Les Neuf Preux - Medieval Masculine Virtue

 Salvete Omnes,

we are in the month of March and this year Easter falls in March, and also March is the month of Nowruz or Spring Equinox - 

City hall of Cologne - ideal of Chivalry, kingship, lordship and secular order

so lets canter through this Medieval theme of Chivalry with Lucas van der Layden's woodcuts - Les Neuf Preux or the Nine Worthies (chivalric masculine heroes) of the European Medieval Christian world:

Pagan heros:
Hector of Troy, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, 

Jewish:
Joshua, king David, Judas Maccabeus 

Christian:
king Arthur, Charlemagne,  Godfrey de Bouillon. 

Also, do look at this French manuscript with some of the greatest late Medieval illuminations - Histoire et faits des neuf preux et des neuf preues. If you like you can view many closeups taken from the manusctipy on this Fb page.

You can also listen to Jonathan Pageau and Richard Rohlin talking about these Medieval superheroes. (also on Twitter-X or  Yt c).

the Medieval Europeans also had Les Neuf Preuses  the Nince Lady Worthies as in the Medieval world there had to be symmetry, beauty and wholeness, unlike in our disjointed world. 

my favorite is queenTomyris of the Saka & Panthesilea of the Amazons

Finally their heraldry is discussed here, on this site.

valete