D&D 5E First literary concept of the "Adventuring Party"?

[Sacrosanct]

Some of the other threads got me thinking. When did we see the first real concept of an adventuring party in literature? By adventuring party, I mean a group of would-be heroes with unique skill sets working together to embark on an adventure. The intellectual (scientist/wizard), the warrior (fighter/soldier), and the scoundrel (thief/scout)

I want to say the Greek stories are probably the first, with Jason (and Madea and the rest of his crew--fighters/magic users/thieves as a group). And then after that would Geoffry of Monmouth count, with his take on the Arthurian legends by incorporating Merlin (wizard) with the knights (fighters)?

But what after that? The Arabian Nights in 1700s? Or do we have a dead space until after the Industrial Revolution with Jules Verne? Journey to the Center of the Earth to me rings of a classic adventuring party as defined above. I know there was a ton of fantasy before that (Mary Shelly, John Ruskin, George McDonald, etc), but I can't recall any that had an adventuring party as a concept used. And then it sort of exploded in fantasy literature, especially with the debut of magazines like Weird Tales in the early 1900s.

But I admit I am a total novice when it comes to literature, especially pre 20th century literature, so I'm assuming I'm missing something.

 

[robus]

I’d suggest Robin Hood. Lots of archetypes in his party! That would come between Arthur and Jules Verne.

 

[hbarsquared]

The Twelve Apostles, New Testament, The Bible

 

[Sacrosanct]

The Twelve Apostles, New Testament, The Bible

What specifically makes them seem like an adventuring party of unique niche specialties on an adventure?

 

[Parmandur]

Some of the other threads got me thinking. When did we see the first real concept of an adventuring party in literature? By adventuring party, I mean a group of would-be heroes with unique skill sets working together to embark on an adventure. The intellectual (scientist/wizard), the warrior (fighter/soldier), and the scoundrel (thief/scout)

I want to say the Greek stories are probably the first, with Jason (and Madea and the rest of his crew--fighters/magic users/thieves as a group). And then after that would Geoffry of Monmouth count, with his take on the Arthurian legends by incorporating Merlin (wizard) with the knights (fighters)?

But what after that? The Arabian Nights in 1700s? Or do we have a dead space until after the Industrial Revolution with Jules Verne? Journey to the Center of the Earth to me rings of a classic adventuring party as defined above. I know there was a ton of fantasy before that (Mary Shelly, John Ruskin, George McDonald, etc), but I can't recall any that had an adventuring party as a concept used. And then it sort of exploded in fantasy literature, especially with the debut of magazines like Weird Tales in the early 1900s.

But I admit I am a total novice when it comes to literature, especially pre 20th century literature, so I'm assuming I'm missing something.

Chartered companies formed for expeditions are less a literary trope, and more a historical reality. Privateers, explorers and merchant caravans. Thorin Oakenshield has Bilbo sign a contract to join his corporation, which is something people actually did in real life (with fewer dragons, generally).

So, yeah, any literature emulating that real life phenomenon, like Verne, would apply.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Chartered companies formed for expeditions are less a literary trope, and more a historical reality. Privateers, explorers and merchant caravans. Thorin Oakenshield has Bilbo sign a contract to join his corporation, which is something people actually did in real life (with fewer dragons, generally).

So, yeah, any literature emulating that real life phenomenon, like Verne, would apply.

Bear with me, this is just me tossing out ideas, and may be a reach.

Could it be, that this lull in the adventuring party concept (intellectual/warrior/rogue) is not just a coincidence between the age where people believed in magic, and the age where science took off? Meaning, when people still believed in magic and many gods, it made total sense to have a story with a warrior partnered with a sorcerer. Then we had this period of Romance where magic wasn't nearly as widely believed, but science hadn't taken hold of yet either. So fantasy stories were more mundane warrior heroes. Arthur. Saint George, etc. Then during/after the industrial revolution, science became huge. We see it in fantasy literature all over the place (like the aforementioned Mary Shelly, Jules Verne, etc). So then the intellectual archetype came back into place in the fantasy story. Magic users replaced by scientists, if you will.

Just throwing it out there as something to ponder.

 

[mcmillan]

I wouldn't have quite thought of it in these terms, but as close as some other suggestions would be the Fianna from Irish folklore and the 12 peers of Charlemagne (which was also the origin of Paladins)

 

[Slit518]

Perhaps in the ancient Sumerian text, The Epic of Gilgamesh.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Gilgamesh and Enkidu definitely come to mind.

Later on, perhaps the Pilgrims of the Canterbury Tales?

Going even farther on, I would posit that the protagonists of Dracula are an adventuring party.

Edit: Oh, I almost forgot one of my favorites - Dumas' Musketeers!

Perhaps in the ancient Sumerian text, The Epic of Gilgamesh.

 

[Parmandur]

Bear with me, this is just me tossing out ideas, and may be a reach.

Could it be, that this lull in the adventuring party concept (intellectual/warrior/rogue) is not just a coincidence between the age where people believed in magic, and the age where science took off? Meaning, when people still believed in magic and many gods, it made total sense to have a story with a warrior partnered with a sorcerer. Then we had this period of Romance where magic wasn't nearly as widely believed, but science hadn't taken hold of yet either. So fantasy stories were more mundane warrior heroes. Arthur. Saint George, etc. Then during/after the industrial revolution, science became huge. We see it in fantasy literature all over the place (like the aforementioned Mary Shelly, Jules Verne, etc). So then the intellectual archetype came back into place in the fantasy story. Magic users replaced by scientists, if you will.

Just throwing it out there as something to ponder.

While interesting, I see three assumptions here that do not seem well grounded:

1. The war band of folks with varied skills has ever gone out of style

2. People have ever stopped believing in "magic" (however that is defined)

3. At some point people started believing in "science" (however that is defined)