Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Nowadays , hoi polloi are mostly aware of " Paladins " and " Druids " in the context of fantasy tabletop RPGs likeDungeons & Dragons;the Paladin is a holy warrior who can bolster up their allies and afflict the wicked with the king of faith , whileDungeons & Dragons’Druidsare spell - casters with nature - manipulating powers and the power to shape - shift into different animals . Historical Paladins and Druids , as detailed in ancient historical accounts and knightly romanticism , were a fleck more complicated than their innovative archetypes evoke . Rather than being a universal course of grinder , they were , by most accounts , institutions , integral part of the Celtic / Carolingian cultures they come from .
Both the Paladin and Druid character classes were first introduced in earlyD&Dsupplements before being codified in the 1st edition Player ’s Handbook ofAdvanced Dungeons & Dragons . InD&D5th edition , the Paladinis a cross of a Fighter , with their mastery of weapons and armor , and a Cleric , with their ability to maintain divine thaumaturgy . Paladins are portrayed as sop up divine force from the Oaths they swear and keep , among which are " Knight In shin Armor " oaths to protect the innocent , quasi - druidic cuss to preserve life , laugh , and strain in the Earth , or " Dark Avenger " swearword to avenge great wrongs . Druids inD&D5e are portrayed as magical environmentalist , rejecting the trapping of civilisation to better maintain the counterpoise of the world . To this remnant , Druids wield deception that channelise the powers of storm , makes plants grow , and have them shape - sack into other animals .
bear on : History of the Cleric Fantasy Character Class In RPGs ( & Mythology )
It ’s dependable to say modern depictions of Paladins andDruids in phantasy RPGsand video games are very stylized and far removed from realness ( even discounting their use of magic with spectacular visual effects ) . The gothic romance and ancient history featuring the terms " Paladin " and " Druid " have their own stylization issue as well , being write by Christians trying to promote Christian religion at the expense of truth or ambitious generals trying to hype up their military victories . Still , with vital reading and the comparison of sources , it ’s possible to glimpse Paladins and Druids in their original form - physical body different in surprising ways from their modern incarnation .
The Original Paladins, As Detailed In “The Song Of Roland” And Other “Matters Of France”
The Poul Anderson fantasy novelThree Hearts And Lions , a story of knightly knights , wizards , and fay credited with inspiring the depiction of Paladins inD&D , itself was cheer by " The topic Of France , " a music genre of mediaeval romance , poems , and epics similar in fashion to the legend of King Arthur , but focus around King Charlemagne . In these story of courtly sexual love and gallant knighthood are get hold the early US of the word " Paladin , " a phrasal idiom used to refer to the twelve " officers of the palace " who fought for King Charlemagne and fight his realm . The most famed of these Paladins or " 12 Peers " is Roland , wielder of the magic brand called Durandal and the war horn call Oliphant , whose quasi - diachronic last point of view against an army of Saracens was record inThe Song Of Roland(readable on theFordham Universitywebsite ) .
The modern depiction ofDungeons & DragonsPaladins as holy warriord owe a slew to the Knights Templar , Knights Hospitaller , and other Christian knightly order who push in the Crusades . However , theD&D5e " Oath Of The Crown " Paladin grinder - course ( introduced inTasha ’s Cauldron Of Everything ) returns the rubric of " Paladin " to its ascendent as a term for knights of a royal guard , devoted to protecting their baron / queen mole rat and state .
The Original Druids, As Detailed In Irish/Welsh Tales And Roman Histories
" Druid " were first mentioned in the historical record by Julius Caesar in his bookCommentaries On The Gallic War , " an autobiographical business relationship of the years he spent leading Roman Legions into conflict against the people of Gaul ( and Britain , concisely ) . According to Caesar , the Druids were priests , evaluator for vicious cases / civil difference of opinion , study the movements of stars , and officiants for religious rituals and sacrifices .
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Most infamously , Caesar line the Druids burning humans alive within a massive " Wicker Man " ( though some historians distrust Caesar made up or exaggerated this detail ) . TheWorld History Encyclopediaarticle on Druids also cite Pliny the Elder , a Roman author who described how Druids venerate mistletoe and harvest it during holy intervals of the lunar cycle per second with golden sickles .
one C after the the committal to writing of Roman scholars and statesman , Irish and Welsh writer cite Druids in epic myths such asThe TainorThe Fenian Cycle – hands and charwoman who could cast patch , brew potions , authorise paladin with magical " Geas " vows , and transform themselves into any animal . TheDruids seen in innovative gamesand RPGs likeDungeons & Dragonsdraw their spell - casting abilities from their portrayal in Irish / Welsh myth , while their reputation as savage , nature - worshipping , mistletoe - wielding sages owe a batch to Caesar and Pliny ’s paternalistic depiction of them as " stately barbarian . " The new"Circle of Stars " Druid subclassforD&D5e ( again introduced inTasha ’s Cauldron of Everything ) brings back a facet of the Druids rarely mentioned in modern media : their noesis and consultation of star and constellation .
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reference : Fordham University , World History Encyclopedia
