Back then, all the glory belonged to the knight in shiny armour. The layers of steel protect the warrior inside, and make the warrior bolder, braver, and fiercer in a battle. Because of its prestige, only the bravest of the brave had the honours to fight in a suit of armour. In this sense, every knight has a special bond with his suit of armour.
The honour and glory associated with 'armour' could be traced back to the Homeric world of Iliad. The armour was a symbol of the warrior who wore it; it was for this reason Hector slew Patroclus and stripped off his armour that belonged to Achilles. Patroclus was unworthy of Achilles' armour; he broke the honour code and paid its price. Fast forward some centuries to the Classical Greek world, to claim victory in a battle, the winning side sets up a set of armour as its trophy. Just before the Spartan men go on a campaign, the they would told by their wives to "come back with your shield, or don't come back". A warrior who was stripped of his armour is seen as the greatest humiliation
Flip a few pages in history, we're in the days of Alexander the Great, who claimed to be a descendant of Achilles, the most blood-thirsty warrior in Trojan War. In Alexander's Eastern campaign, he began at Hellenspont and the ruins of Troy where he took a set of bronze armour that mythologically belonged to Achilles. Though bronze armour was cleary out of date by the time of Alexander the Great, this shows the symbolic aspect of 'armour'. The past fanaticism about armour continues beyond the Middle Ages until the invention of "bullet warfare" that made armour useless.
Oh really? Did the armour's impracticality finally overcome its honour?
In parallel way, a well-tailored business suit is the modern man's armour; not only it makes a man look sharp, but it also makes the man inside feels more confident. The "armour" turns a man into "the knight in shiny armour" whether he was on a date or in a multi-million business negotiation.
Like what many of you could relate to, my job hunting the last lil while led me to a policy analyst position at the Canadian Economic Development, a part of the Canadian Federal Government. Soon I will no longer get away with spending my day in a t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans, of which I call the "Homer Simpson look". I suppose I'll "dress to impress". But this is where I find the classical honours of the knight being violated by modern day's superficial fashion sense.
Because of traditions, we still evaluate a person based on his clothing attires. We would associate the characteristics of an "important person" to a man in suit just as people past of the associated the honour and glory of a knight to the man in armour. But what is upsetting is that because of the social norm, suits are made available and very affordable. This takes away the prestige attached to the armour of the old days. Moreover, a lot of suits are mass-produced these days; what happened to the vintage clothing that were tailored to perfection? The fashion industry is encouraging everyone to dress sharply. But in turn, it makes people more focused on the outer appearance rather than inner quality. Fashion should never be the source of confidence and pride.
Sure, folks like me who works in the office could justify himself in wearing a suit as it's part of "business culture". Certainly, it will make me look like someone important, like Mr. Obama or even James Bond. But does that make me any better than just a 2nd year student who has yet to accomplish anything significant to the society like the classic heroes? In the past I had been a blue collar, a hard working blue collar on the factory floor working the machines. That's still who I am. I know what I am inside, and a set of clothing is not going to change that.
Someday that will change, when the time comes.
The honour and glory associated with 'armour' could be traced back to the Homeric world of Iliad. The armour was a symbol of the warrior who wore it; it was for this reason Hector slew Patroclus and stripped off his armour that belonged to Achilles. Patroclus was unworthy of Achilles' armour; he broke the honour code and paid its price. Fast forward some centuries to the Classical Greek world, to claim victory in a battle, the winning side sets up a set of armour as its trophy. Just before the Spartan men go on a campaign, the they would told by their wives to "come back with your shield, or don't come back". A warrior who was stripped of his armour is seen as the greatest humiliation
Flip a few pages in history, we're in the days of Alexander the Great, who claimed to be a descendant of Achilles, the most blood-thirsty warrior in Trojan War. In Alexander's Eastern campaign, he began at Hellenspont and the ruins of Troy where he took a set of bronze armour that mythologically belonged to Achilles. Though bronze armour was cleary out of date by the time of Alexander the Great, this shows the symbolic aspect of 'armour'. The past fanaticism about armour continues beyond the Middle Ages until the invention of "bullet warfare" that made armour useless.
Oh really? Did the armour's impracticality finally overcome its honour?
In parallel way, a well-tailored business suit is the modern man's armour; not only it makes a man look sharp, but it also makes the man inside feels more confident. The "armour" turns a man into "the knight in shiny armour" whether he was on a date or in a multi-million business negotiation.
Like what many of you could relate to, my job hunting the last lil while led me to a policy analyst position at the Canadian Economic Development, a part of the Canadian Federal Government. Soon I will no longer get away with spending my day in a t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans, of which I call the "Homer Simpson look". I suppose I'll "dress to impress". But this is where I find the classical honours of the knight being violated by modern day's superficial fashion sense.
Because of traditions, we still evaluate a person based on his clothing attires. We would associate the characteristics of an "important person" to a man in suit just as people past of the associated the honour and glory of a knight to the man in armour. But what is upsetting is that because of the social norm, suits are made available and very affordable. This takes away the prestige attached to the armour of the old days. Moreover, a lot of suits are mass-produced these days; what happened to the vintage clothing that were tailored to perfection? The fashion industry is encouraging everyone to dress sharply. But in turn, it makes people more focused on the outer appearance rather than inner quality. Fashion should never be the source of confidence and pride.
Sure, folks like me who works in the office could justify himself in wearing a suit as it's part of "business culture". Certainly, it will make me look like someone important, like Mr. Obama or even James Bond. But does that make me any better than just a 2nd year student who has yet to accomplish anything significant to the society like the classic heroes? In the past I had been a blue collar, a hard working blue collar on the factory floor working the machines. That's still who I am. I know what I am inside, and a set of clothing is not going to change that.
Someday that will change, when the time comes.
