![]() As Ramon Llull writes in his classic Book of the Order of Chivalry, “There was once no charity, loyalty, justice or truth in the world. This was the setting for the legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, which is widely accepted as having some basis in historical fact. Historically, the ideal of chivalry arose after the fall of the Roman Empire, in response to the increasing barbarism of the Dark Ages. However, chivalry is best known as a medieval phenomenon, with a historical aspect and mythological aspect. ![]() And what is nobility of character but the mastery of one’s lower traits by the higher, not giving in to base impulses, always striving for the good? In this sense, it is not only a product of the European Middle Ages, but a universal ethical vision. The hallmark of chivalry is nobility – not of blood, but of character. Cirlot says, “Knighthood should be seen, then, as a superior kind of pedagogy helping to bring about the transmutation of natural man (steedless) into spiritual man.” It is therefore not surprising that we will find many traces of alchemy in the tales of chivalry. All this was symbolized in the esoteric art par excellence, namely alchemy: the transmutation of the man of lead (earthly, heavy and opaque) into the man of gold (shining, incorruptible, pure and endlessly giving like the sun). In the view of esoteric philosophy, the human being is perfectible indeed, our destiny as human beings is to develop the divine part of ourselves. They sometimes fail, especially in the phase of the Quest of the Holy Grail, and sometimes they get another opportunity and then partially or wholly succeed. Hence the trials that all knights go through. The knight is not perfect, but is on a path towards perfection. Symbolically, the horse represents the body and its associated energies and emotions, while the rider represents the higher self of the human being, the best and noblest part of ourselves. The word ‘chivalry’ comes from the French ‘chevalier’, which means ‘knight’ or ‘horseman’.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |