Combat Ethics

[JeanryChandler]

But if it is true it shows that there was a rather large fear of being considered un-christian, or even worse, satanic.

This sort of thing can be quite complex. The left being "evil" idea goes way back into pre-christian times. Roman Legionaires and Celtic warriors alike used to carry their swords on their right side for example until IIRC around 200 AD, despite the increased difficulty of drawing the weapon, because it was considered bad luck.

Also, when you think of pervasive fears of witchcraft and satan, this is something which happened in a specific time and place, the Witch Burnings took place largely after the reformation and largely in protestant areas where it truly turned into the kind of terror where people were afraid to smile and that sort of thing.

If you look at the law books Witchcraft per say wasn't even outlawed in much of Europe until the 12-13th century...

DB

[david welch]

Having spent years around ECW re-enactments i've heard that the left hand is the devils hand, which will stop people using their left hands as the primary hand for doing things, presumably including sword and other martial practices. I have no idea as to the truthfulness of this.

I don't know about this... a lot of the fight books I have read give instructions for left handers.

[Allen Johnson]

Some interesting thoughts on this matter coming from George MacDonald Fraser's book, "The Steel Bonnets". This is THE BOOK when one wants to study the english/scottish Border Reivers. Anyway, its a great read.
These regions and thier peoples were very notorious for hundreds of years of constant teft, arson, and bloodshed. Things which all basic religions usually preach aginst.
p.45 - "Leslie is interesting on Border morality as applied to property and theft. "They have a pursuasion that all property is common by the law of nature, and is therefore liable to be appropriated by them in their necessity." Later he adds: "Besides, they think the art of plundering so very lawful, that they never say over thier prayers more fervently, or have more devout recurrence to thier beads and thier rosaries, than when they have made an expedition"...Rascals they might be, but Leslie counted them among his flock. Possibly he had not heard the story of the visitor to Liddesdale who, finding no churches demanded, "Are there no Christians here?" and he recieved the reply, "Na, we's a' Elliots and Armstrangs." "
This has a little more to do with plundering but violence always accompanied such activities. And its a good example of people who take a religion and kind of tailor fit it to thier needs/wants. History is full of all kinds of people who did various misdeads "in the name of God".

p. 195
"It was natural, in the climate of the times, to blame lack of religion for much of the evil along the frontier. "Want of knowledge of God, whereby the better sort forget oath and duty" was condemmed by Eure. He saw churches "mostly ruined to the ground, ministers and teachers comforthless to com and remaine where such heathenish people are." - it goes on to state that it was said that most of the Border folk could not recite the Lords Prayer and that numbers of horses were a much higher priority to even the leaders of the community than the presence of religion.

p. 223 & Appendix I
In 1525 (I think? its a little unclear) the Archbishop of Glasgow, Gavin Dunbar, issued a formal 1500 word "cursing" of the Border Reivers. Formally excommunicating the lot of them. The full contents of this cursing are in the appendix of the book. Perhaps this shunning of the church fueled an already violent culture into more of the same? Though the presence of religion prior to this seems to have had little effect anyhow.

[Patrick Hardin]

I agree that religion was a motivating factor in a lot of misdeeds in the past. Speaking from a Christian perspective, I have observed that people love to try to fit God into a bag, so they can pull Him out whenever they can use Him to justify what they do. I certainly think this true of the religious wars in europe, like the French persecution of the Hugenots, or a lot of the stuff Cromwell did. Religion can be altered by people to fit in with whatever they want, and if you're not part of the club, you must die. <img src="/forum/images/icons/tongue.gif" alt="" />

And yet, at the same time, you have knightly ideals of chivalry, as we can read in many manuals, that tell the young knights to learn to love God. There is an ideal of a godly Christian warrior, who behaves honorably in all things. The problems occur when the warrior gets the wrong idea in his head about who God is. The funny thing is that war has its place, even for Christians and even in the Bible. But people throughout history have often been just a little too eager to see the wars they have fought as religiously justifiable. That's my two cents.

Patrick Hardin