Chivalry is Yet, Not Dead
In some select stories of old/middle english, we can see that people have been fascinated by ideals of heroism, chivalry, and what we now refer to as romance for a very long time. I will argue in this document, that our fascination with such imaginary laws has never ceased, and in some ways is even more fantastic. Every further mention of romance will refer to all of these ideas, the way it did when the term was introduced into english. If all things are to be considered this short essay would turn into a book. I would like to compare and contrast Beowulf, Lanval, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight with some of the modern day creations especially in looking at the values, and belief systems in all of the three “classic” stories. I will apologize in advance to those who will read this and are not familiar to the texts that are mentioned, due to restrictions in size I must mention all of my topics without specific description of how the stories are told, please at least read “Beowulf” before considering this essay. Beowulf has and will live in the hearts of many people today, whether they have actually read and studied the text itself or they have merely been exposed to modern movies, books, and music that idealize a classical heroic ideal.
We might consider in this topic the modern police officer, soldier, paramedic, FBI/CIA agent, and any who take on with their livelihood the motto “to protect and to serve.” I believe we will most likely see and inherent desire for honor, and for glory. These in certain individuals seem to overpower the desire and will to help other people. A scholar by the name of George P. Fletcher states when looking at romanticism and its opposites, “On the one hand, we have stability, order, universality, and the boredom of the predictable and domestic. On the other hand, we have revolt, disorder, partiality, and the intense flames of lust and creativity. This is, of course, the way Romantics might describe the sentiments that move them” (p. 17). He even goes on to hint that the reason we have waged war on Iraq was because of romantic
ideas. We'll stay away from that debate in this essay and just say that the idea of glory and honor is summed up completely in “Beowulf” by the line ”Heaven swallowed the smoke” (L. 3155), in Lanval when he will not lie, despite the costs, despa...
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...ork: Norton. 2000.
Alexander, Michael, trans. Beowulf. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1973.
Bradley, S. A. J., trans. “Beowulf.” Anglo-Saxon Poetry: An Anthology of Old English Poems in Prose Translation with Introduction and Headnotes by S. A. J. Bradley. Everyman's Library. London and Melbourne: Dent, 1982.
Chaucer, Geoffrey. “The Canterbury Tales.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature: 6th edition New York: Norton. 1996
Donaldson, E. Talbot. “Beowulf: A New Prose Translation.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature: 6th edition. New York: Norton. 1996.
Fletcher, George P. Romantics at War. Princeton: Princeton UP. 2002
Laven, David, and Lucy Riall. Napoleon's Legacy: Problems of Government in Restoration Europe. Berg. 2000
When Hammurabi generated his ideas of Code and leadership he generated what he believed was best for the Mesopotamian people. What wasn’t clear to us, is what influenced his thinking. According to history channel the name "Hammu” means family, while rapi, means “great.” Taking that into context we can understand how some of the laws were created by the 6th king of the Babylonian empire. Family, truth, and “equality” was implemented to create the world’s first set of written moral. However by creating “morality” and civilized manner
In the land of the Wicked Witch of the West, the inhabitants are referred to as “yellow Winkies,” and these people, who are “not a brave people,” are afraid to fight the witch and become enslaved. Like the Winkies, the Cowardly Lion believes he is not courageous. He has developed the strategy of roaring to scare his enemies like the Kalidahs, but the Lion runs away when he is challenged. For example, when the Lion meets the great Wizard of the Emerald City, he is prepared to scare the Wizard into complying with his desires; however, the Wizard appears as a Ball of Fire, singeing the Lion’s whiskers, causing the Lion to run away in fear. Yet, when the Lion’s friends are in danger, he demonstrates courage. As the Woodman, the Scarecrow, Dorothy, Toto and the Lion are traveling to the Emerald City, they encounter “a very wide ditch” that is “very deep” and has “many big, jagged rocks at the bottom.” With great risk to himself, the Lion offers to jump across the divide with his companions on his back to bring them to safety. The Lion’s golden mane and cowardly demeanor make him appear yellow, but inwardly he is not. He can not see that he is truly
Heaney, Seamus. Introduction. Beowulf: a New Verse Translation. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2000. Xvii. Print.
From 1805 until the present there have been introduced an abundance of paraphrases, translations, adaptations, summaries, versions and illustrations of Beowulf in modern English and in foreign languages due mostly to two reasons: the desire to make the poem accessible, and the desire to read the exotic (Osborn 341). It is the purpose of this essay to present a brief history of this development of the popularity of the poem and then compare some of the translations with respect to some more difficult passages in the poem Beowulf.
Beowulf. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume A. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2006. 34-100.
People are going to argue that adding taxes to junk food is not going to decrease the amount of consumption, and they are going to argue there is not is not going to be any proportional change in the consumption if it is taxed. Even if “Observational data suggest that food consumption is relatively insensitive to price changes, the proportional change in consumption being less than the proportional change in price” (Mytton, Clarke, & Rayner, 2012). The argument against adding taxes to alcohol and tobacco had the same issues. However, it is suggested that “market failures for food include a failure to appreciate the true association between diet and disease, time inconsistency (preference for short term gratification over long term well-being) and not bearing the full health and social costs of consumption” (Mytton, Clarke, & Rayner,
In The Allegory of the Cave by Plato, a controversial issue has been whether “pouring in of knowledge” is not education or whether it is education. On one hand, some argue that education is the process of receiving or giving logical instruction. From this perception, education is all about learning and teaching from one generation to another. On the other hand, however, others argue that education is not all about “pouring in of knowledge.” In the words of Plato, “education isn’t what some people declare it to be, naming, putting knowledge into souls that lack it, like putting sight into blind eyes (5). The issue is what is the true meaning of education. Though some may say that education is the process of receiving or giving knowledge, I will
The Code of Hammurabi was written by King Hammurabi, who began ruling the Babylonian Empire in about 1800 BC. Hammurabi came to power using his strengths as a military leader, conquering many smaller city-states to create his Empire. Hammurabi believed that the gods appointed him to bring justice and order to his people, and he took this duty very seriously. Not long after his ascent to power, he created his Code, 282 laws written to define all relationships and aspects of life in the kingdom. The laws were displayed in a public place so that all the people could have the opportunity to study them. The laws applied to everyone, though application of the laws and punishment differed according to social class. The punishments for disobeying the laws were swift and harsh, further encouraging compliance.
Frank, Roberta. “The Beowulf Poet’s Sense of History.” In Beowulf – Modern Critical Interpretations, edited by Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987.
Hammurabi’s code gives an insight on the strict and unjust lives many Babylonian’s lived. Women were an item to men, and the wealthy overpowered the slaves. Despite the fact that there was no rightfulness within the laws, Hammurabi’s code indicates the presence of a stable family structure, a system of trading, as well as a development into the medical field. Many of the laws that were established in ancient Babylon, can be seen dealt today in modern America. Being one of the earliest pieces of text, Hammurabi’s considers thoughts of punishment towards the criminals, which is a system we have adapted
Hanning, Robert W. “Beowulf and Anglo-Saxon Poetry.” Prudentius to Medieval Drama. Ed. William H. Jackson. New York: Scribner’s, 1983. Vol. 1 of European Writers. George Stade, ed. in chief. 14 vols. 60-62.
In relation to occult symbolism, the above quotes have illustrated these features. Toto, the inner voice, led Dorothy along her trek . Glinda, the guide, gave Dorothy the resources to lead her in the direction to what she ultimately desires, a way to return to Kansas. Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion searched for a want or need, while supporting Dorothy. In whole, each of these characters displayed good behavior in assisting the young girl in her exploration to illumination and enlightenment. “Like Dorothy’s journey, ours lead to a better self-understanding and, hopefully, to wisdom. But what does “wisdom” mean? I suspect it consists precisely in having discovered the brightness, the enchantment inside everything we have encountered all our lives.”
Heaney, Seamus. Beowulf: A New Verse Translation. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2000. Print.
The code of Hammurabi was one of the most important documents in Babylon history. It was adopted from many Sumerian customs that had been around for a while before the Babylonians. Though many of the Laws were adopted from Sumeria they were published by Hammurabi and thus known as the code of Hammurabi. This code had four main parts to it. They were: Civil Laws, Commercial Laws, Penal Laws, and the Law of procedures.
For example, during high tide employees are encouraged to go out and surf (Stanwick and Stanwick, 2014), the business decision is reached by a consensus, and everyone in the company has a voice.