This week’s choice is “Cold Iron” by Rudyard Kipling, a tale that begins with a rebellion and ends in redemption.
“Wounds are for the desperate, blows are for the strong.
Rudyard Kipling (1865—1936)
Balm and oil for weary hearts all cut and bruised with wrong.
I forgive thy treason – I redeem thy fall
For Iron – Cold Iron – must be master of men all!”
Poem 336. Cold Iron
“Gold is for the mistress – silver for the maid –
Copper for the craftsman cunning at his trade!”
“Good!” said the Baron, sitting in his hall,
“But Iron – Cold Iron – is master of them all.”
So he made rebellion ‘gainst the King his liege,
Camped before his citadel and summoned it to siege.
“Nay!” said the cannoneer on the castle wall,
“But Iron – Cold Iron – shall be master of you all!”
Woe for the Baron and his knights so strong,
When the cruel cannon-balls laid ‘em all along;
He was taken prisoner, he was cast in thrall,
And Iron – Cold Iron – was master of it all.
Yet his King spake kindly (ah, how kind a Lord!)
“What if I release thee now and give thee back thy sword?”
“Nay!” said the Baron, “mock not at my fall,
For Iron – Cold Iron – is master of men all.”
“Tears are for the craven, prayers are for the clown
Halters for the silly neck that cannot keep a crown.”
“As my loss is grievous, So my hope is small,
For Iron – Cold Iron – must be master of men all!”
Yet his King made answer (few such Kings there be!)
“Here is Bread and here is Wine – sit and sup with me.
Eat and drink in Mary’s Name, the whiles I do recall
How Iron – Cold Iron – can be master of men all.”
He took the Wine and blessed it. He blessed and brake the Bread
With His own Hands He served Them, and presently He said:
“See! These Hands they pierced with nails, outside My city wall,
Show Iron – Cold Iron – to be master of men all.”
“Wounds are for the desperate, blows are for the strong.
Balm and oil for weary hearts all cut and bruised with wrong.
I forgive thy treason – I redeem thy fall
For Iron – Cold Iron – must be master of men all!”
“Crowns are for the valiant – sceptres for the bold!
Thrones and Powers for mighty men who dare to take and hold!”
“Nay!” said the Baron, kneeling in his hall,
“But Iron – Cold Iron – is master of men all!
Iron out of Calvary is master of men all!”
Another poem with a subtext, this poem is a parable of redemption but also references the power of iron in folklore.
We begin with an ambitious baron who appears to be listening to someone recounting the uses of metals to him: “gold is for the mistress – silver for the maid/Copper for the craftsman cunning at his trade. This might be a reference to European sumptuary laws of the medieval and Renaissance age: gold reserved for those of the highest rank, silver for the next echelon, and base metals such as copper for less notable folk. On the other hand, “Copper for the craftsman” might indicate a smith skilled in working that metal—coppersmith is one of the few trades mentioned in the Bible, which might have a bearing on the rest of the poem. The Baron, however, fixes on “Cold Iron” as his metal of choice, presumably because of its uses for arms and armour, bars, gates and padlocks, and the engines of siege.
Emboldened by his possession of all these things, he rebels and besieges his King’s stronghold but he has failed to consider another iron weapon that the King possesses—cannons and cannonballs—and they lay waste to his army. This may be connected with the idea of War in Heaven, as described in the Book of Revelation, between the angels led by Archangel Michael and the fallen angels led by “the dragon,” i.e. Satan, who after his defeat was cast down to the earth in much the same way as the Baron and his cohorts are overcome by the King’s cannoneer.
The Baron’s fate is different to that of Satan, however—despite being chained and imprisoned, the King grants him an audience and offers clemency which the Baron, being proud, rejects: “Tears are for the craven, prayers are for the clown/Halters for the silly neck that cannot keep a crown.” The Baron believes that he will be treated as mercilessly as he intended to treat others had he succeeded. In his view, only cowards weep, faith is for the weak of mind, and those who cannot hold on to their power deserve to be hanged.
The King, rather than condemning the Baron to punishment, desires him to “sit and sup,” and we realise that Kipling speaks not of any mundane king, but of Jesus Christ: “Here is Bread and here is Wine” reflecting the words of Christ as recounted in the Gospel according to Matthew:
While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
(Matthew 26: 26-28)
The King blesses the bread and the wine and serves them to the Baron just as Jesus does in the Gospel and when the Baron has taken them, the King confirms his identity by displaying the marks of the nails that pinned Him to the cross “outside My city wall”—cold iron nails that are “master of men all!”
As He does so, He warns the Baron that those who are merciless shall themselves be treated mercilessly and those who misuse their strength against others shall themselves be overcome but those who come to Christ having suffered the enormities of the world shall be healed and tended with care. Then the King forgives the Baron and restores him to his station on the tacit understanding that the Baron must accept His reign: “I forgive thy treason – I redeem thy fall” — this may be another reference to the War in Heaven, suggesting that God will ultimately forgive even Satan.
The poem ends with the Baron listening to an exposition of mundane power: only the valiant and bold can seize and secure a crown—“Thrones and Powers for mighty men who dare to take and hold!” Thrones and Powers are classic symbols of mundane success but are also denominations of angels, Thrones being the chariots of God which are responsible for divine justice and cosmic harmony and Powers being those that have power over evil forces as well as overseeing the power of kings in the mundane world. Kipling is punning on both meanings, suggesting that those who “dare to take and hold” might find themselves subject to the wrath of the Thrones and Powers. The Baron rejects these symbols, humbly accepting that the iron nails of Christ’s crucifixion are the ultimate “master of men all!”
Cold iron is traditionally supposed to repel evil supernatural entities of all kinds: ghosts, fairies, witches and lost souls, hence the horseshoes frequently nailed over the doors of houses.
The poem originally appeared in Kipling’s book “Rewards and Fairies” along with “The Way Through the Woods” and “If—“. It introduces a short story of the same name where Puck tells two children a story of the power of cold iron over faerie folk.
I like the poem because it tells a story and carries a dual meaning, even if the subtext is distinctly overt. I remember enjoying it at face value when I heard it first many years ago, and now I have researched it and discovered the meanings behind it, I have enjoyed it again.
The poem was set to music by the American folk musician Leslie Fish in 1983; she omitted the final line to make the poem more generally acceptable because the idea of “Iron out of Calvary” is specifically an Anglican concept.