[Editor’s Note: This is Part I in a new series by Sir Raymond J de Souza, KHS.]
The Lepanto Institute takes its name from the famous naval battle of Christians against Muslims, when the latter suffered an amazing, crushing defeat. The invocation of “Mary, Help of Christians”, that is contained in Our Lady’s Litany, was added by Pope Saint Pius V, to commemorate the victory of Lepanto. In those days, Catholic men were men, ready to fight and die for the Church and Christian civilization.
Catholic masculinity was known for the efforts of men to be providers, protectors, and defenders of the Church and Christendom. But in our days, masculinity is derided as “toxic” – even in some ‘Catholic’ circles – that it deserves to be promoted and exalted as it should. And it was epitomized in medieval chivalry, as in the battle of Lepanto.
Chivalry at its best was an army of men, who rushed upon the Infidels in a cavalcade of faith and heroism, standards floating to the winds of glory.
This happened at the times of the Crusades, in the time when there was faith on earth, times when people would follow the counsel of Christ when he said, “Now he who does not have a sword, let him sell his mantle, and buy one.” (Luke 22:46). Those were times when there were white shields because there were crusaders. This happened in the centuries of faith and of glory, in the centuries of chivalry.
What was chivalry? Who was the knight?
Chivalry was the Christian form of the military condition, and the knight was the Christian soldier in his fullness. Much more than an institution, chivalry was the ideal of military life. It was by means of chivalry that the Church transformed barbarians into saints.
Despite the defects that are known to us, medieval chivalry gave to the Church a collection of saints, men and women, like no other social class has ever given, precisely because they were a true social elite. Holiness was multiplied in them by heroism, the heroism of their profession, by the consecration of the magnificent energies they had. It suffices to evoke the saints, kings and queens, since the twelfth century; there have never been so many saints among heads of states.
Moreover, the missionary vocation of so many young Europeans, who left for the foreign missions going to pagan lands, epitomized by St. Francis Xavier, derived directly their mission, their enthusiasm, from the spirit of chivalry.
Today the missionary spirit to convert pagans to Jesus Christ and to encourage Christians to a higher sanctity is belittled, even by people in the Church hierarchy.
But true Catholic men can understand the value of the institution of chivalry when they consider St. Louis, King of France; St. Ferdinand, King of Castile; St. Joan of Arc in France; they were some of the saints that were generated by the Church through chivalry, by means of chivalry, and because of this, chivalry was admired, even by infidels.
So, the knights were the vassals of God and soldiers of the Faith. For them, Our Lady was their Dame, the lady who they had to serve as the vassal served the lady of his castle. This relationship with God and Our Lady and the knights was so alive, the way whereby they referred to God was so real that it sometimes caused confusion.
For example, when St. Joan of Arc presented herself to the captain Robert de Baudricourt, asking him to give her soldiers to help save France, she left him confused when she said to him, “France does not belong to the sire of England, nor to the sire of France, but to my Sire.” The captain was amazed because there were already two kings disputing the throne of France, and now she proposes a potential third one. He asked: “Who is your sire?” and she replied, with that candor of innocence, “Mon Sire est Dieu. – My King is God.”
St. Teresa of Avila referred to Our Lord Jesus Christ as “Your Majesty”. Why? Because for her He was her living King.
The code of chivalry has never been written; historians have deduced it by examining the lives of the knights. It consisted of Ten Commandments that every knight had to respect to be worthy of his title.
A knighthood ceremonial prayer read like this:
“Most Holy Lord, Father Almighty, Thou who didst permit the use of the sword on earth to combat the perfidy of the evil ones and to defend justice, and want to establish the Order of Chivalry for the protection of the people, permit that Thy servant here present may dispose his heart to do good and never make use of this sword or another to injure anyone unjustly, but he may use it always to defend justice and right.”
The First Commandment of Chivalry – Thou shalt believe all that the Church teaches and shalt obey all Her Commandments.
The first two parts of the Catechism – believe what the Church believes and do what She commands were encapsulated in the very first commandment of chivalry.
So, to be a knight, one must be Catholic, and a Catholic in good standing.
When Saint Louis IX was a prisoner of Octai, a Muslim, in Africa, Octai placed the tip of his sabre against the king’s chest and threatened, “Make me a knight, or you are dead!” And St. Louis said, “Make yourself a Christian, and I shall make you a knight.” Octai, after hesitating for a moment, lowered the sabre and left the place. Such was the fidelity of the knight – the king – to the teachings of the Church!
At Mass, when the Gospel was being read, all knights drew their swords and raised them up, indicating they were ready to fight to defend the message that was being read.
When St. Louis went to the crusade, troops sang the Veni Creator Spiritus as they departed to the Holy Land, and St. Joan of Arc’s motto went into history: “Les soldats combattront, et Dieu donnera la victoire” – The soldiers will combat, but God will grant the victory.”
The knights exalted during Holy Mass as they repeated the choirs of the heavenly militias: “Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus exercituum!” “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Armies!”, because they had faith.
In the First Crusade, when the Christians conquered Jerusalem, and many crusaders gave themselves to secure treasures for themselves, the leader, Godfrey of Bouillon, the Duke of Lorraine, removed his sandals and went to find his treasure: the Cross of Jesus in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. “I do not wish to be crowned with gold where Christ was crowned with thorns.” He only accepted the title of baron, which is the lowest of nobility, and Defender of the Holy Sepulchre. Such was the faith of the true knights, vassals of God. Godfrey of Bouillon was so strong that when the Muslims asked him if he could cut a man in half, he said, “Yes.” And to show it to them, he cut off the head of a camel with one single blow. The Muslims said that it was due to his enchanted sword. He asked for one of their scimitars and cut off the head of another camel. So, in admiration, they asked him, “How could he have such incredible physical strength?” And the great crusader explained that if he had great strength, it was because he had never stained his hands with impurity. After his death, he was buried under the floor of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
The poet Tennyson encapsulated the ideal of masculine purity in his poem ‘Sir Galahad’. One of its stanzas read:
“My good blade carves the helmets of men,
My tough lance thrusts sure,
My strength is as the strength of ten,
Because my heart is pure.”
Today, the Orders of Chivalry no longer follow the original commandments. But Catholic men can practice them on their own, in fidelity of authentic Catholic masculinity. How can faithful Catholic men fulfil the first commandment of chivalry? By learning, loving and serving the Holy Catholic Church. Her mind is expressed in the Catechism and defended by apologetics; keeping all of her commandments is a necessary consequence.
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