L.P. HartleyI had never met a lord before, nor had I ever expected to meet one. It didn't matter what he looked like: he was a lord first, and a human being, with a face and limbs and body, long, long after.
About This Quote
In the 'Song of Roland', a French epic poem written in the Middle Ages, a group of Christian knights is being led to defend Paris from an attack by Muslim Saracens. They are being led by a warrior named Roland. As they travel across a misty plain, they encounter a strange knight who is carrying two lances. The knight tells them that he is a lord and takes his place at their head, but he says nothing about his appearance.
The leader of the group asks him his name, but he replies that he is not obliged to give it. He says that he will tell them who he is if they ask him again later, but regards the question as rhetorical. When asked to show his face, he refuses, saying that the sight of it would cause him pain.
Source: The Gobetween
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