Racial Branding

The emphasis on race and more specifically, the distinction of “white” from the cultural and physical “other,” appears not only in Sultan of Babylon and King of Tars but also in popular culture of today, such as the box office hit Lord of the Rings Trilogy, which although mostly fantastical has some elements of medieval culture in it, and the cult television series Game of Thrones.

In the Sultan of Babylon as well as in King of Tars, the “white” and Christian characters are clearly separated from the idol worshiping, pagan others by both religious affiliation and the depiction of both the Sultan and the King of Tars as weak until they are either converted or killed. For both male rulers are manipulated or usurped by women, whether it be their wives or children, and made to become more similar to the “white” religious crusaders.

In the Lord of the Rings, the good and noble characters that are on the right side of the battle for control of and freedom for Middle Earth can all be classified as white, from the elves to the Hobbits to Gandalf “the White” to the various human characters. Throughout the duration of the trilogy, the white characters are fighting against the unjust, evil and rebellious forces controlled by Sauron (who isn’t even human, but simply represented by a giant eye) and are made up of a variety of mostly monstrous forms, the troll-like Orcs, the dragon-esque Smaug, the deformed creature of Smeagul and the Balrogs. While these races are undoubtedly evil, it is their physical difference from the “white” characters that is most striking. Similarly, in In Game of Thrones, all of the powerful characters, from Daerneys to the Lannisters to the Stark family, are primarily white and there is little to none African or Asian representation.  It is only wild, savage, rather uncivilized Dothraki, reminiscent of the conquering Mongols that differ physically from the rest of the show’s cast.

Ultimately, in both the tales from Medieval literature and our own modern depictions, it is clear that the practice of racial branding is extremely relevant, common and often used to solidify the correctness or right to rule of the narrating party.

H2WOAH: Miracles and Baptism

In the picture above, it may look like a man in a dress is getting ready to boil a baby for supper. But do not fret- this man is just a priest performing a paedobaptism (or infant baptism). What is baptism exactly? According to Christian belief, a baptism is a holy ceremony in which a Priest blesses a person using water. The person being baptized professes Jesus as his or her savior, and in return, that person is cleansed of his or her sins. The rules and rituals of baptism differ from sect to sect, but many believe that one must be baptized in order to enter Heaven.

(Click this link to watch a baptism.)

Aside from opening the pearly gates and washing away sins, there have been many stories of baptisms aiding in the performance of healing miracles. One of these stories is called The King of Tars which tells of a Christian princess and a Saracen king producing a blob baby. This baby lacks blood, bones, and basically all the parts that a normal, healthy baby would have. However, the blob is baptized, and it miraculously turns into an actual baby. 

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While The King of Tars was written long ago, there are modern day stories of healing through baptism. For instance, an article from 2011 tells the story of a girl who suffered a brain hemorrhage. She was taken off life support and expected to die shortly thereafter, but her family opted to have her baptized before she passed. Instead of dying after her baptism, she made a miraculous recovery. Another example can be seen in this video which shows a woman claiming her cancerous tumor disappeared after being baptized.

Despite the validity of any of these stories, people still believe in the power of baptism. This continuous belief is just one aspect that connects The King of Tars to the present day. Even though this story was told years before our time, the ideas and morals referring to baptism or religious conversion portrayed in The King of Tars are still significant today. By simply Googling "baptism miracles" or watching a live-action baptism at a local church, one can see that this ritual holds great significance in the Christian faith. The present contains residual elements from the past, so old texts such as The King of Tars are important in understanding different beliefs and practices that exist in modern society.