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So far I've speculated on
the religious customs and beliefs of the Bretonni before and during the
Unification of Bretonnia, and how the various cults reacted to Unification. Now
it's time to consider how the cults function after Unification, both in their
role as holy figures and advisors to the people of Bretonnia.
Marriage without a minister
First of all, I want to
expand on the second-to-last chapter in my previous article; about how the
various priests agree that the Lady of the Lake is the superior deity. In turn
their cults are sanctioned by the state and they may form a council of priests
to advice the King of Bretonnia. While I believe I put forward some good
arguments for that development, there was another reason behind it. The WFRP
book Knights of the Grail has a few
words about marriage and funerals, on how people get hitched and buried in the
land of chivalry[1].
When I read it I had the niggling feeling that something was missing. It took
me a while, but eventually I realized that there was no mention of ministers;
of (religious) officials who recognize the wedding, funeral or other ceremony
and imbue it with holy meaning. It can't be the Damsels of the Lady of the Lake who administer the ceremony. They're aloof in
nature, have strange magical powers and are both feared and revered by peasants,
nobles and everyone in between. "Damsels never apologise and never explain.
They never seem surprised by the outcome of events, and they often know things
it seems that that they could not have learned by mundane means. Player
characters should feel respect tinged with fear for these figures."[2]
I think neither the Grail Damsels nor the populace would find these devoted
ladies conducting the ceremonies a good idea. There are a few sources, such as
the description of the Damsels in the sixth edition Bretonnia army book[3],
that say otherwise, but that would imply that there are enough Damsels to administer
all the nuptial or final rites for every single person in Bretonnia. The Grail
Knights are also unfit to be ministers, both because they're too few in number
and because I imagine at least some of these living saints would have issues
with sanctifying the weddings and funerals of lowly mud-encrusted peasants.
There's a mention of Grail Knights and Grail Pilgrims giving sermons in Grail
Chapels. "At an attended Chapel, the Grail Knight gives a short sermon every
Ladyday (the name for Holiday in Bretonnia), and those who live nearby are
expected to attend. Grail Knights are not selected for their oratorical
abilities, but many feel that they ought to make an effort, and thus long,
rambling, pointless sermons are extremely common. (...) Some Chapels are attended
by [Grail Pilgrims], often venerating the reliquary of the Grail Knight who
founded the Chapel. These operate much the same way as those attended by Grail
Knights, except that the sermons tend to be better; the leaders of Grail
Pilgrims are chosen on the basis of oratorical ability."[4]
However, there's a huge difference between giving a sermon - as in a written or
spoken address on a religious or moral matter - and being authorized by state
and God(s) to lead two people into holy wedlock.
This leaves us with the only
holy figures remaining in Bretonnia: the clergy of the traditional Old World deities. But I imagine the ruling class, or at
least King Gilles le Breton and his Grail Companions, would have qualms over
being married or buried in the name of a deity they don't worship. This means
that the ruling class would want their ceremonies - at least partially - dedicated
to the Lady of the Lake. This in turn means
that the cults, Damsels and the nobility come to some kind of arrangement.
Having the priesthoods claim that the Lady is stronger than their particular
God(s) and devoting ceremonies to her, in turn of their cults being sanctioned
by the state seems like a plausible solution. So let's say that the Old World
faiths in Bretonnia proclaim the Lady as the Queen of Heaven, the ruler of the Gods
in the Old World pantheon.
We can see a possible precedent
of this supposed arrangement between religions in the novel Savage City. In this story there's a
wedding that is administered by a priest of unknown denomination. Not only does
he dedicate the ceremony to the Goddess of Chivalry, in the same breath he
mentions the Lady and Shallya. "...and even as the Lady herself looks down upon
us here today, so we ask Shallya to also look down, and to gift these two young
people with the life and fecundity with which she..."[5]
This to me reinforces the idea that the Cult of the Lady and the priesthoods of
the Old World pantheon work together in some manner. Another example is the
cooperation between the cults in the Empire. "While each cult operates independently
from the others, and has its own goals, agendas and methods, there is a great
deal of unity between cults. A priest that understands this may politely and
gently guide a wayward worshipper to the priest of another cult if the advice
sought falls outside the realm of the priest's experience or sphere of
influence. In theory, all priests must follow the festivals, rites and
practices of the other cults, and it's considered bad form to criticise the
rites of other cults, although it's done on a daily basis."[6]
It stands to reason that the various faiths in Bretonnia come to a similar, if
not more binding agreement. It is after all a feudal society, where quite
literally nobles rule and peasant drool.
Unification of the cults
Now I've both solidified an
earlier concept and thought of how the ceremonies of the Bretonnians are
administered, let's continue with how the cults of the Old World pantheon would
get there and change with the passage of time. At first glance one could
imagine that they would have much power in Bretonnia. In the beginning, right
after Unification, their cults had been sanctioned by the newly formed and
secure state. The leading figure of each (Bretonnian chapter of the) cult would
receive a place in a council that advised the King of Bretonnia on the will of
the Gods. Some orders or chapters of the cults would most likely be displeased
by this development. For example: Ar-Ulric, the spiritual leader of the Cult of
Ulric. Not only would he lose control over the (Imperial) Ulrican clergy in
Bretonnia, those same men of the cloth would now claim that a mystic water
deity was superior to Ulric. But with King Gilles le Breton, his Grail
Companions and the Lady of the Lake watching over the now united country,
Ar-Ulric and also the leading figures of the other cults would have to console
themselves with the knowledge that they each had one of their own at the King's
side, singing the praises of their particular deity.
But then the Fay Enchantress
came along with the Damsels of the Lady, and suddenly there was competition in
the religion racket. A competition the women of the Lady were assured to win
thanks to their immense magical powers. It's hard to amaze the people with
miracles and prophecies from your deity when another can do the same thing with
a flick of her fingers. That's to say nothing of the rise of the Grail Knights.
Keep in mind that aside from their skill at arms and the divine aura's that
surround them, only a Grail Knight can become the King of Bretonnia. For the ruling
class, devotion to the Lady of the Lake would not be acceptable; it would be
unavoidable. "While the Knights do not ignore these older Gods (that would be
asking for trouble), their lives are dedicated to the protection and veneration
of the Lady of the Lake who founded the
nation."[7]
It's therefore inevitable that the Grail Damsels seize the reins of religious power
in the country. Particularly because the priests of the Old World Gods proclaim
that the Lady of the Lake is the Queen of Heaven, the Goddess who rules not
only the people of Bretonnia but also the deities of Bretonnia. Gradually the
cults would lose power, influence and followers. Some more than others, but
I'll talk about that later. Suffice to say that around 2500 I.C., the faiths of
the Old World pantheon in Bretonnia would be a sad remnant of their former
glory. I think the ruling class, or perhaps the cults themselves, would slowly
but surely institute the clergy into a single Unified Church of Bretonnia. Both
because it's a sign of another victory of Unification in uniting these separate
faiths, and because of the convenience to the nobility who want to show respect
to the Old World Gods but don't want to waste much time on it. The cultists
would go along with it, if only because of their increasing lack of relevance
and decrease in followers and funds. In reality there would be conflicts and
competition between the cults, but this way they can put their priests, laymen
and other assets there where they are the most useful, and thusly survive in
the land of chivalry.
Structure(s) of the Church
First of all we have to
consider where the beggarly priests would be practicing their trade. With the
nobility neglecting the cults and the peasantry being too poor and overworked
to donate or pray much, I don't see many temples surviving in modern-day
Bretonnia. Especially not when only the nobility is allowed to build with stone[8],
which means that the clergy would either have to gain the permission and
support of a noble lord or else use other materials. The temples in the cities
would likely survive more or less intact to the 25th century, since
if the omnibus The Adventures of Florin
& Lorenzo[9] is to be believed,
the urban Bretonnians are more cosmopolitan and prosperous than their counterparts
in the countryside. These places of worship could count on the generosity of
merchants and the rest of the middle class, most of them being peasants and
thusly more inclined to the Old World Gods than the Lady of the Lake. But in
the end the bourgeois have little power nationwide, and the clergy in the
countryside would have few funds and followers to work with. "Bretonnia has not
developed a middle class as powerful as that of the Empire. There is thus no
moderating force to keep the nobility in check."[10]
This means that after fifteen thousand years of decline relatively few new
temples would have been built and many existing ones would have fallen apart. The
same does not go for monasteries; in fact I think that most of the holy
structures of the Church
of Bretonnia would be or
become monasteries. The reason for that is that monasteries, as religious
communities, are more self-sufficient (either by agriculture or providing
products or services) because they've monks and/or nuns walking around whom
besides praying have little else to do. In the real world not all monasteries
are self-sufficient, but we're not talking about the real world here. "In most
cases, the monastery is self-sufficient, with gardens, fields, orchards, and
possibly some additional method of generating income, such as a winery or
scribing services."[11]
This would make them attractive for all classes. The nobles don't have to worry
about fanatics of faiths they don't fully understand, and can give the
occasional contribution to signify their respect for the Old World Gods without
hampering their devotion to the Lady of the Lake. The peasants in turn get a
community of monks that can provide useful services (aside from the usual
religious needs of the peasantry) and a place where they can dump offspring
they can't or won't feed, safe in the knowledge that the monks are looking out
for them. The merchants, scholars, artists and other people of the middle class
would appropriately be in the middle and reap the benefits of both classes.
Now I've determined that
monasteries would make up a large chunk of the cults' real estate, we know that
monks would make up a large chunk of the cults' ranks. But the monks, by their
very definition of cloistered ascetics, are not in a position to fulfil the
religious needs of everyone in Bretonnia. Considering the decrease of power and
followers (and thus new initiates), there would be many villages that don't
have a temple or monastery close by. Of course Knights of the Grail established that Bretonnians like to go on a pilgrimage
to a holy site for their weddings, but what about their funerals, festivals and
other local customs and ceremonies? They would need a nearby priest to guide
the proceedings. I think friars and other travelling priests are a good answer
to this problem. (To clarify, a friar is a monk that commits himself to a
particular geographical area, travelling from community to community and has
taken a vow of poverty, only relying on the charity of others.) The reason for
that is that peasants, who make the majority of the followers of the Old World
Gods, are property of the nobility and need permission of their master(s) to
leave their lands. Again, according to the stories of The Adventures of Florin & Lorenzo those common-born who live
in cities are better off than their counterparts in the countryside, but the
land of chivalry isn't blessed with many great cities. But peasants who go on a
pilgrimage can easily leave the domain of their rightful lords. "Even the
meanest lord, however, can hardly refuse permission for a wedding pilgrimage.
(...) A Grail Pilgrim, as long as he follows his Grail Knight, accepting the
hardships of life on the road, is deemed to be on pilgrimage and thus cannot be
seized by his lord."[12]
I don't think anyone of the ruling class would mind that friars, being
wandering priests who have taken a vow of poverty, are deemed as harmless pilgrims.
And certainly not when the alternative is having no priest of any denomination
nearby, which could result into the peasants revolting. So if there are no priests
close on hand and a pilgrimage to a temple or shrine is out of the question,
the village can simply wait for a friar to come along to administer their
ceremonies.
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