Reblog: 12 Days of Anime Christmas, Day 6: The Irresponsible Captain Taylor and Reverence for the Sacred

Here’s my last post on Beneath the Tangles.  I might very well be the only writer to inveigh against something which annoyed them in an anime Christmas episode, but here it is:

12 Days of Anime Christmas, Day 6: The Irresponsible Captain Taylor and Reverence for the Sacred

Some nice fellow did me the honor of translating this post into Spanish.  I think this counts as the first time my work has been translated, for which I am very grateful.  Muchas gracias!

12 días de Navidad Anime, día 6: El ‘Irresponsable capitán Tylor’ y la reverencia por lo sagrado

On my Devotion to Padre Pio

Recently, I received a couple of questions from Luminas, a great follower of this blog, through the “Ask Medieval” page.  The first will be answered in this post and the second in a later one.  After that, I have high hopes of answering my next dear reader and hope for many more questions to follow!

This question concerns why I am so devoted to Padre Pio over other saints who are similar in many ways.  First, let me start by describing Catholic worship and devotion for those who might not be so familiar with it.  It consists of three levels denoted by their Greek names: latria, hyperdulia, and dulia.  Latria refers to worship giving to God alone as Author of the Universe, Savior of the Human Race, and Source of All Goodness, Truth, and Beauty.  Hyperdulia refers specifically to the reverence paid to the Blessed Virgin Mary for being the Mother of God, the human being whose cooperation was most essential for humanity’s salvation, and the most graced human being in all of history.  Dulia refers to the reverence paid to the saints and angels for being devout servants of God and dear friends of God deserving of imitation.  Latria is absolutely necessary for salvation, hyperdulia morally necessary, and dulia necessary to practice when obligated by one’s diocese (as in a saint’s feast day being declared a holy day of obligation) but mostly subject to personal taste.  Having said that, many spiritual authors strongly recommend devotion to St. Michael, St. Joseph, and the holy angels as a group.  Be sure to thank your guardian angel for putting up with you so patiently since your days in the cradle!

Curiously Dead Cat Blog

I just discovered the blog of a contributor to Beneath the Tangles named Dr. Steve.  He wrote to me about his new blog, and I recall being very impressed with his article, “What Can a Succubus Teach us about Chastity?”  (There’s an impressive eye-catching title!)  He’s also written “Platitudes and Power in Juni Taisen: Zodiac War” and “Communion and the Food of the Gods in Restaurant to Another World” for Beneath the Tangles.  TWWK encouraged him to make his own blog, and Curiously Dead Cat resulted from this advice.

His favorite show is Gate, by the way.

With such interesting posts behind him, I decided to check out his new blog.  Curiously Dead Cat has only been around since November 29th, but it has a nice assortment of articles out by now.  My eye was particularly drawn to his posts on Shirayuki Hime (I really need to watch that show) and Recovery of an MMO Junkie, which is my favorite show of the current season–what a shame that it only airs for ten episodes!  I rather enjoyed Dr. Steve’s (who now uses the handle NegativePrimes) post on the opening song of the latter anime and how it displays the idea of the characters having their identities fragmented between real life and the internet world.

At any rate, be sure to check out his blog.  You’ll be glad that you did!

Knighthood in the Modern Age

My first question received under the “Ask Medieval” feature came from Gaharet and concerns how knighthood can be carried into the modern age.  To paraphrase, what are the essential features of knighthood and how might one be a modern knight?  The first quality of a knight is to be able to fight.  All other qualities of a knight surround the central fact of the knight being a warrior.  A knight may hesitate to strike a blow, but will not hit weakly when his hand is forced.  To that end in modern times, knowledge of how to shoot and martial arts are eminently desirable.  Next there comes keeping fit and healthy for action.  Thirdly, a knowledge of Historical European Martial Arts, though archaic, help in staying fit and better imagining what combat was like from a medieval knight’s perspective.

The central virtue of the knight is courage.  The word courage derives from the French word for heart.  The knight must take care to keep his heart pure lest the taint of sin lead him to use force wantonly.  To which end, the virtues of faith, charity, chastity, honesty, magnanimity, obedience, loyalty, and good cheer are necessary.  To perfect his character still more, the knight ought to take on the mantle of meekness, not vaunting his own achievements but giving the glory to God.  The knight par excellence is a Christian gentleman.

Reblog: The Real Place of Phos’s People in Fractured Humanity

Yesterday, a post I wrote for Beneath the Tangles was released on the site.  Therein, I wax philosophical on human nature and the place of the will, using an interesting myth given by the jellyfish-like character King in the anine Houseki no Kuni.  I hope that you enjoy it–or that you will at least enjoy my lengthy quote from St. Catherine of Siena’s famous dialogue with God.  Click on the link below!

The Real Place of Phos’s People in Fractured Humanity

Mid-Season Review: Anime Fall 2017

There comes a time in a blogger’s career when he must stuff a pipe, light it, and let nicotine act as his muse.  At least, that’s how I feel as I sit down to write this mid-season review.  Now, my list contains seven shows–the seventh being the formerly dropped Girls’ Last Tour.  (That’s a much easier title to remember than Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou.)  Not much happens plotwise in this show, but I think that I’ve discovered its thematic plot now that I’m four episodes in.  (Yes, I’ve not quite caught up; but, I want to get my thoughts down now before I start procrastinating.)  By the way, let me thank Gaheret for submitting a query through “Ask Medieval.”  I hope to post my reply to him soon–as soon as I write that article for Beneath the Tangles.

At any rate, let’s begin those reviews!

1) Girls’ Last Tour

Yes, it appears that I dropped this show too soon.  It does get more interesting after episode one, even if the episodes remain slow.  The fact that the characters are not boys (Does this not seem the perfect setting for a boys’ adventure tale?) does not bother me as much anymore.  More bothersome to me now is the heroines continually wearing those helmets in freezing weather.  People often marvel that knights kept their armor on in the frigid campaigns against the Baltic pagans and the arid crusades against the Saracens.  A helmet magnifies the cold in the same way as medieval armor!  In reality, out heroines would both have stowed their helmets away long ago.  Can’t we get a slice of realism with our moé?