Day 17: The Cloak

There is another sub-set of stories that give me the tingles because they share an element similar to the veil. This time it is not generally a covering of the face, but it is a covering of the crown. Royalty under cloak. A few years ago I was searching the web for stories of royalty under a cloak beyond the ones that I knew and my search came up with a real news story!

Read it here.

I don't know about you, but it makes me want to find out more about this present day king and what kind of an impact he is now having as he rules his country and interacts with the other nations of his region.

Many royal figures suffer from the inability to truly know what their advisors or subjects are feeling and thinking because advisors tend to flatter in the hopes of keeping their position of influence, and subjects will either be star-struck or awe-struck and not have the presence of mind or the courage to express their own attitudes or opinions honestly either. Some rulers become paranoid, not knowing who they can really put their trust in, so they imagine everyone a potential traitor or usurper. Some royalty enjoy the insulated world they can experience when they never have to confront reality about their own faults or immaturity, or the problems in their realm. And some royalty decide to go undercover once in a while to get the real scoop on the state of the Kingdom.


My sophomore highschool English class with Mr. Cole read a book of Greek and Roman myths together, and upon finishing the book we were all assigned a group project to pick one of the stories and act it out. Our group chose the story of Baucis and Philemon. They are a poor elderly couple who turn out to be the only people in a region to open their doors to some weary travelers. The weary travelers are Zeus and Hermes, two gods in disguise. Baucis and Philemon knew that it is always wise to show hospitality to unidentified travelers, they may be rulers or gods. They were rewarded for their hospitality.

Genesis 18 tells a similar hospitality story, Abraham and Sarah welcoming three strangers who turn out to be divine guests. Acts 14 introduces us to a group of townspeople who know the Baucis and Philemon story quite well, and eagerly anticipated the day that a pair a visiting strangers might reveal themselves to be divine.