Whims of Lady Fortune or Workings of God:
The Response of Boethius to the Plight of Roland
Audra Burke
Dr. George Nicholas and Dr. Susan Traffas
Great Books: The Medieval World
September 24, 2015
Effectively addressing the central issues found in The Song of Roland, such as the seeming cruelty of fortune and whether any good can come from war, requires seeking answers and points of comparison from major philosophy of the age. By placing the principles of Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy and the motivations and actions of Roland in The Song of Roland into conversation, it is possible to extrapolate the applicability of principles within Boethius to Roland’s actions, and to the role of Fortune in the battle and its aftereffects.
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While Roland realizes that he will most certainly die, he continues to encourage his men and fight until his life and the battle are nearly over. The epitaphs most utilized to describe him are courageous and “brave heart”, and with this in mind, he would be in agreement with Boethius that evil is not to be feared, for it will ultimately be conquered by good (The Song of Roland, Verse 174, 141). Roland’s flaw, however, comes in his pride, which can be related to the pursuit of fame in the ideas of Boethius, as he proclaims to Oliver regarding his refusal to sound the call for aid, “I’d rather die than thus be put to shame; / If the King loves us it’s for our valor’s sake.” (The Song of Roland, Verse 86, 94). In this regard, Roland might disagree with Boethius, for in the mindset of war he may have viewed the pursuit of glory for himself and his lord as being equal to the happiness that Boethius prizes. This idea can be reconciled with the ideas of Boethius in light of his situation as a knight, as for Roland, the highest good is service to his lord, and for him, service to Charlemagne is, by extension, service to God. In addition the mentioning of mythic heroes such as Odysseus and Hercules by Boethius in Verse VII of Book IV, and their eternal rewards …show more content…
In understanding God as the greatest good, and of all things working towards good, it would be easier for Roland to find hope to carry on in battle. In addition, the punishment of Ganelon’s treason would also be assured in a larger sense, as evil is its own punishment. Finally, the understanding of all Fortune as working towards the good would enable Roland to see the good that could later be brought out of the tragedy of the rear guard. As a whole, the agreement of the philosophy of Boethius’ with the actions of Roland are clear, and the work is applicable in its arguments to the code of knighthood as well as on an individual
Ludwig Tieck’s novella, Eckbert the Fair, presents a certain ambiguity of moral values. The story meets a tragic ending where the main couple of the fairytale, Eckbert and Bertha, die as punishment for their crimes of betrayal, theft, and murder. However, an uneasy feeling of injustice remains about the punishment despite the clarity of their guilt. The tale itself strongly resembles a tragic play defined by Aristotle, but the narrative deviates from the structure of standard tragedy. In effect, the unique set-up of the narrative makes the evil deeds seem ultimately inevitable. The structure of the novella helps justifying the crimes, causing the distinction between the good and the bad to become unclear. In this paper, I will discuss this unique structure of the tale to analyze how this uneasy feeling about the ending emerges.
Unfortunately, the role of ignorance and jealousy combining to breed fear and hatred is a recurring theme in history ultimately exhibiting itself in the form of prejudice. As demonstrated through the altering of historical events in The Song of Roland, the conflict between the Christian and Islamic religions takes precedence over the more narrow scope of any specific battle and is shaped, at least in part by the blind perception of a prejudice born of the ignorance and envy Christian Europe had for representatives of the non-Christian world. To fully see this prejudice and its effect on the participants, it is necessary to recognize the circumstances of the "real" battle along with the altering characters and settings attributed to its later writing, understand the character and beliefs of the participants, and carefully examine the text itself to see how prejudice comes into play.
The question has been raised as to whether Oedipus was a victim of fate or of his own actions. This essay will show that Oedipus was a victim of fate, but he was no puppet because he freely and actively sought his doom, although he was warned many times of the inevitable repercussions of his actions.
Many forms of chivalrous code can be found today, from The Cowboy’s Code to the Rules of Courtly Love. These codes are stated with the hope that people will try and follow them to some degree; yet only the perfect could adhere to them all. Considering the fact that such perfection is impossible, the authors merely set out a guideline for honorable behavior. In the context of medieval times, a knight was expected to have faith in his beliefs; for faith was considered to give hope against the despair that human failings create.
Plato’s Republic focuses on one particular question: is it better to be just or unjust? Thrasymachus introduces this question in book I by suggesting that justice is established as an advantage to the stronger, who may act unjustly, so that the weak will “act justly” by serving in their interests. Therefore, he claims that justice is “stronger, freer, and more masterly than justice” (Plato, Republic 344c). Plato begins to argue that injustice is never more profitable to a person than justice and Thrasymachus withdraws from the argument, granting Plato’s response. Glaucon, however, is not satisfied and proposes a challenge to Plato to prove that justice is intrinsically valuable and that living a just life is always superior. This paper will explain Glaucon’s challenge to Plato regarding the value of justice, followed by Plato’s response in which he argues that his theory of justice, explained by three parts of the soul, proves the intrinsic value of justice and that a just life is preeminent. Finally, it will be shown that Plato’s response succeeds in answering Glaucon’s challenge.
The epic poem, “The Lay of the Nibelungs” (1200’s), set to practice the major pillars in the code of chivalry that the Duke of Burgundy in the 14th century eventually condensed and ascribed to the Burgundian Knights: Faith, Charity, Justice, Sagacity, Prudence, Temperance, Resolution, Truth, Liberality, Diligence, Hope, and Valor. Though values bear merit, “The Lay of the Nibelungs” teaches that true worth and longevity comes from assessing the situation and applying intellect to the code, from submitting to God, and from not cheating the system (the laws and cultural norms of the time that be).
Roland is found to have the same problem; by reading both stories it becomes apparent that taking on incredibly awful odds was apparently a knightly characteristic, since knights wanted to be remembered for terrific deeds and become songs and tales. Neither of the two knights appear to be much of a people person, antagonizing and fighting with people who were better off not knowing them or should have befriended them. For example, Gawain was involved in an affair, receiving a specific number of kisses each night from the Green Knight's wife while he was staying several knights in their castle while waiting to meet up with the Green Knight as he had agreed to the previous New Year's Eve. Roland angered Ganelon and paid for it with his life,
In “ The Song of Roland”, Roland is seen to be the hero. He represents the Code of Chivalry as discussed in class. He shows bravery and loyalty to the emperor, for example, he tells Oliver, “Here must we stand to serve the King’s side… Men for their lords great hardships abide.” This depicts Roland as a brave warrior. He is also described as “fierce” which shows his courage. Roland does show a sense of weakness, however. He believes he is superior to his comrades which makes him overconfident. With this sense of “confidence” he often forgets to use caution, especially with those around him. Another weakness Roland has is his inability to ask for help. This can be seen when Roland leads the rear guard at Roncesvalles. When they become
The passion of love, treachery of betrayal and triumph of justice. It is not often today that we find three such vastly different characteristics woven into a tale so vividly. The epic Le Morte Darthur not only possesses these three characteristics, but delves deeply into the meaning and soul of them, most decidedly in the story of Sir Pelleas and Lady Ettard. The saga of these two tragic individuals clearly demonstrates the classic characteristics of a knight as well as the concept of morality in Arthurian times.
Prose 1. Boethius says that entertainment is not a medicine for sorrow. Is he right or wrong? Note also the startling reversal from our typical mindset, influenced by romantic-era thinking in his c...
In both Antigone and The Republic, elements of death, tyranny, morality, and societal roles are incorporated into each work’s definition of justice. Both works address the notions of justice in a societal form, and an individual form. However, these definitions of justice differ with some elements, they are closely tied with others.
The plot of an underdog overtaking the ruler is a common theme seen across every type of literature and real life. For example, david vs goliath is a culture reference almost everyone has heard of, and everyone has witnessed or heard of an underdog sports team going up against the big bad champs. This theme is further examined via the marxist lens. These plights are viewed as negative and positive in this specific lens. For the situation to be positive, the underdog has to achieve a higher rank from low class or somehow best the higher ranked opposition, and vice versa for a negative outlook. In The Canterbury Tales, the positive side of the Marxist “lens” is applied by the merchant's wife versus the merchant, the little boy versus the Jewish
According to Boethius, the consequences of good and evil is the reward and punishment for our actions. Both the good and evil people try to obtain happiness in their own different way. In the text, it stated that “Therefore this is the reward of the good, which no time can wear out, no power can lessen, no wickedness can darken; they become divine. In this case, then, no wise man can doubt of the inevitable punishment of the wicked as well” (Boethius 159). The good people are rewarded with true happiness in their life and that nothing can take that away from them, not even evil people can taint their happiness. Of course, the evil people will also eventually receive their punishment.
Before the battle began Roland learned of Ganelon’s plan yet he showed his mother’s husband mercy and loyalty. When the conspiracy was initially exposed Roland spoke to Ganelon, “Lord Stepfather, I have to cherish you!” (1002) Roland knew at that point that he was going to die because of his stepfathers actions, but he choose not to kill him out of revenge and he expressed his desire to spend more time with his stepfather before he perished. The Count’s devotion to Ganelon remained even when his companion Oliver insulted him by saying, “… the uproar I see coming! All their hauberks, all blazing, helmets like flames!... Ganelon knew, that criminal, that traitor …” (1004) Roland responded by saying, “He is my stepfather---my stepfather. I won’t have you speak one word against him.”
Sophocles is perhaps one of the greatest tragedians ever. Sophocles said that a man should never consider himself fortunate unless he can look back on his life and remember that life without pain. For Oedipus Rex, looking back is impossible to do without pain. This pain stems from his prideful life. Oedipus is aware that he alone is responsible for his actions. Oedipus freely chooses to pursue and accept his own life's destruction. Even though fate victimizes Oedipus, he is a tragic figure since his own heroic qualities, his loyalty to Thebes, and his fidelity to the truth ruin him.