1. Our Lady's role in the Ballad of the White Horse as portrayed in books I, II, and VII.
King Alfred of Wessex, ruler of southern England in ninth-century, is the main character in G.K. Chesterton's compelling poem, The Ballad of the White Horse. During a time when the pagan Danes threaten to destroy the societal values Western Europeans had spent centuries building, Alfred, his chiefs, and his Christian armies receive inspiration to continue the battle for Christendom from Our Lady. For though Alfred and his armies strive to win the earthly battle with the Danes, they must also overcome the spiritual battle: abandoning the attitudes of doubt and despair, in order that they might trust in God for the strength Alfred's kingdom. Thus, as the image of majestic beauty, wisdom, and womanly power, Our Lady inspires Alfred, his chiefs, and his Christians armies to remember God's goodness despite the difficult times, and to trust Him in spite of dire appearances, which gives them the strength to overcome their and physical frailty and conquer their enemies. In her first appearance to Alfred, which occurs on the island of Athleney, Our Lady reveals herself as the ultimate image of ethereal beauty and majesty, which reminds Alfred of God's goodness despite the difficult times, and inspires him to concentrate on the importance of winning the spiritual battle, despite a bleak image of the future. Alone on the desolate river isle,
Alfred laments the loss of his beloved kingdom and God's apparent abandonment of Wessex men.
Thus far, the Danes have plundered most of the English countryside, desecrated numerous churches, and brought evil practices, ...
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...usness, despite her prediction of great uncertainty and difficulty, and they agree to fight the Danes to the bitter end. Alfred, overcome with the unfounded “joy of giants,” hurries to deliver Mary's message to the three men who will be crucial to his success in fighting the Danes. The first, Eldred, is a Saxon farmer who desires to remain among the certain, simple pleasures of daily life. Although he admires Alfred's courage, he sees little reason to battle the Danes, who have already inflicted the English with such heavy losses. He pleads with his king, saying, “Why should my harmless hinds be slain. . .[for] in all fights we fail?” (II: 54,57)
Alfred, however, encourages Eldred not to concentrate on victory, but rather, for whom they are fighting: for God, and for the Christian people who deserve protection from the Danes and their pagan influences.
This quotation provides a sense of Christian values and shows the hero's dependency on God. According to the poet, Beowulf realizes that his strength comes from the Almighty rather than from his own merit. Beowulf is shown as a brave warrior.
As the poems of Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight show, women have always had power, yet not as overt a power as wielded by their masculine counterparts. The only dynamic of women’s power that has changed in the later centuries is that the confines and conditions in which women have wielded their power has become more lax, thus yielding to women more freedom in the expression of their power. The structure, imagery, and theme in the excerpts from Beowulf (lines 744-71) and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (lines 2309-30) support the concept of more power in the later centuries, by contrasting the restriction of Wealhtheow and the power she practices in Beowulf with the Lady’s more direct assertion of power in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight five centuries later.
...lf and of knowing who they were and to feel like a whole but then he ruined his very own kingdom also by not sticking to his own teachings and acclaiming himself a higher power then the deity’s that they worshipped.
BBC. "Christianity and the ethics of war." BBC - Religion. N.p., 3 Aug. 2009. Web. 14 Jan. 2012. .
Pope Urban II naturally had a religious control over his people and when he gave his speech at the Council of Clermont in November 1905, he constantly referred to it as the will of God. His speech reminded them that the Crusades were their “concerns as well as God’s” . Throughout his speech, the Pope is constantly trying to align the need for men to fight with t...
knight on a horse to come rescue and provide for her as well as the acceptance of women
does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's and he will give
Christianity had recently took hold in England at the time of the writing of Beowulf. Many people believe that Beowulf is a Christian story, when in fact it is not. Instead, the poem reflects a society that has a deep pagan background and has brought with it stories from its pagan past. Beowulf is a Germanic tale that was likely first composed in the first half of the eighth century, but it was not until the late tenth century that it was committed to parchment. At the time of its writing, the Germanic tribes were clearly pagan, as seen by such evidence in the text as Beowulf’s cremation at the end of the epic and the direct reference to swearing oaths at “pagan shrines” (line 175). As Christianity’s teachings and values began to take root in these pagan societies over the decades and eventual centuries, the stories of the Bible began to be worked into the tale as it was told, retold, and retold even again. When it came time to be written—probably by a Christian monk (or monks) whose beliefs, it is fair to say, flavored the work—the bards and storytellers had crafted an epic with the Christian permutations already in it. However, that is not to say that the writer was ignorant when it came to what message he desired to relate to the reader.
In the Middle Ages, the roles of women became less restricted and confined and women became more opinionated and vocal. Sir Gawain and The Green Knight presents Lady Bertilak, the wife of Sir Bertilak, as a woman who seems to possess some supernatural powers who seduces Sir Gawain, and Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Wife of Bath Prologue and Tale, present women who are determined to have power and gain sovereignty over the men in their lives. The female characters are very openly sensual and honest about their wants and desires. It is true that it is Morgan the Fay who is pulling the strings in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; nevertheless the Gawain poet still gives her a role that empowers her. Alison in The Wife if Bath Prologue represents the voice of feminism and paves the way for a discourse in the relationships between husbands and wives and the role of the woman in society.
take care of his siblings after her departure. After a fight with his father, Edgard
This 8 page paper considers the role of Morgan Le Fay, also known as Morgaine, in the literature regarding Arthurian legends. Her role in various books is ...
Camelot, the musical adaptation of The Once and Future King, allows for an interesting twist on the portrayal of Guinevere’s personality, mindset, and desires. The use of song and excellent acting allows for a unique display of the different aspects that make Guinevere a complex and strong character. Analyzing “The Lusty Month of May” shows Guinevere as a woman driven by her desires for the fantastical aspects of romance. However, contrasting “The Lusty Month of May” with other songs paints her as a more dynamic character and explains her relationship dynamic with Arthur, Lancelot, and other men in the court. This verse by verse analysis characterizes Guinevere as a woman driven by feelings of dissatisfaction and destiny.
This passage, spoken by Beowulf himself, illustrates not only his confidence in himself, but also in God. He knows that he is strong, but he also knows that it is God who really grants victory. He must be in good graces with God in order to win his battle. He knows that he cannot survive without God’s approval.
In order for the crusades to begin, the Christians needed to gather an army to travel and fight the forces of Muslims. With all the power being held by monarchies at this time, the church needed to be cleaver in order to gain troops to put their lives on the line. To gain the support of these warriors and dedication of men, Pope Urban II (1088-1099) challenged those morals of men by telling them to grab their weapons and join the holy war to recover the land of Jerusalem. It was not the challenge that convinced men to take part in this war. The promise of “immediate remission of sins” attracted the men to stand up for their religion and beliefs while at the same time, promising them a trip to heaven when life comes to an end. With this statement, men instantly prepared for battle which in a very short period of time gave the church power which has been held by the monarchies. Men of rich and poor prepared for battle, some wearing ...
In a society, there are many different opinions on how a women figure is seen. These ideas have changed overtime with the progress of women bring consider equal to men. There are two ways a woman can be interpreted, one brings lower to the men and the other being equal to men. Women play an important role in shaping lives, directly or indirectly. The tales depicted in this book shows the reader the broader insight of how women were seen as in previous years. The different ideas of what women meant to men are seen in the tales told by the characters in the book, mostly the men. The perspective of a woman for a male and a female is different. If we were to compare two tales from each side, the opinion would only be in favour for the individual who is narrating the tale. In Geoffrey Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales”, the role of women is portrayed in two different ways, one