Fantasy fiction theology: David Eddings
Filed under Trends & Tropes on July 15, 2008
Keywords: David Eddings, fantasy fiction, pantheon, polytheism, The Belgariad, theology
The first fantasy fiction I ever read that included a pantheon of gods integral to the story was David Eddings’ The Belgariad. Eddings follows classic polytheism in many ways, with the gods being related (a father and seven brothers). The gods were involved in the creation of the world. They scheme against each other, use their followers as pawns when necessary, and are able to appear in a physical form to interact with the world.
The theology of The Belgariad differs from classic polytheism in that the people have no say in what god is their patron. In polytheistic cultures like ancient Egypt or Greece, faithful worshiped at multiple altars depending on their need. In the Belgariad, each of the gods chose a race to adopt, and while members of every race recognize the existence of all the gods, they worship only their patron (or none at all).
What made the gods of The Belgariad interesting to me was the fact that they were tools themselves of two different, sentient prophecies. Mortals are regular pawns of the gods, but it’s not often that you see gods portrayed as pawns themselves.
Religion does not have a large role in The Belgariad, or The Mallorean, Eddings’ follow-up series. There are priests and temples, but readers are not treated to a look at the doctrine or traditions related to any particular group of worshipers.
Eddings does build a religion around his gods in The Elenium and The Tamuli, two series set in a different world than his previous books. However, it is only the religion of one god, and is based heavily on the Roman Catholic church.
While much of what we see regarding the Elene church is political rather than theological, there are some interesting dynamics Eddings sets up that allow the reader to infer quite a bit. First, while the Elene god is part of a pantheon (there are Troll Gods and Younger Gods of Styricum), the church doesn’t recognize any other god but their own (who remains nameless throughout the books). Supposedly, this is due to the fact that gods draw their power from the number of followers.
Second, while the Elene god is depicted as all-powerful by the church, it allows members of its knightly orders to learn magic from the disciples of the Younger Gods of the Styricum. None of the protagonist’s supernatural abilities derive from the god of his faith. It would appear that the Elene god is just a construct of the church, except for the fact that one of the characters, a Younger God of Styricum, regularly comments about her conversations with the Elene god.
Many of my early attempts at world-building were influenced by the writings of David Eddings. I created pantheons of deities where one or two members where venerated exclusively by a specific race, usually the one responsible for creating them. The gods were instruments of fate or prophecy, and had priests and temples, but I neglected details related to religious customs and rites. I’ve since become a strong proponent of using religion to add depth to your world, as the story dictates.
Have you read any of David Eddings fantasy fiction? What do you think of his interpretation of polytheism?
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