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Corax

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That's right ok so is it something the ardents started during Hierocracy? Or were they doing that before than? Or something that slowly evolved over time?

Not everything has to be Religion's fault, you know? ;) Some in-world scholar who may or may not have been religious wrote Arts and Majesty at an unspecified time in the distant past. Seeing that ardents don't follow the precepts of that ancient work, I highly doubt that original Vorin doctrine had anything to do with it.

In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Sunmaker (the famous enemy of the Hierocracy) was a big supporter of Arts and Majesty, what with his macho way of thinking. He might have even enforced the traditions based on it all throughout Alethkar during his reign.

Anyway, from what I could see, the Vorin priests in general seem much more egalitarian in terms of the sexes. The safehand thing may have somehow become associated with Vorin morality over the years, but then the religion has gone through major changes due to Sunmaker, so this might just be one of them.

Edited by skaa
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I always thought the reason ardents aren't subject to the same rules is because they aren't considered either male or female, just ardents.

 

But that's just another evidence against the idea that Arts and Majesty was Hierocratic in origin. If I was a priest ruling Alethkar during the Hierocracy, one who was also an artist or a scholar, I wouldn't have supported some book that said I am less of a man because of what I do, even if I were celibate, because I know that I'm a man, not a blob of religious flesh. And if a female priest truly believed that the safehand makes women more dignified, why then would she lower herself as to forfeit that dignity at the time when she had great political power?

 

Also, we do have WoB that the author of Arts and Majesty was part of a misogynist conspiracy to take Shardblades away from women. Why would the Ardentia, who does not seem to have a problem with equality of the sexes, be part of that conspiracy?

Edited by skaa
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But that's just another evidence against the idea that Arts and Majesty was Hierocratic in origin. If I was a priest ruling Alethkar during the Hierocracy, one who was also an artist or a scholar, I wouldn't have supported some book that said I am less of a man because of what I do, even if I were celibate, because I know that I'm a man, not a blob of religious flesh. If a female priest truly believed that the safehand makes women more dignified, why then would she lower herself as to forfeit that dignity when she had political authority?

 

On the other hand, we do have WoB that the author of Arts and Majesty was part of a misogynist conspiracy to take Shardblades away from women. Why would the Ardentia, who does not seem to have a problem with equality of the sexes, be part of that conspiracy?

 

I love this WoB, and I really want to read more in future books about how this all came about. It's fascinating and largely puts our own world into context.

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