RULERS, WRITERS, REBELS, AND SAINTS

Our icons are a mixed bag of the good, the bad, and the downright ugly (at least in behavior). All are highly complex characters, and it is sometimes difficult to pigeonhole them. King Arthur, Robert the Bruce, Charlemagne, Chinggis Khan, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Richard III, and Vlad III Dracula were all rulers, but Robert the Bruce and, arguably, Richard III and Vlad Dracula could be viewed as rebels. Abelard and Heloise, Geoffrey Chaucer, Dante, Hildegard of Bingen, Maimonides, and Thomas More were all writers, but all might also be considered rebels against political, societal, and/or literary norms and conventions. William Wallace was a rebel (though one person’s insurgent and rebel is another person’s freedom fighter and patriot), as were Joan of Arc and Leif Eriksson the adventurer. Thomas Becket, Francis of Assisi, and Joan of Arc were rebels but also saints. Although the alliterative subtitle does not stretch that far, Richard III and Vlad Dracula, both rulers, became the archetypal rogues and ruffians of history and legend. The castle could be a symbol of pride and security, but it could also be a symbol of domination and oppression: the whitewashed walls and colorful heraldic banners versus the oubliette, dungeon, and torture chamber. The siege was a common event in medieval warfare, as rulers and armies sought to capture castles and other strong, fortified places that were common aspects of medieval life.

All of our human icons are remarkable characters whose lives, deeds, and legends have outlasted them. Even though they lived (or, in some cases, were thought to live) many centuries ago, all remain potent and viable in the present age.5 They deserve to be remembered, celebrated, and pondered as role models, good and bad, for modern times. An interviewee in the Times of India remarked in 2009 that “Today’s kids don’t actually know the relevance of a Che Guevara or even a Jim Morrison for that matter. T-shirts are sold in plenty emblazoned with these icons. But, how many of these teens know the real story? How many of them know why these icons are who they are?”6 The present work is an attempt to rectify that situation for our “Icons of the Middle Ages.”