Alfred the Great and the holy lineage of Wessex: the construction of a myth of origins in Anglo-Saxon England
Elton O. S. MEDEIROS
Original title: Alfred o Grande e a linhagem sagrada de Wessex: a construção de um mito de origem na Inglaterra anglo-saxônica
Published in Relations between History and Literature in Ancient and Medieval World
Keywords: Alfred, Anglo-Saxons, England, Myth, Society.
In the end of 9th century, the actions taken by King Alfred the Great were decisive for the survival of the Anglo-Saxon England against the Vikings. His cultural revival would change the Anglo-Saxon society, reinforcing the defenses of the kingdom, the politics and enable the unification of England in the mid-10th century under king Athelstan’s reign. However, the main reason behind this revival was not cultural but a spiritual. For this task, inspired by the works like Bede’s Historia Ecclesiastica, a myth of origins was forged. A myth that said the Anglo-Saxons were the spiritual heirs of the Hebrews of Old Testament. And their kings would be descendent of a holy lineage of a mysterious forth son of Noah. In this article we will analyze the elements of this myth, how was its construction and its importance for the Alfredian period.
Representations and symbols from East to West: rebirth of Phoenix
Maria Leonor García da CRUZ
Original title: Representações e símbolos de Oriente a Ocidente: o renascimento da Fênix
Published in The Medieval Aesthetics
Keywords: Eternity, Myth, Phoenix, Rebirth, Symbology.
Passing over vast times and spaces, the symbology of the Phoenix is found in legends from China, India and Persia, varying in details, constructing a myth that the West inherited from Egypt and which it helps to consolidate in classical, mediaeval and modern times with projections even in our modern times. Is the only thing the European Phoenix has in common with the Chinese Phoenix, i.e. Feng-Huang the mythical creation related to inheritances of mankind and a collective unconscious, deposit of images and symbols (Jung)? A comparison of details jointly emphasises its spiritual energy, from rare beauty to divine virtue, from sanctification and purity to eternal love, to prosperity and good governance, from singularity and excellence to rebirth and eternity.
The Magical Knowledge of Medea
Maria Regina Candido
Original title: O Saber mágico de Medéia
Published in Mirabilia 1
Keywords: Greek, Greek woman, Magic, Medea, Myth, Tragedy.
The Medea is one the most remarkable and important imaginative works in all western literature. Medea is presented, initially as victim, but she is able to strike and pursue her revenge on a heroic homeric way.
The Templars in France: Between History, Heritage, and Memory
Philippe JOSERAND
Published in Medieval and Early Modern Iberian Peninsula Cultural History
Keywords: France, Historiography, Memory, Myth, Templar Order, XIIth-XXIth Centuries.
A comprehensive scholarly study of the Templars in France has not been published yet. Yet their order, from the outset, was closely linked to the French present space: most brethren were born there, and the langue d’oïl rapidly stood as the official tongue of the institution. For two centuries, the Templars used the Capetian kingdom as the main operations base to act in the Latin East and to sustain their singular vocation merging prayer and warfare into the same religious move. After the trial which opened in 1307 on King Philip the Fair’s initiative, the Templar order, although suppressed, did not entirely disappear from the French landscape: some buildings remained and, even more, a myth took shape, from which an historiography gradually emerged. This scientific movement strengthened from the end of the twentieth century and it now allows to shed new light on the French Templar presence, and to question the generally accepted ideas in order to better understand a medieval reality, which is still fascinating, but often strangely evoked.
The myth as tool of persuasion in Plato’s Phaedrus
Barbara BOTTER, Rodrigo Danúbio QUEIROZ
Original title: O mito como ferramenta de persuasão no Fedro de Platão
Published in Art, Criticism and Mysticism
Keywords: Myth, Phaedrus, Plato, truth.
The article aims to analyze Plato’s Phaedrus. Centralizes the importance of myth as a persuasion tool to achieve true dialogue. For this, a reflection took place, through dialogue, the structure of the myth; its symbology and the possibility of Plato recognize the limits of philosophical knowledge in wanting to reach the truth. The philosophical argument used by Socrates is based on the myth erotic speech. This discourse, in its mythical route reaches lovers and persuades regarding the definition of the soul, of its participation in the divine and beauty fashion. Therefore, it is evident that Plato recognizes the influence that non-rational world has about the very possibility of understanding the rational statements. The event that takes place in the dialectical movement of his maieutic.
