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Personal Integrity in The Testimony of William Thorpe and Thomas Hoccleve’s Complaint
In medieval literature, personal integrity often intersects with religious devotion, moral endurance, and self-presentation. Both The Testimony of William Thorpe and Thomas Hoccleve’s Complaint grapple with the concept of personal integrity, albeit from different angles, Thorpe as a religious dissenter defending his beliefs before ecclesiastical authority, and Hoccleve as a civil servant justifying his sanity and social role. This essay explores how personal integrity is portrayed in these texts and how the authors use it to negotiate authority, identity, and moral credibility.
Personal Integrity as Spiritual Resistance in The Testimony of William Thorpe
In The Testimony of William Thorpe, integrity is deeply linked with religious conviction and defiance of corrupt authority. Thorpe’s narrative, presented as a courtroom dialogue with Archbishop Arundel, constructs integrity as the refusal to recant one’s beliefs under pressure. Thorpe asserts, “I will not forsake the truth of Christ’s Gospel for fear of thy threats”¹, thereby equating personal integrity with spiritual steadfastness.
Thorpe’s integrity is also positioned in opposition to institutional power. He criticises the clergy for hypocrisy and materialism, stating, “They love more the wool of the sheep than the soul”². Here, his personal moral stance is set against the collective corruption of the Church, suggesting that true integrity resides not in office or title, but in individual faithfulness.
Scholars argue that Thorpe’s narrative serves as both a record and performance of integrity. As Barnes notes, “Thorpe constructs himself as a martyr in potential, whose refusal to yield embodies the Lollard ideal of personal holiness over institutional conformity”³. Thorpe’s integrity, then, is not only a personal virtue but a challenge to established authority, demonstrating how integrity can function as a form of resistance.
Personal Integrity and Mental Stability in Hoccleve’s Complaint
Thomas Hoccleve’s Complaint, by contrast, explores integrity through the lens of personal and mental stability. Hoccleve recounts his experience of mental illness and his efforts to convince society, and himself, of his recovery. He writes, “Men seyn I am not wel in my mynde / But I knowe truly that I am now sound”⁴. Here, integrity is tied to self-awareness and the honest assertion of one’s inner truth, despite public suspicion.
Hoccleve’s concern is not religious heresy but the threat of social exclusion due to perceived madness. Integrity in this context involves both confession and persuasion. As Green observes, “Hoccleve’s self-presentation is a negotiation between vulnerability and dignity, where personal integrity is asserted through rhetorical control”⁵. Hoccleve seeks to reclaim his professional role, and by doing so, his moral and social integrity.
Moreover, Hoccleve appeals to shared human frailty as a basis for empathy and acceptance. He notes, “Who can say he is alway whole and sound?”⁶, thereby challenging rigid notions of normality. Integrity, for Hoccleve, involves acknowledging weakness and striving for recognition as a rational, trustworthy individual.
Similarities and Differences in the Valuation of Integrity
Despite differing contexts, Thorpe’s religious persecution versus Hoccleve’s mental illness, both texts stress personal integrity as essential to identity and social legitimacy. In both cases, the protagonists are marginal figures seeking validation from a sceptical audience. Thorpe’s integrity is manifested in unwavering faith, while Hoccleve’s is rooted in honest self-representation.
