Writing the Catholic Church in Fantasy #fantasybooks #booktube

What is the most challenging thing to write in Medieval-inspired Fantasy books? 🤔 The Catholic Church. But maybe not for the reasons you think. 😂

DAINDRETH'S ASSASSIN is a Fantasy Romance book series, but I do a lot of research for the world building. I want the world to at least feel believable!

So much of the Catholic Church's Medieval structure and function centered on their theology and so without doing ye olde copy/paste to create more "Fantasy Catholics" I had to be a little more creative.

It's a minor part of the series for sure and we won't be spending a lot of time around clergy in these books, but it's one I still want to get right, if for no other reason than I've so often seen it done wrong.

Do you have a Fantasy book that you think had a good depiction of religion?

Here are my Medieval History sources on this topic if you'd like to learn more! Thomas Cromwell by Tracy Bowman; Stories of Medieval Women by Maria Teresa Brolis; The High Middle Ages Great Courses Lecture by Philip Daileader; and The Late Middle Ages Great Courses Lecture by Philip Daileader.

[tyleralyssa]

I have NEVER heard it referred to as a load bearing structure but like dang if that ain’t the most accurate description🤣😂😂

[rodolfoprochenzo]

I, a Catholic and History Buff, love to see accurate and respectful portrayals of an institution as old as the Church is.

[AutumDragonflame]

I am a devout Catholic, and it is honestly super frustrating when the Catholic Church is not done well in stories. I'm not saying it all has to be sunshine and roses, but at least do research on what it actually is, what people believe, and how they practice. I would expect the same for any religion or culture when it is portrayed. Don't assume you know because you hear about it sometimes. That said, it is an incredibly detailed thing and difficult to get right if you aren't super familiar with it. So I appreciate your respect!

[TimKirk]

You've got to pay attention to the details to make the world feel right when you aren't going full gonzo fantasy.

[raylouis]

Not just social services, but education, retention of knowledge (books had to to hand transcrbed at the time - who else had the time and education to be able to do it), Medicine, care of disabled people, the elderly- often was done by the Catholic Church.
Some economic historians have argued the construction of monestaries, convents, churches, cathedrals- was a way of keeping people employed during lean times of the year...
They often maintained storehouses for villages for winter and years with lean harvests.
They were a central part of the society which many people forget.
Lets not go into the requirement of offering sanctuary to people....

[AlexGarvin-fwri]

That's funny. This made me realize that the jedi order is basically the catholic church of the star wars universe, because they provide so many disparate services 😂

[Sienna]

As a Catholic myself, the Church had a very interesting dynamic with the rest of Europe. It provided aid to the less fortunate whilst having some of the most corrupt officials of all time to the point where internal schisms led to three different popes at once! I think that it’s a very nuanced topic and I appreciate it being portrayed in a respectful manor

[randomshellness]

I just want to say thank you for bringing this up. I wrote a book and there was a brief mention of the local church and a beta reader went off on a whole rant about me including any kind of religion that waa in any way similar to catholicism because "its fantasy." Except that like you, it was a loosely historical setting similar to the Italian renaissance. Churches were a big deal in that time period and in basically all communities. It was a frustrating piece of feedback to receive, and hearing you talk about navigating that makes me feel justified in my internal irritation about that critique lol

[Nionivek]

There have been very few pieces of fiction that I feel actually get this right. It feels like a LOT of authors religious based trauma (or are just militant atheists) and thus tend to make the Catholic Church (or its analogy) to evil on its own right.
.
The WEIRDEST piece of fiction would have to be the Castlevania Netflix series. Not because it is another "Catholicism is evil" series... But because it is an adaptation of a series that had a varied approach on The Church (They were both villains and heroes). Characters who were Nuns or highly religious were usually rewritten to be extremely secular.

[claytondavidson]

A bunch of characters held prisoner in a monetary/convent would make a very interesting story setting.

[Papecy_]

Thank you soo much i as a craddle catholic am so saddened that almost all novels based in europe makes the church to be evil and purelly corrupt which eventhought parts of our history has been corrupt, essentially most of the churches history was not so.
I thank you as a catholic and fellow romance novel lover thank you for not attacking and warpping the image of my faith and not magnifying the dark parts of our church and showing our faith in a new light...❤❤❤❤god bless

[andrear]

'Inspiring Philosphy' is an entertaining channel for understanding the history of Christianity, would definitely recommend it to anyone who is interested, both Christians and non-Christians alike! Coming from a Catholic :)

[Anna-kuws]

As a Catholic, thank you so much for the research and hard work you've done to avoid the Fantasy Catholic tropes. It becomes really draining to constantly see your religion (or a faulty interpretation of it) demonized even in fictional worlds, and I deeply appreciate when it's handled respectfully and more accurately.

[kaylizzie]

To people who are interested in how the church impacted the everyday life of people in the early Tudor period might I recommend the Tudor Monastery Farm series of documentaries by the BBC. It follows two archeologists and a historian as they live like tenant farmers on monastic land during the reign of King Henry VII for a year. It’s on YouTube.

[iammariasoledad]

As a Catholic who did my high school research paper on "The Dark Ages" I greatly appreciate your respect for the historical importance of the institution.

[A.L._S.]

And you trying hard really, really, REALLY is appreciated.

[colleenlongua]

As a Catholic, don't even get me started on the terrible stereotypes in the fantasy genre. Thank you taking the time to actually understand and take a nuanced approach:)

[irene_irenaeus_ihs]

I have been watching your videos for a while and I am so grateful to listen an author take seriously the place the Catholic Church has had (and some might argue still has) as "social servicers". Those are taken for granted/expected on our societies but many come from the mentality and beliefes of the catholics about the dignity of the humankind (is that a word? Sorry, English is not my first language). Thank you for your dedication!

[lunasongbird]

Historically accurate is a wonderful bonus. Love it

[bryannabanks]

I was today years old when I realized she was an author and wrote Daindreth's Assassin. I must read it now!!!