Angels in the Architecture: A Protestant Vision for Middle Earth

by Douglas M. Jones III

"It's medieval," I exclaimed; for I still had all the chronological snobbery of my period and used the names of earlier periods as terms of abuse. C.S. Lewis

It is a basic principle of spiritual integrity that only light can incarnate. In fact, according to Thomas Aquinas, only in radiance can truth, beauty, or goodness be known. Light-both physical and moral-was thus a central concern to the men and women living in the medieval age. They attempted to explore its properties in the colors of a stained glass canopy, in the tenor of a brisk saltarello, in the lilt of a Jongleur's ballad, in the sweet savor of a banqueting table, in the rhapsody of a well planned garden, indeed, in every arena and discipline of life. It is therefore more than a little ironic that their culture has commonly been described as the Dark Ages as if the light of civilization had somehow been unceremoniously snuffed out for a time. It has similarly been dubbed the Middle Ages-as if it were a sort of gaping parenthesis in mankind's long upward march to modernity. It was in fact anything but dark or middling. Perhaps our greatest fault today is that we limit ourselves by a chronological parochialism. It is difficult for us to attribute anything but backwardness to those epochs and cultures that do not share our goals or aspirations. The medieval

Medieval culture-both east and west-was first and foremost Christian culture. Its life was shaped almost entirely by Christian concerns. Virtually all of its achievements were submitted to the cause of the Gospel. From great cathedrals and gracious chivalry to bitter crusades and beautiful cloisters, every manifestation of its presence was somehow tied to its utter and complete obeisance to Christ's kingdom and to the pursuit of beauty, truth, and goodness.