What White Represents

The soul of a knight should be a thing remarkable
His heart and his mind as pure as morning dew
With a will and a self-restraint
That's the envy of every saint
He could easily work a miracle or two.
To love and desire he ought to be unsparkable
The ways of the flesh should offer no allure
But where in the world is there in the world
A man so untouched and pure?

After almost 30 years in the SCA, I'm finally thinking about a fact I learned when I first joined.

Most of us, on our first day in the SCA learn this simple fact:

Knights wear white belts.

So, what does white represent?

Purity.

Of thought? Not likely.

Of intentions? We all know what's paved with those.

Purity. It's right there in the list of chivalric virtues: Courage, Prowess, Loyalty, Courtesy, Piety, Humility. And Purity.

This may or may not have anything to do with the rumors coming out of Ansteorra about just why they need to hold an emergency Crown Tourney tomorrow.

Knights should not just think about purity, or pretend to be pure, or simply be discreet, a knight should actually be pure.

Cheating on your wife isn't just bad or dishonest, it's unchivalrous. Sleeping around is unchivalrous.

Think about it.