Book of Medb hErenn

 
Ever since The Way of the Barbarian page was published last month (November 2008), I have received a few messages chastising me for glorifying barbarianism, especially its treatment towards women. One fan was particularly nasty (and I have edited his or her saltier comments): "[How dare you] make heroes out of [murderers and pillagers]! Anyone who would [condone] the rape and enslavement of women is a [monster]. I [will never] read any of your . . . stories again!"

Well, you can't please everyone.

It is certainly true that historically, people we have labeled as barbarians have killed, raped, and plundered their weaker neighbors. But putting aside for the moment that the Medb hErenn stories are fiction, and fantasy fiction at that, the barbarian philosophy is an ideal that condemns such actions as improper. Though Medb, by her own admission, has not lived up to this ideal all the time, she would be the first to condemn murder, wanton destruction, and rapine as acts that serve no purpose. This is how she explains it to Röthgâr the Reaver in a sequel to "Barbarians R Us":

"Where’s the respect in wenching?"

"That is part of what you will learn from experience. For now, keep in mind that a barbarian wenches because he loves and honors women."

"What about all those barbarians who kidnap women and make sex-slaves out of them?"

"Like any philosophy, barbarianism is an ideal and a recommendation; it is not an immutable law that cannot be broken. There are always people who decide to reject its teachings, and there are always circumstances in which the teachings can be, even should be, ignored. Even I have done the latter, and on numerous occasions."

"Why bother then?"

"Why do people set ethical standards and create moral codes? They provide guideposts and establish limits, to help us determine right from wrong. We are free to disregard those guideposts and go beyond the limits if we wish, but we have no excuse if we do. We cannot say we were ignorant of them, and thus we cannot escape the consequences of our actions."

In other words, the philosophy is not to blame when people do not follow it. It's like blaming Christianity for acts committed by evil men who call themselves Christians. A true Christian is someone who follows the teachings of Jesus Christ, and since Christ did not condone their actions, and in many cases condemned them, they are not true Christians. Similarly, a man who attacks and rapes a woman in the name of barbarianism is not a true barbarian, because the barbarian philosophy not only does not condone such acts, it condemns them as well. And the same is true of murder and pillaging.