tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4213316015209503694.post364428224094089280..comments2024-01-22T01:52:37.473-06:00Comments on RENEGADE TRADS: The Crisis of ModernityA Sinnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05083094677310915678noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4213316015209503694.post-9095277992775871972011-01-30T20:31:46.857-06:002011-01-30T20:31:46.857-06:00Good gravy -- enough of this romanticization of th...Good gravy -- enough of this romanticization of the medieval! <br /><br />Medieval European society was just as subjectivist, relativist, and classist as "modern" society. Feudal Europe was never the marshmallow cloud Xanadu fetish that trad-ritualists have erected. 90% of the feudal European population never traveled more than five miles from their rude huts. Their entire slave lifes (yes, they were <b><i>slaves</i></b>, not ruddy and jolly "serfs") were razor-edge subsistence struggles. <br /><br />The violence towards Jews, ostracization of "lepers", and implicit treatment of the slaves as mere implements hardly reflect the commonweal and congregational amity of the New Testament. The intellectual stratification of society through the concentration of literacy in the monastic and courtly spheres created an ethic and morality sometimes even at odds with both the rude necessities of the slaves and "orthodox" Christian doctrine. <br /><br />The "relativism" (i.e. atomization of society) since the Enlightenment has brought about great advances in literacy and expression. Hate on David Hume all you want, but his affirmation of intellectual autonomy has brought us even to the Internet age.<br /><br />As I oft repeat, we Catholics are responsible for liturgy and its implications. Idealization of any liturgical, theological, or exegetical point in Christian history contradicts ethical responsibilities. Leave the medieval infatuation with the Society for Creative Anachronism.sortacatholicnoreply@blogger.com