Camelot's Laughter in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

At the conclusion of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, an ashamed and distraught Gawain returns to Camelot and tells the court of his adventures and trials with the Green Knight. After Gawain emotionally confesses his "sins," the lords and ladies of Camelot laugh joyfully and attempt to comfort the disgraced knight. The unexpected laughter of the court is puzzling. Do members of the court laugh from the sheer joy they obtain in realizing that Gawain has survived an ordeal that all felt would end in certain death? Is the purpose of the court's laughter to scorn Gawain, thereby shaming him publicly? Maybe members of the court laugh because they do not fully understand the importance of Gawain's experience with the Green Knight. While it could be successfully argued that any of the previously mentioned circumstances caused Camelot's laughter, I have decided to approach the subject from a different angle. I believe that the lords and ladies of Camelot laugh at what they consider to be an inordinate amount of remorse displayed by Gawain. The members of the court know that Gawain's minor failure was human; they also realize that no other man could have behaved as nobly as Gawain did, given similar circumstances. The court's laughter does not ridicule Gawain; the laughter praises a man who has remained a paragon of knightly virtues despite his minor shortcomings.

Throughout the poem. Sir Gawain is consistently illustrated as the perfect knight. Gawain demonstrates both physical and moral greatness. Physically, Gawain displays the virtues of strength, endurance, and equestrian skill. Morally, Gawain displays the virtues of courage, loyalty, and knightly courtesy.

Gawain first displays his physical strength through his ability to wield the Green Knight's ax, a weapon that was "huge and immense, / a wicked piece of work in words to expound." (208-209) Gawain swings this apparently unwieldy weapon so forcefully that the head of the ax cuts clear through the Green Knight's neck and becomes embedded in the ground.

Gawain's ability to survive the trials of travel demonstrates his great physical endurance. Not only must Gawain war with serpents, savage wolves, wildmen of the forest, bulls, bears. boars, and giants: Gawain must also contend with the savage elements. The cragged rocks of the forest offer Gawain little shelter from the driving rain, sleet, wind, and snow that attack him in his search for the Green Chapel. A lesser man would have certainly perished, on such a trip.

Finally. Gawain's skill at maneuvering Gringolet through wild landscape and down steep slopes among "ragged rock and rough-hewn crag" (2166) as he makes his final approach to the Green Chapel, as well as the great, concern Gawain shows for his mighty stead, illustrate the degree of horsemanship expected from any great knight.

Obviously, Gawain possesses all the physical traits that his peers deem necessary to be considered a great knight in their society. However, Gawain also displays the intangible characteristics which were so important for a great, knight. Gawain's courage is shown in his acceptance of the Green Knight's challenge. As Arthur prepares to face the Green Knight's challenge alone, the whole court at Came lot sits motionless. The court is paralyzed by fear; only Gawain has enough courage to accept the Green Knight's challenge, thereby sparing his king the dishonor of having to perform the task himself. This same act also displays Gawain’s strong sense of loyalty. While Gawain may have actually feared the challenge presented by the Green Knight, the emphasis which Gawain placed on loyalty to one's liege caused him to rise up and accept the challenge. Gawain is bound by honor to service his king, and he alone remains loyal to Arthur, regardless of how dangerous the situation seems.

Courage and loyalty are not the only virtues displayed by Gawain when he accepts the Green Knight's challenge. Gawain's knightly courtesy is also evidenced by the act of aiding his lord. Gawain does not say that he wishes to accept the challenge because he is better suited for the task than Arthur (even though he truthfully is); rather, Gawain says he wants to accept the challenge because he is the "weakest, well I know, and of wit the feeblest." (354) Gawain then says to Arthur: "My body, but for your blood, is barren of worth." (357) By saying this, Gawain is able to replace Arthur without insulting him or degrading the king's position among the knights of the court. Gawain's careful attention to courtesy allows him to do his duty without acting as an insubordinate.

Gawain again proves his loyalty and courtesy at Bercilak's Castle. Gawain is approached by Bercilak's wife several times. Gawain must refuse the sexual advances of this beautiful woman, for to accept them would be a breach of the loyalty he has pledged to Bercilak in exchange for his hospitality. However, Gawain must be careful that he neither insults nor hurts Bercilak's lady, for doing so would also constitute an evil deed according to the laws of knightly courtesy. Gawain is able to successfully mediate between the loyalty due to Bercilak and the courtesy owed to Bercilak's wife. Gawain tells the lady that the praises which she bestows upon him are inordinate, and that they "come from your courtesy and kindness of heart." (1267) Gawain thanks the lady for her flattery, but he asserts that she is "bound to a better man." (1276) In this way, Gawain remains free from two serious sins: adultery and insulting the lady of the court.

It now seems as though Gawain has completely passed each test presented to him. He has remained both loyal to Bercilak and courteous to Bercilak's lady. At this time, Gawain's one weakness is presented: his love of life. Gawain's acceptance of the lady's girdle is due neither to greed (he has refused her offering of a valuable ring) nor to lust (he has already denied any sexual urges for Bercilak's wife); Gawain's acceptance of the girdle is due to his wish to remain alive in his confrontation with the Green Knight. Once Gawain conceals the girdle from Bercilak, his failure becomes a matter of record.

As soon as Gawain's error becomes public, he emotionally confesses to the evil deed. Indeed. Gawain's confession is so extremely penitent that the Green Knight "laughed aloud, and lightly he said, / 'Such harm as I have had, I hold it quite healed.'" (2389-2390) Gawain receives a similar reaction when he confesses to the court at Came lot. Members of Came lot's court decide to wear a green baldric not only to display the brotherhood they share with Gawain, but also to honor the great knight. The court, as well as Bercilak, realize that although Gawain is not perfect in an absolute sense, he is as perfect as a man can possibly be in an imperfect world. Although Gawain did not escape his tribulations unscathed, he performed far better than any other man could have performed. Bercilak and Camelot can laugh because they accept Gawain's weakness as being human and natural. Gawain does not yet realize this fact because his pride has been injured, and he is too emotionally involved to see how insignificant his weakness is in comparison to his other great virtues. The court knows that Gawain is still the greatest of knights, and for anyone -- even Gawain himself -- to disagree with this belief is preposterous. Throughout his ordeal Gawain had remained as courageous, loyal, and courteous as he always had been. The court can afford to laugh at the extravagance of Gawain's penance, for he has remained "as pearls [are] to white peas" (2364) in comparison to other men. Since Gawain's only weakness was the love of his own life, "the less, then, to blame." (2368)