Travel Literature

          Reading Mandeville’s travel account, it’s interesting and at times a little disconcerting seeing his descriptions of some of the people of distant lands. Of course, people who don’t get that chance to travel that far away aren’t going to know what life is like in other places, and everyone always expects it to be totally, completely different to their own way of life—even today. The wider world that most people wouldn’t have been able to go see then must have seemed so strange and foreign, so of course his stories would be full of weird descriptions and strange people; it makes others want to go see them, just to see if they’re true and to satisfy their own curiosity. We all want to know what other places and people are like and how they live, and hearing fantastical stories like that from someone who has apparently gone there. You want to believe those stories, but at the same time you don’t because they’re so different from your own life.

            It’s also easy to see how Margery Kempe might have been so overwhelmed with being in all those sacred places. Getting to take a kind of break from her normal life, being a wife and mother, and getting to take that journey through all those special places, especially to her, and actually seeing the places she had heard about as being so monumental for her faith would have been so special. By going to all those places, she could experience more than just the spiritual things and see the cultural differences and would have had the time to take it all in. Being a mystic, those sacred places would have had a draw on her anyways, and getting to go there in person and see them and experience them for herself would, in a way, bring her spirituality or mysticism full circle, and could certainly help in confirming her faith or adding to it, by being at these real places.

Book of Good Love, Day 2

            The stories about the Mountain Girls, after reading all of them, seemed kind of the same, but at the same time they were all different. All of the different mountain girls this priest encountered did end up helping him out, but for a price—he gave one jewelry, and even married another. What I thought was interesting about all these girls was that they’re described as a bit frightening and menacing, at the worst seeming more barbaric, but once they know that they’ll be repaid in some way, after talking to the priest, they help him on his way. Although the mountain girls certainly know what they’re doing and what they want to happen, the priest is a little ignorant upon meeting up with them, and just wants to keep going on his way.

            In meeting the mountain girls, every single time it’s lead up to by the priest saying he had stayed somewhere or something had happened that caused him to lose a bunch of money and all his food; he would have basically nothing with him upon meeting the mountain girls, and he’s forced to rely on them for help. I also found it interesting that even though this guy is a priest and supposed to be understanding and helpful, or at least more adhering to his duties as a priest by not spending his money on frivolous things and sometimes sleeping with random mountain girls, he deceives one of the girls (the one he marries). His journeys through the mountains and with these girls are like him coming face to face with, literally, the uglier parts of life or those things that we know aren’t good and are wary of—whenever we meet one of the mountain girls, at least in the first few, there’s definitely a quiet sense of wariness and a little malice on their part—but still have to overcome and try to deal with the right ways.

Songs of Holy Mary

            In many of the short stories told by these songs, we see the Holy Mary triumphing over everything and showing the truth and being this beautiful, gentle woman who saves everyone if they’re worth saving, if they believe in her. In one of the first stories, a young Jewish boy is thrown into the oven by his father because he had received communion at church. Mary saves the boy because he thought she looked beautiful and kind, just from the statue he saw in the church—and his mother is converted and baptized too, because of his salvation. In this story and others, other religions (like Judaism) are shown to be inferior and somewhat less important or less pure than Christianity, since the Holy Mary is kind of the ultimate symbol of purity and goodness.

            With the story of the Moors trying to take over Constantinople, we see again an apparent pagan believer being converted to Christianity after just seeing the Holy Mary come down and save the city, and he all of a sudden knows he can’t attack the city anymore, and he asks the priest not to tell any of his people that he converted. It’s like he knows, now that he’s a Christian, that his old religion was wrong or not as valid. Just like in the other stories about Jews converting to Christianity, they come to see how their own way of life isn’t as good and pure, and the Holy Mary is able to show them that mostly by just showing herself to them, or telling the truth so they see the error of their ways. Sometimes it’s subtle and sometimes it’s not, but the feeling is still there, that Christianity was so far above everyone and would bring you up to that higher level by believing what they believed.

Troubadour/Trobairitz Poetry

            The Troubadour poem #22 tells about how the speaker is just pining away for the woman he loves, and how simply wonderful she is and how his love is so great that nothing can bother him, everything seems bright and joyful and nothing is bad. He also says “There’s still one thing I am sure of: I have conquered nothing less than her beautiful image”. He’s ridiculously happy to love this girl, and to be able to love her as much as he does, even though he’s far away from her; he’s still content just to know how much he adores her. That’s a little different from other impressions we get of people loving others but being away from them. He might not be with this girl all the time, but he knows she’s beautiful and he loves her and that is enough for him. The Trobairitz poem by Azalais de Porcairages has some similar imagery as the previous poem, of ice and snow and mud, nothing singing. However, in her poem, there’s not really any joy; it’s all lamenting and sad. She’s obviously not happy, as opposed to the Troubadour poem where even though it may be cold and windy his heart is still warm and full of love. Azalais says “My heart is so disordered that I’m rude to everyone”. It’s a completely different mood from the first poem, saying how the things around her match her mood, with birds not even wanting to sing. She even says “..I shall never be consoled”.

            There was definitely a difference between both sets of poems—the women authors had sadder poems that were more about losing love than the men’s, which were praising beauty and telling how full their hearts were and how happy they were. 

Islamic Art

   How cultures change and adapt their artistic styles over time is always interesting to see, since it also shows the effects of different historical events. During the time of the Mongol invasions and when they had control over vast amounts of land, Islamic art showed that more eastern influence. In one illustrated manuscript, the pictures show ancient Iranian kings dressed in the contemporary Mongolian style and looking like the Mongol leaders of the day. The story was the same, but the way the people were portrayed changed because that was who was leading the nation at that time and who was in control. They’re not necessarily supposed to represent how those ancient kings actually looked or dressed, they’re just a reflection of the times. Artists would probably want to please their current leader so that probably pushed their efforts to combine Mongolian elements in their own artwork. Plus, over the years of living with other people from different places, it’s inevitable that different styles would emerge from having two different cultures in such proximity with each other.

            Bowls and chalices made with gold and silver were regarded highly by the Mongolians as well—kind of moving the other way from Islamic culture being affected by the Mongols. Everyone can see something they like form other cultures and peoples, so that is incorporated into the existing styles. It ends up being a nice mix of multiple customs and cultures.

Ovid's Metamorphoses, Books 4 & 6

            In both the myths about Arachne and Tereus and Philomena, we see humans dismissing the gods and pretty much acting as they see fit, not paying attention to warnings they receive (like the screech owl living above Tereus’ house) or even taunting them a little, in the case of Arachne telling Athena to come and challenge her herself. Arachne had a lot of faith in her talent, and didn’t like the idea that people had of her being taught by Athena; she wanted to be known for her own worth, especially since she was just a peasant. “You could see she was taught by Pallas. Yet she denied it, and took offense at the idea of having such a teacher”. She was punished by Athena, turned into a spider, all because she wanted to take all the credit for her own skill and not honor Athena at all. She kind of did want she wanted—weaving and not acknowledging the apparent true master of it—without any regard to how any of the gods (especially Athena) would feel about it. In all these myths, the gods have the last say and get to do what they think is right, no matter what.

            With Tereus, he took that to the extreme. He didn’t care what anyone else thought, he only thought about what he wanted, and what he wanted was Philomena, and that was that: “…he burnt with his own vice and his nation’s”. This puts the blame not only on Tereus but on his whole country as well, saying that this lust he has is a characteristic of all the men from Thrace. Either way, that puts the blame squarely on humans, with no regard for how they should actually be acting and respecting the gods (not to mention other people). Tereus was so sure in his convictions and that was all that mattered and his way was the way things were going to be. Both he and Arachne were more focused on their own talents and desires than how that could affect other things…like a wife or a god.

Plato's "Republic"

            “Or in such a regime haven’t you yet seen men who have been sentenced to death or exile, nonetheless staying and carrying on right in the middle of things; and, as though no one cared or saw, stalking the land like a hero?”   This quote, speaking about a democracy, can definitely be applied still today. It’s interesting to see how some of the political problems occurring two thousand years ago and more can still make sense to us today, because they’re still happening. Not that the justice system doesn’t work or doesn’t do its job, but there are obviously instances where a sentencing isn’t what the prosecution wants or that the public feels the defendant deserves—especially in cases like this, where it’s about the life of a person, no matter what they did or what happened, it can be difficult to please everyone. Sometimes it doesn’t seem fair or the public doesn’t agree with it, but in order to keep the system working the way it’s supposed to and keep order, there are some things that fall through the cracks a little.

            “…and naming shame simplicity, they push it out with dishonor, a fugitive; calling moderation cowardliness and spattering it with mud, they banish it; persuading that measure and orderly expenditure are rustic and illiberal, they join with many useless desires in driving them over the frontier”.     I like how here Plato says (speaking as Socrates) that moderation is called cowardliness by some people and shame being simplistic. Those necessary qualities can be pushed aside in the pursuit of wealth or notoriety, because to some people doing things in moderation or being aware of what you’re doing—which could lead to feeling shameful—could be in itself a little shameful. Being able to do things in moderation and having a sense of shame, or at least a sense of decency, is important. Especially for someone in government, which is what Plato is talking about.

           Question: Was this text taken as a kind of manual for how to be a good, upstanding citizen, or was it just for education and reflection on the part of the reader?