Knighthood And Damsels In Distress

Chivalry comes in different forms including helping a damsel in distress.

It is inherent to the spirit of Chivalry to help women, the orphans, the elderly, the widows and the defenseless. It is inherent but not its primary and sole purpose.

Already in the lores of St. George, recounted in the famous medieval collection of Catholic stories, The Golden Legend, a maiden in distress is saved by the saint who is usually portrayed as a knight. Maidens in distress being rescued by a hero, preferably, a knight in shining armor, has been a popular theme in literature.

This aspect of chivalry became imbalanced during the Renaissance when knights abandoned their higher purpose for romantic endeavors. The institution of knighthood born of the love of God and His Church thus became deformed. The tales of Don Quixote by Cervantes portrays this. The book is a sarcastic fiction of a doddering knight seeking the good favor of his Lady Dulcinea.

Not only found in fiction but even in real life a Renaissance knight's quest for the favor of a lady was common. So common that St. Ignatius of Loyola, the very founder of the Jesuit order, confessed how, before his personal conversion, he dedicated himself to the pursuit of the favor of a lady.

From the Renaissance to our days, there has been a persistent promotion of this imbalanced expression of chivalry. This was one of the blows to the spirit of chivalry. Because of this, knighthood became identified as amorous, romantic and sentimental. It became a distant cry from the spirit of all the historical personages that forged its very identity: Charlemagne and his peers, especially Roland and Oliver, King St. Louis IX, King St. Ferdinand of Castille and Leon, Baldwin the Leper King, El Cid and so many others.

However that may be, it is always a mistake to throw the baby out with the bathwater. In our case, a young man who wishes to be chivalrous does not need to abandon rescuing damsels in distress in order to correct the imbalances of the Renaissance knights. To rescue the damsel in distress is still a valid expression of chivalry.

This is the case with Matthew Garcia, a senior in Central Catholic High School in San Antonio, TX. He saw a literal damsel in distress and came to her rescue.

As reported by News 4 San Antonio, 9 year old Addie Rodriguez was part of a cheerleading squad when suddenly the fathers joined their daughters in the field and lifted up their respective girls onto their shoulders. This is when Addie found herself in distress. Her father was in training in Travis Air Force Base 1,700 miles away in California. She was the only girl without her dad to lift her up.  More than ever she missed her dad. Seeing the other girls with their dads, the contrast was too much. She began to cry. It was a heart breaking scene. Everyone, including the mother, watched helplessly not knowing what to do. This is an honest to goodness damsel in distress.

Enter our knight in shining armor. Matthew Garcia rushed down the bleachers, leaped over two fences and ran to Addie's side. He knelt right next to her, asked if she was okay and offered to let her sit on his shoulder if she wanted to. She did. Addie was saved from distress.

It is in the nature of the spirit of chivalry to be selfless, caring, and self-sacrificing. This stands in stark contrast to many youth today who are selfish, narcissistic and self-indulgent.

This is proof that, despite the corrupting influence of the modern world, chivalry is not dead. It still lives in the hearts of many young men.

It would be wrong to reduce chivalry simply to the act of rescuing damsels in distress. The highest finality of chivalry must never be forgotten or relegated to the secondary plane. Love of others is good in itself but love of others because of love of God is superior. The more a true knight is consumed by love of God, Holy Mother Church and Christendom, the more he becomes like Christ crucified. For, branded in the heart of every knight is the cross of the crusader.

Either this remains at the core of the spirit of chivalry or it is doomed to be corrupted and deformed by sentimentality and romanticism.

But, for today, hats of to Matthew Garcia. You are a gentleman with the heart of a knight.