Heroic Dreams - All Things Medieval

Chivalry has come to be very watered down in modern day times. For the most part we think of chivalry as the way a man behaves toward and around women. And while this does characterize chivalry it is actually a very small component of what chivary was. Chivalry was an all encompassing guide for living. This included combat, horsemanship, law, religion, management of people and lands and well just about every aspect of a knight’s life.

There has been a long standing debate about chivalry and whether anybody actually followed any of it and I believe that yes it was something that knights aspired to. Let me explain why I think so.

The early middle ages were an extraordinarily tumultuous time and there was no such thing as chivalry. Europe was in darkness, plague ravaged the people, and war was found everywhere. The prime rule of thumb during this time was that might was right; and the only rule that was effective was rule by the sword. Barons, lords, knights and kings took by force what they could take.

But, Europe slowly came out of this darkness in the centuries leading up to the Renaissance. The plague disappeared, Kings consolidated their lands (which caused stability) and the Church exercised power over a significant portion of the continent.

 So what happened?

What happens when stability occurs and food once again becomes a reliable resource? People turn to new ways of doing things. They gain the freedom to examine themselves and their lives.  They search for meaning in new ways, and it is from this stability that the Renaissance was born and the ideals of chivalry were born.

Chivalry is a natural development of the need for structure and organization in any large culture or society. As a society grows in size and complexity it needs a set of rules of behavior for its people and chivalry was exactly this. A set of rules that laid out how a knight could manage himself, his people, his affairs and also how he could better himself.

So among other things the code of chivalry was the first self-help program! See that, chivarly is so much more than just holding a door open!

It is a fascinating topic and there were books written about chivalry going back more than 500 years - and some of them are still in print. Here are two seminal works on chivalry:

• A Knight’s Own Book Of Chivalry (Middle Ages)
• Book of Knighthood and Chivalry: With the Anonymous Ordene De Chevalerie

And here is an interesting book and program about Raising a Modern Day Knight. It is aimed at fathers who want to teach their sons the values of knighthood and chivalry in the modern world. They also have a nice website.

 Raising a Modern-Day Knight: A Father’s Role in Guiding His Son to Authentic Manhood

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Today is the day of the Summer Solstice. It is the longest day of the year, and the shortest night.

Some 24,000 people gathered today at Stonehenge to mark this occasion and you can read a news article about it here Summer Solstice at Stonehenge

So What is the solstice? Here is a quote from ReligiousTolerance.org

“Solstice” is derived from two Latin words: “sol” meaning sun, and “sistere,” to cause to stand still. This is because, as the summer solstice approaches, the noonday sun rises higher and higher in the sky on each successive day. On the day of the solstice, it rises an imperceptible amount, compared to the day before. In this sense, it “stands still.”

In Medieval Times, and well, even way before medieval times people were connected with the earth and the world around them. They had a perspective on things that we seem to have lost today. For them, summer was a beautiful time of plentiful sunlight, long days, and plenty of food growing in the fields. For us it’s a time for a jaunt to the beach or a weeks vacation! Maybe a couple of good three day weekends.

Many ancient cultures celebrated the Summer solstice in a variety of ways ranging from feasts to bonfires and the event had many interesting names including The Feast of Epona and the Light of the Shore. And even though we are not as connected to the world around us as the people of the middle ages were we still can feel many of their thoughts and beliefs to this day - The solstice celebration at stonehenge is a good example of that.

 You can learn more about the summer solstice here The Summer Solstice

 Sidebar: Tomorrow I will be posting an essay about knights and how their influence still remains with us today

 Anyway, I recommend you throw open the windows and let down the screens of your little castle and enjoy the summer solstice. And just think about the amazing heritage of philosophy, art, tradition and lore that has been passed down to us from the people of the past.

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