It is often not until late into each Arthurian romance that Chretien de Troyes reveals the name of the main character. I first thought this was only a silly literary convention to build suspense in the readers as they try to guess the knight’s identity. But even in the 12th century, many of these tales were well-known enough that all the characters were familiar to readers. As a literary device, withholding the names of characters does little to build suspense.
So what’s up? As I slogged through the tales, I noticed that withholding identities isn’t just something Chretien de Troyes does. His knights are always slow to proclaim their names. Again and again, they lower their lances and charge at each other without any idea who the other knight is. Sometimes it turns out to be another knight of the round table.
One of the more extreme examples is in the tale of Cliges. Although his father, Alexander, had been knighted by King Arthur, and his mother was the niece of Arthur, Cliges hides his identity when he leaves Greece to prove himself. He goes with his father’s blessing:
Dear son, Cliges, you will never know the extent of your prowess and ability if you don’t first put yourself to the test with the men of Britain and France at King Arthur’s court. Conduct yourself and behave in such a way that your identity is not known until you’ve measured yourself against the flower of that court.
During a week of jousting at King Arthur’s court, Cliges uses three different horses and sets of armor to keep his identity hidden. As an anonymous knight, Cliges defeats all the Knights of the Roundtable.
Our culture may have lost this important truth about how personal identity is established. Young people are often urged to be themselves before they have a self to be. We are a society that rightly celebrates individuality and uniqueness of each person. But sometimes uniqueness and personal identity costs no more than the latest fashion or coolest tattoo. In the advertising industry that holds so much sway over us, this is called branding and creating name recognition.
But as Christians we are called to be anonymous knights and to see this life as the place we joust to test our mettle. As Paul says in Colossians, “our life is hidden with Christ in God.” He goes on to assure us that “when Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him with glory.” On the day when all battles end, we will shed our armor as sons and daughters of the King.
One of the great paradoxes of Christian discipleship is that only when we lose ourselves in service to Christ do we find our true identity. Jesus promises that he will give those who overcome “a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it” (Revelation 2:17). Instead of telling young people to be themselves, we should urge them to tilt their lance in honor of the King who holds the secret of their identity.
