In the Court of the Crimson King ~ The Gardener Plants an Evergreen

CHAPTER THREE:

IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING

- chapter index -
pg. 1 - Epitaph | pg. 2 - The Iron Gates of Fate
pg. 3 - The Fate of All Mankind | pg. 4 - Moonchild
pg. 5 - The Court of the Crimson King | pg. 6 - The Purple Piper
pg. 7 - Averroes | pg. 8 - The Keeper of the City Keys
pg. 9 - The Pilgrim's Door | pg. 10 - The Return of the Fire Witch
pg. 11 - The Gardener Plants An Evergreen | pg. 12 - The Prism Ship
pg. 13 - The Grinding Wheel | pg. 14 - On Soft Gray Mornings
pg. 15 - Divining Signs | pg. 16 - The Yellow Jester
pg. 17 - Remember the Future | pg. 18 - The Return of the King
pg. 19 - The I Ching | pg. 20 - Octants

site index

The flower refers to the ideals of St. Francis of Assisi which were being trampled by the Catholic Church.

" The Little Flowers was written sometime around 1250, and represented an idealized picture of the early days of the Franciscans as a support for the Spirituals, who were coming under increasing disfavor by the established Church. It was, in this sense, a revolutionary document.

- Some Thoughts on Reading the Little Flowers of St. Francis

The pope did not believe the church could renounce wealth and power, as Francis advocated, and still have much of a future. By trampling on the ideals of St. Francis, a more permanent Catholic Church, an evergreen, was planted.

Following his first excommunication in 1227, Frederick, in the first of a series of letters extending over the next two decades, determined to enlist the support of the monarchs of Europe.

"Frederick then turned to a theme that from now on was ever recurrent in his thinking and writing: the departure of the Church from the simplicity of its founders. Like the Franciscans and Dominicans and, in the spirit of the seer of Calabria, Joachim of Floris, he conjured up a picture of the simplicity, even of the poverty, of the primitive Church so abundantly demonstrated in the lives of the Saints. 'No man', he said, 'can erect the Church on a foundation other than that laid by the Lord Jesus himself.'"

- The Emperor Frederick II von Hohenstaufen Immutator Mundi , by Thomas Curtis Van Cleve, p. 201

"Frederick accused the church of abandoning it's own founder's principles. Poverty, not wealth, was the foundation of the Church. The popes were wolves in sheep's clothing. Frederick had, of course, touched a raw nerve: Gregory IX, patron of the Franciscans, seemed so far from Francis' own ideals."

- Frederick II: A Medieval Emperor by David Abulafia, p. 169

" Because he followed St. Francis' belief that Franciscans should renounce wealth and power, Elias, St. Francis' successor, was deposed by Gregory IX.
Elias threw in his lot with Frederick II."

- The Catholic Encyclopedia

The conflict between the Papacy and the Spiritual Franciscans continued after the death of Frederick II.

"In 1325 Pope John issued the bull Cum inter nonnullos, which "infallibly" declared it was heresy to say Jesus and his apostles owned no property. Inquisitors were ordered to prosecute those who believed Jesus was a poor man. The Spiritual Franciscans, who did so believe, were taught an immediate lesson when the pope had 114 of their number burned alive."

- Bringing Jesus Down from the Cross

This passage also refers to the destruction that ensued in Frederick's quest to achieve something permanent for his empire.

"One of his highest ideals was the conservation of a double dynastic inheritance to transfer to his successors."

- Frederick II: History and myth by Consorzio Idria

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