History of the Order of Hermes
by Mark D F Shirley
The copyright of this article remains with the original author. Articles
may be copied or distributed freely for personal non-profit use, provided
that the author is properly credited.
Note:
This history differs significantly from that laid out in
`official' sources for Ars Magica.
Some of the material was taken in part from The Order of Hermes
and The Wizard's Grimoire (both copyrighted by Atlas Games) and
some of it sprang from ideas generated by postings to the Ars
Magica Mailing List. The majority of it, however, is original.
Ancient Origins
The Order of Hermes was founded chiefly by wizards who had
descended from the Roman Cult of Mercury, which in turn took its
wisdom and knowledge of the mystic powers from the Greek cult of
Hermes. The Seekers of the lineage of Arteman, a group of Magi who
investigate the past in search for the origins of magic, believe
that these ancient Greek wizards had some contact with those beings
known to the Greeks as gods. Evidence of wizards in ancient Egypt
and still more ancient Babylon suggests that even the cult of
Hermes was a descendent of a previous order from the early history
of the Mediterranean cultures. Again, these Egyptian and Babylonian
sorcerers, say the Seekers, had contact with what commoners called
gods who taught them the basic elements of a theory of magic. Any
history as to the origins of Babylonian and Egyptian Magi, however,
is purely legend. The Seekers call this 'history' the legend of the
Old Ones. Recent contact with Persian wizards reveals that they
have a more ancient record of the history of magic, but as yet are
unwilling to share it.
The history of the Order of Hermes, for most Magi, begins in Rome.
The Roman Cult of Mercury
Among the foremost priesthoods in Rome before the Empire was that
of the Temple of Mercury. This priesthood used its powerful ritual
magic to help defend Rome from its worst enemies and to protect her
conquering armies as they united the Mediterranean world. The great
secret of the Mercurian priesthood, however, was that they were not
dedicated to the pagan god Mercury, but to the power of magic that
could be found throughout the world. Centuries of patronage by the
wealthy of Rome allowed them to delve deeply into the mysteries of
magic, gathering knowledge from every corner of the Empire and
hoarding it in their temples. In the second century BC, the high
priest Plentarch of the Pompeii temple codified the rituals of the
cult of Mercury into thirty-eight spells, each of which had to be
studied separately. Most of these spells were elaborate rituals
that required scores of wizards who were tightly bound to each other
by training and purpose - the more that were gathered, the more
powerful was the spell. The tomes that described these spells,
however, have long been lost.
With the coming of the Empire, trouble came to the Mercurian
priesthood. Infighting and jealousy of the relative standing of
various temples with the emperor began to fragment the Mercurians.
Soon, the emperors themselves became fearful of the power wielded
by these Mercurian priests, and their agents contributed to the
disunity within the order. By the middle of the second century, no
two temples were on speaking terms, and some temples overtly
threatened and attacked others, looting their precious stores of
knowledge and wealth. The emperor Septimus Severus finally declared
the Temple of Mercury outlaw, revealing that its priests did not
offer worship to the pagan gods or to the divine emperors.
Throughout the empire, Mercurian priests hid from the legions,
seeking places of power far from human habitation and taking their
knowledge of magical power with them.
The Time of Darkness
For centuries, the remnants of the Mercurian priesthood hid their
presence, burying themselves in the study of their arts. Their
contact with the mundane world was rare, for basic necessities and
apprentices were all that most required. When a magus learned of
rumours of a wizard or a magical place, he would go prepared for a
struggle - and when two magi met, there was invariably a violent
confrontation leaving at least one dead.
The Germanic tribes brought their own magicians when they came to
the West, and the fearful Mercurians would often turn their powers
on these newcomers in the hope of learning some new insight into
the workings of magic. The remnants of the Celtic magical orders
also contended for survival in a world dominated first by the
Romans and later by the growing influence of Christianity. Other
scattered magical practices hid in the deep forests, high mountains
and uninhabited swamps of Europe. This was a time of violence, when
most magi considered all others fair game, and suspicion was the
order of the day. Few wizards were willing to speak peacefully with
others or to share their knowledge with any but trusted apprentices,
and the unscrupulous took advantage of those few in dialogues that
usually ended with the death of unwary.
The turmoil in Europe matched the turmoil among its wizards, and
many wizards found themselves caught up in it. A tragic few tried
to stop the tide of Germans flowing into Europe, only to find that
their power alone was no match for the new magic of the tribes or
the treachery of their fellow Romans. Some magi became court
wizards for mundane lords, but most of these were either eventually
driven out by their fearful erstwhile patrons or sought out and
slain by greedy wizards from the fringes of civilisation. The
barbarian invasions of the British Isles saw the mixing of many
different magical traditions and left the islands a patchwork of
suspicious wizards
Prior to the Founding of the Order of Hermes, there were few
organisations of wizards. The Cult of Mercury had foundered many
centuries ago, and since then, only ephemeral and uneasy alliances
had formed.
Then, in the seventh century, the Muslims became a threat which led
to unity among the magi much as it did among the disparate mundane
nations. The Muslim invasion which swept through the Iberian
peninsula swallowed up some wizards of renown, forcing even the
most self-centred and suspicious of magi to take notice. An uneasy
alliance was formed among the wizards of the Pyrenees, and magi
used their arts to aid the Franks in turning back the inexorable
Muslim advance. It is said that similar alliances took place in the
East, among the magi of the Byzantine Empire, but little is
recorded of those efforts.
One Maga from the Camargue region observed and assisted this
alliance of wizards, and felt that such a truce among wizards would
be necessary if the study of the Arts of Magic were ever to advance
toward its potentials.
In 731AD, this maga, Trianoma, took this vision to the home
of Bonisagus, a brilliant wizard and a great magical
theoretician who lived in the Burgundian Alps, and she convinced
him to work with her to develop ways in which magi could live with
one another in mutual trust. Trianoma had spoken with those magi of
the Pyrenees Alliance who she thought would see the advantages of
peace, and prevailed upon the sorcerer Carpandus to share
his knowledge of wards and magical barriers. The three of them
developed the Parma Magica, a magical shield that, in combination
with attunement to the magical Arts, would protect its bearer from
attack. Wedded to the new, flexible codification of magic on which
Bonisagus had spent his life working, this discovery allowed a well
prepared magus to feel safe among other powerful wizards. Trianoma
and Carpandus demonstrated these discoveries to several other magi
of the region and persuaded many of them that an Order of magi
would be possible.
The Order of Hermes
767AD / 906th Year of Pisces: The Founding of the Order of
Hermes
On February 21st, 12 magi came together at Durenmar in the
Burgundian Alps and swore to the Code of Hermes. For months before
this concord, they had wrangled and argued over the composition of
the Code, until all were satisfied. Included among them were those
who owed their magical knowledge to the Mercurian priesthood, but
there were also some with Germanic or Celtic traditions as their
roots. Two Magi were missing from the swearing of the Code, though
had been there in the preliminary stages. Carpandus, whose work was
so important to the possibility of a unified Order, had died in the
previous year. The other was Tremere.
The Concord of Durenmar saw the birth of the Order of Hermes. The
12 Magi that were present became the Founders of the Order.
- Bjornaer - the child of a shaman and a shapeshifter,
this Germanic wizard was cursed and abandoned to die by her clan.
However, inheriting the gifts from both her parents in full
strength gave her the ability to survive. Her magic prior to the
Founding of the Order was alrgely self-taught. Many of the other
Founders looked down upon her and her powers, but Bonisagus was
eager to incorporate her magic, since her different approach to
magic promised to teach him much. She studied with Merinita to
learn Latin and the basics of Hermetic Magic, but was never able to
get more than a spark when it came to Ignem magic.
- Bonisagus - Bonisagus was the brilliant but reclusive
Magus that brought together disparate traditions of magic into a
form learnable by all. He also created the parma magica with a
sorcerer called Carpandus, so that wizards could meet without fear
of attack. He liked the idea of a union of wizards suggested by
Trianoma for he was not fond of the warfare that often raged
between wizards before the founding. He was a gentle man, and had a
reputation for being harmless and extremely honourable.
- Criamon - The non-latinised version of this Arabic
wizard's name was Qahir'amon. There was a lot of discussion about
his eligibility to join the Order, because of his non-Christian
roots, especially as many of the Founders had fought the Moors.
Trianoma was keen for him to join, for she could see that the
strength of the Order was in diversification. He actually had
little to do with the founding of the Order, though he saw it as a
positive step because once it was founded he would no longer fear
the intrusions of other Magi. He was instrumental in getting the
Code to recognise the importance of a magus's privacy. Fears about
a heathen in the Order were lessened when Qahir'amin revealed that
he had abandoned both Allah and his people in favour of using his
magic as a pathway to the Enigma, a concept that to the other
Founders was a difficult concept to comprehend, but from his
writings sometimes seemed to be a universal principle, sometimes a
metaphor for human thought, and sometimes a deity.
- Diedne - an Irish druid, and a friend of Merinita,
Diedne taught Bonisagus the use of spontaneous magic, though she
was incapable of casting a formulaic spell. Her House began as one
of the largest, for she persuaded many of her fellow druids to join
the Order. In the early days of the Order, this House consisted of
mainly British, Welsh and Breton druids, for Diedne's Irish
counterparts disapproved of the Order, as the druids of Ireland
were teachers in their tribes, they chafed under the
"non-interference with mundanes" clause of the Code, and many
refused to join. These druids were protected by their Hermetic
brethren.
- Flambeau - an Iberian noble by birth, his family lost
battle after battle to the Muslims, retreating further and further
north. His master took him from this violent background and taught
him magic. Both of them fought along side the Christian nobility
against the Moors, but to no avail. Flambeau's master was an expert
in the art of destruction, but Flambeau studied and mastered the
art of fire. His fighting style was flexible and brilliant,
alternately using columns of flame to distract his opponents and
removing them from their horses without a sound. He gathered around
him a group of other wizards - not always willingly - to form a
military unit to use against the hated Moors, thus he was the
'leader' of the Pyrenean Alliance. When Trianoma came to him he was
sceptical, not wanting his freedom restricted. When the Order
seemed more likely to form, with or without him, his attitude
changed. He insisted on Magi having the right to use violence if
necessary, thus the advent of Wizard's War. He was probably the most
magically powerful of the Founders.
- Guernicus - when the Order was being founded, the Magus
Guernicus showed the greatest scepticism that Magi could work
together and would allow themselves to be governed by the Code,
having seen the infighting that occured in the Pyrenean Alliance.
He estimated the lifespan of the Order would be 'three-score years
and ten, or a bit longer thanks to potions of longevity.' Trianoma
finally grew weary of his scepticism and never-ending wise-cracks
and asked him what provisions the Order would need to survive.
Guernicus said that the Order would need a Magus whose sole duty
would be to police the other wizards, keep the peace, and enforce
the Code. At Trianoma's suggestion, Guernicus took this role,
abandoning his former Terram magics for those of Intellego.
Guernicus was a gadfly in his role as judge and many accused him of
looking for disputes in an effort to prove that the Order could not
stand. While he often used his position to ridicule other Magi, it
was thanks to his fierce challenges and insistence on regulation,
however, that the Peripheral Code was formed.
- Jerbiton - a noble by birth, a member of an old Roman
patrician family that had survived into the Dark Ages as a clan of
land-holding nobles. His family cultivated in him a fine taste for
music and other arts, so he felt isolated and distraught when he
was taken from home and made an apprentice. Once a full wizard and
free to travel, he spent his early years visiting city after city,
steeping himself in whatever arts he could find in that dark time.
Eventually, he even reunited himself with his family. When he heard
that an Order of wizards was forming, he was excited for he felt
that only by cooperating in peace could Magi themselves develop
traditions of art and philosophy based on their magical arts. After
the founding he became disillusioned when he saw that the others
were not interested in the pursuit of art, but only the pursuit of
power. He taught his followers that they were more 'noble' than the
others, and this feeling of superiority persists to this day.
- Mercere - a French Magus who was very enthusiastic
about the Order, and visited many of the other wizards of the
Pyrenean Alliance to invite them to join, considering it a means to
restore the peace that was lost with the fall of Rome. He was
renown for his transformational magics, and taught Bonisagus much
about this magic. It is believed that the remnants of alchemy that
remain in Hermetic theory were due to this magus.
- Merinita - to the Magi of the 8th century, a legend and
a mystery. She traveled alone through the wilderness, a priestess of
the earth mother, who was said to be in communion with the spirits
of the wild. Trianoma spent a year trying to find her to invite her
to help form the Order, and for reasons still unclear, she came out
of the wilds to become a member of the Order and to train
apprentices. After founding her House and seeing the Order into its
first years of stability, however, she returned to her journeys
through the wilds of this world.
- Trianoma - the driving force behind the formation of
the Order, Trianoma was a superlative diplomat. She saw the
potential in Bonisagus's magic when they first met some three
decades before the founding, and though she was a wizard already,
she became Bonisagus's student. She had the skill to fade into the
background having convinced people that the matter under discussion
was their idea in the first place. She was a good enough wizard to
beat Tytalus, so her powers were by no means negligible.
- Tytalus - Tytalus was one of the reasons that the
formation of a peaceful Order was appealing to other wizards. He
was known as a hot-tempered wizard, prone to challenging other
powerful wizards just for the sake of testing himself and learning
from his victories (which were many) and defeats (which were few).
Initially he spoke out against the Order, but Trianoma beat him in
a magical duel, and he agreed to join; thenceforth he continually
tested the bounds of the Code. Like Flambeau, he took pleasure in
hunting down those that refused to join the Order, though he often
let them live once they had acknowledged defeat. Tytalus's
relationship with his apprentices set a tradition of 'beloved
rivals', constantly involved in games and contests of power which
made others believe that they hated one another.
- Verditius - An Byzantine Magus residing in Italy, and
the last priest of the Cult of Vulcan. He was utterly incapable of
casting spells, but as a creator of magical items, he has never
been matched. He was eager to join the Order because it gave him
certain protection from other Magi - he feared that he was unable
to hold his own in magical battles and wanted to be part of an
Order which would allow him to practice his craft in peace and
safety. He worked long and hard with Bonisagus, sharing what he
knew about crafting magical devices, but every time he became
philosophical about the intangible, inexpressible part of magical
creation, Bonisagus said that such talk was pointless. Though
Bonisagus managed to capture the simplest and most direct
instructions for making magical devices, he could never quantify
the personal element that Verditius thought was so important, and
makes members of this House so skilled.
Tremere was meant to have been present to sign the Concord. He and
the Founder Tytalus shared the same teacher, a witch by the name of
Guorna the Foetid. Tytalus, the elder and more powerful of the two,
bound Tremere magically, thus preventing him from attending the
Concord. Tytalus then graciously accepted Tremere into his
new-forming House. Some saw the exclusion of Tremere as auspicious,
13 being a number of ill repute. Tremere, however, was determined
to play the Judas to the other Houses, as that was the role that
his big brother had forced upon him.
The Concord of Durenmar determined that there would be 12 Houses,
each dedicated to the goals and interests of one of the Founders,
and that Magi who wished to enter the Order should petition to join
one of these Houses, and if accepted, swear the same oath that the
Founders had.
Each House dwelt at its domus, which was usually the original home
of its Founder. As the Founders came from all over Europe, this
soon became impractical. Most magi set about their research after
the Founding, and the only change was that some of them were
willing to establish laboratories in the same locations and share
both knowledge and resources. Because of the oath most magi took to
work closely with those at the same location, these convocations of
wizards came to be known as covenants, and the exchange of
knowledge and the mutual protection afforded by the covenant
structure made it quickly become the most common place of residence
for members of the Order, although a substantial minority
maintained their independence.
The Order quickly gained new members from Brittany to the Balkans
and from the Ebro to the Elbe, growing from a couple of dozen to
over two hundred in less than 100 years.
As the size of the Order grew, there became an inevitable need for
internal structure to maintain stability. The first institution to
be founded was that of the Quaesitores. Guernicus had taken on the
role of judge, making rulings on the Code, and he soon formulated
the Periperal Code, which augmented the Code of Hermes in two ways.
The first was a set of supplimentary rulings, that clarified the
Code, or allowed new institutions (such as Certamen, in 810) to
become part of the Code of Hermes. The second section was a set of
precedents, how Quaesitores had ruled in previous times, as a guide
upon which decisions could be made.
The members of House Guernicus became famous for their neutral
reputations and charged with keeping and speaking the laws of the
Order. The Magi that shouldered this role were given the title of
Quaesitores, and Magvillus, the home covenant of Guernicus, became
a place at which the decisions of the Order would be kept and
passed on to new Quaesitores. House Ex Quaesitores, as it became
known, was always a relatively small House, and had access to many
forgotten magics. They were granted by the Peripheral Code
particular powers to assist them in the execution of their duties,
primarily inviolability.
Excerpt from the Peripheral Code:
"A member of House Guernicus
that has been named quaesitor is subject to the Code of Hermes and
the Peripheral Code of Hermes in the same manner as any Magus of
the Order; however, punishment of a quaesitor can only be meted out
by a Tribunal consisting only of other quaesitores, who must
determine whether the actions of the accused quaesitor were
contrary to the benefit of the Order."
"Refusal to comply with the wishes of a quaesitor is an offence
against the Code of Hermes, resulting in the immediate declaration
of a Wizard's March against the offender."
770AD / 909th Year of Pisces
Mercere lost his Gift in a magical accident in this year,
nonetheless he vowed to support and assist the growing Order. The
two apprentices he taught before losing the Gift carried on his
magical tradition within the House, but Mercere continued to train
apprentices, forming the Ordo Nuntii, commonly known as the Redcaps.
These non-Gifted members of the Order were accorded all the rights
of a Gifted Magus in 773AD - this was the first of the amendments
to the Code of Hermes, later to be known as the Peripheral Code.
The Redcaps, or nuntii (sing nuntius) were charged
not only with delivering messages but also with compiling
information. Their domus magna soon became a huge repository of
information on the geography and history of both Europe and the
Order.
The Ordo Nuntii and House Mercere are sometimes referred to
collectively as House Ex Nuntii. The Gifted members of this House
refer to themselves as 'scholae Mercandi', whereas the
non-Gifted members recall Hermes' messenger aspect by terming
themselves 'Magi Mercurialis'.
Also in this year, a wizard by the name of Erix came to Durenmar.
He claimed to be the pupil of the great Carpandus, and brought with
him a tome written by that wizard. Erix turned out to have very
little magical ability, and had stolen the book from the corpse of
the murdered Carpandus. Erix was the first Magus to be cast out
from the Order, and was executed by Flambeau.
772AD / 911th Year of Pisces
Tremere, working in conjunction with Bonisagus and his newly-taken
apprentice, develops the magical ritual of certamen.
773AD / 912th Year of Pisces
In 773AD it was decided that the internal structure of the Order
could not rely solely on the covenants and mass gatherings of magi
for long. The gatherings quickly became too large to conclude any
business. Therefore, in this year, eight Tribunals were established.
At tribunal meetings, grievances are resolved, the policies of the
Order are established, and news and knowledge are shared. The
oldest magus of the tribunal (called the praeco) presided
over the meeting, which was held at that magus' home covenant or a
location designated by him. The oldest Quaesitor of the tribunal
was given the authoritative word on legal issues. Tribunal meetings
are called in emergency situations, but are otherwise held once
every three years. Europe was divided up in much the same way as
Ancient Rome had, many centuries ago: Germania Magna (Rhine),
Raetia (Greater Alps), Roma (Roman), Lugdunensis (Normandy),
Aquitania (Burgundy), Narbonensis (Provençal), Sarmartica (Bohemia)
and Carpathia (Transylvania); the vulgar names for these tribunals
are given in parentheses. Though there were few inhabitants of
these Tribunals at this time, it was foreseen that soon they would
be needed. There must be at least one quaesitor and one nuntius per
tribunal, later on this was expanded to include at least one scriba
and one hoplite (see later).
Guernicus entered the following into the Peripheral Code:
"The provisions in the Code of Hermes referring to the Tribunal
apply equally to any other Tribunal that has the power over the
Magus and that is presided over by a member of House Guernicus. A
Tribunal must include twelve or more Magi from no less than four
covenants."
"After completing his Wizard's Gauntlet to the satisfaction of his
master, a new Magus must then be presented to the Tribunal by said
master, whereupon he will swear to the Code of Hermes and from
henceforth be considered to be a member of that Tribunal."
Every 13 years, a Grand Tribunal was to be held at Durenmar, to
which every tribunal sends five representatives. At these meetings,
rulings can be made which affect the entire Order. The Primus of
House Bonisagus presides over the Grand Tribunal by tradition,
although he cedes the presidency to a magus chosen by the first
vote of the convocation, also by tradition. The Primus of Magvillus
is the Quaesitor for the Grand Tribunal. The council of Primi,
refered to as the Grand Council of the Order of Hermes, are the
official participants of this Tribunal - the other Magi advise
their leaders. At these Grand Tribunals, individual rulings could
be entered as part of the Peripheral Code if the Grand Tribunal
deemed that the precedent was of sufficient import to become a
ruling of the Peripheral Code. The year that the original ruling
was made is entered as the year in which the amendment to the
Peripheral Code was made, and in rare situations, a Magus may be
punished for something that was not an offence against the Code
when the deed was committed.
780AD / 919th Year of Pisces
In this year, first official contact was made with the wizards of
the Byzantine Empire, as Trianoma and Mercere travelled to Greece
in search of recruits. Large numbers decided to swear the Oath of
Hermes, mainly entering House Jerbiton. Amongst the most notable
were Menecrates, a powerful healer, and Arteman, a wizard concerned
with the roots of magic.
To accomodate the large numbers of Greek Magi, the Tribunal of
Illyria (Theban Tribunal) was set up. In addition, Sarmatica was
renamed Sarmatica Europea, and the new tribunal of Sarmatica
Asiatica (vulgarily referred to as "Novgorod") was added to the
rolls, covering all of the lands north of the Baltic Sea and east
of the Vistula / Prut rivers. These wild and untamed lands,
vis-rich, held great appeal to the Magi of Eastern Europe.
Several Western Magi travelling to the Illyrian Tribunal met their
deaths at the hands of a mightly Thessalonian witch called Empusa.
Merinita warned Magi to stay away from her - the two had sparred in
the past, before the foundation of the Order.
The first official Grand Tribunal was held in 780AD, 13 years after
the Founding of the Order.
783AD / 922nd Year of Pisces
Quaertus Primus was Bonisagus's first real apprentice, taken by the
Founder in 768AD, and thus had the distinction of being the first
Magus ever to have been trained fully in the Hermetic Tradition. He
was given the Hermetic name of Primus in recognition of this fact.
His apprenticeship finished in this year. Bonisagus proceeded to
train two other apprentices, but at this stage he was getting old
and close to Twilight, and those two were never the equal of Primus.
Primus was responsible for formulising the training of Hermetic
apprentices and the institute of the Gauntlet, and his Hermetic
descendents are considered in his House to be of the highest
calibre.
804AD / 943th Year of Pisces
Quendalon, first primus of House Merinita, returns after five years
in a faerie forest. Myanar, the current primus, refused to accept
that this was indeed his friend Quendalon, but a faerie in disguise.
A protracted political and magical battle ensued, with Quendalon on
one side and Myanar on the other. Quendalon wanted to reassume the
leadership of House Merinita and steer it towards study of the fay,
whereas Myanar remained true to the teachings of Merinita and the
study of Nature. The war was bitter, and many deaths occured on
both sides. It ended a decade later with the defeat of Myanar's
faction thanks to Quendalon receiving fae help. The remaining
followers of Myanar's faction were accepted ito House Bjornaer in
814.
810AD / 949th Year of Pisces
The Ritual of Certamen was introduced to the Order, and the
following was entered into the Peripheral Code:
"Certamen is to be respected as a means of settling disputes
decisively. In certamen, the challenger must first choose the
technique to be used, and the defender must the choose the form of
the challenge. Any Magus refusing to engage in certamen or refusing
to abide by the results of the certamen is betraying the spirit of
the Code and is to be punished. Those who refuse to accept certamen
challenges, therefore, or refuse to abide by the decision of a
certamen may suffer more violent coercion by the offended Magus and
shall be punished by their Tribunal."
"No Magus who loses a certamen may challenge another Magus to
certamen a second time unless the Magus to be challenged has
challenged the first in the meantime."
815AD / 954th Year of Pisces
After the protracted battle within House Merinita ended, Guernicus
called for a codification of the rules for Wizard's War, that is,
battle fought between members of the Order. The following was added
to the Peripheral Code:
"No Wizard's War shall be declared unless one Magus notifies
the other on the night of the full moon. On the rise of the next
full moon, the Wizard's War shall commence, and it shall end at the
rise of the full moon thereafter. Those who continue in the
conflict after this time shall be considered rogue and shall have a
Wizard's March declared agaist them at the next Tribunal."
The Time of Troubles
817AD / 956th Year of Pisces
Early in the 8th Century, a wizard called Dav'nalleous threatened
the stability of the Order. The Tytalus known as Pralix followed
him to the British Isles, and with the assistance of native wizards
(mainly of the sort called gruagachan), defeated him. She then
declared herself and her followers to be separate from the Order,
naming her bunch of hedge wizards "the Order of Miscellany". The
more hot-headed Magi of the Order wanted to go to war against these
upstarts, but Trianoma, still the Prima of her House, but now quite
ancient, defused the situation by offering to disband her House,
and offer the position of the Council of Primi to Pralix, thus
forming a new House. House Trianoma was a small House anyway, her
apprentices being more interested in politics than magic. The
entire House agreed to this plan, and they nominally entered House
Bonisagus (though some became Jerbitonis). Pralix's Order was thus
given the status of a House within the Order of Hermes, which they
was satisfied with.
House Ex Miscellanea was comprised mainly of Celtic Magi
from Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Britain; thus 3 new tribunals
were created, Britannia (a.k.a Stonehenge, after it's most famous
landmark), Scotia (Loch Leglean, after Pralix's winter camp) and
Hibernia (vulgarly, the Eireann Tribunal). Up to this point,
covenants in the British Isles had been included in the
Lugdunensian tribunal.
832AD / 971th Year of Pisces
Pralix died suddenly in 821AD, and an ancient gruagach named Brude
assumed the leadership of House Ex Miscellanea. As the House
appealed to many magical traditions who didn't want to be
'pigeon-holed' into a House by the Order, it quickly grew in size;
non-Hermetics flocking to the newly formed House This caused
friction between the separate traditions within the House. Brude in
particular was blamed for favouritism towards the members of his
own magical tradition, and magical warfare seemed a certainty.
Tremere went to Trianoma and proposed an alternative, which was
brought to the Grand Tribunal of 832AD, that distinct magical
traditions should have the right to be independent of the 12 Houses,
instead of being forced to enter one of them. This was
seen with great disapproval by most of the Houses, but Trianoma
persevered, and the vote was passed by the narrowest of margins.
Strict rules were imposed by the die-hards of the Order; most
importantly that the Great Houses (those of the Founders, plus Ex
Miscellanea) should always have more voting power in a tribunal
than the new lineages; that the lineages would be made up of
only those Magi who constituted a genuine magical tradition
(descended from a single Magus, and having the same
scholastic/magical interests); and lastly, at the insistence of the
primus of Criamon, that there should be no more than 27 lineages, bringing the total number of traditions in the Order of Hermesto 39.
These 'lesser houses' are given the Hermetic title of genera (sing. gens) to distinguish them from the Noble Houses ( genera
maiores, sing genus maior, tr. as "greater lineage").
Any group of five or more Magi could apply to the Grand Council for
the creation of a new lineage, as long as all of the above conditions
were satisfied.
Tremere was the first Lineage to be formed, such was their
desire to escape from the oppressive yoke of House Tytalus.
Trianoma was the second Lineage, at the insistence of 10 of
the 12 Noble Houses. The Third Lineage was House Brutus, as
House Ex Miscellanea was eager to rid itself of its troublesome
Primus. At this time, certain other Houses were formed, as lineages
came out of the woodwork. Some of these foundered quickly, others
persist to this day. They include:
- Brutus - Named after Brude, leader of the gruagach,
the irony of the Latinised name (meaning "stupid, irrational") was
lost on the non-Latin speakers of the group. The gruagach retreated
to the Highlands of Scotland, and were barely heard of again, until
915AD, when the entire lineage was Renounced after Brude, still the
leader a century after he joined the Order, killed a Magus Flambonis in a fit of rage at the Grand
curses and shapechanging.
- Carpandus - the sorcerer Carpandus died in 766, thus
he was not one of the Founders. Erix, a 'Magus' claiming to be his
apprentice, was proven to be a fraud, however, the book he carried
was written by Carpandus, and some Bonisagi took up studying wards
and barriers. These then formed their own Lineage in this year.
- Myanar - The line of Myanar, second primus of House
Merinita, was all but dead in 832AD, but five members remained and
left House Bjornaer to form a Lineage. Naturally, they concentrate
upon nature-related magics.
- Tremere - The line of Tremere had always been
distinctly different from the other members of House Tytalus.
Tremere himself was still active at this time (he eventually
outlived all of the others present at the Concord of Durenmar).
Tremere contributed the institution of certamen to the Order in
772AD, and was well known for his strict control over his
apprentices. It was not until this Lineage was formed that the
practice of witholding sigils was instituted. Tremere seemed to
have a long-range plan, though few were sure what it was.
- Trianoma - there was virtually no contest as to the
formation of this Lineage. All Magi had (at the very least)
respect for Trianoma, through whose efforts the formation of the
Order was made possible. Her line continued her task of acting as
mediator and peacemaker to the Order, as well as facilitating the
commnication between Houses.
848AD / 987th Year of Pisces
Tremere, the last living Founder, almost managed to completely
dominate the Order through the use of Certamen, even though they
were only a Lineage. The Quaesitors managed to wipe out nearly
all of the details of this plan, as well as the memory of those
that helped in the quashing of the old magus's plans.
849AD / 988th Year of Pisces
Following on from the Sundering of gens Tremere, the following
ruling was added to the Peripheral Code:
"No certamen shall force a Magus to give up his rights, nor
force a Magus to break the Code of Hermes nor the Peripheral Code.
The rights protected from certamen include the rights of a Praeco
leading a Tribunal, the rights of a Primus ruling a House, and the
rights of a Quaesitor protecting the Order."
937AD / 1076th Year of Pisces
The Duresca scrolls are discovered. They seem to have been written
by Guernicus, and they set forth a plot to control the Order. Three
years later they are officially ruled to be a fraud - by House
Guernicus.
961AD / 1100th Year of Pisces
The trial and execution of Tasgilla, Primus of Tytalus, found to be
guilty of diabolism. A purge of the House followed, resulting in a
decimation of the House as it was found to be rife with the Dark
Arts. This incident saw the Founding of 2 new Lineages, gens Ex
Ultores (also known as gens Hoplites), created to purge the
corruption, and gens Ecce Lux, founded by Tytali sworn to
prevent such a thing occurring in the Order again. Some saw the
near destruction of the House as revenge by Tremere for the
treatment they received at the hands of House Tytalus when they
were part of it, and others see it now as 'practice' for what House
Tremere was to perpetrate next. If either of these rumours was true,
it was unfortunate for Tremere, who died in 960AD, a year before
his scheming came to fruition.
Since the Corruption of House Tytalus, it became law that no member
of this House (there was a handful of survivors) was allowed to run
a covenant, or hold a position of responsibility in a Tribunal.
They were excluded from the privacy clause of the Code of Hermes,
allowing any Quaesitor to inspect their laboratories and studies at
any time, without legal recourse. These restrictions are still in
effect.
It fell upon the 'Hoplites' of gens Ex Ultores to ensure that the
edicts of the Tribunal were carried out. They were granted certain
plenary powers, primarily they were able to hand down summary
punishment for High Crimes without the need of a Quaesitor. Some
saw them as an attempt by the Quaesitors to dominate the Order, but
there always pessimists and paranoids in large organisations.
975AD / 1114th Year of Pisces
At this time, changes were occurring in the eastern Mediterranean.
The border warfare between the Moslems and the Byzantines started
to turn in favour of the latter, and Emperor Nicephorus Phocas
recovered naval supremacy, conquering Crete and Cyprus. It was
suggested to the Grand Council of the Order that a new tribunal
should be formed, covering the eastern half of the Byzantine Empire
and the Holy Land. This new Tribunal was called the Syrian Tribunal
(a.k.a. the Levantine tribunal), and the members of this tribunal
subtly helped the reconquest of the Holy land over the next century
or so.
997AD / 1136th Year of Pisces
"The sanctum of each Magus shall be marked with a circle
inscribed within a square, with straight lines connecting the
square's opposite corners. This marking shall be in plain view so
that those entering the sanctum know that it is indeed a sanctum. A
symbol representing the identity of the sanctum's owner shall
accompany the sign."
1001AD / 1140th Year of Pisces
As the number of Magi in the Order had grown, so did the Peripheral
Code. It became hard to ensure agreement between the quaesitores,
who could be resident many hundreds of miles from the central
Lore-House of Magvillus, especially now there were 14 tribunals. A
Magus from gens Arteman by the name of Nicanaetus took on the role
of training apprentices who would be responsible for recording the
Law and disseminating it through the Order. In 975AD, House
Nicanaetus had formed to preserve the history and integrity
of the Order, and 1001AD, the protection of the Nicanaetean Magi
(referred to as scriba, pl. scribae) became
guaranteed throughout the Order. The Lineage became known as gens Ex
Scribae, and they were made the official lore-keepers of the Order of
Hermes, working closely with both Houses Mercere and Guernicus.
The line of Ouateis split of from House Diedne in 1001AD. As
Ouateis was purported to be a seer of great renown, some read much
into this event. Little did they realise exactly what this presaged.
The Schism War
1004-1012AD / 1143rd-1151st Years of Pisces
At this time the Order had become very fractious. Since the
corruption of Tytalus many Magi had become paranoid and withdrawn,
and Wizard's Wars became frequent. This all came to a head in what
is now known as the Schism War.
It started when the Tremere declared Wizard's War on House Diedne.
That House was already unpopular, being largely true to its original
magic. The Tremendi whipped Flambeau into a frenzy, and forged
alliances with the remaining Tytali (who seem to have been forgiven
by the followers of Tremere), creating a society called the Pican
League (named after Mars, the Roman God of War, whose symbol was
the woodpecker, in Latin picus). Presenting the Quaesitors
with evidence (which may or may not have been real), they were given
the go ahead to declare Wizard's War on the entire House. Each
Magus of Diedne receiving a separate challenge from a Magus of one of
the Three Houses. The War became a free-for-all, with many battles
and skirmishes, as the tension that had been brewing in the Order
was released. In 1008, when it looked like the Diednis were going
to lose, House Guernicus declared the entirety of that House
Renounced. The last of the druids were seen in 1012, and the War
was considered over.
The Time of Consolidation
1018AD / 1157th Year of Pisces
When the dust settled, Tremere used the lull and shock that the
other Houses suffered to push their claim to the Seat of Diedne;
being the oldest Hermetic Lineage in the Order that did not have a
seat on the Grand Council (Trianoma excluded). Before the Order
really knew what had happened, the vote was passed. Another vote
was put forth to prevent this sort of thing happening again,
setting the membership of the Great Houses in stone, but this was
really an knee-jerk reaction.
Also in this year, a new tribunal was formed. The Christian states
in Spain were starting to regain land from the Moors, and with them
came the Magi of the Order, particularly those from Houses Flambeau
and Proelius, strong houses from the bounty and honour they had
gained in the Schism War. In particular, the first few conquests of
Sancho the Great of Navarre put into motion the reconquista of the
Iberian Peninsula. As Magi flooded into the reconquered territory,
eager to claim the unspoiled lands, the Grand Council felt it
prudent to create the tribunal of Hispania (also called the Iberian
tribunal). The move was supported by Houses Criamon and
the Lineage of Aesculaequum, who also joined the tribunal, but on the other side
of the border.
1027AD / 1166th Year of Pisces
This year saw the canonisation of Nerius, a Magus of House Criamon
who spoke out against the persecution of House Diedne. He was
martyred in 1002AD, killed while trying to defend both his
Christian beliefs, and those who would be killed in any ensuing war.
Unfortunately, his sacrifice did not prevent the war, but it did
facilitate its termination. Many Magi espoused the peaceful
philosophy of Nerius, and it was his teachings of forgiveness that
assisted in healing the Order after the war. As well as being a
Magus, Nerius was also a saintly man, performing many acts
impossible through Hermetic magic. His actions had come to the
attention of the Church, and in the year that he was made a saint,
a Lineage was created within the Order, composed of a group of
Christian Magi who lived according to a Monastic Rule.
Also in this year, the most recent Tribunal was instituted. As the
Pisans and Genoans started to drive the Moslems out of Sardinia and
the North African Coast, Magi of the Moslem Houses of Criamon and
Aesculaequum applied to the Grand Council for the creation of their
own tribunal. The four covenants had a strong case for this
creation, being separated from the nearest Tribunal by the
Mediterranean, and being of sufficient size to justify the need of
their own quaesitor. The Jerbitonis were keen to encourage the
Tribunal to recognise the importance of the Moslem Houses in the
Order, and with the support of their allies, the Tribunal was
formed. It was called the Supragaetulian tribunal (Gaetula was the
Roman name for Africa), but most call it the Carthagenian Tribunal.