Literary notes about Brethren (AI summary)
The term "brethren" appears in literature with a rich variety of connotations, often employed to denote kinship, shared faith, or mutual obligation. In religious texts and biblical translations, for example, it emphasizes spiritual communion and collective identity, as shown in passages like "[1]" and "[2]". Meanwhile, in medieval romances such as those recounting King Arthur’s court, the word underscores the intimate loyalty among knights, as observed in works like "[3]" and "[4]". Additionally, its use extends into political and social realms—often to evoke a sense of brotherhood and collective duty—as seen in texts related to freedom and reform, for instance "[5]" and "[6]". Thus, across diverse genres and eras, "brethren" serves as a rhetorical device linking individuals in bonds that go far beyond mere family ties.
- And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us?
— from The Doré Bible Gallery, Complete - And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you.
— from The Doré Bible Gallery, Complete - And Sir Bors, when he had buried him beside his sister, returned, weeping sore for the loss of his two brethren, to King Arthur, at Camelot.
— from The Legends of King Arthur and His Knights by Sir James Knowles and Sir Thomas Malory - I will well, said Sir Launcelot, with this that he will come to the court of King Arthur and become his man, and his brethren five.
— from Le Morte d'Arthur: Volume 1 by Sir Thomas Malory - His Officers are his Friends and Companions, as they are Men of Honour and Gentlemen; the private Men his Brethren, as they are of his Species.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson - Can any man who is really a Christian abstain from relieving one of his brethren in such a miserable condition?”
— from History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding
