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Myth versus History

Shockley

Maester
@ Feo and Addison: There is no consistency to myth. It doesn't have to be consistent. We have to remember that we have a preconceived idea about myth - the Norse saw this one thing in one way, the Greeks also saw this one thing in one way, without any interpretation, meanings, or riffs on previous stories. What we have to remember is that when these ideas were snuffed out (and that's what happened, like it or not), these were still evolving, thriving religions. The myths were evolving and thriving with them.
 

RedAndy

Dreamer
What we have to remember is that when these ideas were snuffed out (and that's what happened, like it or not), these were still evolving, thriving religions. The myths were evolving and thriving with them.
This is an important point. Mythology changes over time.

For example, the ancestry of the British Royal Family (and most of the European nobility, come to that) can be traced back to an Anglo-Saxon king called Cerdic. The lineage begins there, because Cerdic invented his own genealogy (or someone did on his behalf), not rooted in historical fact, which claimed that he was descended from the god Woden (analogous to the Norse Odin). A little later, Christians came along and appended a genealogy stretching even further back, which connected Woden to the Biblical patriarchs. Of course, no one today believes that the Queen is literally a descendant of Woden, much less of Noah, but it's just one example of a pre-existing myth being woven into what is supposed to be history (presumably, in this case, to support the claims of Cerdic or his descendants that they were legitimate rulers).

There are also lots of examples of myths and legends being obviously derived from other myths and legends. One that immediately springs to mind is Noah's flood, which has many similarities with a flood story contained within the Epic of Gilgamesh.

As for how to relate and balance history and myth in fantasy writing, I'd say there are no fixed rules since fantasy always requires some suspension of disbelief. It's perfectly possible to construct a world where your main characters have an incomplete understanding of how it actually works, even if you (the author) do, and actually probably helps to lend the world a bit of plausibility. The two novel-length fantasy stories I've written have been, in part, an exploration of how and by what methods my characters understand their world.
 

Addison

Auror
I know. Everyone has their own version of events. from every day events like who broke the lamp or why Sam and Elliot broke up, to fairy tales. There are fairy tales by Grimm, Anderson and others who, while have different titles and characters, are very similar.
 
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