Meme Watch: Inigo

Finish this quote: “Hello. My name is …” Slim Shady? Nope, it’s the other one.

Thanks to the 25th Anniversary of The Princess Bride, we’ve been trading Princess Bride quotes back and forth all week here at TJP.  My favorites are always from Inigo Montoya, the Spanish fencer played by Mandy Patinkin. Inigo Montoya has generated a few memes over the years.

For better or worse, you just can’t use the name Inigo around a Jesuit without us thinking of the early life of St. Ignatius of Loyola.  Before St. Ignatius founded the Jesuits and earned fame for his Spiritual Exercises, he was known by his Basque name Iñigo Loiolakoa.  He was a little less than saintly in much of his early life.  In his autobiography he tells a few stories to drive that point home.

During his travels, Iñigo once met a Muslim, whom he refers to as “the Moor,” and argued with him about Mary’s virginity. After parting company, Iñigo was concerned about whether he had adequately defended Mary’s honor. His proposed solution? To go find the Moor ahead of him on the road, and kill him. (Not a saint yet, remember?)

Unable to decide on his own how to proceed, Iñigo decided to leave it up to the mule. When the road split, if the mule followed the same path as the Moor, Iñigo would ride up and slay him.  Luckily, it seems the animal had more sense than Iñigo.  His mule took the other fork, and he ended up spending the night in prayer at a monastery, instead of as a murderer.

In gratitude for the mule’s discernment, if not Iñigo’s, and after a week of enjoying all the hilarious moments from the Princess Bride, we now submit our own addition to the over-cluttered meme collection we call the internet¹:

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