Magic is something that we commonly see through all types of fiction and works of fantasy
Most of the time it provides us with a major plot device
it allows us to submerge ourselves in a world that feels familiar but yet unique and fantastical
In works of fantasy and fiction it's common to see magic described as light and dark
good and evil there are acceptable practices and then those that are taboo
the subject of this video is necromancy
a practice that many classify as black magic or dark witchcraft
a school of magic that should not be practised
but that wasn't always the case
and so today we'll take a look at some of the origins of necromancy
how it evolved and what examples we have today
before we go any further we first need to define necromancy
the term itself refers to a practice of magic that centres around communicating with the dead
this can involve summoning their spirit or even raising their entire body
as the spirit would no longer be considered part of our world
it's believed they would have access to the past present and future
raising them physically is something we see from those who perhaps wish to bring a loved one back from the dead
or in some cases they're even used as a weapon to do the bidding of their master
the word itself originated from the Latin Necromantia which was taken from the Greek Nekromanteía or Necromathia
which meant divination by the means of a dead body
this takes us to some of the earliest accounts of necromancy which took place in Greece and Rome along with Egypt and Babylonia
these practices are often compared to shamanism
and there was no stigma or notion of wrongdoing when it came to necromancy
this is something that came much later
there was a practice in ancient Greece called Nekyia or a Nekyia
which essentially was a rite or a ritual where the dead would be called upon to answer questions about the future
one of the earliest examples we have of this particular kind of necromancy comes from Homer's Odyssey
where we see the powerful sorceress Circe who is capable of both the raising and communion with the dead
Circe then teaches many of these spells to Odysseus the hero of the story
she then advises him to travel to the underworld and to perform an Nekyia
In order to gather the information needed for him to safely return home
in book 11 of Homer's Odyssey Odysseus was instructed to raise the spirit of the blind prophet Tiresias
and this particular ritual is described in some detail
he must first light a fire in the dark of night
and then sacrifice animals whose blood will be given to the shades or spirits to drink
whilst doing this he would recite the incantations given to him by Circe
Odysseus encounters several spirits before seeing the Prophet
the most notable of these being his mother
who he was shocked to see because he believed that she was still alive
when Tiresias finally appears he drinks the blood and begins to give a discus the information needed to make it home
first advising him not to eat the cattle of Apollo to avoid incurring his wrath
he also tells him that he will return home alone with none of his crew
we can see from this particular example
that necromancy wasn't seen as an evil form of magic almost quite the opposite
this type of necromancy would be used by numerous Greek and Roman poets
who would include these rituals in their stories
it became somewhat of a common trope for Greek and Roman heroes to perform a Katabasis
a physical journey to the underworld that involved performing a task or a quest
in many cases communion with the dead
those bringing the dead back to life were referred to as necromancer's
and it seemed when it came to summoning one's body they would mainly focus on those who had died recently
within a year or two
rituals of necromancy did tend to vary as we saw in Homer's Odyssey they can be grotesque
involving animal sacrifice and sometimes even mutilation and consumption of the dead
other times involves practices such as wearing the clothing of the deceased and consuming food such as blackened bread and unfermented grape juice
which was thought to symbolise the decay and lifelessness of death
it was fairly common practice to see artefacts such as talismans and wands used alongside these incantations
so when did necromancy become this dark art? this school of magic that was considered unacceptable or taboo
most sources point to once a time period of medieval Europe
when the church really began to crack down on magic and witchcraft
necromancy was one of those practices to be condemned as dangerous
the church labelled the act of necromancy as maleficium
an act of witchcraft were the intention of doing harm
necromancy would be equated to raising demons who hid under the guise of spirits
the church believed that resurrection itself was an act that could only be performed with the assistance of God
and interestingly enough there were a number of clergy who did perform certain degrees of necromancy
these practitioners were almost always highly trained
and educated in astrology demonology and exorcism
combing the Christian, Jewish and Arabic teachings that centered around necromancy
practitioners of necromancy or necromancer's outlined three things they believed could be achieved through the practice
knowledge illusion and the ability to manipulate the will of others
these three things can all be seen in a positive and a negative light it just comes down to where you stand
on one side you have the church who believed those outside would use necromancy as a means to harm others and benefit themselves
those who are not associated of the church saw it as an attempt to control and limit this form of magic so that it would only benefit the church
now whether or not you believe these rituals and this particular school of magic is real is completely up to you
my stance on Necromancy is pretty much the same as my stance on the supernatural and all sorts of myths and legends
I don't personally believe in these stories
but I believe they created and inspired interesting ideas and archetypes that we used and still use today in storytelling
and that segues nicely onto the next part of the video
having discussed what necromancy is where it came from and how it's changed
we can now take a look at some more modern examples and how the archetype of a necromancer is used today
for those of you who have been watching this video and waiting for examples of necromancer's
there are quite a few that appear in big franchises that you likely would have heard of or seen before
one that many of us would have come across in recent times is Tolkien's character Sauron
the Dark Lord who went by many titles one of these of course being the necromancer
those who have watched the movies and maybe read some of the books may be wondering why he was given this title?
because raising the dead isn't something we really see in any of the movies
however in the history of middle-earth a series of volumes collected by Tolkien son from all of his father's manuscripts
in volume 10 morgoth's ring we see a quote that tells us he is indeed capable of communion with a dead enslaving them and harnessing their knowledge
if we take a look at the Mortal Kombat franchise we have Shang Tsung and Quan Shi hoo both assumed roles of warlocks and sorcerers who dabble in the art of necromancy
in both their cases they focus on raising the dead to form armies for their master and ultimately do their bidding
raising an army of undead is honestly something that we see from most necromancer's
in Harry Potter we of course have Lord Voldemort a wizard who did practice necromancy
raising an entire army of skeletons and zombies during the first wizarding war which consisted mostly of those he had already murdered
we also see something similar to this with the white walkers and the night king of Game of Thrones
who can raise the dead by simply lifting his arms
now all of these examples so far definitely have evil intentions and they are the villains of their respected stories
but as we've already seen necromancy wasn't always considered a dark art and not all necromancer's are depicted as evil
we've already discussed the story of Odysseus who is the hero of Homer's Iliad and the Odyssey
if we take a look at the Marvel Universe and black panther in specific
T'Challa sister Shuri has the ability to reanimate the dead and she's no villain
we also have the rather interesting example of dr. Frankenstein
who many consider to be a necromancer who certainly didn't have evil intent
I do find the case of Dr. Frankenstein to be quite strange
because technically you can argue that he did raise the dead and therefore he qualifies as a necromancer
but I tend to look at him as more of a man of science and he's monster as a creation
so I guess we do have to ask ourselves
other than the influence of the church during the medieval period
why are so many necromancer's in fiction evil?
I think it comes down to the fact that they just make really good villains
when you defeat the villains army you expect the battle or the war to be over
but with necromancer's they're capable of summoning entire new armies from the corpses given this feeling of hopelessness
they also have a level of knowledge obtained through communing with the dead that makes them more than just a formidable enemy
there is also this taboo when it comes to messing of the dead and just leaving them to rest in peace
thus the act of raising the dead can be seen as disrespectful and even evil in some cases
there are some aspects of necromancy that we don't always have to view through a lens of ill intent
such as communicating with a dead
I mean sure this is still an aspect that can be used in a negative way
but someone wanting closure for a close friend or a loved one is something that most of us can relate to
how you choose to view necromancy is ultimately your choice
but hopefully this video has been informative
I'm sure those of you who were unfamiliar with the necromancy archetype will start to notice it a lot more in your favorite stories
feel free to share your favourite necromancer's or even just your thoughts with me in the comments below
as always I have been your host
mythology and fiction explained