
The or is a Christian
allegory
As a List of narrative techniques, literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a wikt:narrative, narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a meaning with moral or political signi ...
based on
New Testament military metaphors, especially the
Armor of God
The phrase "Armor of God" (, ) is derived from Ephesians 6:11: "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." (King James Version).Bible Gateway Passage Lookup: Armour of God, New International V ...
metaphor of military equipment standing for Christian virtues and on certain passages of the
Old Testament
The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...
from the
Latin Vulgate
The Vulgate () is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. It is largely the work of Saint Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels used by the Roman Church. Later, of his own initia ...
. The plural of
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
is or the collective .
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.
Overview
The concepts of and can be traced back to the first century AD.
[ The phrase , derived from a letter from ]Paul the Apostle
Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Apostles in the New Testament, Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the Ministry of Jesus, teachings of Jesus in the Christianity in the 1st century, first ...
and much employed by Pope Gregory VII
Pope Gregory VII (; 1015 – 25 May 1085), born Hildebrand of Sovana (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 April 1073 to his death in 1085. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church.
One of the great ...
, also appeared in the in reference to the young Prince Tancred, Bohemond, Godfrey and Count Raymond of Toulouse, each of whom were Christian leaders in the First Crusade
The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the Middle Ages. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Muslim conquest ...
.
The metaphor has its origins in early Christianity of the Roman Empire, and gave rise to the contrasting term (hitherto used in the sense of ) for its opposite, i.e. one who was not a soldier of Christ.
Chivalry
Chivalry, or the chivalric language, is an informal and varying code of conduct that developed in Europe between 1170 and 1220. It is associated with the medieval Christianity, Christian institution of knighthood, with knights being members of ...
as the idealized image of knighthood
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity.
The concept of a knighthood ...
was a common moral allegory in early Christian literature.[ During the ]Saxon Wars
The Saxon Wars were the campaigns and insurrections of the thirty-three years from 772, when Charlemagne first entered Saxony with the intent to conquer, to 804, when the last rebellion of tribesmen was defeated. In all, 18 campaigns were fou ...
, Charlemagne's Christian knights attended Mass, surrounded by relics, before battles.[
Fragments from 15th c. Polish chronicler ]Jan Długosz
Jan Długosz (; 1 December 1415 – 19 May 1480), also known in Latin as Johannes Longinus, was a Polish priest, chronicler, diplomat, soldier, and secretary to Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki of Kraków. He is considered Poland's first histo ...
describe the sanctification
Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...
of weapons and a concept of knighthood that was grounded in religion.[ It became a theme in ]art
Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...
during the High Middle Ages
The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history between and ; it was preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended according to historiographical convention ...
, with depictions of a knight
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity.
The concept of a knighthood ...
with his various pieces of equipment identified with various virtue
A virtue () is a trait of excellence, including traits that may be morality, moral, social, or intellectual. The cultivation and refinement of virtue is held to be the "good of humanity" and thus is Value (ethics), valued as an Telos, end purpos ...
s. This parallels the development of the understanding in medieval Christendom
The terms Christendom or Christian world commonly refer to the global Christian community, Christian states, Christian-majority countries or countries in which Christianity is dominant or prevails.SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christen ...
of the armed nobility as defenders of the faith, first emphasized by Gregory VII in the context of the Investiture controversy
The Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest (, , ) was a conflict between church and state in medieval Europe, the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops (investiture), abbots of monasteri ...
and later made even more explicit with the actual military expeditions of the crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...
.
Depictions of the with the emblematic Armour of God however remained very rare in the medieval period and only became prominent after the Protestant Reformation
The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...
.["depictions of the miles christianus in emblematic armour are extremely rare before the Reformation" (Evans p. 14)]
In the early modern period
The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...
, 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
The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
and in the Salvation Army
The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...
, and it is the central theme of the 18th-century hymn " Soldiers of Christ, Arise" and the 19th-century hymn "Onward, Christian Soldiers
"Onward, Christian Soldiers" is a 19th-century English hymn. The words were written by Sabine Baring-Gould in 1865, and the music was composed by Arthur Sullivan in 1871. Sullivan named the tune "St Gertrude," after the wife of his friend Erne ...
."
There is a Korean-American religious group called the Soldiers of Christ, which became the center of a 2023 murder case.
See also
* Athleta Christi
''Athleta Christi'' () was a class of Early Christian soldier martyrs or military saints, of whom the most familiar example is probably Saint Sebastian. It also could be used to refer to Christians with exemplary martial prowess, especially when ...
*
* Military order (religious society)
A military order () is a Christianity, Christian religious society of Knight, knights. The original military orders were the Knights Templar, the Knights Hospitaller, the Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Catholic), Order of the Holy Sepulchre, the ...
* Military saint
The military saints, warrior saints and soldier saints are patron saints, martyrs and other saints associated with the military. They were originally composed of the early Christians who were soldiers in the Roman army during the persecution of ...
* Mujahideen
''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' (), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' (), an Arabic term that broadly refers to people who engage in ''jihad'' (), interpreted in a jurisprudence of Islam as the fight on behalf of God, religion or the commun ...
* Prayer warrior
Prayer warrior is a term used by many evangelical and other Christians to refer to anyone who is committed to praying for others.
Overview
Within the context of dominion theology, prayer warriors see themselves as engaged in spiritual warfare aga ...
*
* Spiritual warfare
Spiritual warfare is the Christian concept of fighting against the work of preternatural evil forces. It is based on the belief in evil spirits, or demons, that are said to intervene in human affairs in various ways. Although spiritual warfa ...
* Rod_of_Iron_Ministries
References
*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
Flemish Miles Christianus, 1586-1635 (British Museum)
{{Catholic saints
Chivalry
Christian ethics
Virtue