Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: Examining the Green Chapel and its function
With the recent release of the new A24 film by David Lowery, simply titled "The Green Knight," I've felt an urge to dust off a paper I wrote not too long ago concerning the classic story and some of the more particular ideas within it. I really enjoyed working on this one, so I hope you enjoy reading it!
Note that I have gone back and edited this piece to more of a blog format— as opposed to its original academic paper format.
A pursuit of perfection
Discussion surrounding the role of the Green Chapel in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight has been, for the most part, limited; at least when compared to the amount of discussion surrounding other aspects of the story, such as the initial encounter between Gawain and the Knight in Arthur's Hall, the detailed hunting scenes during the test at Bertilak's castle, or the function and symbolism behind Gawain's armor. Although this might be expected given the oddly elusive nature of the Green Chapel itself, even with its centrality to the poem. It is Gawain's destination, though it quickly falls into the background of the poem as other situations arise in his path. It is therefore given a mystical aura, and this is bolstered by its seemingly elusive nature— though this only strengthens the location's impact by the end of the poem. For it is through this mysterious/elusive nature that the Green Chapel becomes more than a mere proving ground for a deadly game; more than just a physical destination; but a metaphysical one as well. The reader sees that in pursuing the challenge at the Green Chapel, Gawain is also symbolically pursuing perfection itself; and with the scholarly work we do have on various aspects of the Green Chapel, this is made all the clearer.
Find the Knight and you find the Chapel
Beginning this examination of the Chapel's role, we must of course begin in Arthur's Hall where Gawain first learns of the Green Chapel. Just after accepting the Green Knight's challenge in place of Arthur (lines 288-300, 359-65), and subsequently beheading the Knight (427), the Green Knight gives Gawain a rather obscure charge, telling him to meet at the Chapel a year from that moment:
Make your way to the Green Chapel, I charge you, to get
Such a blow as you have dealt, rightfully given,
To be readily returned on New Year's Day.
As the Knight of the Green Chapel I am widely known,
So if you make search to find me you cannot possibly fail. (I, 451-55)
An interesting thing to note first from these lines is how heavily the Green Knight identifies with this place, the Green Chapel. Of course, he mentions that he is widely known as the "Knight of the Green Chapel;" however he takes this further by indirectly using himself and the Chapel interchangeably (line 455). He essentially tells Gawain, "If you find me, you find the chapel." Mother Angela Carson in her 1963 article, "The Green Chapel: Its Meaning and Its Function," brings up this very observation; noting that the Green Knight is using the Chapel "as a means of identifying himself" (pg. 598) However Mother Carson appears to skim over another interesting observation: the apparent lack of credibility in the Knight's claim that he is "widely known." If he is known as the "Knight of the Green Chapel," this would imply that both he and the Green Chapel are widely known. However, this seems disputable when coupled with the reactions of the guests in the hall directly after the Knight leaves: "What land he returned to no one there knew, / Any more than they guessed where he had come from." (lines 460-61). No one quite knows who he is or where he has come from. This is further supported by those in the country during the beginning of Gawain's quest in Part II, in which no one has ever heard of this knight or the place he supposedly dwells (703-8). Thus, from the first moments, the exact nature of the Knight and his Chapel are quite complicated if not troublesome. For there is no detail about the Chapel other than that it exists; and, like the Green Knight himself, the Chapel is effectively shrouded in mystery, proving elusive as Gawain commences his quest. Though, with the Green Knight's identification with the Chapel, one can begin to notice the Chapel take a leading role in its own right. Obscure, yes— but still central. This detail is then fascinating when put into the context of Gawain's character, in which we must acknowledge his role in relation to perfection, or at least the pursuit of it— for this relationship to perfection becomes key to understanding his quest to the Chapel. This sought after perfection, like the Knight and his Chapel, will prove elusive.
A man most true of speech
At this juncture, then, we must remember that Gawain has sworn to uphold his end of the deal— the Green Knight took his hit, now Gawain must receive his. Recall the Green Knight's charge for Gawain: "'See, Gawain, that you carry out your promise exactly, / And search for me truly, sir, until I am found, / As you have sworn in this hall in the hearing of these knights. (lines 448-50) Adding after his charge, "'... come, or merit the name of a craven coward.'" (456). In other words, there is no room for error. He must carry out his task "exactly" (448). It is on his honor as a knight that he carries out the task he has sworn himself to. However, Gawain welcomes this challenge, and even embraces this role. This is quite exemplified when he is outfitted in his suit of armor, and most notably when he equips his shield containing the pentagram, a symbol which the poet describes as a "symbol of Solomon." (625) It is a symbol representing the virtues of knighthood— thus, as an extension, perfection— and the poet goes well out of their way to describe Gawain as worthy to bear the symbol:
They then brought out the shield of shining gules,
With the [pentagram] painted on it in pure gold.
He swings it over his baldric, throws it round his neck,
Where it suited the knight extremely well. (II, 619-22)
.....
Therefore it suits this knight and his shining arms,
For always faithful in five ways, and five times in each case,
Gawain was reputed as virtuous, like refined gold,
Devoid of all vice, and with all courtly virtues
Adorned... (631-635)
In fact, with this description, one might say Gawain is the only one worthy of wearing such a symbol. Alan Markman (1957), in his article "The Meaning of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight," emphasizes this notion to quite an extent, claiming: "... the primary purpose of the poem is to show what a splendid man Gawain is. It is the method of demonstration in the romance, the controlled test [the beheading test], which requires a more careful consideration: its intent seems to be to discover, by pitting a real man against a marvelous, unnatural man, what a perfect knight can do when he is forced to face the unknown" (pg. 575). Gawain's perfection perhaps isn't the primary purpose of the poem, as Markman suggests, though he still gives us something quite useful in his assessment; that is: the crucial nature of Gawain's pursuit of perfection. Remember, the faultless reputation of Gawain depends on if he reaches the Chapel or not. We see, then, the Green Chapel, or "the unknown" as Markman calls it, and Gawain's pursuit of it, quite literally acting as an embodiment of the pursuit of perfection. Gawain, the "man most true of speech" and "fairest-spoken knight," "judged perfect in his five senses" (line 640), seems to have been made for this task.
Confession and Knighthood
However, it is his actual arrival and experience at the Green Chapel which really challenges and tests the poem's entire perception of Gawain. After his failure at Bertilak's castle—failing to keep his end of the agreement established with his host (II, 1105-13) by neglecting to disclose his acceptance of the magical girdle given by the lady of the castle in Part III (1846-69)— he is in for surprise upon meeting with the Green Knight. As the Green Knight reveals himself to have actually been Bertilak, thus being the one who arranged the Love Test for Gawain (2360-61)— a revelation which quickly makes the entire meeting quite a vivid transformational experience for the young knight. Even with his self-condemnation, Gawain is drastically changed— and this only further plays into the notion of the Green Chapel's role. For Gawain has gone into the place as an unstable ideal of perfection, and ironically leaves as a full embodiment of it. To elaborate, there are two views of this event which have been put forth which both brilliantly play into this idea of the Green Chapel as a ground of transformation/mode of perfection. One of which has to do with confession, and the other with the ceremonial act of knighting.
Beginning with Victoria Weiss, in her 1978 article, "The Medieval Knighting Ceremony in 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,'" she brings into play the fascinating function that the Green Chapel plays as a holy ground for knighthood. She explains:
"Though the Green Knight's explanation inspires a deep sense of shame in the hero, it is clear that the Green Knight considers Gawain now to be the tested knight worthy of being recognized as the flower of chivalry." Adding the interesting observation, "It is no accident, then, that he does not refer to Gawain by his full, formal title, 'Sir Gawayn' (I. 2396), until after he has delivered the final blow." (Weiss 185)
When taking this observation with another one presented by Weiss later in her piece, in which she notes "the Church's increasing influence in the feudal age, [where] the act of becoming a knight began to take on religious significance" (pg. 186), it would make sense that this "knighting ceremony" would take place in a "chapel." Weiss also notes that by the 14th century, the term chapel had moved from its earlier meaning of "place of slaughter" to its current understanding of "place of prayer" (185). Overall, this point made by Weiss amounts to the idea that Gawain has been made a true knight on the grounds of the Green Chapel. By entering the Chapel, a symbol of perfection, Gawain has been made more perfect.
Playing a similar function is the idea of this last scene acting as a confessional. Charles Sleeth (1994) lays out this idea nicely in his article, "Gawain's Judgement Day," in which he discusses the scene's striking similarities to the Christian confessional; also comparing it to the actual confessional scene which takes place earlier in the poem at Bertilak's castle (III, 1876-84). Sleeth points out the apparent reverence for the figurative one over the official one, stating:
Gawain has a more wholehearted involvement in the proceedings at the Green Chapel, though they occur in an unorthodox sequence — first penance, with the shedding of Gawain's blood (2309-14), then Gawain's contrition in an outburst of self-reproach much later (2369-75), then immediately his attempted restitution of his wrongful gain, the green girdle (2376-89), and a promise to amend his life (2387-88), and last of all Bertilak's parody absolution (2389-94)... (Sleeth 176)
The earlier scene of confession and absolution in Part III, then, appears to exist as a kind of juxtaposition to emphasize the later one in Part IV. This scene, which Sleeth breaks down, though it is parody, ironically resonates as more authentic. Gerald Morgan (1985), referring to this same scene aptly as a "quasi-confessional" (pg. 14), offers clarity in this idea when he explains, "[the Green Chapel confession] stands in relation to the first not as valid to invalid, but as the completion of a moral process" (14). Just like Weiss (1978) and her knighting analysis, this again points to the notion of Gawain becoming more perfect in areas he is already perceived as such. In both instances, Gawain has already officially obtained something— knighthood and absolution— however, for both of those things, he receives them again unofficially at the Green Chapel by the Green Knight and is raised to an even higher status. The Green Chapel is acting ironically as a quasi-authority, for both knighthood and process of confession and subsequent absolution. In other words, Gawain has pursued perfection and has obtained it. For, as the Green Knight proclaims: "I declare you absolved of that offence, and washed as clean / As if you had never transgressed since the day you were born." (lines 2393-94). Gawain has been "cleansed" as if he has "never transgressed before." One cannot help but sense that this transformation could only have been possible at the Green Chapel at the hands of its Knight. This is also well implied in an earlier article by Victoria Weiss (1976), in which she examines Gawain's growth from beginning to end, pointing out that, "the Green Knight, by feinting twice and ultimately delivering only a scratch to Sir Gawain, demonstrates concern for life that Gawain himself did not display a year before.... Gawain recognizes now what he did not recognize when presented with the challenge in the first part—that the terms of the agreements do not call for decapitation" (pg. 365), further alluding to the eye-opening power of the Chapel setting and the experience within.
Penitence paid in full
Of course, there are many different approaches one can take in regards to the Green Chapel; however, most all circle back to the idea of Gawain being made more perfect. The Green Chapel, then, seemingly in the background of the poem, is in fact in the foreground for its entirety. The Chapel in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight acts as a mode of perfection, and the path to get there proves long and challenging; and Sir Gawain, in pursuing this Chapel in order to make his appointment with the Knight, is thus, in a very real sense, pursuing the perfection it represents. With his reputation on the line, the young knight enters the place as only a perceived model of chivalric code and the perfection it represents, carrying transgression with him- and leaves as the real thing, with his transgression absolved and penitence paid in full.
***
Written on 27 April 2021
All translations from Middle English I used in this piece are done by James Winny
Sources:
Carson, Angela. "The Green Chapel: Its Meaning and Its Function." Studies in Philology, vol. 60, no. 4, 1963, pp. 598-605. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4173436.
Morgan, Gerald. "The Validity of Gawain's Confession in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." The Review of English Studies, vol. 36, no. 141, 1985, pp. 1-18. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/516705.
Markman, Alan M. "The Meaning of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." PMLA, vol. 72, no. 4, 1957, pp. 574-586. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/460169.
Sleeth, Charles R. "Gawain's Judgment Day." Arthuriana, vol. 4, no. 2, 1994, pp. 175-183. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/27869058.
Weiss, Victoria L. "The Medieval Knighting Ceremony in 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.'" The Chaucer Review, vol. 12, no. 3, 1978, pp. 183-189. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25093429.
Weiss, Victoria L. "Gawain's First Failure: The Beheading Scene in 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.'" The Chaucer Review, vol. 10, no. 4, 1976, pp. 361-366. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25093365.