Module III Response

            Medieval statues serve to offer insight into the role of the ruler by way of their features and their positioning on buildings and in towns/cities. Rulers were often depicted with crowns or other headgear to signify their superior position. Similarly, statues of rulers were positioned high atop buildings (specifically churches) or made visible in cities/towns. The high positioning of statues on churches, especially, demonstrated the divine right of rulers to rule. The juxtaposition of the ruler with the church was thus very relevant to and significant in medieval culture.

            My object of power, a head of a king, hails from the façade of St. Denis in France. It survives as a remnant of a statue that once stood high atop the church in the company of several other, similar statues. In its present state, this head is more symbolic of the growing unwillingness of the people to accept kings and queens of divine right. This head was, in fact, severed from its body during the French Revolution, epitomizing the message of the revolution: to restore at least some power to the people. Parallels to the sort of unpopular ruler which induced the French Revolution are visible in several of our readings from this class.

            Cat and Mouse tells the tale of a group of mice and a cat (symbolic of a people and their ruler). It is in the cat’s nature to eat mice and to practice cunning behavior. However, the mice hold out hope that the cat can and will change. After eating a mouse, the cat purports to repent his sins and focus on a more “holy” lifestyle, so to say. Despite this, however, the cat sticks to his nature and continues to deceive and kill the mice. In this way, the cat epitomizes a bad ruler. Consider dictators. Many come to power through promises of reform. Take Hitler or Castro, for example. These rulers rely on superficial promises to secure their rise to power but immediately revert to their underlying objective, whether it be promoting the superiority of a particular race or system of government. Similarly, many kings came to power during the Middle Ages by way of divine right, as they were members of royal lineages that essentially had claims to the throne indefinitely. Once in power, these rulers, unlike dictators, were not “bound” by the promises they made, as no promises were made in the first place. These bad rulers may have enacted small reforms here and there, but for the most part, they followed their own agenda, fueled by greed and desire for power. Essentially, Cat and Mouse teaches that despite certain qualifications or behavior, a ruler most always reverts to his nature or preconceived agenda. Just as the cat reverted to eating mice again despite “converting”/repenting, rulers reneged on their promises in favor of their underlying agendas, much to the chagrin of the people.

            From a slightly different perspective, Sekandar’s Conquest of Persia deals more with the intellectual and tactical superiority of rulers/leaders. Just as my object of power was displayed atop the church in a very visible position, this passage serves to clearly outline the qualities of a fit leader during the Middle Ages. Sekandar is described as a brilliant strategist and conqueror. He takes the place of his own envoy to deceive the Persians and sneak behind their lines. However, most interestingly, he does not wish to fight them. He only wishes to travel through their lands to explore the rest of the world. Sekandar only chooses to fight when others do not cooperate. In this way, Sekandar practices a sort of conditional pacifism. He wishes to travel the world and expand Greek influence peacefully but does not hesitate to fight those opposed. Thus, Sekandar can be likened to medieval rulers and my object of power by way of his just rule. It can be argued that statues of rulers on churches could also symbolize the peaceful nature of rulers, in addition to the divine right. The high position of statues on churches also parallels the high intellect/ability of rulers, as is evidenced by Sekandar’s tactics in the passage. Thus, the Middle Ages was populated by a mix of good and bad rulers, among whom similar characteristics persisted.

            The head of the French king thus speaks to the role of the ruler during the Middle Ages in a multifaceted way. The close connection of the ruler and the church helps to explain the shortcomings of the divine right, as well as the popular perception of leaders as superior beings, much like Sekandar was viewed. The fact that the head was eventually severed during the French Revolution relates retroactively to the triumph of the will of the people (consider the Magna Carta possibly). In this way, rulers were both praised and loathed by the people throughout the Middle Ages, all of which provided the necessary knowledge for future generations to learn from successes and failures and establish just rule/government.