#lorica

There are two St. Patrick’s.

There’s the corned beef and cabbage, Irish-themed everything, drunken green nonsense version.

And then there’s the other one. The one who was kidnapped and sold as a slave into Ireland. After 6 years of slavery, he escaped.

When he later became a priest, he returned to Ireland. As a missionary. Beginning his ministry in the very place where he had labored as a slave.

This year I ended up spending some time with the other one.

Not because I have anything against drunken green nonsense. But because I was doing a little cleaning up and throwing out. And I found the box that my favorite rosary came in.

It’s a very Irish rosary. Each bead is a squarish piece of green Connemara marble. With a silver-plated chain.

One of the beads is long gone. Much of the silver has worn off. It’s well-loved and well-worn.

In the bottom of that very Irish box was a holy card. With a prayer, the Lorica. St. Patrick’s Breastplate.

It’s a long prayer. Here’s the part I keep coming back to. The part that hits home.

“Christ be with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,

Christ within me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,

Christ on my right, Christ on my left,

Christ where I lie, Christ where I sit, Christ where I arise,

Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,

Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,

Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.”

It’s a prayer that reveals the heart of someone who didn’t give up on anyone. Even those who had done their worst to him.

It’s the prayer of someone who loved like Christ.

I think I need to spend more time with this Patrick.

"Grand Cathay is largely based on Chinese culture from the late Middle Ages. The visual design of its units very clearly evokes that inspiration.

What features specifically are creating that impression?

Well, you might say to yourself: I have eyes. And I can tell that it is Chinese-inspired from... the way that it is.

But today I want to enumerate the symbols that we have come to associate with Eastern material culture. Which of these tropes are invented? And which are rooted in reality?

As ever, my goal is not to measure fantasy against historical accuracy as some sort of purity test, but rather to challenge us to interrogate the meaning behind design.

In a setting so clearly based on real history, how do invented elements enhance or detract from the richness of these fictional cultures? When does a fantastical departure add visual impact or depth of meaning? On the other hand, when is it just sort of meaninglessly wrong?

Let's start with looking at the Jade Warriors, which are the core unit of this faction. They successfully give the impression of East Asian soldiers. But there are a few different cultural influences and time periods at play here. So let's unpack it piece by piece."

May these and all the saints, with the perfect Trinity, be a breastplate for my soul and spirit and body, with all their parts within and without, from sole of foot to crown of head, for sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, flesh, and blood, and for all my bones, nerves and innards, veins and marrow, limbs, and may they keep me from death. For through you, Lord, all my members are brought to life, are given breath, and are healed.

Protect me, Lord, on the right and left, before and behind, below and above, in the air and on the earth, in the water, on the sea, in the tide, in rising, in walking, in standing still, sleeping, waking, in every action, in every place, in every day, in every hour, in every night, in all my life.

Watch over me, come to my aid, triune God, God Almighty, Adonay, Araton, Osya, Eloy, Ely, Eloe, Sabaoth, Elem, Eseria, Saddia, immutable Lord God, and also Emmanuel, Christ Jesus.

Deliver me, Lord God Almighty, from all perils of land and sea and water, and from spectres of all beasts and flying things and four-footed creatures and creeping things.

Defend me, God, from fire, lightning, from thunder, from hail, from snow, from rain, from wind, from dangers on land, from hurricane, from earthquake, from all evils, from poison, from envy, from evil eye, from [malicious] words, from the perils of the pit and darkness, from the arrow that flies by day and from the terror that walks at night.

Protect me from all fury that assails the good.

Sarcofago Ludovisi - dettaglio

III sec. d.c.