Turns Out The Chantry Was Lying To Us...

This video is subject to speculation.

In this video, we'll be talking about the Dragon Age Chantry, and how it has a major problem. If you're not familiar with the Chantry, it's a church/religion in the game that players can have faith in about Andraste and the Maker.

However, the problem is that the Chantry is full of lies and misinformation. Instead of teaching players about the real story of Andraste and the Maker, the Chantry is teaching them lies and propaganda. This video breaks all of that down.

0:00 Intro
0:39 Andraste's Identity
4:45 The Chantry
7:14 The Maker's Identity
9:18 Political Aspect

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Romans 10:9 - If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

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[greenfrogbad]

Andraste is also heavily based off of Boudica the Iceni Queen who rebeled against the Roman empire after they sacked her lands after the death of her husband King. She lead a coalition of Celtic tribes against the Romans and was a priestess of the war goddess Andraste.

[The-Random-Hamlet]

Minor quibble: Andraste was executed, but not crucified. Crucifixion is a very specific form of execution.

[Cookie]

I have nothing against The Maker, but the Chantry is terrible. They try to control everyone, when they should just be there to help people, teach anyone who wants to know about The Maker and so people who believe in him can worship him.
The Chantry took "Magic exists to serve man and not to rule over him" and turned it into "Imprison all mages in case they hurt someone" and ignores the fact that in a lot of cases they hurt people because the Chantry locked them up and they're angry and desperate. It's not an excuse, but it is a self-fulfilling prophecy. My human mages always hate it.
Having said that, though, not all members of the Chantry are bad. You do hear some of them talk about how mages are treated badly, ie, the Chantry Sister in Haven near Leliana's tent in Inquisition, and Leliana herself.
If more members of the Chantry followed their example, the Chantry would be better and the Circles wouldn't exist, or at least they wouldn't be mage prisons.
I'm not even going to touch the real world side of things, because this comment turning into a long one, and I have a headache. In short, the Chantry is arrogant and controlling and needs to change.

[ndogwalker]

Doesn’t the revelation of the veils creation imply that the golden city would have existed in the real world, Similar to the half structures we see in the eluvians in trespasser? If so, then doesn’t that completely disprove the makers divinity? Like, if the holy city that was supposedly corrupted by man really was just a normal city before the veil was made, then the chantry’s myths surrounding the seat of the maker have to be false.
Also the creation of the dark spawn is called into question

[GreyWardenArlethaVakarian]

I personally hate the Templars and the Chantry I would be more than happy and would laugh tears if Andraste was an elven mage 😂 they sure would bite their lips bloody

[Floymin]

If you choose to be pragmatic in your conversations with Leliana, she basically tells you that she knew all along.

[MadAtreides]

She heard "the song of the maker" and that sounded incredibly similar to what grey wardens and ghouls describe darkspawn corruption to be... Even when not described as a song, she heard voices and tunes in her head, which is the exact way the ancient magisters of imperium described how the Old Gods communicated with their priest... Maybe spreading the Chant and spreading the corruption upon all the world stem, in fact, from the same root?

[barr]

all we know about the maker, is what cole said that the maker is "far away"

[valp]

What if Andraste was an Elf? You never see the ears in any depiction of hers and that may be a bridge between Elven lore and Chantry. After all, humans needed heroes who were human-like
..

[MIALanfear]

Well done Saria, you chose a damn difficult topic this time lol.

My take...

There does seem a lot of parallels between our religions and ones from the game.
I don't think we'll ever get a concrete answer on whether the maker exits or not as Bioware have said many times it the one question they will not answer, which is damn frustrating but i kind of understand.
The only first hand evidence we have is from Corypheus " I have seen the the throne of the gods and it was empty " for example and if you side with the Templar's, you find what amount to Cory's diaries his own record of the Magisters Sidreal breach of the golden city.
Again no mention of the Maker only " the darkness " as he calls it.
I think if the Maker exists s/he does not dwell in the Golden/Black City.

[jasonreiyn]

I believe that Andraste was a Anwaren mage, and in her life, what she sang to was the spirit who joined with her and taught her magic. One of the spirits that riddle you as you try to get her ashes talks about how she summoned terrible weather and caused crops to burn in front of her army.
I believe that Corypheus demonstrates that Tiventor mages did physically get past the veil. However, it isn't conclusive that they became the first Darkspawn just that they were turned into powerful ones. They managed to get through the veil which means that their action took place after Dreadwolf's creation of it, and likely after at least one of the blights which would demonstrate that no, they did not create the darkspawn. I'd also add that given the complex life cycle of the darkspawn, I don't think they spontaneously came into existence from any sort of action or curse or what have you. I'm confident that we haven't been given the real answer to that mystery.

[younggod]

It would surprise no one if andraste was a mage all along. in inquisition you can uncover the story af an avvaar leader "tyrdda bright axe" who supposedly had a glqoing weapon. this was interpreted as "glowing axe" but in truth, the weapin was a mage staff all along. So a tribe leader who liberated her people turns out to be a mage? If it is in fact the case for andraste, she certainly wouldn't be the only one

[bluewolf]

As a big fan of the dragon age series and sorta a lore buff of it the second I read the title I very much thought ‘ya don’t say?’ Cause the chantry’s problem is kinda sorta a humongous plot point up there with the blight throughout the entire series.

[Mizore]

Punching Solas at the end took me out 🤣

[rubirawrs]

was looking for something else when I fell in the Dragon Age lore rabbit hole, your summary of everything is amazing! Please keep up the great work

[SrChr]

What's so relatable about the Chantry, is that it has so many parallels with the real-life Christian Church.
Andraste's Message & Sacrifice - Jesus' Message and Sacrifice.
The Chantry turning that message into a tool to instill both fear & order in the masses to gain power & influence - Same with the Chruch.
Slight alterations of original texts, rules and restrictions, political influences - All the same. But then, most religious factions are like that.

Far as the story of The Golden City is concerned, it leaves a lot of speculation. When Corypheus claims that "there was nothing golden,
only dead whispers", and the biggest revelation, "I have seen the throne of the gods, and it was EMPTY!" All implies the Maker's tale is likely a lie.
It lends credence to the theory that it is all a fabrication of the former Elven God Pantheon. But of course, the Chantry will never believe that.
Because if their story of the Maker is shattered, so too is their authority status. And all sorts of new rebellions would rise up all over Thedas.

Mother Giselle, respectfully, tries to put a positive spin on all she hears. But it's still just Chantry rhetoric. Although some of the things she says
have a good message to them. "Has the state of the world not taught you the folly of fighting too many battles at once?" An admirable viewpoint.

Regardless of the Chantry's partially corrupt status, it's still a necessity in Thedas to maintain a sense of order.
And whatever role it might play in the upcoming Dreadwolf, if so, its fate just might be on the line.

[lilwindingo]

It is so strange to me that big events even in real life can be completely forgotten or changed to the point that nothing of the original remains.
That being said the chantry changing details and removing elves from chantry history is all you need to know that most or all of the stuff is twisted and warped in their teachings.

[sugoistalin]

The Chantry, lying?! Perish the thought.

[zacharycornman]

Could you imagine it turns out to be flemith, and the maker is solas. Solas is the maker because the world that humans knows is what Solas is made after the fall with the creation of the veil, and flemith backstory is oddly similar to andraste and says she has gone by many names.

[wendersonemanuel]

Dragon age inquisition introduce me to this franchise and it's so amazing that it has so much lore and so many details❤