During the Middle Ages, magic took on various forms, including monks, priests, physicians, surgeons, midwives, folk healers, and diviners. The practice of magic was not considered essentially ‘female’, and court records indicate that it was not seen as evil. In medieval England, using magic was seen as against the law and immoral, but still widespread across society.
Magic in the Middle Ages was a common and accepted part of everyday life, with witchcraft, exorcisms, and saintly miracles appearing in many forms. The article moves from historical to historiographical analysis, examining historical watersheds in the development of Western thought on what magic is. Despite condemnations from some theologians at the time, there was a flowering of intellectual interest in magic during the medieval period.
Natural magic was an aspect of magic in the early Middle Ages, following initial missionary efforts in Western and Northern Europe. Today’s society considers magic as mere superstition or something found only in novels due to modern minds’ tendency for empirical thinking. However, magic was a reality in the Middle Ages, with white magic generally accepted and black magic practiced.
Magic was practiced in almost all parts of the Ancient World, and people used and feared magic for the same reasons they used or feared any other sacred ritual: magic was thought to strengthen or sever. In the Middle Ages, magic was a common and accepted part of everyday life, even within the bounds of church authority. Modern manifestations of magic, such as Narnia and Harry Potter, come from the Middle Ages.
In conclusion, magic existed in diverse forms during the Middle Ages, including witchcraft, exorcisms, and saintly miracles.
📹 What If Magic Really Existed In The Middle Ages?
Would Medieval Europe look the same if magic was real in our past? Let’s revisit history together. Link to my previous episode …
Did Egyptians have magic?
Ancient Egypt was a time of magic, invoked through deities, primarily by trained priests and pharaohs, magicians, and ordinary people. Magic was an integral part of healing rituals and was brought into being using spells and sacred texts. It was used for protection against evil, illness, and danger, and was intimately connected to medicine and healing. Objects, such as amulets and wands, were believed to be charged with magic.
Heka, the deification of magic, preceded all other Egyptian deities and was the old Egyptian word for magic, which translates to “using the Ka”. Other Egyptian deities, such as Shed, Tutu, Wadjet, Isis, and Bes, also used protective magic to help humans.
Does magic exist in ancient times?
Magic in the Ancient World, an online exhibit for Google Arts and Culture, showcases the everyday practices of ancient Egyptians, highlighting the lack of distinction between magical and practical remedies. The exhibit, curated by Foy Scalf and arranged by Matt Welton and Tasha Vorderstrasse, features objects and digital images from the Oriental Institute Museum’s collection. Texts by Robert Ritner, Kiersten Neumann, Kate Grossmann, and Tasha Vorderstrasse are adapted from Oriental Institute Publications, including “Between Heaven and Earth: Birds in Ancient Egypt”.
Did the Middle Ages have magic?
Early medieval sources describe how words or incantations could transform everyday objects like knots, bread, cloth, and grass into magical tools. Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. Members of an institution can access content through IP-based access, which is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically and cannot be accessed.
To get remote access when outside the institution, sign in through your institution using Shibboleth/Open Athens technology, which provides a single sign-on between your institution’s website and Oxford Academic.
What was the natural magic in the Middle Ages?
The principles of natural magic include sympathy and antipathy. Sympathy and antipathy are two natural magic principles that operate in a manner similar to the principles of homeopathy. In this context, things work on or cure what they resemble or have affinity for. Antipathy is a principle that operates in a manner that contrasts with the natural world’s antagonistic nature. This is evidenced by the fact that one animal’s remedy can help cure another’s wounds.
When did magic begin?
Magic has a rich history, spanning over 2, 500 years. The first recorded magic act was performed by Dedi in Ancient Egypt in 2, 700 B. C., known for the cups and balls magic trick. The trick, which used stones and vinegar cups, was conjured in Roman times between 50-300 A. D. by the Acetabularii group. This period also saw the emergence of sleight of hand tricks. Over the centuries, magic has been used to entertain people at fairs and shows, and by con artists to trick people out of their money. However, magic became associated with the occult, leading to disrepute and persecution by the church and authorities. Despite this, magic continues to be a captivating and fascinating art form.
Were witches real in the olden days?
During the early modern period (1450-1750), around 90, 000 women and men were accused of witchcraft in Europe, with around half of them executed. Most accused did not identify as witches, but some may have unknowingly practiced witchcraft after being tortured. A small group of people worked as cunning people, similar to village wise men or women, who were consulted to heal illnesses, find lost or stolen goods, or heal bewitchment. Cunning people could practice for decades before being suspected of witchcraft, and witchcraft in Europe was associated with the Devil, from whom witches were believed to gain their powers.
Some people in Europe did practice harmful magic, such as using dolls and animal hearts pierced with pins to attack and protect. However, most accused of witchcraft were accused because of an interpersonal conflict, not because they ever practiced magic or witchcraft.
Are witches mentioned in the Bible?
In 1 Samuel 28, Saul enlists the Witch of Endor to summon the spirit of the deceased prophet Samuel. Witchcraft and divination are forbidden in the Hebrew Bible, specifically in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. These laws prohibit tolerating sorceresses, eating with blood, practicing divination or soothsaying, and executing individuals with ghosts or familiar spirits. In Leviticus, those with ghosts or spirits are put to death and pelted with stones, and bloodguilt is theirs.
Deuteronomy 18:10-11 prohibits anyone from consigning a son or daughter to the fire, being an augur, soothsayer, diviner, sorcerer, spell-caster, or consulted with ghosts or spirits. These laws emphasize the prohibition of such practices in the Bible.
What is the oldest form of magic?
In ancient Egypt, the magician Dedi performed the first known conjuring effect (balls) around 2700 B. C., along with other effects like decapitating a bird and reattaching its head. However, there is no evidence that Dedi performed these effects for anyone, and the Westcar Papyrus does not mention him performing the cups and balls.
In ancient Greek myths, magic was prevalent among the classical founding pagan cultures of Europe, connected to Egyptian and Persian cultures. Magic, divination, and necromancy were intertwined with chthonic Gods, monsters, oracles, and heroes.
In ancient Rome, the Acetabularii performed the Cups and balls using stones and small vinegar cups, a group of magicians specializing in the effect. However, there is no certain evidence for the existence of the cups and balls during this period. The Beni Hasan tomb painting is considered unlikely to represent the effect, and the Westcar Papyrus does not provide any evidence for the Cups and Balls.
Who was the first magic person?
In ancient Egypt, the magician Dedi performed the first known conjuring effect (balls) around 2700 B. C., along with other effects like decapitating a bird and reattaching its head. However, there is no evidence that Dedi performed these effects for anyone, and the Westcar Papyrus does not mention him performing the cups and balls.
In ancient Greek myths, magic was prevalent among the classical founding pagan cultures of Europe, connected to Egyptian and Persian cultures. Magic, divination, and necromancy were intertwined with chthonic Gods, monsters, oracles, and heroes.
In ancient Rome, the Acetabularii performed the Cups and balls using stones and small vinegar cups, a group of magicians specializing in the effect. However, there is no certain evidence for the existence of the cups and balls during this period. The Beni Hasan tomb painting is considered unlikely to represent the effect, and the Westcar Papyrus does not provide any evidence for the Cups and Balls.
What did the Romans think of magic?
During the Republic and Imperial periods, Romans commonly engaged in practices that could be considered magical, including the use of curse tablets, binding spells, ritual incantations, enchantments, and poisons that resembled magic potions. This was despite the nebulous nature of magic itself.
📹 PROOF MAGIC EXISTED IN MEDIEVAL TIMES
In this video I present tangible evidence that magic existed in medieval times. King Arthur, Merlin, and alchemy as well as many …
I think it could be very different. For example, it might be commonplace for armour to have adornments and “decoration”, even for the lowliest soldiers, as certain sigils, glyphs, or wards might render the armour impervious to spells of certain kinds, or even repulse them like magnets. We might also have weapons with their own enchantments, like a sword that can actually cut through steel plate, or that can do that shockwave thing you see in games. Scarier still, the gun might evolve differently, perhaps to have homing bullets (see Hellsing Ultimate’s Rip Van Winkle), and bullet wards or some kind of physical magic shield might be needed to protect against them. Imagine someone casting a detection spell to know where you are, then firing their arquebus, and the ball winding around walls, through doorways, and past obstacles to find you…! This could change society as we know it, with guns actually being the insanely OP things mass media makes them out to be. Then you get to homing trebuchet rocks and homing cannons…! Would such tech ever need to be invented if we have magics that can fling things at high speeds? Then there’s the other end of the spectrum: If we had magic that could cure diseases, like the Plague, Europe would be a much different place from that alone, having not lost over 1/2 its population. Distribution of wealth and food would be different if we never had to contend with failing harvests, blights, droughts, or other causes of famine; Ireland immediately springs to mind.
I like how the Sword of Truth novels describe combat with magic-users. Essentially, the expectation of any battle was that one of 3 things would happen: 1. There are no mages in the battle. 2. The mages on each side fight to a stalemate and there may as well be no mages in the battle. 3. One side starts landing spells and each one that gets through the enemy’s defensive spells takes out massive chunks of the army and sways the battle rapidly in their favour.
Love this article! I get the impression that magic appearing at the turn of the 13th century would cause the Pavise and other shields to be reintroduced to simplify the process of protecting against magical elements, or to make it affordable for common troops. In addition, the premise of military-industrial magic may also lead to the development of professional enchantment, which means that armor radically changes. Depending on the form and degree of function these enchantments had, a common tunic might be able to function as plate armor or defend against fire and lightning. If this is the case, then armor only exists for reasons of desirable appearance or affordability, assuming it is more affordable than the enchantments in question.
EE…This begs the question: Just how powerful is the Magic? I can imagine a world where even the most powerful mage could only take out a squad of armored knights before he was exhausted. I can imagine a world where a powerful mage could wipe out an army—and many scenarios in between. A squad-problem mage would have an advantage in life, but it wouldn’t necessarily make it easy for him to become a King. We might suppose that in addition to their battle prowess that squad-problem mages have some other advantages over the mundane—say noticeably increased longevity, resistance to injury or plague, increased rate of healing, greater memory and intelligence and sharper senses….Yeah, a mage isn’t a good dude to mess with, but he would hardly have diplomatic immunity in the world…
i think it is important to note here that the outcome depends largely on a few factors regarding magic. first off, is there a source of power? does using magic tire the mind? the body? both? is there a risk in using magic too much? are magically significant ingredients required? how much preparation is needed to perform a spell? perhaps preparing a spell is a lengthy process which makes it difficult or impossible to use in combat, instead forcing military wizards to use it to relay information, elaborate magical traps or to break sieges where they have more time to perform their rituals. it is also important to note about other often magical processes, the presence of alchemy would instantly reshape the whole world economy, especially if there aren’t any rules in place like in some settings where gold can not be transmutated or stuff like that.
Great article Metatron, this is definitely food for thought for any world builders out there. One thing I’d like to point out is that diamonds being the “most valuable gem” is a very recent development, spurred mostly be the advertising campaigns by DeBeers starting around ~1900. Before that diamonds were considered more semi-precious as they really are too common to be as valuable as they currently are. I also can see a good alternate path magic could have on society, which is magic and magic use becoming the domain of religion, with religious orders seeking out and recruiting all spellcasters to train in their order. A good example of this is the Wheel of Time series where the Aies Sedai would actively seek out all women who could use magic (called websiteers in this world) and take them to their main headquarters in Tar Valon to train them to become Aies Sedai. The Aies Sedai kind of fill both roles as government and religion, as they act as both spiritual leaders across the land and also as the main government in Tar Valon. In this case I’d expect to see a number of secular governments eventually fall in favor of theocracies though, but not necessarily all of them. Religion can be a powerful motivator to do or not do something and if mages get indoctrinated on morality to believe it’s morally right for them to obey secular authorities regardless of whether or not they can cast spells or not could prove a useful deterrent to mages taking over.
To protect against lightning all they’d have to do is make sure there is a sort of chain or metallic strap to drag on the ground in order to make sure the electricity travels from the armor to the ground rather than through the feet. As for the ruling class only being mages, I wouldn’t be so certain about that. Rasputin, Jafar, and Merlin. Mages tend to get powerful positions (if they’re so inclined) but becoming ruling class is either just out of their reach or it stifles their capabilities since the skills needed to use magic are different from the skills needed to govern. It might be more viable under a totalitarian style rule, which is why Rasputin and Jafar got so close.
Dragon Age has super cool depiction of mages cause they’re included in “politics” in the game, they abuse their power and there’s an order dedicated on keeping them in track. The mages are brainwashed from a young age and are being controlled/forced into behaving and at the same time people fear them.
The thing you have to remember is that for all a mage can throw fireballs and summon storms, they could still be easily killed by a barely trained militia man with a crossbow. (Or a gun – though this only applies assuming gunpowder was invented) a bow would also be practical though it would require actual training and practice. Lightning and fire could be dealt with by soldiers wearing asbestos coated rubber suits. (Probably not possible in a medieval society)
It did exist and does today, it just depend on your outlook on life. Speech in old in English is called spell, to make a poem spellcraft, the norse call it galdr (song) and seither and with this you can bring whole worlds into beong, make or break peoples reputations including kings. you speak what you want into existence how the world should be then make it happen, casting a spell then working hard to bring it to fruition through harnessing the emotions. Woden was the patron of magic along with freo. We just seem to have forgot that magic requires hard work and sacrafice on our part.
We might also consider how magic manifests itself in individuals, like if it is random or genetic, which would influence how it relates to your idea of nobility being replaced by mages. Also, how did the civilization first come into contact with magic? Did they discover it on their own by chance like most scientific discoveries, or did they learn about it through a conquering nation that had already discovered it? That might influence their view in their culture
More magic and medieval articles please! This was great. I would also consider what is the … fuel for this magic? Any kind of resource be it metal, gem, fluid or even time would become also very expensive and probably state-controlled. What if the fuel for magic was life? Would they breed rats for example just to fuel their spells? I don’t know! But this was very entertaining!
I always saw magic as a metaphor for the power of applied knowledge, and an affinity for magic as one for general intelligence. That being said, I wondered how it’d be if magical ability weren’t this thing you just had or didn’t have, but ran along a bell-shaped curve. It’d be interesting, also, if there was savantism or prodigies of particular schools. How about individuals with not a gleam of skill on anything but runes or telekinesis? As for monarchs needing to be the best mages of their realm, I’m not so sure. Knowledge (and the ability to critically apply it) are very important, but were not always with many of our illiterate, inbred rulers of the past. In societies people are expected to specialize. And I could much better see a successful monarch, normal in magical ability, be very intelligent and cunning in statecraft by knowing how to make use of his literate servant to read out treaties; his military officers (who may or may not be skilled in magic, but are very strategically minded) to provide insight in a current war; and a variety of mages who do things such as cast magical defenses around the castle, maintain the health of the monarch, and study under the ruler’s protection in the nearby university—where they learn new ways to further improve the magical discipline for the betterment of society.
Another aspect to consider about magic is if it’s a genetic ability or if anyone can learn how to do it given enough time and study. If it’s an inherited trait then its proof of Devine Right. As you said the nobility and the higher levels of the clergy will all be magic users. Magic would be a tool of the Roman Catholic church as much ad it’s a tool of the nobility of medieval Europe. If being able to use magic is a learned skill and not genetic it changes things a little. Nobles will learn some magic but they also have to devote time to running things, however they would likely be patrons of someone that devoted their life to the magical arts. The Roman catholic church also had a lot of people that spent a lot of time studying. Nobles and kingdoms under the churches control or with strong ties to the church would use church sanctioned and trained magic users. In such places those that have learned magic from other sources might be mistrusted and even hunted by the church as a threat to their near monopoly on magic.
There is much to say but to sum it up: Thank you for this article. A realistic view on how the applications of such a powerful ability and how it would affect society is something most overlook. I also enjoyed that you even mentioned that magic and mages in games have to be balanced but that isn’t the case in real life. Great points and excellent article!
In Mistborn trilogy there are metals that provide power to some people like “mages” and since they are so powerful they are really expensive even when they are common like copper and steel. Also regular joes that are hired by lords are trained to fight these “mages” and have special ammo, armor and blunt weapons. I think its a great representation of some of the aspects of life you mentioned in the article.
If fire or lightning is being thrown at you, you don’t want to carry any gunpowder as it will explode. The best protection against brief exposure to fire is woolen felt does not burn well and is a good insulator so fireballs and lightning bolts increase the importance of historical armor such as gambeson for fireballs and chain mail as a Faraday cage against lightning bolts. Healing magic could have a big affect on logistics and demographic, if armies and cities don’t die from disease they can get a lot bigger and the odours can get even worse.
I though emeralds already were more valuable than diamonds in medieval Europe. I was always told diamonds are trash rocks worth very little. It took a serious marketing campaign as well as a near monopoly on diamond trade to give them any value and jewelers still say they are over priced for the market they cater to.
You forgot … The Church™️. In the 1200s they’d have gone totally apeshit and done everything they could to crush it and hunt down mages to burn at the stake. Hell, look at how they crushed pagans, and treated accused witches. Would the church fail? Maybe. But maybe not. Mages might be forced underground and hide their powers.
i liked the article but i think you should be looking at things like pagan magic or voodoo or something slimier or magic from people like marlin or the sorceress from nordic mythology i think that would be more realistic than fantasy magic, however with the parameters you choose i think you did a good job
I’m working on a story now that has a Medieval European-esque feudal system and magic. I still need to flesh the magic system out a lot more, there’s a lot I’m not clear on myself and I think it shows in my writing. Politically, though, I think I have a solid thing going. Magic is more or less monopolised by the Temple. Girls with magical talent become priestesses while boys with magical talent become magic-enhanced warriors. The King does have some magical ability, but not really the kind that can be used consciously. People with magical talent who don’t get trained for one reason or another might be more dangerous than the typical criminal, but since magic takes a LOT of time and practice to master, they can’t really wield it effectively without someone to teach them (unless they teach it to themselves, which again would take a lot of time and effort).
I’d say having a mage king is all about what kind of magic he/she has, casting fireballs or lighting is not enough to control an entire country in my opinion 😉 If not powerful enough there could be smart people enough to counter any magical power (arrows and so on). Having lots of mages within the controlling power, not just the king, maybe it could be more feasible, they could enforce control over a nation and select the regent within their caste. But still if all the other normal people use numbers they could be enough to be not as relevant as one that is more powerful with tactics and politics but not magic.
Great article as always 😀 There’s quite a few Anime I’ve watched that deal with these sorts of settings that change everyday life in even every way, including the “less exciting/marketable” aspects like farming, the Anime Black Clover does this, farming changes among many things like how there’s not just a king from a bloodline of royalty, but also a magic king also being a thing, coming from merit instead of blood; I’m also going to start listening on audible to the book by Shad from Shadiversity Shadows of the Conqueror, Chronicles of Everfall which I’m sure Shad has done a great job on how magic would shape our society and overall World if it really existed in a medieval world 🙂
Metatron, I’m a big fan of your work, but this article makes it seem like you’ve never taken an anthropology class nor have ever studied occultism or any other kind of real-world study of magic. Magic absolutely existed in the middle ages. Virtually every known culture in every time period has had some form of magical practice (even if it’s something simple like carrying a lucky rabbit’s foot). I think the question you meant to ask, was, “What if the magic practiced during the middle ages worked like in modern-day fantasy RPGs?”
I asked my spirits and they assure me that magic still works in our world 😉 On a different matter, don’t you think that all the magical projectiles are just for storytelling? If you can create heat, conjure a tiny fireball inside someone’s brain… no need for projectiles. But really, if Magic is the Art of directly turning an intent into reality, why not just focus the enemy’s death? Make their hearts stop, their arteries burst… I think it’s just a clash of willpower and concentration – not fancy to look at, but direct and effective.
Nice one! I think the price of spells would be very important factor. Considering laws of physics still apply, the energy required for spells to make an effect does have to come form somewhere. Whether magic power is rare or unlimited supply. That would surely affect how strong and frequent the spells could be. -Are there some sort of magic power lines or local sources on that world, that the magic users can tap into, or website and direct the energy from them using their will? -Are they using magic rich ingredients such as herbs, beast parts or souls to power their spells? Or even from “bio-energy” of the spell caster himself. -Or is spell casting just a way of manipulating present matter as the mage wishes, maybe at quantum level or similar?
So if we assume that magic appeared in 13th century Italy that would turn the religious world on its head. The Catholic Church depending on where the magic was coming from would either have to adapt and change alot of theology, or be replaced by some Wizard Religion. We have to remember that in the medieval world religion played a decisive role in everything commoner, king, and intellectual alike had belief and we’re driven by it. Any mage that was a product of that culture (if they were mentally stable) would just believe that they were gifted by God especially if some monk (or hermit) had developed magic abilities. After a while you would see a bunch of magic Savonarola’s.
I think this would all depend on how powerful and how rare or common a mage is. I agree that they’d be the rulers or at least try to be so. But a mage is not invincible… So if thousands of people rise up against a mage King I could see them going down. And many stories explain things like this happening, which is why they aren’t allowed in positions of power
Just from looking at the title, I’ll answer “We would’ve probably never had more advanced technology in the in future Ex: it’s the year 2021 but the phone, radio, TV, airplane, modern ship, guns, and anything modern don’t exist and everything is still cold stone walls, armor, and swords. They’d probably be like “Fuck technology, we got magic!” “
If we go by a fairly basic system of magic like Final Fantasy’s, we’re looking at COLOSSAL improvements to quality of life. Elemental spells like Fire, Thunder, Blizzard, and Water are so rudimentary that a novice Black Mage can cast them with ease. Not only can they fight with these, but if they can hold back the power, even such simple spells could have mountains of practical uses. Fire (or Thunder) provides an easy heat and light source. Blizzard allows for food refrigeration long before it’s achieved technologically. And Water? Water spells would be a game-changer. Instant, pure water with the wave of a hand! That alone would likely see huge boosts to survival rates, and all of this comes from an energy source the mage in question refills with a mere night’s sleep! Oh, and then there’s White Magic! Illnesses vanish with a cast of Esuna, and Cure spells erase injuries with ease! Their first aid may well be better than our top-of-the-line medical procedures! And once again, with a resource renewed by a power nap!
Keep this in mind, a really powerful sorcerer, could just create magic so powerful that pretty much no one can beat him aside from another sorcerer, and even if they are weak in close combat, nothing stops a mage from creating a spell that greatly enhances their physical power. in short i think, mages would be op af, in games they are balanced, but if it was a real life scenario, nothing would beat mages, and everyone would at least try to become one, see there is no reason to become a warrior if you can be a mage.
I am astonished that you managed to completely get around mentioning magic armour, but instead limited “battle magic” to fire and lightning. There’s so much more you could do. Psychological terror for example, making a whole army tremble in fear, or exhaust them to render them useless. Putting up kinetic shields that stop fast projectiles, but not the slowly walking infanty. You could use terraforming magic to annihilate armies in ways where no armour in the world could save them. You could buff your troops with potions. And last but not least, instead of incredibly thick, coated, Faraday cage, whatever armour, you could build thin or maybe even cloth like armour that still offers great protection, through magic. I have to mention that I do appreciate everything you said about society and so on, but maybe two separate articles (combat/society) whould’ve been better…
I actually like the article. One point I do have to criticize. Well, two, but I don’t know if the second one counts. You totally neglect the aspect of religion, which was far more important back then than it is now. The Bible explicitly forbids the usage of Magic in any shape or form. Pagan Religions in most cases do not. In fact, in Roman, Celtic, and Germanic Societies, Druids, Völvas and others who were believed to wield magical powers were well-respected members of said societies, often equal to kings. This would no doubt lead to persecution of mages in the early years. So those first mages would really have a hard time. If they come on top, however, (this is one of the two ways on how to survive that. come on top or go into hiding) they would no doubt stay there and abolish Christianity and demonize it like the Jews demonize Nazism. You just present a scenario on one end of a spectrum of possibilities and disregard the entire rest of the spectrum. Your Depiction of magic is that a spell works instantly and reliably, to great effect (fireball the size of a pick-up truck) and with no or very little drawback or cost. If the Magic in a setting works like that, then yes, a mage absolutely could and eventually would size world domination, with nothing there that could even hope to stop it. Making Magic less reliable in combat, harder to wield, or involve risks, the way to world domination is much steeper for any mage or group of mages. And if there was a form of protection from magic you don’t have to be a mage to use, even in the first scenario there would still be some traditional monarchs holding on.
My first question when facing a world building exercise that involves magic is: WHO can become a Wizard? Is it Genetic as in comic book super heroes? Is it random and there is people who are magic-sensitive and their training determintes their “class”? Is it inteligence dependent ala D&D? Can anyone who invests enough time and/or effort become a wizard? (making probably the nobility the only ones with enough time to do so by not needing to work the fields) Any combination of the above mentioned?
Very nice article. If I may, i think there are type of magics who would have far more impact than fireball or lighting. Just imagine: illusions, divination, mind spells,… the possibilities are astonishing. Healing would be of significant influence as well, since infections and disease actually killed more soldiers than fights. In the story of the Black Compagny by Glenn cook, there are two sorcerers who are mostly into illusions and they obtain one heck of results with clever use of simple spells.
Maybe you could make this into a series while also going more in-depth and just making your own alternate version of Earth? I’d honestly love to see that, not to mention how the world would develop over time. Would a magic Earth like this even have an Industrial Age? Would it prevent it? Or “Boost” it in some way?
Exactly: mages would be in charge. If you have people that have enourmous powers they are more powerful than people without those powers – and they will rise up in society rather fast. The notion that the rest of the people would suppress this elite is ludicrous in my opinion: You have much to gain from the friendship with a mage, whether you are a nobleman, king or commoner. Given, if magic just popped into existance during the 15th century just like that – there might be people that would regard it as something dangerous and potentially satanistic in nature, but if magic is around for a while, people will regard it as natural – something like the witch hunts would not be possible in a world where wizards and witches have been around for thousands of years. I think it’s even fair to say: In order to have a witch hunt, it’s first necessary that the people you are hunting are not actually witches and wizards. That being said: the huge alterations to society magic would bring (as well as the wonky process of designing how magic actually works, what the rules are and why anybody that doesn’t have it should matter as anything more than a cook, housemaid or farmer) are the reasons that I prefer low-magic worlds in fantasy.
I don’t think coating the armour in anything is going to make much difference, it’ll be burned off immediately anyway (thought leather might help in some cases, much more so than laquer). What you really want to look at is how to prevent the heat penetrating (not much you can do about flames getting in through the visor of your helmet though). maybe try tight-weave wool gambesons, since wool doesn’t burn. Also, less powerful mages might become high-paid assassins, using more basic magic to off more powerful mages at night, while they’re asleep.
In many books and games that feature magic, iron defeats magic or at least strongly diminishes its power. So a magic wielder wearing iron or steel plate armor would loose a great deal of his/her magic power. That would make the strongest magicians still vulnerable to the assassin’s dagger. Also, imagine that the use of magic has a cost. Perhaps using magic uses up life force (aging you more quickly) or the magic “mana” is in limited supply so you must husband it wisely. Magicians would then not be the mighty wizards, but simple servants of those who control access to the source of magic.
Really, there is no reason a mage can’t use full plate. Even most settings, outside games, it is usually a possibility its just not seen as the best use of their time because usually magic requires intense study and practice like becoming a doctor. Most mages, therefore, see the time needed to train their physique to use armor and weapons effectively as superfluous when they can just melt their enemies faces off with fire or lightning instead. Which is why, I think, in most stories where you see a mage who does do that it because they are actually fulfilling a role similar to a knight, an elite professional soldier that regularly partakes in pitched battles. After, even the strongest mages in most fiction can be killed by a crossbow as easily a peasant if they don’t see it coming.
I feel like if magic were a real thing it would be heavily limited to a select few elites who were deemed loyal enough to the state or leader of the nation. Allowing too much access to it, even in terms of training people as magic guards or generals would be too risky. So I think it would only apply to Wars or whatever the leaders themselves wished to use their powers for, helping the peasants stay fed, removing a storm, or suppressing a revolt
final fantasy tactics, dragon age origins, dungeon and dragons. good taste! but you seems to forget one thing, that in all powerfulness of it’s magical capabilities, mages and wizards are still quite human.. they still can be sniped, assassinated or poisoned just like any regular human. i believe the nobility would still rule the land with it’s almost infinite connection and wealth, they’ll find a way to counter these mages just like in the witcher or dragon age
I don’t know if we need much more than a cursory understanding of human nature and a dip into our own history to imagine this hypothetical magical middle age. While I think @Metatron has painted a very intriguing alternative history, the true deciding factor is this: People fear what they do not understand. So unless the ratio of those with magical ability to those without is dramatically more equivalent than what is typically portrayed in just about every single magical universe ever, these magi are likely going to be plucked long before they have a chance to bloom. In our own history, (Especially the middle ages of Europe) people were so terrified at the notion of a witch that they started burning people at the faintest whiff of anything they couldn’t explain, just to be safe. And as The Metatron said, “Need breeds Virtue.” If there was demonstrable proof of magic in certain individuals on a regular basis, then humans would have simply developed much more effective ways of rooting them out. There might be a few hermetic mages spread across the continent and maybe the occasional small cult but far more there would be very well respected and heroic witchhunters and mage exterminators. People would respect these individuals for doing the dirty, but absolutely essential work of euthanizing budding magicians.
Great article, but I have to make an argument about the political power of mages. The one thing you neglected to talk about was the influence and traditions of the Church, which spent a lot of time and money hunting down and executing those accused of witchcraft in reality. If magic actually existed, I doubt that an institution which constantly quoted “Thou shall not suffer a witch to live” would sit by and let its practitioners take over. You did talk about how specialist knights might be trained and equipped to handle such people; I like to think that they’d probably do that and more by creating an entire office or order specifically to study and eradicate magic by any means. Real life alchemists and master smiths would probably be crucial to these efforts, leaving mages the choice of either destroying the Church or finding places to hide. Much of it depends on how common and powerful magic is; if only a few people can do a few things, then hiding would be their best option. If many people can do a lot of things, then I see your scenario playing out. Or maybe they create hidden covens where they increase their numbers and build their power, then come in and take over everything. Rulers could probably see the benefits of having mages under their control and would secretly integrate them into their courts through bargains and politics, even at the risk of excommunication or execution. In fact, certain states might even openly sever themselves from the Church and create refuges for mages on the condition that they swear service to the realm, adding a whole new layer of feudal politics.
You missed out on a wizard who really did change history – Merlin and his Maid of Lorraine prophecies 😉 It’s all in the eye of the beholder. If enemy really believed you had magical or divine powers behind you better then theirs, you could win battles ie. Peter Bartholomew & Joan of Arc again Anyway good article & thanks
This got me thinking I’d love to see what you come up with making a setting based on medieval Italy if you ever considered it. How would their government be setup, their cities and militaries. Everyone always does England but what everywhere else. What period would you base it off? Early, high, late? Wealthy families collecting and sponsoring Up and coming wizards, patronizing them. Marrying for magical bloodlines could all be very cool
I think magic is just science.. for the most part, but also maybe things like the power of belief, like if someone used a curse on you and you actually believed it, then you might actually start feeling, or seeing things that make it real, so is that magic ? Or is it the universe ? Or is the universe magic ? Lol
Now THAT was an excellent and fun dissertation, Metatron. I really enjoyed your approach with the advent of gunpowder as a comparative rationalization. Also, the idea of Roman Pyromancers in formation alongside phalanx on the battlefield? Now THAT paints a rather interesting concept… Considering your depth and breadth of knowledge regarding that civilization, I would be very, VERY curious to know what your thoughts may be in regards to what sort of military-issue garb/equipment a Roman Pyromancer would look like? A Ming Dynasty Summoner? A French Napoleonic-Era Necromancer? As much as it would be based solely on the fantastical, I would LOVE to see your interpretations/speculations of what roles, applications, and positions such individuals would fill -and what their appearance could have feasibly been, based upon the er/availability of textiles and materials of their respective regions.
@Metatron Check out Ars Magica, the RPG. It’s been around since the 80s and revolves around the Ordo Hermeticum, a “secret” society of mages, with strict internal laws on non-interference with powerful counterparts/checks and balances, primarily the Church. A knight or priest with True Faith can website the divine, as does a called Crusade, which means the Order really don’t want to mess with the Church. Similarly, with nobility things might start off swimmingly, until that bishop stops by and breaks your mind control/whatever or learns of your secrets through confessions, at which point the Church again steps in. Not good for the Order, so if you get caught at it, your own sodales will put the smack-down on you before the Church does. Because each mage has to be born with the Gift and takes 15 years to train, mages would always be few, but a scarcity of…let’s call it magical crystals, vim, creates an inverse relationship between number of mages and number of really powerful mages – a negative economy of scales, if you would. Also, truly powerful mages _never stop studying_, and indeed most elders find other pursuits distractions. The 3rd edition, from the early 90s, dabbled with True Reason, which parallels the atheist in FFT you mentioned. It was quickly dropped, for pretty much the reasons you mention.
Love that article and I’d love to experience a history were magic was a thing. I could also very well imagine that guns wouldn’t have been invented if Magic was a thing or the other way around that due the range of firearms they could also have sped up in development, since they proofed to be very effective against spell-caster.
The problem with magic is that, yes, it can be of a great help, but see, when you have someone who can harden their physical bodies for close combat, toss fireballs and such in all impunity, why need common soldiers in varying degrees of protection? After all, the moment someone/a few persons/many people can throw magic missiles that can darken the sky as well as a rain of arrows, rip a slab of stone off the ground and chuck it at the castle and enhance their skin to be as protective as plate armor without the necessary weak points that allow for mobility, most staff in a medieval army becomes redundant, since they can no longer keep up. Yes, you could find ways on how to make armor fireproof and such, but again, budgets. At least Warhammer Fantasy made it so that magic does have a risk factor, meaning that there’s still a good reason to favor swords, bows, firearms and the like without worrying to become irrelevant, since your mage buddy could risk turning into a feral blob of ever-mutating flesh/accidentally conjure a daemon/open a portal and be dragged to the other side of it to get buttfucked because s/he drew on too much power for even the lowly fireball.
Are we talking hard or soft magic systems? If it’s hard magic like the wizards from dnd than that would be a complete different scenario if it were similar to the sorc or the lock where in one you’re born with it and the other where you borrowed it. Or is it a mix like in dnd? Or is it soft magic like in lotr where everything is just handwaved? Hard but still there is no “logical” path to its function.
Yes, but in a Faraday cage you do NOT touch the cage. In an armor, the skin touches the metal in several parts, so doesn’t work against a lightning. But very interesting article 👌😎 Also, in a magic world, the Church would grow in every aspect. If there’s bad magic from demons and witches, Angels should protect from that magic too. So God balance things out.
This is the thing that always seemed silly in Dragon Age to me. You have a group of people who summon those pickup truck sized fireballs, manipulate gravity itself, and summon armies of demons and the undead but they’re subjugated and oppressed by guys in skirts swinging sharpened metal bars? That’s laughable, doubly so for the Elvhen who are innately adept at magic! The Evanuris would’ve been utterly unstoppable.
This means that, among other things, you’ll have to also choose your armor depending on what type of magic you are expecting to encounter. Between that and also having to choose the right weapon, it makes for a complex war campaign. We should also consider frost magic. Maybe the armor against it should be warm enough so that you don’t get chilled to death, or at least not be rendered unconscious by it.
(Magic): the organically based control of sub-subatomic particles, such as photons & quarks. The methodology involves being in a high energy state (for example, drink 24 hours worth of “5 Hour Energy Drink”s) yet not physically exacting the stored up energy (i.e. being in a meditative prayer state; even citing religious texts {Christian, Muslim, Jew, & more} also helps the mind focus in the (magic)) What would a Modern Magical society look like? A society where science/technology goes every close in hand with Magic?
I just realized that there is a different aspect of that same subject. Because magic, as a matter of fact, do existed in Medieval Europe. It was huge, influential in daily lives. No fireballs, of course, no lightening spells, but rituals had the power to influence if not determine your fate. Both in this world and after death. People would curse, enchant each other, and there was real money turning hands in exchange for relics for the sole reason that those relics could protect the owner against demonic influence of all kinds. “Oh, but magic was not real! I mean, objectively.”, I am not disputing that. Perhaps it was, and we are going to meet each other in a hot bathtub in hell for think otherwise. Not relevant for this particular conversation. Still… One could ask: “How would be Medieval Reality if magic DID NOT existed back them”. I mean, not at all. In absolute. In another worlds, “how would be Medieval Society if every single person back them was an atheist”. A true believer of closed causality of physical world, materialistic cosmogony, and that family of ideas. Could we still have a feudal society, with hereditary rulers and some sort of church even? Knights, castles, etc?
3:35 “first I believe that rulers will be mages”. This one single drop of common sense made me love this website even more than I used to. Yes! Naturally! If you want mages in a setting, and you don’t want mages to be the rulers, you should sit and craft your magic system around the question “why mages didn’t took political power?”. Because if there is nothing preventing it (like, usually happens to be the case) they will! We just assume the division of social roles between shaman and war-chief applies and suspend of disbelieve for story sake. What is fine. But costs consistency. “Realistically” there is no “balance” between “character classes” like warrior, rogue and mage. Because warriors cannot take 3 times more beating than the average WW2 war tank, if they are humans, regardless of how seasoned they are. Thieves/rogues cannot turn invisibility on. The things that usually “balance” a fellow being able to explode hand-grenades around him without bother to carry hand-grenades are not less “magical” than mage’s magic. If we have mages, and don’t have those things to balance the field, power conflicts will incline in favour of mages. Most the time. So often, that makes no sense to have non-mages in power.
I was hoping you’d talk about magic beliefs in the real world, like alchemy, psychokinesis, telepathy, far sight, divination, clairvoyance, hexes etc. magic beliefs in our world are simpler but far more intriguing than what you’d find in fantasy. If you consider alchemy (mixing chemicals) to be magical, then we already had magic in the form of gunpowder.
I’d like to point out Ars Magica, a medieval world where magic really exist, is powerful, dangerous, but is someway rare, so feared, hunt and repressed by the “normals”. I base all my games on Ars Magica v3 (1993 US, or 1994 ITA), and up to today I find it one of the best storytelling magic-based RP ever existed.
A big problem in world with magic is not only about humans. We must about animals (and plants?) as well. If the power of magic is something biological, I think that we would see real monster (pokemons?) around making mother nature a total hell. In this scenario, would humans really survive? Maybe if they have magic (magic wins magic, right?). and that biological power itself would probably change human in his animal body.
You’re right about the claim that magic would be highly regulated, and that it would change the technical development of medieval society. Whether mages would rule – that I’m not sure about. First of all, it depends on how quickly magic spread. There is no reason to assume that its development would be linear or geometric (i.e. a steadily expanding magic from e.g. 1200 to 1450 and beyond). First of all, magic as a force could ebb and flow, cyclically, such that magic never quite takes off like scientific texts after 1450, or like world population after 1800. Second, once the powers that be were aware that effective magic existed, the drive to regulate and control it would be intense, and would likely outpace magical impact on technology. Special magicians would be used to read the portents and cull any person likely to be born with magical talent. Magical schools would be tightly controlled. And the political impact might be variable – the trajectory of an ever-expanding magic only works with a multicentric political set-up. If one power center was able to bring the others under control (which was actually the historical norm prior to the modern age), that center would likely put colossal breaks on the spread of magical power. Recall that the Confucians burned the records of Zheng He’s voyages, because they thought they would destabilize society too greatly. It is possible, or maybe even likely, that the same outcome would have occurred in a magical medieval Europe. The Hapsburgs did come pretty close to establishing a Europe-wide empire in the 16th century.
I would like to point out that in AD&D1 Rangers were able to cast magic-user spells in armor. Then you have Clerics and Paladins who, while their power came from a different source, case their spells even if clad in full place. GURPS went even further allowing any mage to cast spells even if they were in full plate. Also magic isn’t just spells. Low Magic ( gurps.fandom.com/wiki/Low_Magic ) was thought to exist in the historical middle ages and if producible on demand as in your average middle ages setting would change the culture until it was nearly unrecognizable.
I can think of two cases in which this was considered and handled pretty well (albeit both are sort of post-apo worlds in which the old world, pre-apocalypse, were worlds shaped by magic, but still, lol). LOZ: Breath of the Wild and Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series. In both worlds there was a time in which their worlds were heavily shaped by magic. In the Wheel of Time, the Age of Legends was comparable to today’s technology, but based more on the One Power. Unfortunately, due to an epic war with the Dark One, that world was destroyed and all the male half of the One Power was tainted and caused all male users to go insane and destroy the world. At the time in which the books take place, male user of the One Power are practically non-existant because they are hunted down by female users of the One Power. They keep pretty separate from the world at large (while pulling most political strings behind the scenes) and are greatly distrusted by most people. Due to all that fear and separation, very few technological advances have been made in a relatively long time. And, of course, BOTW has magical tech in their world. Mostly left over from before their apocalypse, I suppose, but still widely used.
I don’t think they’d put laquers on armour to prevent fire or whatever. I think they’d just put protective enchantments on the armour itself. Wards, buffs, etc. Also I think they’d use them in their own formation much like archers. More than likely casting from the castle walls. But this all depends on how magic works. If magic fed off of life force which makes the most sense to me, magic would peobably be seen as taboo and practitioners would be publicly executed. Like a sorcerer incineration or something like that.
Metatron what if…werewolf, vampire, ogre, and banshee exist in the medieval era? the vampire or werewolf would probably easily take over a kingdom by killing the king, banshee? idk, ogre? probably affect traveling or if smart they make even becoming their own race and have a village and culture(try make this into a article)
I think introducing magic to a medieval setting would completely change how that world opperates. Despending entirely on how that magic system works, of course. I get that the power hungry mages who want to seize control of a nation might try to outlaw magic from the commoner (only military allowed), as they may fear an uprising or a coup. However, the benefits to society as a whole would far outweight that: Structures and forts could be built in an instantly out of even the hardest of materials. Bunkers wouldn’t be necessary if one could hide in a pocket dimension or create magical barrriers. Weather and environments would be strictly controlled in order for the best yield of crops. And a larger diversity of crops could be grown as there could be isolated areas that may require higher / lower temperatures (such as tropical fruits). Firewood would become obsolete as a magical fireball could provide heat…. unless, as above, the weather in a room is magically controlled like air conditioning. Food could be preserved indefinitely, without the need to freeze; just suspend the food in time. Magic could be used to heal any injury or ailment so trained doctors and madicines wouldn’t be needed. People may even become immortal if the body can be kept young and healthy. Even if killed a magic healer could heal the body, and have the soul returned to it. Entertainment and sports would definitely be magic based too. Travel would be completely unrecognisable; You could use wind or water magic to push a boat along, or telekinesis.
Rulers being mages makes a ton of sense and one of the many things I love about Star Wars. The leaders (at least in the EU) are often force sensitive or they have willingly chosen to restrain their powers and instead use them to effectively keep other force sensitives from gaining excessive political power. Freedon Nadd became king of Onderon, ancient Sith were ruled by the strongest force sensitive, night sisters are ruled by the mother (powerful force sensitive), Sith Empire is ruled by the dark council and sith emperor (again “most” powerful force sensitives or at the very least exceptionally cunning), Army of Light (ruled by the strongest Jedi), prior to the Ruusan Reformations, Jedi were commonly elected to the chancellorship and we all know Sidious managed to get elected millennia later. In short, if you’ve got magical powers you’re effectively a god unless there’s others that also have those powers and stand up to you or technology somehow nullifies your powers and allows the non magical people to stand against you.
7:33 Google Faraday cage. A suit of plate armor with mail voiders makes the person wearing it 100% resistant to electrical shock. Could get hit with lightning and not feel even a little tingle but will get burnt in a few spots. Metal armor and fire… Bad combo! Baked knight for lunch anyone? I disagree with healing being the third school for battlemages… you missed Ice in the lists. Fire, Ice, and shock.. the trifecta of combat magic. Fire and Ice magic can be defended against with a full body gambeson like suit of inflammable material. Old school movie stunts, man gets dressed in a suit of inflammable material, gets fuel poured on him.. then lit up and walks around like he is in pain then falls to the ground pretending to be dead. Ok so that can work… but against cold? Really? Are you going there? Add a Faraday cage of mail or plate and mail… good to go! Put the plate on the inside even so it doesn’t get hot and bake the wearer when fire magic is used.
The nature of defences will inevitably be bound to the nature of magic. Any non magician building a castle or forging an armor would have to possess a decent amount of magic knowledge to know how to defend against it. Enchantments are neat against spells, runes, painted spells instead of war paintings, warden tattoos, etc. Magic elements? Then there must be antimagic elements (radioactivity vs lead, magic vs lead equivalent). Elemental magic? You would then need to wear specialized gears against whatever type of element the enemy magicians have mastered, because realism still applies: you can’t master everything, you usually can master one thing, and that’s about it. Also, if a wizard is busy conjuring a shield around himself because it’s raining arrows today, he would not be able to defend himself against a sneak attack. Then, depending on the limits of his shield, he could be screwed by a well trained antimage squad. Non mages still have their brains and numbers, because mages are bound to be rarer than regular people, otherwise everyone is a mage and magic ceases to be an advantage in battle.
Nitpick: A full suit of armor, be it plate or mail already works as a Faraday Cage, as long as there are enough metal touching each other and is grounded. So a 12th century man-at-arm with a complete suit of mail (hauberk, leggins and a metal piece connecting the leggins to the sole of the shoe) is already protected against electricity.
How would magic warfare be fought? same way nuclear warfare is. Sling the biggest amount of hurt from as far away as possible in the shortest amount of time to as many targets as you can come up with, while trying to neutralize the other guys’ barrage of death heading back your way. On a slower scale, i’d be like armies shooting artillery at eachother along a creeping frontline while trying to prod for openings to advance or setting up killzones. The no mans’ lands would be horrifying.
Much of what Metatron talks about is actually apparent in the Spellmonger book Series. I found it to be one of the few medieval based fantasies that actually shows the realistic effect of magic users, from armors, nobility life etc… Still, it’s not super realistic but very close to what he talked about here
I really doubt mages would rule everything by default. Even the greatest wizard still needs to sleep and is affected by a dagger to the throat. Some countries would be ruled by wizards that turned out to be shrewd diplomats, but most of the time mages would depend on other people just as much as those people depended on them.
The rich would be impossbly strong and the poor would be the same i think. Unless you could gain power with out being able to read or write and only really working general labor all your life. Nobles would be packing rings of protection etc and surround by guards with boots of haste. Regular person would have no money to get magic stuff so unless its naturally occuring in people there would still be classes. Nobles knights mages and peasants.
Maybe it’s the other way around. Maybe Armor coating is banned and they are required to give mages advantage over them. Why? Unrest and rebellion. Mages aren’t like kings who rely on nobles. A sorceror is a power in themselves. They’d probably outlaw anyone else to challenge them first. Then develop something like a blood game to solve conflicts between themselves without them involve in the dying bit
Yeah. Nice topic! Btw, in forgotten realms (dungeons and dragons world) it is considered an international war crime to bring battle mages to the battlefield if enemy doesnt bring any. Even if they did, it is still considered a war crime to annihilate enemy army with magic alone because magic is considered an inhumane weapon of mass destruction.
One series of books that I personally think does this topic justice is the inheritance cycle, where it’s explained that mages are an important part of the military, not just in offensive capabilities, but also in defense. For instance, if each side has an equal retinue of mages, it would be considered a waste of resources just to perform an artillery strike worth of fireballs or lightning bolts or whatever cataclysmic spell you can think of on the enemy, because their mages will only counter whatever it is you do. Therefore, the mages go into a sort of duel, and try to kill each other first before they try to kill any of the conventional forces sort of like an initial archer skirmish before real battle is joined.
What if magic needed complete faith. And if the world in general had no doubts about its existence then neither would the individual thus allowing them to use it. But once tales from science about its absurdities became prominent, society became inundated with the doubts of the possibility of magic, and no matter how hard the individual wants to believe, deep inside theyre trained to know that it’s utterly ridiculous, so no person ever has the ability again.
I don’t think that rulers would be mages, being a mage usually means a lot of involvement and why bother with all the assasins and the needs of the people and the other neighbors who want to take your land when you can have an army of summoned creatures completly loyal to you, food no problem, you can take almost everything for yourself from the plebs, so why bother?
I like the good old day where Metal is restriction to Mystical power. In religious sense and mythology metal have their own properly to work against magical creatures and magic. The people who use magic have to use special material like artognou stone, philosopher’s stone, aurichalcum, thokcha and orichalcum. I can go in with my adamant sword sharp made from the same material that use to castrated Cronus.
I disagree with the part that mages would be the rulers. That would be like saying that in a world dominated by technology, engineers would rule the world, which is clearly not the case. No, nobility would learn to control mages by the virtue of administration and politics, and mage would be a highly paid profession.
people have been practicing magick the whole time, dude. its just not what they portray in the films and article games. King Solomon was a very powerful mage just to name one. i love the article so far, i just wanted to let you know that it did exist back then. the thing is that the stronger of a hold the church has on society, the more underground it was.
Yes. Couldn’t agree more with your last point. I always imagine a completely different reality when magic got introduced due to how influential magic would be in people’s daily life. Technology would advance in a different direction. Bloodlines? Not as valuable as manaline. (if magical talent can be inherited) Either magic would become so widespread in its application, even peasants can use them with ease. Or any use of magic would be so exclusive, any unregistered mages or unauthorized use of magic would be considered sinful/heretical or law violations. Healthcare through regeneration spells? Deathcare through necromancy? Espionage through clairvoyance? Garbage and sewage control through use of combustion magic? Exclusive education of magic leads to knowledge smuggling? Values of minerals, foods, consumables, tools, etc, measured entirely on its magical properties? Mana business instead of money business? Man, all the changes are almost limitless.
Consider this 1 Consider this 2 The hint of the century BIG secret Consider this 3 seriously listen The slip that brought me To my knees failed costly reveal What if all these fantasies Come flailing around fantasy will be real again Now I’ve said too much ill get in trouble for this Genesis 6 :4 there were giants and supernatural things in the days of Noah and after Matthew 24 :37 as it was in the days of Noah, is will be again when Jesus returns shoutout to JaydreamerZ website
Without looking past the first minute; we first need to determine variations before we can conclude anything. Is it common or rare to use magic? Is it powerful or weak? What can be done? Is there magical beasts? I think we should look at it as two sets of four section graphs. With and without monsters, and power/occurence on the scales. If magic is rare and powerfull, the mages will be mistrusted, persecuted and probably resent non magic users. The likelyhood that kings will want mages on a leash is high, just as the likelyhood that mages will try to control kings, or usurp them entirely is high. It is very likely that some countries’ nobility will be purely mages. And secret societies will probably abound. If it is rare and weak… this is probably the worst. People will still fear what they cant comprehend, and if the source of their fear cant fight back… Common and weak, probably the best. People may hire mages like any artisan, they can make tools to improve the overall quality of life. Common and strong… war. Battlemages will shape the landscape of war. Forget about longbows, trebuchetes, and heavy cavalry. Lightning, fireballs, piercing rocks being launched at opponents. City gates dissintegrating. The one with the most and best trained mages will steamroll everyone else. If monsters is part of the equation…. we have to do a similar chart for monsters power/occurence….
I would say if humans don’t change in their general psychology, then magic wouldn’t change much either, but be treated like any other new technological advancement/advantage. There would be normal distribution of power of magic if not a pyramid distribution. Powerful mages would, due to their internalized power, be very feared and thus also fiercely opposed, living dangerously. We have had such examinations in fantasy movies, like with the theme of telepathy. (Babylon 5 – Psi Corps – very believable) True power in society, in the sense of primitive, cynical political power play, comes from wielding influence over many people. Battle magic is of little use there. Thus, Skyrim might not be an unrealistic depiction either. So you can shoot a lightning bolt. Big deal. An archer can kill you at range, too, and has no mana pool to manage. Magic would probably have to focus on non-raw schools, so not shooting stuff, but any elaborate accomplishment not feasible by other means. Remotely projecting force fields and such. And mages would also be primary targets on the battlefield. Also, whatever one party tries to accomplish with magic, opponents would counter with magic. 9:48 Firearms are both magic and canon. 🤡 10:18 But necessity exposes it as a non-virtue. 10:42 Reality is balanced in a way, but not class balanced. (Unless you take all surrounding circumstances into account.)
Magic really existing a medieval setting… I’ve put some thought into this myself. Namely I researched some practical and non-magic ways someone get around a mage. And specifically stuff that medieval people would have access to without modern technology. Fire- Okay, say a mage throw a fireball at ya, lacquer or similar resin could help as well. Another is wool, fire resistant and burns slows. Leather is also good for fire resistance. So these would help a knight from being burned alive. Also armor would require some form of blast shielding to redirect the flames away from the face (so a knight lungs don’t collapse from breathing in 300 and up degrees Fahrenheit). Ice- Again wool and leather would help prevent hypothermia and frostbite. Again lacquer on plate might be able to help in this regard (not really sure… maybe 30% sure). Lighting- yeah, electrical spells would be pretty useless do to the faraday cage effect if a knight was in a full suite of armor. And again wool which is still used today as electrical insulation would keep a knight from getting zapped. Well what about impact based spells like a mage casting a rock to launch at our hapless knight. Considering the Duplex and Triplex armor (as in multiple layers of plates sandwiched together) was invented around the time of early firearms. A knight might be knocked off his feet, but he’ll probably live. Okay how about a mage just gases a knight, that should kill the tin can. Well have you ever seen a plague doctor’s mask?