Wednesday, July 11, 2007

The Age of Chivalry


Throughout the years, ever since I acquired this insatiable passion for reading, I have accumulated books enough to build a modest library. This library I have enshrined in our humble home (first at Tarlac and now in Angeles). The classics dominate the collection, beginning with the first novels I read—Oliver Twist, Don Quixote. The Iliad, Odyssey and Aeneid are not to be missed. Later on, philosophy and theology books joined in to fill another section.


One book that I have opened more than once or twice was Bulfinch’s Mythology—and it was not only because of the classical Greek and Roman Mythology beautifully recounted by Thomas Bulfinch. Rather, it was more because of the second part of the trilogy: The Age of Chivalry.
This part recounts the tales of kings and knights, particularly, the legend of King Arthur. What drew me to these was the sense of the heroic that was very much present even in the non-fictional counterpart of these tales—the Middle Ages.

I love dwelling on this portion of history as it is truly rich in so many aspects. Literature in this stage teemed with so many productions, most of them, epics; philosophy had St. Thomas Aquinas at the fore; architecture yielded the castles whose majestic remnants continue to captivate tourists; the paintings were not pompous but were powerful. And its music: from the ubiquitous Gregorian chant to the wandering music of the minstrels. It was the bridge from the ancient to the gifted flair of the Renaissance.


It is this brand of music that I am presenting these days to my students in Music 3 & 4—Gregorian Chant, Old Roman, Arabic-Byzantine, works by Richard the Lionheart and others. It is the deep breath before we plunge into the more popular periods—Baroque, Classical and Romantic.


In our discussion, I asked my students what they can say about the quality of Medieval Music. They produced many adjectives that may be summed up into two: serene and deliberate. This is what draws me to the Age of Chivalry: it is not a shallow whim. May our lives be a reflection of this wonderful era where nobility and honor reign supreme.

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