On Tim’s recommendation, I took a look at the arms and armor exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum. When walking into the room, you can’t help but notice four knights in shining armor astride equally shining horses. The majesty of the procession made me feel almost like a damsel waiting to bestow her favor on her knight before he leaves for battle. I learned that the shining armor does more than dazzle young (and not so young) girls’ hearts/eyes. According to the display the smooth surface of the armor protects the knight and horse by deflecting opponents’ blows because weapons glance off the slick surface. While the smooth surface might 
serve a practical purpose, I was struck by the intricate etchings in both man and horse’s armor. Despite their leaving for battle and bloodshed (or perhaps because of it), these knights immerse themselves in beauty.Somewhat ironically, or perhaps appropriately, the displays of the European knights of the 1
3-15th centuries are surrounded by displays of the Turks, Arabs, and other peoples who fought off the invaders of the Crusade eras. One coat of chain mail created for an Arab of the 14th century has a series of darker links woven into the lighter silver. As I stepped back, I could see the pattern of Arabic script worked into the chain mail: a prayer to Allah for protection and strength. This dual level of protection—physical and spiritual—was seen in nearly ever type of both Western and Eastern armors.
One fun fact that I learned while eavesdropping on a school group’s tour through the exhibit. The costume director for Star Wars visited the Japanese samurai exhibit and used the samurai helmet (the docent pointed to this specific helmet) as inspiration for Darth Vader’s helmet. Do you see the similarities? Vader has the fierce ruthlessness of the samurai. Does this costume allusion also imply that he has the nobility of the samurai?I thought Tim’s recommendation was very appropriate for our class. Knights and warriors are frequently associated with quests. Using what we know so far about the quest pattern, why do you think this is? Why is physical battle often a part of an individual’s personal and spiritual quest?
As I have had the opportunity to live in England for four and a half years, I could not help but comment on this post. Warriors, armor, chivalry, honor and other things of this nature always captured my imagination as a kid, and to be honest it still does. I wanted to be a knight, a samurai, nearly anything. I wanted to be the guy, who killed the dragon, saves the girl and wins a kingdom, perhaps I watched too many Disney movies with the siblings, but that's how we all were. The things that attracted me the most to all this stuff was the personalization and artistic efforts that went into designing armor and shields. As we talked about in class it was an expression of self, what they felt and believed (good or evil). I think that Darth Vader's armor is related to the samurai because the samurai often wore masks to terrify their enemies. The samurai believed in total focus in what they did and their relationship to nature helped them to master war, art, philosophy, politics etc. As a Star Wars expert haha, the Force, both dark side and light side, is a complete total dedication to the understanding of the Force. Obviously some use it for evil rather than good, but the concepts are there. I think that knights particularly are used in quests is because of the ideas I mentioned before, particularly chivalry. Knights, at least in the stories, are the protectors of good, fighters for God and his glory... and if they are lucky, get a little romance on the side. haha But I think the physical aspect, such as the battle, is that life is often both spiritual and physical. Often evil will take both forms and it is necessary that one not only conquer spiritual weakness, but also must fight physical evil as well. Sometimes we are called to kill, and perhaps the test is similar to that of the war of the Nephites and Lamanites started by Amalickiah. Some people at the end of this physical war were hardened and bitter. Others had their hearts softened. War is an unfortunate neccessity sometimes, it is what we allow ourselves to become at the end of it that will determine our future quest.
ReplyDeleteI love knights. Growing up, I loved to read the stories about the medieval times, with the princes and princesses, knights fighting dragons, and castles. I loved to pretend that I was a princess that needed to be rescued by a handsome prince, and wished that I could go back in time and see it all with my own eyes. I think one of the reasons knights fascinate people so much is that they had to be the best of the best. They were the defenders of the kingdom and had to fight for their glory and honor of their king and queen and besides fighting for their leaders, they would proudly wear the kingdom’s symbol, across their armor, on their shields, their flags, their horses. The undying loyalty of a knight to his kingdom is almost unmatched during any other time period, especially now-a-days – the world today is so full of dishonesty and secrecy that knights have become even more an ideal then they were then. Knights stand for the purest honesty, loyalty, strength, and chivalry and the world would do a lot better to copy after their manners. I believe that the designs on a knight’s armor was a symbol of those ideals. -Alaura Berg
ReplyDeleteArmor is cool. Whenever we see someone clad in a protective barrier that is adorned with gold and silver etchings, we imagine that the person has done something great in life. These photos reminded me of Don Quixote, who wore the rusty knight's armor in order to become the true figure of his insanity. Although he was crazy, some people were convinced that he was a knight, merely because he wore the symbol. The other day I was thinking about how awesome the world would be if we still could wear chainmail and plate armor around like they used to. It certainly would make it easier when you were standing in front of your closet trying to decide what to wear that day.
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