Again, we see magic at play here. Like in Chretien’s The Knight With The Lion, one of Arthur’s knights is given an enchanted item to aid them in times of trouble. Yvain is given a ring to make him invisible, as well as another one to shield him from blows. Similarly, Gawain is given a green girdle to do the same — the girdle protects him from harm. Is it “knightly” of him to have used the girdle in his bargain? Or did he cheat on his promise?
King Arthur & His World
ENGL 361 | Spring 2019 | Dr. Myra Seaman
Morgan Le Fay, the witch, did turn Bertilak de Hautdesert into the Green Knight but she did not weave the green girdle. Gawain only thinks the girdle is magic. If it were magical then the Green Knight would not have been able to leave a mark on Gawain’s neck. The girdle is a symbol of Gawain’s one true fault which is pride. Every action Gawain takes through the story, he does out of pride that he considers himself to be the truest knight. This is why he humbled himself to Arthur after he accepted the Green Knight’s challenge. The proudest Knight belittles himself before his king,. Gawain accepts the kisses from the Lady because he did not want to be thought of Knight lacking in skills of courtly love. Pride is what drove him to use what he thought was a magical item. Gawain could have easily lost his head because of his pride. His only saving grace was that the Green Knight considered him to be an honest and valiant knight. To answer the questions; “Is it “knightly” of him to have used the girdle in his bargain? Or did he cheat on his promise?” No, I do not think it was Knightly for Gawain to wear the girdle to protect himself and he did try to cheat on the bargain he made with the Green Knight in order to be seen as the bravest Knight. The poet says Gawain ” bound the belt like a baldric– / slantwise, as a sash, from shoulder to side/ laced in a knot looped below his left arm, / a sign that his honor was stained by sin” (2485-2488) This is why the future knights in Arthur’s court wore ” that slanting green stripe … as their sign” (2519). It is a reminder to do what is right and not to try and cheat the natural laws.
Gawain receives the girdle from the women of the manor, who “sweetly beseeched Sir Gawain” (1834) to have it after he rejected her earlier offer of a ring. While he doesn’t decide to take the girdle until after he hears of it’s magical properties and considers it to be “just the job to save him” (1856) from the fatal knight, he also never explicitly asks for it, or any other protection from his assigned task. For this reason, I personally do not believe that the acceptance of this girdle casts a negative light on his knightly qualities. If he had spent the year in search of objects to save his life, rather than searching for the Green Knight, than that would indicate more weakness than simply receiving it as a gift. He keeps his promise to return on time to the Green Knight, he bares his head before him, and doesn’t “gripe or begrudge the grimness to come,” (2251) just as he promised. This scene showcases his existing knightly qualities, and emphasizes how he keeps his word, whatever the cost.
As Gabi points out, Gawain does not accept the girdle until after he learns of its lifesaving properties: he rejects her ring, “and, ever steadfast, swore, / he would have nor gift nor gold,” and so he does not accept the girdle either. Only upon knowing that it would prevent him from being slain does he take it. I can think of no other reason for this convenient change of heart than the girdle’s magical lifesaving ability, so to me it does seem a bit like “cheating.” Later, in his encounter with the Green Knight, he flinches twice, as the knight brings his axe down to chop his head off. However, in the end, he does prove himself worthy in the end by not only withstanding the axe but also in being honest with the lord of the castle – except in his keeping of the girdle! So his keeping it was really the only reason why he had to withstand the third chop. This in and of itself proves that not just taking it, but refusing to disclose that he had it, weren’t honorable things to do.
It is not “knightly” of Gawain to use the girdle, but not because it gives him an edge over the green knight. Rather, his use of the girdle breaks a promise that he made to Bertilak. When Gawain begins his stay with Bertilak, they make a deal: “Here’s a wager: what I win in the woods will be yours, / and what you gain while I’m gone you will give to me. / Young sir, let’s swap and strike a bond, / let a bargain be a bargain, for worse or for better” (1105-1109). In keeping the girdle that he receives during his stay with Bertilak, then, Gawain breaks their deal, which breaks the rules of chivalry. The problem is not the Gawain acquires a magical item which makes him invincible, but that he acquires this item by going back on his word.
I agree with Victoria and Rae that it is not knightly of Gawain to intentionally set himself up as a better knight using the girdle’s “magic”. He also breaks his promise to Bertilak without feeling guilty at first. After their exchange “Gawain and his host got giddy together; only lunatics and drunkards could have looked more delirious” celebrating when Gawain has just lied which is not a noble act (151). He also wears the girdle intentionally “to save his skin” which is not what an accomplished knight like Gawain should have to do in a challenge (157). But like the magical assistance we also see in Yvain, it does not change how the rest of the court views the knights. Gawain comes back and is celebrated and viewed as noble even after being tricked by the girdle.