
the same coin. In a poem that gives special emphasis to the timing of events
(most notably in the parallel action of hunting and seduction), the important
point to grasp is not so much what Gawain confesses, but when. Because his
visit to the priest iswedged between his promise to the lady to keep the
girdle
a secret and his concealment of it from the lord, confession is
presented as the
link between the experience of sexual pleasure and the obligation to
speak of it
as
truth.
TRUTH
FROM 'TRAWPE'
Foucault's model of discourse as knowledge/power that comes either 'from

above' or 'frombelow' connects with his thinking in his earlierwork,
Discipline
and Punish, where he investigates the cultural mechanisms, which he names
'disciplines' (137), that flourish in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
and begin to produce subjects whose docility and utility increase in direct
proportion one to the other. The term 'disciplines' does not refer to a set of
social or political institutions such as the school, the prison, the
or
workshop,
themilitary; rather, it refers to forms of organization employed within such
institutions for 'regulating the relations of time, bodies, and forces' (157).
Distinct from earlier, externally imposed forms of social control such as slavery,
or monastic
are
asceticism
the disciplines
'service,' vassalage,
(137),
revolutionary in Foucault's view because in their institutional contexts they
become internalized by the individual, and so operate continuously on the
individual's
micro-organization
in gestures,
movements,
and
attitudes
as it becomes more useful, and

making the body 'more obedient
conversely
(138). Here, too, my reading of SGGK will seek to qualify Foucault's time

ARTHURIANA
i58
frame by presenting confession as an early form of discipline, as the prototype,

I claim, of a later technique that Foucault places at the heart of the procedures
of discipline' (184): the examination. (Most of the techniques that characterize
the 'disciplinary regime,' Foucault admits, have origins and limited practice in
earlier institutions.) The examination is a tenacious and central feature of the

disciplinary regime, Foucault explains, because it combines the techniques of
an
a
a
observing hierarchy and those of normalizing judgement. It is normalizing
gaze, a surveillance thatmakes itpossible to qualify, to classify and to punish'

(184). Because the practice of confession shares with the examination this
potent mix of an observing hierarchy with normalizing judgement,' I believe

it is possible to discover some of the effects of disciplinary power before the
seventeenth
century.
the effect of the new disciplines on the formation of the

invokes the above/below schematic of power to draw a
distinction between the process of individualization before and after the rise
In describing
subject, Foucault
of the 'disciplinary regime.' Before the seventeenth century, he claims,

In certain societies, ofwhich the feudal regime isonly one example, itmay
be said that individualization isgreatestwhere sovereigntyis exercised and in
thehigher echelons of power.The more one possesses power or privilege, the
more
one
as an
is marked
individual,
by rituals, written
accounts
or visual
reproductions.The name' and thegenealogy thatsituateone within a kinship

group, the performance of deeds that demonstrate superior strengthand
which are immortalized in literaryaccounts, the ceremonies thatmark the
power relations in theirvery ordering, themonuments or donations that
bring survival after death, the ostentation and excess of expenditure, the
multiple, intersectinglinksof allegiance and suzerainty,all theseareprocedures
of an ascending' individualization. {Discipline and Punish 192-93)
Once
the new disciplines are in place, on the other hand,

individualization
is
'descending:
as power
becomes
more
anonymous
and
more functional, those on whom it is exercised tend to be more

strongly
individualized; it is exercised by surveillance rather than ceremonies, by
observation
that have
rather
the norm'
than commemorative
as reference
rather
accounts,
measures
by comparative
than genealogies
points of reference;by 'gaps' rather than by deeds. (193)
giving
ancestors
shift from one mode
as
to the other, of course, does not take

place
amore
is
but
the
of
The
seventeenth
evolution.
spontaneously,
product
gradual
century seems to be the point at which the transition from 'ascending' to
more or less complete, which means that before
descending' individualization is
The

INSGGK
159
then itmust be possible to discover hybrid forms. In SGGK, in the opposition

between the pentangle and the girdle, we can detect, in embryonic form, this
shift from an ascending model of individualization to a 'descending' one, a
shift that I claim is related to the emergence in the late fourteenth century of
a new sense of theword trawê.'
In the first half of the poem Gawain displays all themarks of Foucault's
at line 109, he is
ascending' individualization. When he is first introduced,
at
Arthur's high table. As Anderson points out,
noted as one of those seated
'We are first aware of him, then, as part of the court' (348). His membership
with Arthur, Guenevere, Agravain, Bishop Baldwin, and Yvain not only signals
his possession of the highest forms of power and privilege, but also ties him
traces the mythic

to the national
genealogy, which, through Arthur,
to Aeneas and ancient Troy. In addition, Gawain's
Britain
back
of
origins
introduction at table highlights his status as a central participant in the
ceremonies and rituals that give the court its collective identity, for it is
closely
the Green
and the feasting is about to begin. When
to
Gawain
issue
his grim challenge,
accepts itnot
Knight intrudes in the hall
as one who is interested in self-promotion, but as one who sees himself as an
to
the best interests of
appendage ofArthur and who wants, therefore, protect
to
court.
He
Arthur:
Arthur's
pleads
Christmas
at Camelot
'I am pt wakkest, Iwot, and ofwyt fehlest,

And lest lurofmy lyf,quo laytes Jêsojê.
Bot for as much as 5e armyn em I am only to prayse;
No bourne but your blod I inmy bode knowe.' (354-57)
[1 am theweakest, well I know, and ofwit feeblest;
And the loss ofmy lifewould be leastof any;
That I have you foruncle ismy only praise;
My body, but foryour blood, isbarren ofworth.']
As part of a prescribed code of courtly conduct, Gawain's expression of
not offer an accurate
at
humility is formulaic, and therefore, face value, itdoes
self-image. Even though he calls himself'ê wakkest and 'of

as such. This
not actually
he
wyt fehlest,'
modesty
regard himself
probably does
to
even
not
nonetheless
if it is
'honest,'
respect
pays
topos, however,
strictly
view of Gawain's
the hierarchical ethos that structures the courtly society. By proclaiming his
as an affirmation of his
humility, Gawain may courageously accept the trial
source
is
the
ofGawain's 'bount ,'
whose
'blod'
with
Arthur,
only
royal kinship
as
court.
a feat thatwill exalt him apart from the
rather than

i6o ARTHURIANA
ascending' individualization continues when, the following

winter, he prepares to leave Camelot in search of theGreen Knight. Again, we
see him defined by his affinitywith the other distinguished members of the
Gawain's
court, who surround him to offer their consolations before his departure. The
narrator reports that, among others, Yvain, Eric, Dodinal, Lionel, Lancelot,
care at her hert
Lucan, Bors, Bedivere, and Mador
counseyl pc kny^t, with
[counsel their comrade, with care in their hearts]' (551-57). After receiving
the consolations of his fellow knights, Gawain begins to suit himself in his
armor, and the traditional literary account of the knight's gear stands as yet
another feature of the pattern of ascending' individualization inwhich he is
inscribed: his status as an important member ofArthur's court is announced

excess of
expenditure' of his
by (in Foucault's phrase) 'the ostentation and
armor. Even the carpet on which his gear is laid out is an expensive ctul tapit
(568). He dons a dublet of a dere tars [an expensive

[tapestry fromToulouse]'
Tharsian doublet],' and a crafty capados [awell-designed cape];' his legs are
'lapped in stelwith luflych greuez [wrapped in steel with splendid greaves],'
are fastened to his knees with
'knotez of golde [knots of gold].' From

the 'bryn of bry3t stel ryngez [chain-mail of bright steel rings]' to the gold
sporez spend with pryde [gold spurs fastened with pride],' the narrator tells us
'
that >e lest lachet ojDer loupe lemed of golde [the least latchet or loop gleamed
which
with gold]' (571-91).22
The communal nature ofGawain's
identity takes itsmost elegant symbolic

armor:
in
his
final
of
the
his shield, on which is inscribed the
expression
piece
pentangle, the 'syngne pat Salamon set sumquyle / In betoknyng of traw]De
a
sagely devised /To be token of truth]' (625-26). Just as the
sets
that
the
of
virtues
pentangle suggests
represented on its points (the 'five
are
held by Gawain in perfect harmony and balance, italso suggests that
fives')
he himself is thoroughly integrated within the value system of the court:
[sign by Solomon
individual and community identity are united in the values of 'ê endeles
knot [the endless knot]' (630). Bearing an image of the pentangle emblazoned
on his shield and coat, Gawain is identified As tulk of tale most trwe, /And
gentylest kny3t of lote [Asman of his word most true, /And gentlest knight in
manner]' (638-39).23
The shift inGawain's individualization from an ascending' pattern to a
one takes
to the confessional
place, of course, when he is subjected
'descending'
techniques that structure the seduction game atHautdesert. The most obvious
point in the poem where one can begin to detect the consequences of the shift
is the dawn ofNew Year's Day, which opens Part IV of the poem. As Gawain

INSGGK
161
prepares himself for his journey to the Green Chapel where he will submit
himself to the ax of the Green Knight, once again we are given a detailed
one
account of his gear. In this sartorial
litany,however, there is
key difference.
armor
over
warm
clothes and
layers his polished
Dressing carefully, Gawain
then robes himself in his surcoat,which
is exquisitely detailed with embroidery,

But
he
fur.
after
belts
his
sword
around his hips, he adds a new
and
jewels,
to
his knightly gear: the love-lace he secretly accepted from the lady.
piece
it from the host when they exchanged
Although Gawain had concealed
now
winnings the day before, he
displays the green silk openly, winding it
it
waist
shows brightly against the red garment beneath
about his
twice,where
it.The narrators remarks make it clear that Gawain wears the lace, with its
rich pendants and gold filigree, not to accentuate the elegance of his suit, but
'to sauen hymself (2040) through its supposed power to shield him against
or
armor
as adornment. Because
disguised
injury death. For Gawain, the lace is
puts on, and because he wears it so

it
it
is
that
overrides
the pentangle as the symbol of his
clear
prominently,
identity.As Malarkey and Toelken comment,
it is the last article of dress that Gawain
Gawain's surcoat isembroideredwith thepentangle, the symbolof his knightly

virtues,
his
'trawê.' When
Gawain
dresses
that morning
[New Year's
Day],
thepoet emphasizes the fact that the surcoatwas emblazoned with this sign.
Over this surcoat he wraps the girdle,which is the symbol of his defection
from thevirtues of thepentangle.Hence, physically aswell as spiritually,the
. . . .(19-20)
girdle supersedes the pentangle
is no longer defined by the 'endless knot' of values that tied him
Gawain
to his community; now he is defined in isolation, in relation only to himself,
by the self-referential bond of secrecy symbolized by the girdle.
When Gawain has finished suiting himself, he mounts his horse and begins
the journey from the castle to the culmination of his adventure his rendezvous
with theGreen Knight. Led by a guide provided by the host, he travels through
harsh, forbidding landscapes that portend the danger awaiting him at theGreen
near the end of the journey, the guide stops towarn Gawain
Chapel. As they
of his certain doom at the hands of themerciless Green Knight. Because no
one has ever survived an encounter at theGreen Chapel, the guide pleads with
Gawain either to turn back or to flee the country by some other route. Gawain's
new relationship to secrecy becomes palpable here, for, inwords that echo the
lady's plea toGawain to keep the girdle secret ('lelly layne') [literally, 'faithfully
conceal'] ,24 the guide assures Gawain that ifhe chooses to flee, itwill remain
a secret
between
them:

ARTHURIANA
i6i
... I schal
lellyyow layne and lauce neuer tale
euer
Pat
3e fondet to fiefor frekepat Iwyst.' (2124-25)
[1 shall keep your secret,and never utter the tale
That you ever tried to flee on account of anyman that I knew.']25
were
s
appreciates but declines the guide sympathetic offer. If he
me
no
trust
to
to flee, he replies, he has
the guide
doubt that he could
'lelly
even ifno one else were to know, Gawain
layne [keepmy secret]' (2128); but
Gawain
reasons, 'I were a kny^t kowarde, I my3t not be excused [Iwere a cowardly
not be excused]'2^ (2131). Having placed his hope for safety
knight, I could
in themagical power of the girdle, Gawain tells his guide, with hypocritical
must meet theGreen
self-righteousness, that he
Knight bravely and have faith
save
answers
will
Gawain's
him. The guide
decision with the following
thatGod
retort:
'Mary!.
. . now
po\i
so much
spellez
Pat pow wylt pyn awen nye nyme to ^yseluen

And pc lystlese pc lyf,pc lette I ne kepe.' (2140-42)
. . . since
me so much,
you tell
['Marry
I see you are set to seek your own
And
harm,
Ifyou crave a quick death, letme keep you no longer!']

on two levels.
Delany argues that the guide's words operate
Literally, they
at
Gawain's
disbelief
but
the
scornful tone, strengthened
foolhardiness,
express
by the switch to the familiar 'Jx>u,' suggests that the guide must know about
Gawain's secret reliance on the girdle for protection, and 'thereforeobjects to
one accepts
self-righteous invocation ofDivine Providence' (253). If
to
a
Gawain's
secret'
then
of
feature
Foucault's
view,
'open
points
Delanys
key
model of 'descending' individualization: surveillance. Delany concludes that
Gawain's
surveillance is themost vital function of the guide in the plot of the poem: the
on Gawain's
journey to the Green Chapel underscores the
guide's presence
fact that 'fromhis arrival at the Castle Gawain
can never escape surveillance

no interlude of security from the
by the powers that rule themagic world....

rigorous scrutiny of his judges can be granted Gawain
in his time of trial'
(254). The girdle, as the sign of the bond of secrecy,marks Gawain as the
subject of observation and surveillance, techniques that characterize 'descending'
individualization, rather than as the subject of ceremony and commemoration

as he was
formerly under themode of 'ascending' individualization.
In supplanting the stable meaning of the pentangle with the ambiguous
the sign of secrecy theGawain-poet
inscribes inGawain's adventure
girdle

INSGGK
163
the blueprint for disciplinary technique. In the literarygenre of adventure, in

fact, Foucault recognizes a critical linkwith the emergence of the disciplines:
And iffrom the earlyMiddle Ages to the present day the adventure' is an
account of individuality,the passage from the epic to the novel, from the
noble deed to the secret singularity,from long exiles to the internal search
forchildhood, fromcombats to phantasies, it isalso inscribedin the
formation
ofa disciplinary society.{Discipline and Punish 193, emphasis added)
adventure stands as a transitional literary form on theway

toward themodern preoccupation with the interior truth' of the individual
The medieval
its incorporation of confessional

subject. In the adventure, with
lies the seed ofwhat Foucault sees as
technique,
we have passed froma pleasure to be recounted

ametamorphosis in literature:
and heard,
centering
on
the heroic
or marvelous
narration
of'trials'
of bravery
or sainthood, to a literatureordered according to the infinitetaskof extracting

from the depths of oneself, in between thewords, a truthwhich the very
form of the confession holds out like a shimmeringmirage. {History59)
notion of a truth which the very form of the
a
out
like shimmering mirage' compare with the concept of
confession holds
we
in
At firstglance, one would think that themeanings
SGGKV^
find
'trawj)e'
How
does Foucault's
of the two have absolutely nothing in common. 'Trawê,' after all, ispresented
in the poem as an interlocking complex of moral virtues, symbolized by the
endless knot of the pentangle, not as an epistemological
category. Yet an
examination of the semantic history of theword 'traw >e'piques the curiosity
to look closely for some evidence of continuity between
modern
senses
The OED
the medieval
and
of'truth.'
divides the definitions of'truth' into three Branches. As Burrow
points out, throughout theOld English and earlyMiddle English periods, the
was limited to the first two definitions offered
meaning of 'traw]3e'
by the
OED
under Branch 1:1) 'Faithfulness, good faith, loyalty; honesty'; 2) 'One's

faith as pledged or plighted in a solemn agreement or undertaking; ... a
new senses of
promise, covenant.' In the early fourteenth century, however,
the word begin to develop, and, according to Burrow's reading of the OED,
sees evidence
they develop 'profusely' {AReading 43).28 But inSGGK, Burrow
of only a limited number of these new senses, all of which are contained in
Branch I.29 He explains the limits of his discussion in a note:
The present discussion is entirely restrictedto senses fallingunder OED I,
'The quality of being true (and allied senses).' Branch II senses ('Conformity

ARTHURIANA
164
etc.) are not recorded before the late sixteenth century.

accuracy,'
III senses
that is true'
'true statement,'
'true religious
('Something
are
in
first
fourteenth
recorded
the
doctrine,'
century.
'spiritual reality,' etc.)
with
fact,'
Branch
/ have excluded thembecause I do not thinkthem relevant.One can see from

Holy Church's exposition of Truth in Piers Plowman, Passus I, that these
objectiveBranch III sensescould become entangledwith the subjectivemoral
sensesofBranch I; but thisdoes not seem to happen in Sir Gawain. (43nl6,
emphasis added)
Iwant to argue that, contrary to Burrow's view, the objective Branch III
senses' of'trawê,' which are emerging in the fourteenth century, do, in fact,
'become entangled with the subjective moral senses of Branch V in SGGK.
Although the moral
seems to take
precedence
one that
senses of trawjDe' are
multiple,^0 there is
in the poem: Gawain ismost concerned that he lives
sworn to inword is his

by his word. To perform in deed what he has
highest
a
as
Because
Gawain
for
his
'trawjê,'
of'trawê.'
example,
duty
pledges
knight
to abide by theGreen
Knight's rules in the beheading game, the game becomes
much more
than a Yuletide entertainment or marvel.
It is a test of his identity

as a
to keep the promises he makes to the Green Knight,
knight. If he fails
then he violates not only the specific terms of the game, but also the
terms of
itself. The Green Knight, of course,
knighthood
as
constructs the game
such; before he permits Gawain to strike
intentionally
the first blow, he demands that Gawain pledge his 'trawfce' to observe one
more condition:
fundamental
'. . . \>o\i schal
siker me,
bi pi
segge,
trawpe,
Pat \>o\xschal secheme (Dself,where-so Jx>uhopes

Imay be funde vpon folde . . .' (394-96, emphasis added)
['.
. .
you
shall
assure me,
knight,
by your
truth,
That you shall seekme yourself,wherever you think

I may
Gawain
be found
on earth
. . .
.'p1
agrees to theGreen Knights

'. . . telle me
howe
condition, but adds one of his own:
f)ou hattes,
And I schalware aliemy wyt towynne me êder

And ]}at I swere \>efor soê and bymy seker trawej).' (401-03)
['.
. . tell me
how
you
are called,
And I shall spend allmy wits to get thereAnd that I swear to you for sooth and bymy firm truth.']32
As long as theGreen Knight iswilling reveal his name toGawain, Gawain
iswilling to pledge his 'trawpe' to seek him out for their re-match the following

INSGGK
165
year. The Green Knight is satisfiedwith Gawain's reply; once he has secured
Gawain's
solemn promise ('by my seker trawef>'), he requires no more
assurances. He declares, 'Pat is
hit nedes no more.'
innogh inNwe 3er
['That is enough inNew Year, you need say no more.'] (404).
When Gawain arrives at the Green Chapel at the appointed time, the
Green Knight praises him for keeping his word:
'Gawayn,' quo{) {>atgrene gome, 'God \>tmot loke!

Iwysse
f)ou art welcom,
wyê,
to my
place,
And jx>uhatz tymed Ipitrauaylas trueemon schulde;

(2239-41, emphasis added)
'
['Gawain/ said thatgreenman, 'God watch over you!

Indeed you arewelcome, knight, inmy place
And you have timed your journey as a trueman should. *]33
The Green Knight's greeting is ironic, of course, because Gawain has not
been summoned to theGreen Chapel to be judged a 'trueemon according to
his ability to keep appointments. Although Gawain does not yet realize it,his
'traw]3e'has already been tested and found to be faulty-by theGreen Knight/
Bercilak in the exchange game atHautdesert, at the beginning ofwhich (as in
was
game) Gawain
required to pledge his 'trawfce' to obey the
rules: Bercilak bids, 'Swete, swap we so: sware with trawê.' ['Dear sir, swap
we so: swear with truth.'] (1108). Yet, as we have seen, Gawain violates his
to Bercilak when he agrees to keep the lady's gift a secret.
pledge of 'trawjê'
the beheading
the third day of the exchange game Gawain not only breaks the rules by
the girdle, he lies to Bercilak as well, insisting that with three
withholding
'
On
kisses 'pertly
payed [is]\)echepezJ>atI a5te [allthatI owehere isopenlypaid]
is held accountable for his lapse in

(1941). At the Green Chapel, Gawain
as
'trawê,' but the judgment of his fault,
every reader of the poem knows, is
not uniform; there are, in fact, three very different judgments made, one by
the Green Knight, one by Gawain himself, and one by Arthur's court upon
Gawain's
return.34
The Green Knight, of course, delivers his judgment with his ax. Two
aborted strokes acknowledge thatGawain was faithful to his word on the first
two days of the

exchange game. But in the description of the third stroke, the
poet emphasizes the calculated precision with which theGreen Knight inflicts
a
superficial wound upon Gawain's neck, suggesting his careful weighing of
Gawain's fault.The concealment of the girdle, in theGreen Knight's judgment,
is only a minor
so deserves
lapse in knightly 'trawjê,' and
only mild

reproof:
i66
ARTHURIANA
'Bot here yow lakked a lyttel,sir,and lewt yowwonted;

Bot {>atwatz forno wylyde werke, ne wowyng naujêr,
Bot for 3e lufedyour lyf- pe lasse I yow blame.' (2366-68)
['Yetyou lacked, sir,a little in loyaltythere,
But
the cause was
not
cunning,
nor
courtship
either,
But thatyou loved your own life; the less, then, to blame.']
is not so lenient with
the Green Knights forgiveness, Gawain
Despite
was
himself.When he learns that the lady's seduction
part of a scheme to test
his 'trawê,' and that his concealment of the girdle was known by the lord
from the beginning, he is deeply ashamed. To him, the girdle now represents
his betrayal of the knightly code of honor. Untying the lace from his waist, he
returns it to the Green
embodiment
Knight,
of his misdeeds:
bitterly rejecting
it as the source and
To! per pe falssyng,foulemot hit falle!

For care of py knokke, cowardyseme tagt
To acorde me with couetyse,my kynde to forsake:
Pat is largesand lewt ,pat longez to kny^tez,
Now am I fawtyand falce, and ferdehaf ben euer
Of trecheryeand vntraw|?e- boJ>ebityde sor3e
and care!' (2378-84)
['Behold, there, thedeception may evil befall it!
Out of concern foryour chop, it taughtme cowardice
And to allymyselfwith avarice, forsakingmy nature,

Which is liberalityand loyalty,as belong to knights.
Faulty and false now am I,who has been ever afraid
Of treacheryand untruth- may sorrow and care befall
Them both!']35
theGreen Knight generously excuses Gawain's act of deception as

the consequence of an understandable desire to protect his own life,Gawain
While
so
a
cannot
easily. Having been caught in lie, he feels he has
forgive himself
been exposed as a traitor to the knightly code of'trawê.' By secretly accepting
the girdle as a charm to safeguard his life, he believes he has forsaken his
- the
to kny3tez.' In spite of his vigilance
'kynde'
'larges and lewt pat longez
now
he
the
spectre of'vntrawê,'
perceives himself to be defined by it,
against
shorn of his identity as a knight.
as a
Gawain
Wearing the green lace
penitential reminder of his moral frailty,
returns toCamelot and recounts his adventures toArthur's court. The lace, he
am tan inne [the token of the untruth

explains, is 'pe token of vntrawê pat I

INSGGK
I6J
I was
taken]'36 (2509). In spite of his seriousness about his moral

court does not find Gawain
on the contrary,
failing, however, the
guilty;
they
a
as a hero, and
as
new
him
the
lace
token for the Round
green
regard
adopt
inwhich
Table:
Pe kyng comfortezpe kny5t, and alie pe court als

Lagen loude Jêratand luflylyacorden,
Pat lordes and ledes pat longed to pe Table,
Vche burne of pe brojêrhede, a bauderyk schulde haue,
A bende abelef hym aboute, of a brygtgrene,
And pat, for sake of pat segge, in swete towere. (2513-18)
[The king comforts theknight, and all the court aswell

at
Laugh loudly thatand gladly agree
That the lords and knights thatbelonged to theTable,
Each one of the brotherhood, a baldric should have,
A ribbon of bright green draped across him
And worn tomatch thatknight, forhis sake.] 37
fact thatArthur and his court 'lagen loude' when Gawain declares his
vntraw]3e' suggests that they are incapable of comprehending the inner turmoil
The
Gawain
has experienced as a result of the events atHautdesert and theGreen

The only event that matters to them is Gawain's safe return from
Chapel.
what had seemed a year ago to be a hopeless adventure. In their eyes, his status
as a worthy knight is greater than ever, for only theworthiest could survive
must sound
against such impossible odds. Gawain's profession of Vntrawê'
to them, therefore, as if itwere an ironic courtly expression of humility, similar
to the speech Gawain had made toArthur when he sought to accept theGreen
am pc wakkest, Iwot, and ofwyt fehlest'). Gawain, after
Knight's challenge ('I
- his
all, has lived up to his word
'traw|3e' that he would answer the Green
court refuses to
acknowledge
Knight's grim challenge. In view of his success, the
the green lace as Gawain's personal 'token of vntrawê; instead, they adopt it
renoun of pe Rounde Table' (2519).
as a communal,
public symbol of 'pe
Because the discrepancy among the three judgments of Gawain's fault is
not resolved at the poem's end,381 believe that the reader's task is not to decide
which one of them is 'right,' but to recognize that in the poem's falling action
Gawain no longer shares the original sense of trawjDe'held by theGreen Knight
and Arthur's court. For them, 'traw{3e' remains a term for the virtue of acting
to ones word, or keeping the promises one has made to others, and,
according
as such, it connotes
relativity, for itdescribes the quality of relations between
'good' intimately associated with 'trawê' is always
people. The moral

i68
ARTHURIANA
determined within social intercourseby the fit between what one says and what
one does. The
an appropriate
pentangle is thus
symbol for 'traw]3e,' because
the perfect balance and harmony figured in its interlocking structure suggest
the social collectivity and connectedness
and moral value.
that endow
'traw >e'with meaning
In Gawain's
profound experience of shame, guilt, and loss of identity, on

the other hand, one can detect a shift from the subjective,' moral sense of
'trawê' to the objective' sense that first emerges in the fourteenth century
sense of'truth.' Under Branch III of'truth' in the

as
sense
OED
Ha is given
'thatwhich is true, real, or actual (in a general or
abstract sense); reality; spec, in religious use, spiritual reality as the subject of
revelation or object of faith.' Sense 13 is similar:A true statement or proposition;
a point of true belief, a true doctrine; a fixed or established
a
principle; verified
fact; a reality.'39Because Gawain reveals inhis agonized self-denunciation that
he believes that his secret has completely voided his
identity as a knight of
we
must
conclude that forhim 'trawê' no longer describes the quality
'traw]3e,'
of his conduct in relative terms. Neither a social virtue to be
possessed in
as
a
nor
Green
source
the
of
communal
'renoun
degrees
Knight perceives it,
as Arthur's court celebrates it,
'trawjDe'has 'hardened' forGawain into a fixed
and endures in themodern
principle that describes his interior state in isolation. It denotes his authentic
state, the realityof his inner self: he views himself in absolutist terms, as either
a man
of'trawê'
or a man
of
'vntrawj)e.'
Gawain's new sense of 'trawê,' I contend, is a

product of the process of
to
individualization
which
has
he
been
'descending
subjected at Hautdesert.
The confessional techniques of 'pastoral
which
his sexual desire is
power,' by
a
made
'secret,' invert the traditional definition of'trawê' from 'doing what
one has
professed' to 'professingwhat one has done.' In place of the social
bond between a speaker and his audience that lies at the heart of the traditional
sense of 'trawê,' the process of
installs as the
'descending individualization
definitive element of 'trawê' the self-referentialbond described
by Foucault:
'the basic intimacy in discourse between the one who
what he is
and
speaks
about.'
a
solemn promise made to
'TrawJê mutates, then, from
speaking
someone else to a solemn secretconfessed to someone else.The
subject isobliged
to
not
to
of
he
what
has
do
what
he
has spoken. As
done,
'traw]3e'
by
speak
Gawain explains toArthur's court
Tor mon may hyden his harme bot vnhap ne may hit,
For per hit onez is tachched twynnewil hit neuer.' (2511-12)

INSGGK
169
[Tor one may conceal his sin but not escape it,
For once it is implanted there, itwill never be parredwith.']4
Out
of his sense of duty to confess his secret sin,Gawain
vows towear the
greenlacewhyle Imay last[as longas I live]'(2510). ForGawain thegirdleis
therefore not only the 'syngne ofmy surfet [sign ofmy sinj'41 (2433), but also
the symbol of his internalized drive to claim traw]De' in the form of confession.
It is a metaphor for the conversion of sex into 'truth' through the technique of
confession. As such, the girdle is antithetical to the pentangle as a symbol of
'trawjê' because the latterconnotes exteriority and collectivitywhile the former,
or
to the
interiority and singularity. In relation
knightly ideals of integrity
as
the inverse f>e token of vntrawf>e'
fidelity, in fact,Gawain regards the girdle
(2509). But despite itsopposition to 'trawjDe' in the older sense, it isnonetheless
a token of truth in a new sense - as the sign of thatwhich is real.
BROWN UNIVERSITY
Gregory W. Gross
on a book
working
in English at Brown University,

is a Visiting Lecturer
narrative.
about secrecy in late medieval
and he
is
NOTES
1 AlthoughGollancz's annotationswere not published by theEarly EnglishText Society
until
1940,
they
were written many
years earlier, probably
in 1912. His
edition
ofSGGK
(EETS, o.s. 210) is a revisionofRichardMorriss 1864 edition (EETS, o.s. 4). The title
s edition indicates that Gollancz

had already revised Morris
page of the 1931 reprintMorris
is still at press.'
twice, in 1897 and in 1912, but that 'the revised Glossary, &c,
a
not
2 The note reads:
notice
Gawain
makes
does
the
it,
poet
sacrilegious confession.
'Though
For he conceals the fact that he has accepted the girdle with the intention of retaining it.'
are Davis
(123),
3 See Foley 78n5 for a list of critics who level the charge. The dissenters
of
Gawain's
and
Evans, Foley,
Confession).
('The Validity
Morgan
in the use of the
to extract a confession can be observed
suggestiveness
On theConfession of
for example,
In
confessors.
medieval
Masturbation,
'leading question by
recommends that the confessor put the following question to a boy who is reluctant
Gerson
4 The
use of sexual
to admit
to
masturbating:
'Friend, didn't you
boysusuallydo?' (Qed. inTender 92).
touch or rub your member
[virga] the way
it is accepted make
the girdle an
and the context in which
its traditional meaning
its sexual suggestiveness has been a persistent problem for
Yet
sexual
symbol.
explicitly
some critics. Hanna,
for example, in his discussion of four versions of the girdle's meaning,
5 Both
is
he acknowledges
that the sexual symbolism
chooses to ignore its sexual one. Although
context and in the reference to the girdle as a drurye [love token], he argues
present in the
. . . For if one
an
that 'Such an identification produces
seriously
implausible
reading.
entertains this identification, the girdle represents an event which never occurred'
(291n4).

i7o ARTHURIANA
In a similarvein,Jacobs(435),Whiting (203n49), and Burrow (AReading I00n34) claim

test is not one of
chastity. On
and Osberg.
that Gawain's
see Friedman
conquest,
6
qualification
of the continuities
Foucault
token of sexual
is a good example of the

view
fence-sitting that characterizes Foucault's
and modern
and disjunctions
between medieval
culture. As Dinshaw
This
warns,
the girdle as a traditional
(in The History
ofSexuality, vol. 1) is notoriously
expedient
in his treatment
of theMiddle Ages, at timesusing itas a dark ages to offsetthebrightlyrecognizable

7
innovations
of modernity,
See Tender's
earlier work,
at times
it as an age of protomodern
using
subjectivity' (207).
'The Summa forConfessors as an Instrument for Social Control,'
sacrament
for a treatment of the features of the
legalistic apparatus erected around the
summa for confessors' (125).
'that
learned
the
and
genre,
by
popular
of
confession
8
See also Braswell
95-100.
9 Another paralleltopenitentialdoctrinemay be found in themeaning of thefivewits and

10
the five fingers inGawain's

pentangle. See Ackerman.
theme becomes especially prominent after the Fourth Lateran Council
The
the Church
in 1215 because
to the task of
machine
large part of its formidable propaganda
to confess. . . . For the first time a whole
was
how
and
what
community
teaching people
to
being taught
analyze its feelings and actions systematically'(A Reading 184). The Church's
to educate
its flock in the practice of
campaign
penitential
self-scrutiny naturally took
'devoted
would be difficultto
expressioninmany of the literary
genresof theday. Its influence
underestimate;
asW.
theme which
dominates
fourteenth
11
All
citations
noted,
I 2
Because
A. Pantin
is a
claims, 'The correct use of the sacrament of penance
or underlies most of the
religious literature of the thirteenth and
(192; qtd. in Burrow, A Reading 107n38).

are from Andrew
and Waldron's
edition. The translations,
centuries'
are Marie
unless otherwise
Borroff's.
of their interlocking structure and the

no one
simultaneity of their action,
disputes
and hunting scenes have ameaningful
connection. What
that connection
that the bedroom
is the subject of wide

behavior
disagreement.
Savage argues that Gawain's
on the
the lady mirrors the behavior of the animal hunted on each day. McClure,
other hand, argues that the traits of the animals are
must
he
for
Gawain:
counter-examples
to
excesses of the animals
avoid, through adherence
courtly mesure, the
(timidity in the
is, however,
with
deer, aggressivity
in the boar, and

cunning
in the fox).
Henry
claims
that themovement
of
thehunt fromlargeanimals to smallones (deerto boar to fox) signalsthe reductionof
Gawain's
dignity through his narrowing

that the animals represent the sins which
the hart as sexual passion, the boar as
connections
between
the faults Gawain
focus on his worldly reputation. Gallant

suggests
to commit the lady would
like to tempt Gawain
as
gluttony, and the fox
cunning. Bleckner draws
accuses himself of at theGreen
(cowardice,
Chapel
and untrawê')
and the symbolic values of the three animals (the deer as the
irascible power of the soul, the boar as concupiscence,
and the fox as rationality). Morgan
of the Hunting
and Bedroom
does not see a one-to-one
('The Action
Scenes')
covetousness,
on each of the three

between the animals' behaviors and Gawain's
correspondence
days,
to
but suggests instead that the animal symbolism operates in a
general way
highlight the
moral themes of each day
(courtesy, courage, and cunning, respectively). Burnley proposes
that the intensification
of the violence
of the hunts in the course of the three days
to the
In a similar vein,
corresponds
heightening of the moral danger of the temptations.
Barron argues that the violent fates of the animals are an allusion to
as a
penalty for
flaying

INSGGK 171
treason, and so serve to portend the possible retribution Gawain may face if the Host finds
treasonous. Ganim
suggests a general parallel between the butchering of the animals
and the dismantling of Gawain's
courtly character and values.
him
13
or
of Gawain's
but in
consciousness,
privatization
or domestication
of space' at Hautdesert
(163 ff).
Gawain's
intensified by the looming stigma of sex between men, for the
to repeat with Bercilak whatever
rules of the exchange game would
sexual
require Gawain
acts he commits with Bercilak's wife.
of
this
and
adultery
Through
sodomy,
yoking
Aers
14
the interiorization
also discusses
to the privatization
shame is no doubt
relation
For treatments of this tension in the

desire is proscribed by homophobia.
see
narrative
the
the possibility of homosexual
who
that
Dinshaw,
argues
poem,
produces
- in
as not
order to preclude it, in order to establish heterosexuality
relations only to
just
heterosexual
but a principleof intelligibility

itself (206), and Boyd,who
theonly sexual legitimacy
a dominant
that the poem uses the threat of same-sex sexual activity to maintain
male subject position while itmakes clear the relationship between medieval
claims
heterosexual
homophobia andmisogyny' (14). Boyd's argumentwill be developedmore fully inhis

in Late Middle
forthcoming book, Sodomy, Silence, and Social Control

translation.
English
Verse.
15 My
16
They
17 My
18
add, however,
follows
19 My
translation.
20
translation.
21
as a noun.
translation.
Vantuono
My
that the syntax favors the reading of \v03e'

the latter reading:
'But, to give you a keepsake
never crossed my mind.'
also Triggs analysis of the structure of the poem as embo tement (nesting boxes or
frames), a scheme that describes not only the parallel strands of plot but the arrangement
of'the various contracts of exchange in the poem, itspromises, commands, and agreements'
and
(260). At the heart of the poem's embo tement is the secret contract between Gawain
See
the lady. For more general

and Reichhardt.
treatments of the
poem's
structure, see Howard;
Margerson;
Randall;
22
23
My
translations.
My
translation.
24 Most editorsof SGGK (Tolkien& Gordon; Andrew& Waldron; Silverstein;

Osberg;
Vantuono)
25
My
26
My
27
See
gloss
translation.
the idiom layne yow (me) as 'keep your
translation.
Skinner
for a general
discussion
of the occurances
related
words) inSGGK
28
The MED
29
These
new
cannot
be consulted
because
at present
senses are 1) 'Faith, truth, confidence'
'one of the three theological virtues, along with Hope

or without deceit; truthfulness,
or act
truly
speak
30
(my) secret.'
and meanings
it is complete
'trawê'
Burrow
(43); 2)
'Disposition
and
(sense 4);
(c) that he was without

n.'
identifies as
veracity, sincerity'
sense 4).
'Honesty, uprightness, righteousness, virtue, integrity' (also under
Burrow comments that 'To praise a man for his 'truth'might mean
(a) that he was
or promises, (b) that he had faith inGod,
people, principles
or (d) that he was
upright and virtuous' {A Reading 43).
(and
to 'testificaci
only up
(sense 3a), which

and Charity'
of
loyal
to
3)
to
deceit,
172 ARTHURIANA
My
translation.
My
translation.
33 My
translation.
31
32
for a discussion
See Anderson
34
as a
of the three judgments
critique of the ethos of chivalry.
translation.
35 My
36 My
translation.
37 My
translation.
for example, Anderson

'The poet lets the three judgments, that 'Gawain has
339:
in part,' 'Gawain has failed completely,' and 'Gawain has not failed at all,' stand
no
as to which one we should
against each other, and gives
sign
accept.'
See,
38
failed
as the earliest
citesWyclif s late
fourteenth-century works
examples
of usage. A line from his Sermons (c. 1380) is
sense
'Crist
for
lia:
is a corner stoon,
given
and grounds
al treuthe,' For sense 13, two lines from his Works (c. 1380):
1) 'Prelatis
... to assente to here
of treuês
constreynen men of symple vnderstondyng
dampnacion
of goddis lawe'; and 2) 'ê creature {ât tellij) hem a trujê in name of
god.' Wyclif describes
For both senses, the OED
39
Christ's
in metaphors
word
(cornerstone,
law) that suggest an objective,
ground,
fixed
reality.ForWyclif and theLollards the truthrepresentedinChrist did not need to be

transmitted
could
be
revelation.
and its priests: as a spiritual

through the authority of the Church
received by the particular
consciousness
seeking
directly from God
40
My
translation.
41
My
translations.
reality it
through
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Arthuriana Volume 4 Issue 2 1994 (Doi 10.2307/27869057) Gregory W. Gross - Sir Gawain and The Green Knight Secret Rules - Sex, Confession, and Truth in Sir Gawain and The Green Knight

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Arthuriana Volume 4 Issue 2 1994 (Doi 10.2307/27869057) Gregory W. Gross - Sir Gawain and The Green Knight Secret Rules - Sex, Confession, and Truth in Sir Gawain and The Green Knight

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Secret Rules: Sex, Confession, and Truth in "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight"

Author(s): Gregory W. Gross

This content downloaded from 195.78.109.96 on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 06:38:15 AM

Secret Rules: Sex, Confession, and Truth in

the lady subjectshim to thepower of confessionaltechnique,and to a

that shift his sense of'traw^e'

state of that which

his annotations of Sir Gawain

and theGreen Knight, Sir Israel Gollancz

greengirdle (whichthe ladyhas justgivenhim) inviolationof his bargain

to exchange winnings in their

they would have known that absolution is

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SEX, CONFESSION, AND TRUTH

to 'truth.' I contend that the humanist

idea of 'truth' as evolving, mutually constituting constructs. In this article,

of the green girdle, that is, the

to the other, I suggest, in his move from Camelot to Hautdesert,

GAWAIN'S PARADOXICAL SECRET

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he does not explain why. The switch in titles seems

for its own sake and

'fyl^esof j3oght'(7566) and exhorts,'Yn shryfte

If itmay be assumed that the

This content downloaded from 195.78.109.96 on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 06:38:15 AM

SEX, CONFESSION, AND TRUTH

clerical capacity (Salter 106)

it so entrenched and naturalized

that it is rarely recognized as a mode of producing, organizing, and wielding

and exercise of power? The short answer, Foucault suggests, is that

community but each individual in particular, during his entire life.'

is, pastoral power cannot be exercised without knowing the inside of

view of confession as a mode

of social control is shared by Thomas

This content downloaded from 195.78.109.96 on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 06:38:15 AM

three principle features of the sacrament of confession as a

Immanent in the form and practice of confession, then, is the

This content downloaded from 195.78.109.96 on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 06:38:15 AM

SEX, CONFESSION, AND TRUTH

If it is a commonplace observation among critics of SGGK that Gawain

in 'The Two Confession

Scenes in Sir Gawain

and theGreen Knight

where he argues that in contradistinction to the first scene of confession with

to penitential doctrine,? Burrow argues, because in late medieval

the formula for absolution

the Green Chapel:

As pou hadez neuer forfetedsy >enpou watz fyrstborne.'11

['Such harm as I have had, I hold itquite healed.

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not illustrate the internal creation of the secret under the

In the lady's attempted seduction of Gawain we can see an

on his desire, the lady succeeds nonetheless in exposing itspresence. The

reason Gawain has for

lady's exploration of Gawain's

the hunt and the lady's investigation (comme

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SEX, CONFESSION, AND TRUTH

After coaxing the second kiss fromGawain,

the lady complains

et herde I neuer of your hed helde no wordez

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Pus hym fraynedpat fre,and fondet hym ofte,