Christus docet hic reges nouum et deuotum modum et formam creandi milites cuiusdam noue milicie ad impugnacionem infidelium et defensionem sancte fidei et ecclesie.
The Order of the Laity
Christ recalls the ancient, well-ordered life of the laity and the emergence of the defender of the faith.
Christ spoke to the bride, among other things saying: "Pay attention, bride, and know that the status of the laity was well-ordered in another, ancient time." For some of them cultivated the land and worked the fields with vigor. Others sailed the seas and carried goods to other regions, so that the fertility of one land might relieve the poverty of another. Still others applied themselves to manual labor and various crafts. Among them were certain defenders of the faith and of my Church, now known as courtiers or men-at-arms, who took up arms to defend the holy Church and the faith, and to overthrow its enemies.1 Among these courtiers appeared a certain good man, a friend of mine, who thought to himself: "I don't till the earth like a farmer," he said, "I don't sweat in the waves of the sea like a merchant, and I don't labor with my hands like a skilled craftsman."
The Vow of the Soldier
A humble man seeks to serve God through a formal oath of obedience and defense of the Church, sealed by the Eucharist.
So, what am I to do, or by what works can I appease my God? But I am not strong enough for the work of the Church; my body is weak and soft when it comes to enduring wounds, my hands are too slack to strike at enemies, and my mind is too easily bored to contemplate heavenly things. What, then, must I do? I certainly know what I'll do. I will rise up and bind myself with a firm oath under a temporal prince, that I will defend the faith of the holy Church with my strength and my blood. That friend of mine approached the prince or king and said, "Lord, I am one of the defenders of the Church." But my body is too soft to endure wounds, my hand is too weak to strike, and my mind is too unstable to focus on good things or to work. I prefer my own will, and my love of comfort won't let me stand firmly for the house of God. Therefore, I bind myself with a public oath under the obedience of holy Church and of you, O prince, that I will defend her all the days of my life, so that if my mind and will should happen to grow lukewarm toward the struggle, I may be held by my oath and compelled to labor. The prince answered him, "I'll go with you to the house of the Lord, and I'll be a witness to your oath and your promise." When both had come to my altar, my friend knelt down before it and said: I'm far too weak in my flesh to endure wounds, my own will is far too dear to me, and my hand is lukewarm when it comes to striking. Therefore, I promise obedience here and now to God and to you, as my head. I bind myself firmly by oath to defend the holy Church against its enemies, to comfort the friends of God, to do good to widows, orphans, and the faithful of God, and never to act in any way contrary to the Church of God and its faith. Furthermore, I submit myself to your correction if I happen to go astray, so that, bound by obedience, I’ll be all the more careful to avoid sin and my own will, and may pursue the will of God and your own more fervently and easily. I know it would be far more damnable and contemptible for me than for others if, having violated my obedience, I were to presume to act against your commands. Once this profession was made at my altar, the prince, in his wisdom, chose for himself a habit distinct from those of other secular people as a sign that he had renounced his own will, and so that he might know he had a superior and was bound to obey him. The prince also placed a sword in his hand, saying, "With this sword you'll crush and destroy the enemies of God." He also placed a shield on his arm, saying: Use this shield to defend yourself against the arrows of your enemies, and patiently endure whatever is inflicted on you, so that the shield breaks before you ever retreat. My friend, with my cleric present and listening, firmly promised to keep all these things. Once the promise was made, the cleric gave him my Body for strength and fortitude, so that my friend, united to me through my Body, might never be separated from me.
The True Knight and the False
Christ contrasts the noble service of true knights with the pride and corruption of those who have abandoned their sacred duty.
My friend George was like that, and so were many others. Those are the kind of people who should be knights—those who would hold the name for the sake of the dignity, the habit for the sake of the work, and the defense of the holy faith. Listen now, my bride, to what my enemies are doing against the things my friends once did. For the soldiers who carried my armor were prepared to give their lives for justice and to shed their blood for the sake of the holy faith, by promoting the needy to justice and by suppressing and humbling the wicked. But now, listen to how they have turned away. In fact, they would rather die in battle for the sake of pride, greed, and envy, following the devil's suggestions, than live by my commands to gain eternal joy. Therefore, any soldiers who die in that state of mind will be paid their wages by the judgment of divine justice—namely, their souls joined forever to the devil. But those who serve me are destined to receive their reward with the heavenly host forever. I, Jesus Christ, true God and man, one with the Father and the Holy Spirit, have spoken these words; I am God forever.
Read the original Latin
Christus loquebatur ad sponsam inter alia dicens: Attende, sponsa, et scias, quod status laycorum bene erat alio tempore antiquo dispositus. Nam quidam eorum excolebant terram et labori agrorum viriliter instabant.
Alii velificabant nauibus et mercimonia ad alias regiones deferebant, vt vnius regionis fertilitas alterius subleuaret inopiam. Alii instabant operi manuum et diuersarum arcium.
Inter istos erant quidam defensores fidei et ecclesie mee, qui nunc dicuntur curiales seu armigeri, qui assumpserunt sibi arma ad vlcionem ecclesie sancte et fidei et expugnacionem inimicorum eius.
In istis curialibus apparuit quidam bonus homo et amicus meus, qui cogitabat apud se sic: Ego, inquit, non excolo terram vt agricultor, non desudo in fluctibus maris vt mercator et non insisto operi manuum vt operator egregius.
Quid ergo faciam aut quibus operibus placabo deum meum? Sed nec virilis sum in labore ecclesie, corpus meum debile est et molle ad paciendum vulnera, manus remissa ad feriendum inimicos, mens fastidiosa ad cogitanda celestia.
Quid ergo faciendum est michi? Certe scio, quid faciam. Surgam ergo et obligabo me cum iuramento stabili sub temporali principe, quod defensurus sum viribus et sanguine meo fidem sancte ecclesie.
Veniens autem ille amicus meus ad principem seu regem ait: Domine, ego sum de defensoribus ecclesie. Corpus meum nimis molle est ad paciendum vulnera, manus remissa ad feriendum, mens instabilis ad cogitandum bona et laborandum, voluntas michi placet propria, requies non sinit me fortiter pro domo dei stare.
Ideo constringo me cum iuramento publico sub obediencia sancte ecclesie et tua, o princeps, quod eam defensurus sim omnibus diebus vite mee, vt si forte tepida mens et voluntas fuerit ad certandum, propter iuramentum teneor et compelli possim ad laborandum.
Cui respondit princeps: Vadam tecum ad domum domini et ero testis iuramenti tui et promissionis tue. Venientes autem ambo ad altare meum amicus meus flexo genu ante altare meum dixit:
Ego nimis infirmus sum in carne mea ad paciendum vulnera, voluntas propria nimis est michi cara, manus tepida ad feriendum.
Ideo in presenti promitto obedienciam deo et tibi, qui caput es, cum iuramento meo firmiter astringens me sanctam ecclesiam contra inimicos eius defensurum, amicos dei confortaturum, viduis et orphanis et fidelibus dei benefacturum, contra ecclesiam dei et fidem eius numquam aliquod contrarium acturum.
Et insuper obligo me correccioni tue, si errare me contingat, ad hoc vt obligatus ad obedienciam tanto magis cauere possim peccata et voluntatem propriam et tanto feruencius et facilius insistere volunati dei et tue sciamque tanto michi esse damnabilius ceteris et contemptibilius, si violata obediencia mandatis tuis contraire presumpsero.
Facta autem ista professione ad altare meum princeps sapienter considerans disposuit sibi habitum ab aliis secularibus distinctum in signum abdicacionis proprie voluntatis et vt sciret se superiorem habere et debere ei obtemperare.
Dedit eciam princeps in manu eius gladium dicens: Hoc gladio inimicos dei comminues et interficies. Dedit et in brachium eius clipeum dicens:
Hoc clipeo defendas te contra inimicorum iacula et pacienter tolera illata, vt prius crepat clipeus quam fugias.
Iste vero amicus meus hec omnia audiente clerico meo qui presens erat firmiter seruaturum se promisit. Qui clericus facta promissione dedit ei corpus meum in robur et fortitudinem, vt amicus meus per corpus meum michi vnitus numquam a me separaretur.
Talis fuit amicus meus Georgius et plures alii. Tales et deberent esse milites, qui nomen deberent habere propter dignitatem, habitum propter operacionem et defensionem fidei sancte.
Audi nunc, sponsa, quid inimici mei faciunt contra ea que amici mei prius fecerunt. Milites quippe, qui mea portabant arma, erant parati dare vitam pro iusticia et effundere sanguinem suum propter fidem sanctam, indigentes promouendo ad iusticiam malosque deprimere et humiliare.
Sed nunc audi, quomodo auersi sunt. Placet quippe nunc eis magis mori in bello pro superbia et cupiditate et inuidia iuxta diabolicas suggestiones quam secundum mandata mea viuere ad obtinendum gaudium sempiternum.
Ergo omnes milites, qui in tali voluntate moriuntur, dabitur eis stipendium a iudicio diuine iusticie, scilicet animabus eorum in eterna dyaboli coniunccione. Hii vero, qui michi seruiunt, tenentur habere stipendium cum celesti exercitu sine fine.
Hec verba ego iesus christus locutus sum, verus deus et homo, vnus cum patre et spiritu sancto semper deus.
Notes
- 1 ↩The Latin 'vlcionem' (ultionem) literally means 'vengeance' or 'retribution', but in the context of a 'new militia' defending the Church, 'defense' or 'vindication' is the intended sense; 'expugnacionem' is rendered as 'overthrow' to capture the active military sense of the term.
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