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Discussion: Honor
Sir William:
I was giving this some thought...most if not all of us are familiar with or aware of the HBO series Rome, right? In Caesar's Comentarii de Bello Gallico, he mentions two soldiers by name, Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo, but not much else about them. The series took their particular viewpoints regarding how the world was unfolding around them and I got to thinking...Vorenus was portrayed as a stoic, by-the-books Roman 2nd centurion while Pullo was portrayed as akin to a pirate, fighting, drinking and women were his vices and he indulged them quite a bit...but what if they got it wrong, you know? What if there roles were switched or worse yet, they were some sort of vagabond-type soldiers who plundered indiscriminately and did all sorts of barbaric things that the Romans were notorious for against their enemies?
It is said that history is written by the victor; I have noticed in my research that English Kings, for instance, share a lot of the same attributes, if their individual descriptions are meant to be believed. Just food for thought; and due diligence is of minor value with regard to the actual truth because no one who lived then is alive now to tell about it.
Sir James A:
I was watching A Knight's Tale again today, and there was a scene that brought this thread to mind. In the first joust between Ulrich (William) and Coleville (Edward), after the first pass, Edward approaches William and says "Sir Ulrich, I am done. I have never not finished, and I wish to maintain my honor.". After that, they both stop jousting, while William could have easily won. He took the honorable path by showing his opponent mercy, though I'm a bit confused to call that honor or mercy...
Sir Patrick:
Had they been involved in actual combat, it would have been mercy. As they were using arms of courtsey, the only thing to lose (aside from arms, armour, and horse) would have been honor. Just my take on the scene.
Sir Edward:
I still see that scene as firmly being an act of honor. William could have beaten him, and would have, but chose to sacrifice a sure victory to allow Edward to leave the field with his dignity intact. I see that as very honorable.
Sir William:
Agreed; as he says later on in the film- you compete when you should retire, and that is knightly too. It was a knightly act, letting him retire w/his honor intact.
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