Knighthood in the 14th century

Today there are many differing mental visions of the Medieval knight, some wildly romanticised and others more realistic - if we only knew what that reality was. Perhaps it is never possible to strip away the intervening hundreds of years and view anything as it was or was felt to be in the 14th century.

For that reason I am basing this post on Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales with its portrait of a knight in the General Prologue. I am greatly indebted to Terry Jones and his disruptive book Chaucer's Knight for much of what follows. 

He argues that, by the time Chaucer wrote, the ideals of knighthood had become so tarnished that the concepts of chivalry and honour were no longer applicable. This allied with the rise of mercenaries who, instead of being permanent, trusted members of a lordly household, were temporary, paid warriors, They may or may not have fulfilled their contracts and could be a scourge in peacetime, idly but violently roaming the countryside and causing havoc.  

At first reading, the knight seems to embody all the high ideals of "chivalrye, Trouthe and honour, fredom and curteisye". Many of those words had a much more powerful impact then then now, perhaps "trouthe" in particular, because it had a wider and more profound sense of the individual's vowing his entire self-hood to his own integrity.

Then Chaucer describes his modest, worn outfit and lists the many battles at which he was present. Until this book, all scholars had taken this to mean that he was a brave fighter but not flamboyant. Jones probes in forensic detail and finds that the clothing denotes a paid soldier, perhaps fallen on poor times, and that the battles were bloody massacres of innocent people. The line below, which had always been taken at face value, now seems pointedly and bitterly sardonic, focused on the word "gentil" which encapsulated all possible goodly qualities, Jesus being the prime example:

     He was a verray, parfit, gentil knight.

This view means that the sarcastic portrait is of an unscrupulous mercenary and satirical in intention, like most of the other depictions in the General Prologue (excepting the parson and his brother, the ploughman). The satire is aimed less at the character than at the decline in his or her profession. Chaucer is lamenting the debasement of old standards.

I am convinced by this argument although it has recently been modified by scholars - yet never disproved. It was such a shake-up of the previous academic version that I, cynically, feel that embarrassment would prevent compliant agreement in the ivy-clad universities, who could not or would not believe that the co-director  of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, also director of Monty Python's Life of Brian, could teach them anything about history. Ball now in their court, say I. 

Another fact that moves me to accept the satirical interpretation is the presence of "doodles" in the margins of Medieval MSS which depict snails fighting knights and holding their own. Their antennae are as long as the swords and the purpose must be to cast knights as feeble and no better in derring-do than a humble snail. The name is a misnomer because the art works are detailed and beautifully drawn and painted. it's well worth a doodle Google.

The Jesse window in St. Mary's Priory Church, Abergavenny

Ten years ago I wrote about the huge statue of Jesse, father of David, from whom Jesus descended. This extraordinary figure, carved from one solid piece of oak which could have been 400 years old when felled, was the base of his family tree and is the only wooden one in the U.K., possibly in the world. The progeny would have ascended upwards from the reclining Jesse.

Here you can also see the bottom of the Jesse window and it seems fitting, after a decade, to give an account of it. It was created by Helen Whittaker in memory of the late Dean Jeremy Winston and was dedicated on the 7th of July 2016, in the presence of H.R.H, Charles, then Prince of Wales. Helen made sure that light from the window would not adversely affect the statue beneath by having UV-protection glass on the lower part.

The window is rich in symbols and emblems, placed in a geometrical scheme of overlapping circles (vesicas) spreading out from the heart of Jesus. A vine with brown leaves connects the tree to its foundation from Jesse. Green oak leaves representing Wales' ancient woodlands are in the outer section.

At the top, on a larger scale than anything else, sits Mary with baby Jesus on her lap. Moving your eyes downwards you see King Solomon and David, who is playing a Welsh harp, with Ruth and Bathsheba. By Solomon's side are Zadok and Nathan, names familiar to all music lovers. On the lower branches we see Adam, with the snake and in despair, and Abraham depicted with the stick and dagger with which he might have sacrificed his son. Positioned around are Isaiah, Daniel, Elijah and Moses, who is holding the tablet with the 5th commandment: honour thy mother and father.

In the centre, around and above Mary and Jesus, come roundels representing aspects of the lives of 7 Celtic saints, including Beuno, Gildas, Winifred, Padarn, Non and Teilo. Saint David is also visible.

At the bottom are medicinal herbs, grouped according to the ailments they treated, and connecting the window to the monastic Abbot's garden outside.

I visited the church with a friend and we spent a good hour sitting on a front pew decoding the window with the help of a detailed booklet, purchased at the entry desk from a member of staff, always ready to answer questions. It was a most worthwhile experience and left a deep and lasting impression on us both.

Afterwards, coffee and CAKE in the excellent Tithe Barn cafe just across the path. I have written about this Barn in another post. 

Wall hangings in St. Mary's Priory Church, Abergavenny

As you enter the door to the church, pause and look behind you. There are two superb wall hangings in beautiful colours and full of symbolism. These are the work of Elizabeth Brown who designed and hand made them in 10 months, busying herself 4 to 6 hours most days. The fabrics (some of which date from the 1920's) include silks, satins, cloth of gold, brocade, crash, linen, cotton and wool. She describes these works as her Magnus Opus and they are indeed a great work.

Whilst i have used the term "symbol", I think a more apposite word is "emblem" which implies a more precise denotation.. Forgive me if the photographs are taken from ground level but, at 87 and with restricted mobility, I was not ready to climb a ladder even if one were offered - and the idea is that you visit yourself and gaze in wonder.

The left-hand hanging

This depicts the hand of God at the top emerging from the darkness - which I interpret as the original Chaos. Below is a dove, emblem of purity, and beneath the bird is the Tree of Life. (I think of that as connected to the family tree of Jesus which once stood above the world-famous reclining statue of Jesse at the far end of the church). A river flows past 12 bulrushes representing the 12 apostles.

The right-hand hanging

At the top is an angel blowing a trumpet. In the Great Chain of Being, angels came between God and humans, all of which are above animals, plants and minerals. Then are depicted a ram (a reference to the story of Abraham and Isaac) and an ox, emblem of strength and majesty. Beneath the ox are 3 vessels for wine, water and oil, followed in a downwards direction by a honeycomb containing 33 bees, one for each year of the life of Jesus. At the bottom is a net of fish with the connotation of the secret symbol used by early Christians partly because it was easy to draw with two lines and also because it is an an acronym for the Greek for Jesus Christ, God's Son, Saviour: ICHTHYS. Many of the disciples were fishermen and one of the miracles is the feeding of the 5000 from 2 fishes and 5 loaves of bread.

I do hope I have induced you to visit the Church and spend time decoding the hangings. Since this blog encourages public transport, I can tell you that there are good bus connections to Abergavenny and a railway station a decent walk from the town. We always reward ourselves with a slice of home made CAKE after our viewing and you may indulge yourself at the excellent Tithe Barn cafe, just opposite.  This has its own fascinations. some of which i have mentioned in another post. You can use the Search button to read about this and more about the church itself.

The Caerleon Amphitheatre revisited

Yesterday, on a cold March afternoon, I went back to Caerleon for a guided tour with Mark Lewis. Fluent, approachable and totally in charge of his material (3 hours without notes) he brought the site alive, covering the amphitheatre, barracks, museum and baths
The legacy of the Roman occupation here goes through the medieval to the modern: the second Augustan legion was in Caerleon for 200 years, this fortress being one of only 3 in the UK. The others were Chester and York.
The present church in Caerleon is the centre of the 50 acre site which  still includes the barracks and baths and did have granaries which held enough grain for a year. A tile has been found with an image of Mercury, guardian of grain. We can assume that by AD 90 the Silures were tamed.
The most fascinating part of the tour for me was the amphitheatre. Until the 1920's the area was simply an undulating circle thought to be King Arthur's mound. When Mortimer Wheeler was demobbed, he was a lecturer at what was then Cardiff University but always had his eye on Caerleon even whilst excavating other sites. This was a prime target because digging would not involve the demolition of houses and he thought it would attract funding, which happened after a thrilling midnight meeting with a representative of the Daily Mail.  They bought the field and guaranteed money in return for a daily report and Wheeler's wife, an excellent archaeologist herself, was in charge. 30000 tons of material were removed and this is the most completely excavated site in Britain.

The amphitheatre is not a defensive structure as can be deduced from the fact that it towered above everything else. It was a merely a base and would not have withstood a siege.
Its alignment has aroused interest but there seems to be no particular solar factor. It is possibly aligned to the birthday of Augustus, September 23rd, when the eagle was paraded and is a ritual space asserting the dominance of state over the individual. It places man as superior to beast and order as higher than disorder. This enacts the principles of the Roman state.


A few odd facts about the arena. The vomitaria were not where the terrified gladiators threw up but where the crowds spewed out. The animals involved would have been bears, wolves, wild boar and stags from the local woods. In a niche is a statue of Nemesis and the last deed before entering the arena would be an offering to her. Merged with her is Diana, goddess of sudden death. Curse tablets found would suggest the lack of an effective justice system.
The whole construction would have looked rather like the Globe Theatre and its overarching purpose was to keep Caerleon Roman via rituals. A wooden amphitheatre could be erected as easily as a modern marquee with so much labour to hand; the later stones were all marked with names of soldiers. The site has few altars but the drain still works after 2000 years, flowing smoothly into the river. It could seat 6000 men for the games which went on for several days.
The Welsh kings respected the links with Rome but the Marcher lords lost the connection. It fell in 1217 and there is evidence of ethnic cleansing. Now it attracts huge interest and is an exciting educational resource.