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meaning of "riding out on sorties in quest of adventure"

English Language & Usage Asked by Arash BK on February 25, 2021

I read in a (originally) German novel that:
"They are continually riding out on sorties in quest of adventure"
What are they exactly doing?! Living on booty? If so then how could it be in quest of adventure?

It follows: "Whether they reap trouble or renown, they bear it for their sins" I can understand that one reap trouble for his sin but how is it to reap renown for your sin? I’m probably getting it wrong.

This is the paragraph:

‘It is well known to me,’ said his host, ‘that many formidable
fighting-men dwell at Munsalvaesche with the Gral. They are
continually riding out on sorties in quest of adventure.
Whether these same Templars reap trouble or renown, they
bear it for their sins. A warlike company lives there.

Parzifal. Penguin. 1980

One Answer

This is not trivial prose to decipher.

sortie = a short, quick attack by a military force, such as a small group of soldiers or an aircraft, made against an enemy position

"A series of sorties was carried out at night by specially equipped aircraft.">

OR = "a short journey to somewhere you have not been before, often with a particular purpose"

Cambridge Dictionary

Hence: "They are always going out to search for adventure".

The second part of the question is "Whether they reap trouble or renown, they bear it for their sins".

reap = to obtain or receive something as a result of your own actions

Cambridge Dictionary

Hence: A sortie may result in trouble for them or it may result in fame. They reap {= receive} either trouble or fame.

bear = to accept, tolerate, or endure something, especially something unpleasant

Cambridge Dictionary

Therefore, whether they reap {= get from their sorties} trouble or fame, they bear {= accept} it as in penance for their sins {=sins they committed at other times}, or perhaps as a consequence of sins they committed during the sorties.

Answered by Anton on February 25, 2021

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