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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dr. Strangemonkey" data-source="post: 401039" data-attributes="member: 6533">The Flowering and the ChurchBeing a much practiced apologist for the Church, and the medieval church in particular, I must say this thread has taken a very interesting turn.  I like it.Something to consider, druids, as they appear in DnD, are very possible in a medieval Christian framework.  Hermits, a specific calling for Monks according to Benedict, often held the same role druids fulfill in modern fantasy.The Italian hermits, early middle ages, always lived in the wilderness and were known for doing things like developing friendships with animals, moving through woods mysteriously, punishing people who harvested natural resources greedily, and encountering the divine in visions of the woods or sky.Bernard of Clairvaux, who was French but cool, said that all wisdom could be found in a forest.Romwald of Lombardy, according to his cult, became so holy in the wilderness that he turned green and plantlike.In terms of the hierarchy, there was a fair amount of disillusion by the high middle ages, but earlier in the Middle Ages Bishops were heroes.  The office was so popular that people often said that the office could perform miracles even when the bishop was corrupt.A famous later example of this was the Corpus Christi miracle that converted a bad priest when he realized the significance of his office in the eyes of God.Not to mention the impact faith in the power of saints or the powers of old gods would have.  Medieval Occultists often tried to mix power from pagan, Jewish, Muslim, and Christian traditions.  Also, there is a tradition of people having blood from Christ's family.  It's mostly later, but King's claimed to be descended from relatives of Christ and thus to have sorcerous powers.  Perhaps a means of countering the Nephilim or legitmizing your tainted abilities.Anyways, all this may only impact the flowering indirectly, but it's cool to think about how a medieval religious reaction to such an event would not be simple at all.</blockquote>

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