Isolation and “Courage” in Martin of Gfenn
by Martha Kennedy
“I realized then. Compassion requires the highest order of courage, not battle, not childbirth, not facing death. Those are easy. God designed us for them. Compassion, Martin. I never again suffered the darkness in my soul I had known all my life.”
In medieval times physical courage was a big deal, the virtue of warriors, an attribute of crusading knights, romantic heroes such as the Knights of the Round Table, and real live men such as Richard the Lionhearted. This heroism was linked (as it is today) with the willingness to risk one’s life for something vague and worthy such as the True Cross (or Democracy). There were other kinds of courageous heroes, too, those whose heroism was manifest in their charity, for example Saint Francis and Saint Martin of Tours who, in imitation of Christ…
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