So Fading Magic But Just the Opposite

Our medical diagnoses of cases mentioned in medieval literature are at best unreliable - and the medical causes of 'leprosy' were not known then. Certainly 'leprosy' 'is one of the oldest recognized, and feared, diseases in Europe.
But we find a sharp rise of cases of 'leprosy', and of documented institutions to contain it, in early 13th century Europe. We know from his bones in the sarcophagus of Cosenza cathedral, that the son of Friedrich II, Heinrich (paleopatologia.it/articoli/a ... ecordID=95 ).

In Mythic Europe, Tytalus and Hariste had contracted leprosy well before the Crusades. Its people would not distinguish an indigenous leprosy from one coming from the Levant.

Cheers

This needs a little help.

The Liber Extra from 1234 (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_of_Penyafort) is not a papal 'edict', but a sweeping effort to reform canon law.
The idea of the 'perpetua servitus iudaeorum' was already phrased by Innocent III in 1205. But the Liber Extra constitutes it as canon law (see de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kammerknechtschaft ), which then really seals the fate of the jews in Europe.

Cheers

Rather the aftermath of the Albigensian crusade, with clumsy episcopal inquisitors.

Cheers

The idea of the apocalypse - as the onset of the age of the holy spirit - in 1260 was conceived by Gioacchino da Fiore (see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Eras) before 1200.
Many Franciscans saw Friedrich II as the antichrist of the apocalypse. And the more refined Salimbene di Adam (see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salimbene_di_Adam) wrote a book on the Emperor aligning his faults to biblical examples.
Joachimite theology was taken up again by Franciscan spirituals like Gerardo di Borgo San Donnino (see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraticelli).

Starting a campaign in 1220, a troupe might also decide that Gioacchino da Fiore was right, and then run their saga towards the prophesied abolition of the Church in the age of the fullness of grace in 1260.

Cheers

I'm not looking for the real motivation behind it, but rather why would happen in Mythic Europe. Not being allowed to consult the 'word of God' seems to be an Infernal plot.

As for the Cathars, most of their heterodox notions had nothing to do with the Bible, which they seem to have rejected almost in its entirety.

The Albigensian and North Italian Cathars based their teachings on the New Testament. Therefore laymen reading the bible were suspect in recently subdued Toulouse in 1229.

Cheers

EDIT: For a first look-up, see amazon.co.uk/Montaillou-Cath ... oy+ladurie

An exceedingly loose and selective interpretation - considering Jesus attended a wedding, was baptized and baptized others, and basically invented the whole bread and wine ceremony complete with instructions to continue it. When I read the Catharist doctrines, I can't help but say "Did any of these people actually read ANY of the New Testament?"

It is likely better if you tell me first, just how far your study of Cathars has progressed. I assume, that you have read F&F p.13ff, especially Beliefs of the Cathars?
Beyond this, we have Cathars often on this forum - so for now I refer you to New Herbam (and other) Spells .

Cheers

The In Nomine Core Rules had a sidebar which I try to take to heart. My copy has long since disappeared but I'll try to sum up.

It's a little insensitive to attribute real events to purely supernatural causes even when playing a game set in a fictionalized history. It can trivialize the choices and actions of real people as well as the harm or good those actions caused. Particularly it can get offensive when you start taking "evil acts" and saying demons made them do it. I'm not saying it can't be done. But you have to be careful.

For this reason I try not to replace the real historical causes with demonic or other magical influence. Instead I usually put the fantastical elements in to stir the pot so to speak. Exacerbating or taking advantage of the situation.

Yes, and I've given The Book of Two Principles and the Apocrypha of John a read. While I understand that the Cathars viewed the material world as evil and therefore water and the components of the Eucharist must therefore also be evil, thus their rejection of the sacraments, what I haven't been able to find answer for is how Cathar theology reconciles these practices of Christ and his disciples (baptism, last supper), especially given Paul's drawing attention to the practice of sharing bread and water in an appropriately reverent manner.

Oh I agree, but part of the point of Ars Magica is that the supernatural is behind a lot of stuff. People do bad things of their own accord all the time (infernal plots not required), but the infernal is also around to encourage that behavior (just as the divine is around to encourage good behavior; it works both ways).

For the following I do refer you to bibd.uni-giessen.de/gdoc/2000/uni/m000001.pdf, especially 2.3.3 on p.24f, whose further references you can then follow up. The Christ of the Cathars instituted by his own baptism and by the consolamentum the salvation of humanity: the angels duped into evil bodies in an evil world. That evil world, itself a mockery of the world first created by God, could not hinder Christ in this - also where he worked miracles. Cathars did not respect the mass, as performed by Catholic clergy, and had no equivalent for it. They would certainly not consider the last supper as the institution of the Catholic mass.

Does this help? Note, that you will nowhere find an authoritative 13th century Cathar theologian, who can give you explanations for biblical texts of your choice, or dispute their meaning with you. Though discussing the Pauline epistles or the Acts of the Apostles with one might have been enlightening.

Cheers

EDIT: There are many finer points here, especially about how representative certain documents are for Cathar faith. I can not make them in this post, but refer for them to the quoted document and the literature it leads to.

In the book of two principles you find the following instructions for performing the consolamentum:

The book which I underscored in it - and which some read as the bible, and some as the gospel of John - is an important instrument for the consolamentum, the only sacrament of the Cathar faith.

There is no such dependency on the presence of a book for the Catholic sacraments, or for Catholic practice. The most likely book to be found in a medieval Catholic Church is an evangeliary (see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psalter).

So in 1229 those gathered at the synod of Toulouse might have felt clever indeed, when in the conquered province prohibiting books containing the old and/or new testament in the possession of laymen, while allowing excerpts for use in the liturgy, or a psalter (see de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibelverbot - no text in English available):

(underscore mine)

Cheers

The Order would get stronger, of course, with a bigger vis supply and more members. The price of Art books would probably go down a bit, with study-able vis easily available. And disputes over vis sources would become less common, since it'd be easier to find new sources than to fight over old ones.

Crazy magical stunts would become more common, I think. A giant ritual to give everyone in the Order +1 Intelligence or to completely heal the injuries of a thousand crippled mundanes seems a lot less crazy when you're swimming in vis.

Give it a century and a distant God, and the Order might start taking a more active role in the governance of the world. The "don't mess with the mundanes" rule is rooted mainly in fear, which a stronger Order would have less of unless direct divine intervention was on the table.

One thing I thought of. More Magi will boil down to more or at least larger covonants. Which will need more servants, soldiers and specialist (grogs and companions) Not to mention land and raw materials as well as finished goods. So if the Order experiences a growth spurt, for any reason, that will necessitate greater contact with the mundane world.

There's also the nature of magic in the local saga to consider. Magic is generally impersonal; how the world uses more magic depends on how the SG and players regard humanity. This informs the rest of the setting.

I suspect that more magic would lead to more activity overall. Faeries are invigorated by more stores, which more magic provides; demons are motivated by sinful behavior and magic creates more opportunity; the Dominion would probably act out to protect its dominion. What the Divinity would do is mysterious, of course; possibly this increase of magic is to advance the Dominion's reach.*

*In my head the Dominion is the earthly realm, the appointed mortal rulers and population under the Divine; the Divine is the celestial realm.

The most annoying thing about magic becoming stronger is the Order's monopoly on both space and vis usefulness. This would be a great time for hedge wizards to shine, since theoretically this should boost them at well, but in practice the Order's ability to oppress other factions will be boosted a lot more than those factions' ability to avoid oppression. Most of the Rival Magic traditions would prosper, at least for a short while, but the Order's ability and desire to come over and step on their toes would be blooming quickly. The Soqotrans would probably get a significant enough boost that they would be happier than not, but the Virgillians, the Muspelli, and most likely the Amazons would suffer in the long run. (Virgillians and Muspelli in the short-term too, just because they'll have more difficulty dealing with the Order, but I can see the Amazons enjoying improved military standing for a while before the Order even remembers they exist).

The other question is whether the rise applies evenly. If, for example, sites of ancient worship where hedge traditions are practicing raise in aura and vis production more quickly that sites being exploited by the Order, that is going to lead to not only stronger hedge wizards but a certain degree of consideration within the order as to how to best [strike]exploit[/strike] develop the situation to increase their own sources of vis and magic auras.

Or it would lead to more incentive for the Order to take over those sites to establish covenants there, after eradicating or subjugating those hedgies. "Look, they have stronger auras and vis sources! I want those!"

Don't underestimate short-term vision and greed. Some would consider it smart (although cold) to eliminate potential competition before it grows too strong.

I suspect that the order would be anything but coherent in their approach, and yes some will try this, others will try a different approach, and the real issue is how the roleplaying works out...