Wednesday, June 23
Rubens's painting of St. Joan, 1618-1620
La Chevalerie, Chevaleresses et Chevalières
As the Shrine's resident knight-errant, Templar buff, and intermittant votary of St. Joan of Arc, I can't help taking an interest in a new blog entitled Novae Militiae (by one Nevski, an Eastern Orthodox Christian with a love of St. Bernard of Clairvaux) which concerns itself with "chivalric musing and resources on personal and societal transformation," in particular this voluminous and fascinating post on the significance of Christian knighthood in the modern world. Nevski, I raise my sword to you in salute!
On the theme of knighthood, we also have François Velde on the subject of Women Knights of the Middle Ages, including the Order of the Hatchet, the Order of the Glorious St. Mary, and the knight-canonesses of St. Gertrude of Nivelles, who received the unheard-of accolade of being dubbed with a sword, a practice still unknown today among the Dames of the Holy Sepulchre, of Malta, and the various Papal Orders. In this same vein of distaff chivalry, there's the Nine Worthy Women who arose from the medieval mania for lists of virtuous people, places and things.
Lastly, there's Count Berthold von Imhoff's lovely portrait St. Joan of Arc, not exactly a dubbed chevalière per se, but certainly a patroness of all ladies who take up the spiritual sword in this day and age. The Count (1868-1939) was a German-born Canadian artist, a painter of churches and a recepient of the Papal order of St. Gregory (the "Greg"). Who'd've thunk it?
![[SMMMHDH]](http://www.mgilleland.com/music/smmmhdh.png){kind=small}
