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

[Sacrosanct]

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)

1. War band out of style? No. But with members of that band having clearly distinctive archetypes (intellectual who avoids physical combat, warrior, rogue)? I don't see much of that during the Romance age up to the Industrial Revolution. I see a lot of lone fantasy heroes, or where the group is pretty much all the same archetype with only minor difference in skills (mostly different in personality)

2. I'm talking about majority of the population. I think we can trace this to the rise of Christianity in various locations as to be able to trace the shift. It seems the belief in the supernatural and magic is/was more prevalent in polytheism as opposed to monotheism.

3. I think this is really at the tail end of the industrial revolution when science became the widely accepted norm. Especially the 19th century. We can definitely see the rise of science in fantasy writings during that time period. Mary Shelly, Verne, HG Wells, etc.

 

[Istbor]

2. I'm talking about majority of the population. I think we can trace this to the rise of Christianity in various locations as to be able to trace the shift. It seems the belief in the supernatural and magic is/was more prevalent in polytheism as opposed to monotheism.

I think the Church's stance and literature on Exorcisms and witches, when Christianity was really taking off and spreading, says that a lot of folk still believed in 'magic' and the supernatural.

Some could argue that believing in even one God let alone several could count as a strong belief in the supernatural. If anything decreased the world's view on magic, it would be education, and the sciences.

 

[Ganymede81]

Canterbury Tales had a pretty strong adventuring party vibe.

 

[Parmandur]

Canterbury Tales had a pretty strong adventuring party vibe.

Different skillsets and archetypes, certainly, and Chaucer was aggressively rippinh off Boccacio.

 

[Parmandur]

I think the Church's stance and literature on Exorcisms and witches, when Christianity was really taking off and spreading, says that a lot of folk still believed in 'magic' and the supernatural.

Some could argue that believing in even one God let alone several could count as a strong belief in the supernatural. If anything decreased the world's view on magic, it would be education, and the sciences.

There is no appreciable link between education and lack of superstition, amusingly enough: the sociology on the topic is pretty interesting, but might be in violation of board rules, not to mention off topic.

 

[cbwjm]

Journey to the West had something like an adventuring party from memory. The priest, the rogue (monkey), the strong guy, and whatever the pig guy was.

 

[Prakriti]

The archetype definitely reached its culmination in Tolkien. But I agree that Robin Hood and the Merry Men were a prototypical example. You had Little John, the melee fighter; Robin Hood, the ranger; Alan-a-Dale, the bard; Friar Tuck, the cleric, etc. I don't know if any of the stories/ballads/plays featured the Merry Men delving dungeons or traveling very far outside of Nottingham, but I can imagine them doing it.

Someone mentioned the Matter of France, to which I would add the Matter of Britain. The Knights of the Round Table all had unique personalities and specialities, which I consider a hallmark of any adventuring party. I might also add Arthur Conan Doyle's The White Company, about an elite company of archers during the Hundred Years War.

But I find these historical examples rather bland compared to their modern counterparts. My question is: Are there any medieval fantasy or sword-and-sorcery examples earlier than R.E. Howard and Fritz Leiber?

 

[cbwjm]

Jason and the Argonauts might qualify.

Boop!

 

[Ancalagon]

It's definitely not the first mention of a party, but an early fantasy book might be this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Worm_Ouroboros

It's a very intriguing read

 

[Sword of Spirit]

2. I'm talking about majority of the population. I think we can trace this to the rise of Christianity in various locations as to be able to trace the shift. It seems the belief in the supernatural and magic is/was more prevalent in polytheism as opposed to monotheism.

Actually, a magical worldview was common among the predominantly Christian Americans at least through the early 19th century, although I believe the shift towards a scientific worldview was earlier in Europe. Can't comment on other parts of the world.

Even in Europe though, a widespread scientific as opposed to magical worldview is much more modern than we tend to think. The Scientific Revolution of the Renaissance didn't displace much belief in magic, and the line between the two wasn't nearly as defined as we tend to view it in our modern cultures. (I promise I'm not getting my history from Mage: the Sorcerer's Crusade, though that is a fun game).