An early example of the miles christianus allegory in a manuscript of the Summa Vitiorum by William Peraldus, mid 13th century. The knight is equipped with a detailed Armour of God, including an early depiction of the Shield of the Trinity, and he is crowned by an angel holding the gloss non coronabuntur nisi qui legitime certaverint "none will be crowned but those who truly struggle" and in the other hand a list of the seven beatitudes, matched with the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit and the seven heavenly virtues which in turn are set against the seven cardinal vices.The Christi milites to the left of the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb in the Ghent Altarpiece (c. 1430)
By the 5th century, the Church had started to develop doctrines that allowed for Christian participation in battle, though this was limited by a requirement that the fighting must be undertaken to convert infidels or spread the glory of Christ. Christians were not to fight for conquest or personal glory.[4]
The metaphor has its origins in early Christianity of the Roman Empire, and gave rise to the contrasting term paganus (hitherto used in the sense of "civilian," "one lacking discipline") for its opposite, i.e. one who was not a soldier of Christ.[6]
Chivalry as the idealized image of knighthood was a common moral allegory in early Christian literature.[4] During the Saxon Wars, Charlemagne's Christian knights attended Mass, surrounded by relics, before battles.[4]
Fragments from 15th c. Polish chronicler Jan Długosz describe the sanctification of weapons and a concept of knighthood that was grounded in religion.[4] It became a theme in art during the High Middle Ages, with depictions of a knight with his various pieces of equipment identified with various virtues. This parallels the development of the understanding in medieval Christendom of the armed nobility as defenders of the faith, first emphasized by Gregory VII in the context of the Investiture controversy and later made even more explicit with the actual military expeditions of the crusades. Depictions of the miles christianus with the emblematic Armour of God however remained very rare in the medieval period and only became prominent after the Protestant Reformation.[7]
^Job 7:1 (Vulgate): Militia est vita hominis super terram...
^Brian A. Catlos, "Militia Christi", Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages (Oxford, 2010), defines militia Christi as the "idea of service to the church, with military connotations derived from crusading ideology and Bernard of Clairvaux's writings."
^ abcdeIwanczak, Wojciech (2012). "Miles Christi: the medieval ideal of knighthood". Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association. 8 (Journal Article): 77–. ISSN 1449-9320.
^Kostick, Conor (2008). The Social Structure of the First Crusade. Leiden, Netherlands: Koninklijnke Brill NV. p. 20. ISBN978-9004166653.
^Ernest Weekley, Etymological Dictionary of English, s.v. "pagan".
^"depictions of the miles christianus in emblematic armour are extremely rare before the Reformation" (Evans p. 14)
^"6 'Soldiers of Christ' arrested for the abuse and murder of 'malnourished' South Korean woman".
Michael Evans, "An Illustrated Fragment of Peraldus's Summa of Vice: Harleian MS 3244", Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, vol. 45 (1982), pp. 14–68.
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Flemish Miles Christianus, 1586-1635 (British Museum)
December 15, 2023
miles, christianus, miles, christi, redirects, here, other, uses, miles, christi, disambiguation, militia, christi, redirects, here, rock, band, militia, christi, band, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, art. Miles Christi redirects here For other uses see Miles Christi disambiguation Militia Christi redirects here For the rock band see Militia Christi band This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Miles Christianus news newspapers books scholar JSTOR May 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message The miles Christianus Christian soldier or miles Christi soldier of Christ is a Christian allegory based on New Testament military metaphors especially the Armor of God metaphor of military equipment standing for Christian virtues 1 and on certain passages of the Old Testament from the Latin Vulgate 2 The plural of Latin miles soldier is milites or the collective militia 3 An early example of the miles christianus allegory in a manuscript of the Summa Vitiorum by William Peraldus mid 13th century The knight is equipped with a detailed Armour of God including an early depiction of the Shield of the Trinity and he is crowned by an angel holding the gloss non coronabuntur nisi qui legitime certaverint none will be crowned but those who truly struggle and in the other hand a list of the seven beatitudes matched with the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit and the seven heavenly virtues which in turn are set against the seven cardinal vices The Christi milites to the left of the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb in the Ghent Altarpiece c 1430 By the 5th century the Church had started to develop doctrines that allowed for Christian participation in battle though this was limited by a requirement that the fighting must be undertaken to convert infidels or spread the glory of Christ Christians were not to fight for conquest or personal glory 4 Contents 1 Overview 2 See also 3 References 4 External linksOverview editThe concepts of miles Christi and militia Christi can be traced back to the first century AD 4 The phrase miles Christi derived from a letter from Paul the Apostle and much employed by Pope Gregory VII also appeared in the Gesta Francorum in reference to the young Prince Tancred Bohemond Godfrey and Count Raymond of Toulouse 5 each of whom were Christian leaders in the First Crusade The metaphor has its origins in early Christianity of the Roman Empire and gave rise to the contrasting term paganus hitherto used in the sense of civilian one lacking discipline for its opposite i e one who was not a soldier of Christ 6 Chivalry as the idealized image of knighthood was a common moral allegory in early Christian literature 4 During the Saxon Wars Charlemagne s Christian knights attended Mass surrounded by relics before battles 4 Fragments from 15th c Polish chronicler Jan Dlugosz describe the sanctification of weapons and a concept of knighthood that was grounded in religion 4 It became a theme in art during the High Middle Ages with depictions of a knight with his various pieces of equipment identified with various virtues This parallels the development of the understanding in medieval Christendom of the armed nobility as defenders of the faith first emphasized by Gregory VII in the context of the Investiture controversy and later made even more explicit with the actual military expeditions of the crusades Depictions of the miles christianus with the emblematic Armour of God however remained very rare in the medieval period and only became prominent after the Protestant Reformation 7 In the early modern period the understanding of the term again became more metaphorical but it survives in various Christian orders or confessions it is especially pronounced among the Jesuits and in the Salvation Army and it is the central theme of the 18th century hymn Soldiers of Christ Arise and the 19th century hymn Onward Christian Soldiers There is a Korean American religious group called the Soldiers of Christ which became the center of a 2023 murder case 8 See also editAthleta Christi Militia Dei Military order society Military saint Mujahideen Regimini militantis Ecclesiae Spiritual warfare Christianity References edit Ephesians 6 14 17 Job 7 1 Vulgate Militia est vita hominis super terram Brian A Catlos Militia Christi Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages Oxford 2010 defines militia Christi as the idea of service to the church with military connotations derived from crusading ideology and Bernard of Clairvaux s writings a b c d e Iwanczak Wojciech 2012 Miles Christi the medieval ideal of knighthood Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association 8 Journal Article 77 ISSN 1449 9320 Kostick Conor 2008 The Social Structure of the First Crusade Leiden Netherlands Koninklijnke Brill NV p 20 ISBN 978 9004166653 Ernest Weekley Etymological Dictionary of English s v pagan depictions of the miles christianus in emblematic armour are extremely rare before the Reformation Evans p 14 6 Soldiers of Christ arrested for the abuse and murder of malnourished South Korean woman Michael Evans An Illustrated Fragment of Peraldus s Summa of Vice Harleian MS 3244 Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes vol 45 1982 pp 14 68 External links editFlemish Miles Christianus 1586 1635 British Museum Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Miles Christianus amp oldid 1185042460, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
