Blog # 11 Virtues in Fairy Tales

 In the glorious medieval tale of The Song of Roland my heart jumped at the valiant speeches and actions of the brave Roland. He preferred death rather than safety to any notion of cowardice. When he found himself vastly outnumbered by the Heathens he did not fear. He smiled and cherished the opportunity to die for his beloved king. Or as he saith, “Verily for his liege a man ought to suffer pain and woe, and endure great heat and great cold , and should hold him ready to lose both hide and hair in his lord’s service. Now let each have a care that he strikes good blows and great, that no man may mis-say us in his songs”. After reading this book I was greatly inspired by the virtues of these men. Bravery, fortitude, sacrifice were all rampant themes and every knight bore these qualities. Cowardice, hedonism, and selfishness were foreign and shamed upon. Men even commended their enemies for the bravery and fearlessness to make war with each other. Reading these character traits of these men made me wonder what in the world happened to men today. Now men are known for their beer bellies, nice lawns, and how well they can hit a ball in a hole with a fancy stick. Have our easy times created soft men?


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