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| World Map of Warhammer Fantasy |
Bretonnia Land of Chivalry
Warhammer Fantasy is a world setting for
a number of video games, tabletop games, roleplaying games, and novels. As you can see in the image to the right, the world of Warhammer Fantasy draws lots of inspiration from the real historical and physical world. Obviously, there are some differences, but for the most part the setting is a slightly wonky take on the real world.
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| Map of Bretonnia |
Warhammer's use of the real world does not only stop with geography. The nation of Bretonnia can be found in the Europe shaped continent on the map below. But for clarity, here is a zoomed in map of the nation.
Bretonnia is an amalgamation of England and France in the Warhammer world. What is interesting about the lore surrounding Bretonnia is that most of the lore does not draw from the history of England and France, but rather draws from the myths of King Arthur. The entire mythos surrounding Bretonnia steals directly from the Arthurian mythos. In this blog, I will discuss the history, culture, and religion of Bretonnia and the aspects in which it mirrors the Arthurian world. In general, it will be clear that Bretonnia is taking the main virtues from the Arthurian world and distilling them into their "coolest" aspects.
History
To begin, I would like to talk a little bit about the history of Bretonnia. Bretonnia was founded by a man named Gilles le Breton. Gilles is known as the uniter of all of Bretonnia. In the early times of Warhammer, the tribes of humans were attacked by endless hordes of orcs, beast men, and northern raiders. Bretonnia was near annihilation when Gilles appeared, united his people, and led one last great charge against the greenskins (the orcs). Ultimately, with the help of the Lady of the Lake (who I will discuss more later) Gilles succeeded in driving out the evil that plagued his lands.
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| Gilles le Breton |
Of course, Gilles is very akin to King Arthur. He is described many times as the true king of Bretonnia. The idea of birthright signifying power is very present in the Arthurian world and it is a large part of the culture of Bretonnia. Bretonnia values those of high birth more and only noblemen can become knights. The divine right of leadership is something that is very interesting about Arthurian literature and medieval times in general.
It is also worth noting that Gilles last words are "In the time of Bretonnia's greatest need, when it seems that all hope is gone, I shall return to aid you..." One of the most unique aspects of King Arthur is the belief that he is the "once and future king." One day, he will return to be king again. Clearly, Warhammer Fantasy wanted Gilles to be of the same long-lasting influence within their own story.
After the death of Gilles, Bretonnia entered a long period of prosperity. During this time, it is described that knights roamed the lands protecting the innocent, challenging themselves, and gaining strength. There are numerous stories in Warhammer Fantasy lore about knights wandering the countryside just as they do within the Arthurian stories.
The Lady of the Lake
It seems important to discuss
The Lady of the Lake within Warhammer Fantasy for a moment. When Gilles met the lady of the lake, she appeared with a grail in her hands and magically transformed his banner into one that matched the grail. Since that moment, The Lady of the Lake was the predominant religion of Bretonnia. Warhammer Fantasy is a polytheistic world whereas the Arthurian world believes in one true God. Interestingly, the polytheism expanded the importance of The Lady of the Lake. "In the minds of the Grail knights, the Lady of the Lake is a representation of Bretonnia." The Lady of the Lake is seen as a powerful God that represents the health, honor, and grace of their country. One interesting effect this takes is in its effect on the female presence in Bretonnia.
In general, other Warhammer nations do not have a very strong female presence. However, all of the knights and people within Bretonnia have a great respect for women. Women are seen as powerful, graceful, and pure figures to be protected and praised. There is a huge similarity here to the Arthurian texts, especially Malory. Malory greatly emphasizes the need to protect and value women. It is possible that the Lady of the Lake explains, or at least epitomizes the import of women in Bretonni culture.
The Grail Knights
Now, when Gilles first met the Lady of the Lake, he drank from her grail. When he did so, all of his wounds were healed, and he gained strength and resolve greater than any living man. Gilles became the first
Grail Knight. The Grail Knights are those who have completed numerous deadly trials and proved themselves pure of heart. They then drink from the grail and become supernaturally powerful warriors.
I think this represents the way that Warhammer generally adapts real world ideas. It takes something real and asks, "what if we made this crazier and cooler?" The grail knights are more than just really good knights, they are often described as no longer human. Also interesting is that drinking the grail changes their minds. The knights lose much of their previous personality and become extensions of the Lady of the Lake. This could be a criticism of the blind devotion of the "truest" knights. Another aspect of Warhammer fantasy is that it enjoys darkening reality, making everything somewhat bleak. Here, Warhammer is questioning whether it is truly virtuous to become something so far removed from your fellow humans that you no longer act as your own self. The question of agency and individualism in fanaticized knights is not present in the original Arthurian texts.
Conclusion
Overall, Bretonnia is clearly trying to replicate the chivalric, powerful, honorable knights of the Arthurian legends. However, it steals the things that it finds interesting and appealing about the stories. The idea of a grail from a Goddess that will grant you superpowers fits very well within the fantasy that Warhammer appeals to. In many ways, Warhammer ignores some of the more nuanced and interesting aspects of Arthurian legend because it simply does not work with the power fantasy of Warhammer. That being said, there is nothing wrong with that, and it makes for an enjoyable if overwrought setting of knights who wear grails on the top of their helmets.
Warhammer sounds really cool! When you said that the setting of Bretonnia "steals directly from the Arthurian mythos," you meant it, and I kind of love that. I especially love the idea of the Grail Knights and how they explore a darker side of the kind of knightly devotion in the Arthurian World, in a fantastical way.
ReplyDeleteThis was super cool to learn more about! I have heard a lot about Warhammer, but never really got into it or understood really what it was. I always thought it was just a tabletop game. I had no idea the lore was so extensive and deep. I think it's super interesting the way they have adapted to Arthurian stories and themes and put their own twist on it. It also seems clear that they are inserting their own themes and twists to the stories to fit their world.
ReplyDeleteWarhammer is something I never heard of until I read your blog, but it sounds very interesting. It seems that the knights in Warhammer are like Arthurian knights on crack. I liked all the connections you made between Warhammer and the Arthurian world. I also liked how you made it a clear point that Warhammer only took what they thought was the coolest from the Arthurian world and kind of ditched the rest. One thing I found super interesting is the mention that only noblemen could be knights. For the last blog, I researched all about jousting and I came across this same tidbit of information. What confuses me is that in the texts we have read in class it is possible for farmers to become knights, as evident when the one farmer's son who was very tall and big asked to become a knight. Ultimately, I really enjoyed reading your blog and I think you bought up numerous fascinating points!
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of this before reading your blog! It is so interesting and I like how it not only related to the over all topic of our class, but also to our final project of tabletop gaming! I'm just learning more about the lore of tabletop gaming and it is so cool to see it in this world outside of what I'm used to in the literature world.
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