The previous honour essay I wrote had to do with how if only one person holds the torch of Chivalry, it remains as alive as it did in the days of the likes of Jehanne D’Arc, or even Philippe August or St-Louis, or Robert the Bruce, or Frederick II Stupor Mundi. And while I hold this to be self-evidently true, it is not all there is to it.
There is another side to Chivalry I would argue, there is the intellectual side, the side which saw men educated in some tales in such a way we couldn’t even imagine to-day. As in the case of King Arthur, from Arthurian myths who was taught old wisdoms and traditions he could not really imagine at first, by wise old Merlin.
Historically examples of well-educated men in the days of Chivalry can be found in the likes of Charlemagne, Henry II, Philippe August, St-Louis, heck if you look at the Victorian era it was a dime a dozen. I include that era as it was a time in many cases where men behaved themselves with exemplary honour and goodliness, if you look at the likes of Hans Christian Andersen, Walter Scott, Stephenson, and so on many writers and artists who admired the old Chivalric days were men of distinctly good character.
There were women also to be sure, one could make the argument that Mary Shelley for example with her desire to warn people about the dangers of science, and to teach responsible use of technology and science (a lesson every single one of our politicians and scientists in the past 100 years have sadly ignored). She was a good example of a lady, just as the likes of Jane Austen, and countless other women of that era were.
So long as the words are not forgot could refer to the ideals of Chivalry, to the 7 virtues, so long as one person passes on those teachings they remain alive. Same could be said for Christianity, so long as one voice reads the words of the Bible and teaches them, they remain unforgotten. They are as alive as they were in the days of Christ, just as the teachings of Chivalry remain as alive as when they were first put to paper in the 14th century.
This is important to remember, as it means that Chivalry can never truly die, our faith can never truly perish. The reason for this? Because so long as one voice sings their hymns they remain, they still stand in utter and complete defiance of the perversion that is modernity.
So long as one voice speaks them clearly, and in a loud voice there is hope still for them, and there is reason to regard the hope they give us as ever present.
Chivalry can thus never die, no matter how much modernity tries. The reason for this is that modernity has limits despite the advancement of technology, while human virtue does not have limits. Just as music and art remain as ever present, as alive and vigorous as they did a hundred years ago, in spite of modernity should give comfort.
Modernity can be killed, but the human spirit cannot.
This is a self-evident truth, and it is worth remembering for the simple reason that what I am speaking of is not only hope, but of the brotherly nature of Chivalry. Chivalry as it traditionally was understood was also a form of brotherhood, one in which men were bound together as tightly as the Roman legios under their golden standards, but also as tightly bound together on the ships sailing westwards in the days of the Age of Exploration. At that time men had little in the way of hope for Europe, and were keen to escape it and had only each other for several harrowing months of life or death in conditions we would be apalled at to-day.
If they could meet every challenge and defiantly come out on top, imagine what we could do when gifted with so much more than any of them were? We could conquer mountains and could conquer the seas with little paramount difficulty if we but tried.
The words are not forgot if but one voices speaks them clear, is a beautiful sentiment and one that should make it evident that we have a duty to remember who we are; we are heirs to a grand legacy, we are our fathers’ sons, and our mothers’ daughters. We are the product of thousands of years of love, of wisdom and of perserverance therefore we are not simply bugs, or monkeys as some might have us believe.
The words are not forgot, because they can never be. Chivalry did not disappear, she merely slumbered for a time and would rouse herself on occasion during the events of World War I, and then afterwards she awoke went back to sleep, and then roused herself once more.
She does this you know, Chivalry I mean, slumbers only to awaken herself wholly and completely. In the case of our current age, I would say she has at last begun to fully rouse herself. Considering the number of voices that are adding to the music and songs and hymns of a Christian nature, and also to the stories of Robert E. Howard (a great admirer of Chivalry), we should take heart. The words are not forgot.
And more than one voice seems to be speaking them clear. How could Chivalry be dead if thousands of voices are singing in unison together, in defiance of the darkness of modernity?
These are beautiful truths, and full of hope, especially after a couple of darker weeks. I’ll be sharing this with my friends!
Interesting... gives me food for thought. Thanks.