The Discarded Image
The Discarded Image
A common saying is that “ you can’t know where you’re going until you know where you’ve been” which means that if you do not learn the history of the world and culture around yourself, then one cannot expect to succeed in life. This is a valid opinion however, history has shown us that there have been many disputes about beliefs and ideas in the past that have caused conflicts, even wars, and have affected the views and lives of many post-generations including ours. Therefore, to what extent should we believe everything that is written in history just because it is written in a book or taught by our parents and society? In the Discarded Image C.S. Lewis explains the sense of enchantment that the Medieval people believed before the advances in technology affected their belief and how they arose mostly from the mythology and beliefs of generations before them. This then blended into the Medieval beliefs of different realms and the spiritual presences that inhabit our world which has influenced the world today. C.S. Lewis argues that the “savage beliefs tend to be dissipated by literacy and by contact with other cultures; these are the very things which have created Layamon’s belief.” (Lewis 3) The “savage” described above is what Lewis refers to as the Medieval man and what represents them and their beliefs. The Medieval man is not naïve, uneducated, or ignorant but he is limited to believe in something that is affecting his life constantly. Lewis writes that the “Middle Ages depended predominantly on books, and reading was in one way a more important ingredient of the total culture.” (Lewis 5) Therefore, the Middle Ages was a time where all that was read, spoken, and heard about came from the authors before them which contributed greatly to their lifestyle and beliefs which clashed with the views of the church. Next, the Medieval man or “savage” would adapt what they knew from history into their environment which if “their culture is
A common saying is that “ you can’t know where you’re going until you know where you’ve been” which means that if you do not learn the history of the world and culture around yourself, then one cannot expect to succeed in life. This is a valid opinion however, history has shown us that there have been many disputes about beliefs and ideas in the past that have caused conflicts, even wars, and have affected the views and lives of many post-generations including ours. Therefore, to what extent should we believe everything that is written in history just because it is written in a book or taught by our parents and society? In the Discarded Image C.S. Lewis explains the sense of enchantment that the Medieval people believed before the advances in technology affected their belief and how they arose mostly from the mythology and beliefs of generations before them. This then blended into the Medieval beliefs of different realms and the spiritual presences that inhabit our world which has influenced the world today. C.S. Lewis argues that the “savage beliefs tend to be dissipated by literacy and by contact with other cultures; these are the very things which have created Layamon’s belief.” (Lewis 3) The “savage” described above is what Lewis refers to as the Medieval man and what represents them and their beliefs. The Medieval man is not naïve, uneducated, or ignorant but he is limited to believe in something that is affecting his life constantly. Lewis writes that the “Middle Ages depended predominantly on books, and reading was in one way a more important ingredient of the total culture.” (Lewis 5) Therefore, the Middle Ages was a time where all that was read, spoken, and heard about came from the authors before them which contributed greatly to their lifestyle and beliefs which clashed with the views of the church. Next, the Medieval man or “savage” would adapt what they knew from history into their environment which if “their culture is