A book review of Medieval Beasts by Ann Payne

 Medieval Art helps us understand the Medieval mind as much as Medieval Literature does. While some see Medieval art as boring or not advanced, I feel it brings out things about humanity that the later more humanistic art of the Renaissance doesn't. This is the first book I have read on Medieval Art, and for any Medievalist, I think it is a must read.

 The book is largely about the great allegory of animals in medieval art. Dragons and foxes are symbols of the devil, whereas the lamb and the unicorn are symbols of Christ.

 The book is full of illustrations from The Bestiaries, which included Medieval Artwork of various mythical and non-mythical animals.  No doubt, C. S. Lewis must have known of this work, and I can see how it would have inspired The Chronicles of Narnia.
 Medieval Art can be quite illuminating. It shows much about the people of it's time, including their religious worldview, and the settings of their culture. 
 While this post was brief and basic, I expect to take on topics of Medieval Art more in the future. 

A Review of Purgatorio by Dante and The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis

I recently finished Purgatorio by Dante Alighieri and found it a great sequal to The Inferno, though perhaps as usual, also inferior to it's predecessor.  The most memorable part of the story besides it's creepy tone is the fact that the gluttons are chained back from the foods they desired in life. Dante is guided by Virgil through most of the book until last cantos when he is directed by Beatrice instead.
 Related to this Renaissance classic is the more modern Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis.  In this book those that have died go on a bus and visit eternity. The damned actually do not desire Heaven, and those in Hell have their own theology clubs. Purgatory is also a key place in Lewis's work.
 Purgatory was taught by Saint Augustine of Hippo in The Enchiridion: On Faith, Hope, and Charity. While it was not as popular in the east, it was certainly in the west for at least a thousand years before the Protestant Reformation.
 Lewis actually believed in Purgatory though not in the sense that the 16th century Roman Catholic Church did. He discusses the subject of Purgatory and praying for the dead in Letters to Malcolm  Whereas, Purgatory had been originally about purification, it became more and more about suffering instead. Hence, one can see how the change of understanding on this issue was used as a tool of power by many of the corrupt Roman Catholic hierarchy of the Reformation era.
 That said, some Protestants have thrown the baby out of the bathwater. As one that was raised Evangelical Protestant, then became Roman Catholic, and now being a High Church Protestant, I have personally experienced and read the weak arguments made against Purgatory from evangelicals that are usually themselves not based off Scripture. Some Protestants contend that Purgatory takes away from what Christ did at the cross, but in no way is this true. Even in this life, after we are born again, we still face the consequences of our own sinful actions. Purgatory does not take away from Christ did at the cross, it's existence proves our lack of worthiness.
 1 Peter 3: 19-20, 1 John 5: 6, 1 Corinthians 3: 13, and 2 Maccabess 12: 46 are common Scriptures used for the support of Purgatory's existence, and the need to pray for those that have died.

 
 The Roman Catholic Douay Catechism was written for Protestants, and from my point of view is one of the best defenses of the Roman Catholic Faith.  It gives no short exception to it's Biblical defense of Purgatory.

Two wrongs don't make one right, and throwing out doctrines because the Roman Catholic Church sometimes abused those doctrines is no exception. 

The Cause of the Schism of 1054 According to The Western View Part One

When we think of splits from church history there are probably two that most likely come to our minds: The Protestant Reformation, and The Great Schism of 1054. Church splits have significant consequences, and some of them, at least so far, have never been healed. This post will focus briefly on The Great Schism of 1054, from the Western perceptive.
 I was looking at several Crusade accounts recently, and found it interesting that they talked about their distaste for the Greek Christians. Of those differences from the Greek Christians they named, The Filioque, and some differences over the priesthood, as well as their rite of Mass were all that was essentially mentioned. Nothing was mentioned of Papal Supremacy. Yes, that is right! I believe that that is because the papacy was not nearly as powerful at that time in the sense of infallibility or great supremacy, as we think of it today.
 While the issue of papal supremacy deserves attention for a future post, for now I'd like to reflect on what Western Christians said about the Greeks from their own words. This can give us perspective to what Western Christian believe, as well as insight to why the Great Western Schism happened.
 What was it that sparked the Great Western schism? I won't get into that long history, though I may do some of that in the future! For now, let the accounts speak for themselves.
 ''We think it worthwhile to make a brief note of the beliefs of the Greeks that differ from the faith of the universal church, namely that of the Holy Roman Church. They are in error about their belief about the Holy Trinity, since they teach that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father alone, and not from the Son, and is less important than the Father and Son. In the Eucharist, they use Azyme, and in that sacrifice of solemnity of the Mass they do not offer that reverence, care and compunction of the heart with which we, although sinners and unworthy, celebrate and use. They make no distinction between their priests and other clerics, apart from the bishops, and peasants, and thus show no respect for the divine cult. They make no change to the chant or to the prayers from the collect for the feast days during the year or the saints' days, apart from the Biblical readings and the Gospels. They anathematise all those who do not agree with their beliefs: they describe all Christians, whether spiritual or secular people in the popular idiom, as secular, and they pour out arrogant prayers for their conversion. They describe themselves alone as spiritual and orthodox.  They separated themselves a long time ago from the jurisdiction of the Holy Roman Church, and they make themselves subject in divine matters only to their own patriarch, whom they describe as 'universal, ' giving this Greek patriarch of Constantinople precedence over the other two patriarchs of Jerusalem and Antioch by name alone. Their priests and clergy are neither vowed to nor observe continence. ''
 -The Crusade of Frederick Barbarossa: The History of The Expedition of the Emperor Frederick and Related Text translated by G. A. Loud.

As you can see, this Crusade account actually criticized the Greeks for the concept of a universal bishop. While many today wrongly assume that it was just the Popes of Rome that taught this, in reality, Greek Patriarchs taught it. It was to the concept of universal bishop by a Greek Patriarch that Pope Gregory the Great wrote was ''Antichrist.'' Though properly understood, Gregory actually saw himself as the head of the church. For more information on this, check out the following link:
 https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/incontext/article/gregory-the-great.

Those ways the Classical Greeks and Medieval Man were alike

If I were but a pagan, I would now implore the Muses to come help me write, but I have a greater inspiration to write, and that is from The Blessed Trinity.

It maybe a surprise to modern readers to learn that the pagan Greeks of Ancient history and the Western Europeans of the Middle Ages shared much in common. Both valued and loved the earth, both enjoyed plays and drama, and both were very artistic. Medieval man indeed drew much from the classical Romans and Greeks.

 The influence of the classics upon Western man is perhaps never more tangible and obvious than in Medieval Literature. For instance,  The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri was influenced by Virgil's The Aeneid.
 Beyond literature however, Medieval man learned much from the Greeks, including philosophies from Plato and Aristotle that were adopted in Scholasticism, which defended the dogmatic teachings of The Latin Church. As examples of this, Augustine was influenced by Plato, and Aquinas by Aristotle. Even in their historical understanding, those writers and poets of the Middle Ages, especially the English, believed they were descendants of the Trojans. This theory, was promulgated in Geoffrey of Monmouth's The History of the Kings of Britain.
 Medieval man took much from the scientific understanding of the Greeks including Geocentrism, the belief that the earth is at the center of the universe.
 Medieval times saw a loss of of knowledge concerning the Greek language in the West, though it was preserved in the east. Western Europeans more commonly spoke Latin in the early Middle Ages, and it would not be until shortly before The Renaissance that knowledge of Greek would again be common in the west. Scholars of the era, valued the writings of Virgil and Cicero.
During the Renaissance, the Christian Humanists wanted a return to the knowledge of Greek.
Desiderus Erasmus greatly contributed to this endeavor, with his Textus Receptus forming the basis for the later King James Version of the Bible. The ideals of Christian Humanism, are expressed in The Imitation of Christ by Thomas A Kempis.
Renaissance art took much of it's style from the arts of the classical age. This was a bit controversial, as some Christians felt it was inappropriate with it's emphasis on naked individuals, such as the Nudity of David by Michelangelo.

                                              Above, Minerva, The Roman goddess of Wisdom. 


 
                                           


The similarities between the Classical Greeks and Romans compared with the Medieval Western Europeans, do not override the differences of course. The Greeks worshiped drama, Medieval Christians used it to convey Biblical stories and Morality Plays, especially as concerning the role of man in eternity. The Greeks also did not derive their worldview from the Bible, whereas Medieval man did. The Greeks worshiped many gods, whereas Medieval man worshiped only one God, The Blessed Holy Trinity. The purpose of this article has been merely to show that despite great differences, Medieval man took much from his ancient predecessors of the Classical Mediterranean world. Much more detail could be written on this, and I'd like to take that endeavor for sometime in the future. For now however, I wish to stick to merely an introduction to this very subject.

          The Greek theater introduced the world to many things, including to the the genre of Tragedy.

The Nudity of David from The Sistine Chapel

The artwork of the Renaissance world reflected humanity much more personally than Medieval art had done. Truly the golden age of art, was reborn with the Renaissance, as artwork moved further and further away from the The Icons and earlier handwork, that had placed much emphases on the divine. Still, some of the most famous Biblical and Christian artwork is from the Renaissance, though that is a worthy subject all it's own for another day. 

The Roman poet, Virgil, would greatly influence Saint Augustine, and later lead Dante through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven in Dante's Divine Comedy. His poem, The Aeneid, includes the story of the Trojan horse which was seldom actually mentioned in Homer's stories. The Aeneid has been called the most influential poem ever. His story promotes humanness and piety, as well as mercy towards those that suffer. 

                                        They can conquer, who believe they can. -Virgil




 Further Sources: Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Literature by C. S. Lewis, The Discarded Image: An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature by C. S. Lewis, The Golden Book of the Renaissance by Irwin Shapiro, Western Civilization I by Robert Ziomkowski, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Western Civilization by Anthony Esolen.

A Review of the Trojan War by Olivia Coolidge

 

I recently finished The Broadview Anthology of British Literature Volume A. This book gives a good start for anyone interested in the history of the subject. Now that I have finished it, I have gotten back to the reading of literature again.

As I am making my way through The Iliad and The Odyssey, I attempt to post more about the literature of the Classical world in the following weeks. While this literature is not ''English Literature'', it no doubt influenced it, and thus has reason to be conversed about here. Many English writers including Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare, and John Milton took from Greek mythology, and that's just naming a few. In more recent times, C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and J. K. Rowling have all been heavily influenced by Greek mythology. Lewis, Tolkien, and Rowling were Readers in Classical Studies during college after all.
  I first became interested in the Greek Myths as early as I can remember, but it was a friend librarian that encouraged me to read Homer and Virgil when I was around the age of twelve/thirteen. As he was into the American Civil War as I was, he recommended that I read the Greeks as their stories and warfare were heavily influential on the Americans during The War Between the States. I first studied the history of the Greeks for the next few years, before reading The Trojan War by Olivia Coolidge. This book greatly influenced me, perhaps one of the most influential books on me that I have ever read. Immediately, I became fascinated by the Greek Culture, and incorporated much of it's history and literature into my stories.
I would recommend all readers not yet familiar with the classics, to buy The Trojan War by Olivia Coolidge. This book is an easy and enjoyable read, that can be a good start for anyone that wants to understand The Iliad or The Odyssey. It gives a brief history of the Trojan War, with special emphasis on key characters like Achilles or Hector. Coolidge's book incorporates Homer and Virgil's stories, along with Aeschelues in one volume, made especially for young adults.