It’s been awhile since I’ve read anything new and intersting about the Holy Gail. This might not be exactly new but it’s off the beaten path of modern romanticism.
The legends about the Holy Grail are associated with the Knight Templar, almost from the beginning. And the Templars were in Poland. So…
A few days ago I wrote about the Necessity of Chivalry. That was C.S. Lewis talking about the ideal of turning brutal warriors into men who care about the world and people in it. That was medieval chivalry.
Now I’m thinking about killing off chivalry. Modern chivalry. The modern stuff is different from the medieval stuff.
Paul Sturtevant has an article that highlights the differences. Medieval chivalry was an attempt “to impose a culture of restraint on what often was a group of aristocratic thugs with something to prove.”
“Our contemporary ideology of “chivalry” can be traced to the explosion of medievalism in nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century popular culture. Knighthood and chivalry became coupled with gentlemanly behaviour and the sexual politics of the day, and these values were expressed in neo-medieval art, novels, architecture and, eventually, film.”
Modern chivalry “has been pared back only to encompass a type of politeness consciously performed by men within heterosexual relationships.”
For most moderns, chivalry is “simply performed politeness.” Some people think it’s an important elegance. Some think it reflects a Victorian sexual ideology that damages relationships. You decide; just remember it’s not what our ancestors meant by the word chivalry.
“The age of chivalry is gone. — That of sophisters, economists, and calculators, has succeeded; and the glory of Europe is extinguished forever.” — Edmund Burke (1790)
“C.S. Lewis is the ideal persuader for the half-convinced, for the good man who would like to be a Christian but finds his intellect getting in the way.” (New York Times Book Review)
Today is Good Friday. I wanted to do something “Christian”. I didn’t expect to end up with C. S. Lewis.
As a birthright Episcopalian I think of Lewis as one of us. I’m always a little surprised when other denominations fall in love with him, seemingly unaware he’s not one of their own. Then, at the same time, I’m not comfortable with him myself. His audiences read him as if his bland moralisms support their theological positions.
One of us. Not to be trusted.
But then I remembered this essay, which I’ve always enjoyed. Lewis not making any rigorous academic arguments here. Let’s not pretend he is. He’s contemplating one of the contributions of medieval European culture to our modern world.
That is, the idea that a man should be both strong and gentle.
Let this be a Good Friday meditation. Even with our glowing chivalrous tradition, we live in a world where the rich hold the reins of government and use their power to oppress the poor—and Christians cheer them on. So, let the altars be draped in black today and let us mourn the death of our ideas.
If you’ve ever wondered why so many medieval manuscripts have drawings of knights fighting snails.
I won’t give it away. And the comments are as good as the video. Here’s a sample:
Honestly, nothing makiies me crazy quite like supposedly serious genealogists taking data straight from books like Holy Blood, Holy Grail and others of that ilk that should be just entertainment. I often think I should take on a systematic study and create a website devoted to the subject. Not going to happen, so I’m happy to find this article by Jason Colavito.
“The claim that the Knights Templar are the secret guardians of the Holy Grail, identified as the Holy Bloodline formed by the children of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene, is of very recent vintage, but due to its promotion in Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code (2003) and on TV shows like America Unearthed (2012-present), the idea, first proposed in 1982, has become an industry, gradually subsuming other medieval “mysteries” of equally dubious provenance, particularly the claim that a Scottish noble named Henry Sinclair discovered America in 1398. There is not one single authentic medieval document that (a) confirms a Holy Bloodline of Jesus, (b) links Henry Sinclair to the Knights Templar, or (c) documents any voyage by Henry Sinclair to anywhere outside of Europe. How the myth formed is an astonishing story on its own.“
Revised to update link.