If there’s one Archetype that has defined both the West and the East, far more than any other (saving perhaps the King) it is the Warrior Archetype. It is the male Warrior that has typically been the focus of more cinematic attention (along with the male Lover or ‘Prince Charming’ as I call it archetype) than any other.
And just an aside, the thought for this article also came from the likes of
so kudos to him and his brilliant article which can be found here;The Warrior was at one time popularly depicted in most pieces of mass-media, going back to the 19th century, where it can be found in the 3 Mousquetaires, where arguably all of the lead characters by Dumas are obviously this archetype, there’s also Ivanhoe wherein the heroic lead is this archetype. In the 20th century one can find him in the likes of Solomon Kane, the Shadow, Zorro, Rob Roy adaptations, Batman, Superman, and so on. He is also seen in more recent cinema in the forms of Conan from the Conan movies, Hercules from Legendary Journeys, there’s also Last Samurai, countless Chinese, Japanese and Korean dramas and also a number of modern ones in the Anglosphere, Francosphere and other parts of the world.
Even hereon Substack you get plenty of stories involving the Warrior, with the likes of
writing this archetype into his stories of Jarl’s Son and Claws of the N’longu (check them out), there’s who has written them into several of his fantasy tales, and there’s of course who has made a name for himself writing this archetype in particular.But what is the core of this Archetype? First we’ll examine the positive character in his fullness, and then work through the ‘Shadowed’ Warrior.
In his fullness he’s quite simply Gawain the ‘Maiden’s Knight’, he is the defender of the defenceless. In France he fights for Liberté, Egalité et Fraternité (Liberty, Equality & Fraternity/Fellowship), or for the Roi (King) in some stories. In English stories he defends the values of Magna Carta, the values of ‘Merry old England’, in America he fights in the Wild West against bounty hunters and encroaching abusive law-men, in Japan he fights to uphold the virtues of Bushido, to defend local peasants and to defend his pious and goodly liege-lord or for the Emperor.
The idea is that the Warrior is always up for a quick brawl, always keen to fight and prove his mettle yet he doesn’t do this because he’s cruel. He does it because like Gimli from the Lord of the Rings, he’s called to action to serve others, he’s Merry and Pippin who must serve, who must fight and who must resist though small.
His is the pursuit of Justice. The Priest might seek piety or pietas, the Lover love, but for the Warrior all is bound by Honour and Justice.
Bowen in Dragonheart seeks to uphold the Old Code. The reason for this is because, he knows it to be the best way to restore civilization to Britain. You see, in the story of Dragonheart, after Arthur’s final downfall, Britain never recovered and collapsed as a civilization leaving only the Old Code to remember Camelot by. It is for this reason that Bowen wishes to undo nigh on five centuries of collapse and darkness, as much as because he reveres goodness and honour.
The trouble is that he is betrayed, and is made to watch as his surrogate son destroys Britain’s people and reduces them to a further enslaved position, worse than before.
This is why this famous defender of women and children and the defenceless, turns around and begins drinking, sneering at others and turns his back upon Honour.
You see there are two shadow-archetypes to the Warrior; one is the Sadist and the other is the Masochist.
A good example of the former is the likes of the Witch-King of Angmar, or even the likes of Red Hood from Batman, the Black Knight from classic fairy stories (not to be confused with
), Sabretooth from X-Men, Lord Soth from Dragonlance, countless rivals to Conan the Cimmerian, Oda Nobunaga in a number of depictions and also the likes of the Sheriff of Nottingham in old Robin Hood stories.The Sadist is a man who is the ultimate hedonist, he indulges himself in the misery of others, tormenting them and otherwise seeking to torture them. He is typically depicted as a brute yet can be clever at times. His cunning mostly involves battle strategy but also at times can be employed to slip out of agreements and upholding his oath.
Most Sadists have no intention of honouring their word, no desire to prove themselves honourable even as they delude themselves into thinking they are honourable and chivalrous.
We can thus see that while they are monsters they don’t think themselves such. Or if they realize it, they in time come to be indifferent towards it as is the case with Arthas from Warcraft.
Arthas in life is at the start a decent man, but becomes ever more twisted and angry until at last he makes a single stupid decision, that of taking up Frostmourne at which time he becomes an undead Death-Knight one who plots the destruction of not only Lordaeron but also the destruction of all living beings and creatures. He is in some ways so much worse than most villains of modern fantasy fiction, and should serve as the epitome of the Sadist.
And then there’s the Masochist shadow-archetype. The Masochist agonizes over his choices, beating himself up constantly and otherwise often drowning in liquour. Notable examples of this are to be found in the Last Samurai, where Nathan Algren seeks to destroy himself in penance for his participation in the Indian Wars. There are also of course, the likes of Caramon Majere from Dragonlance at the start of the Test of the Twins, there’s Sturm Brightblade throughout parts of Dragonlance (until he becomes the Knight in his fullness), there are also of course the Beast from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, and even the likes of Batman at times.
This is the nature of the Warrior he must fight for Honour and High-Ideals, so as to create a better world, this is his Quest and the trouble is that because we live in a fallen world it is unlikely if he’ll ever fully succeed. That being said it is also why he must always strive to do so, because if he doesn’t fight for what is right who will? Those who think it pointless ultimately become the Sadist or Masochist and are thus incapable of doing good because of their own inherent weakness as men.
If he holds back against some, it is not because he is weak but rather because he holds back to protect that which all should hold sacred; life itself. This is why characters such as Goofy from KH, and Superman, Flash, Luke Skywalker, Prince Valiant and many others are such great icons, they know what it means to kill, know that to do so means to rob another of their chance for redemption and wish instead to find a better way.
That said there are many who accept that sometimes they must slay an enemy to do what is right, and remove an irredeemable threat to the world around them. Heroes’ who have had to face this difficult choice and chosen to accept the responsbility and burden of it include; Hercules, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu, Arlyn, Musashi and Prince Gwydion on top of Gimli.
Some might revel in battle (as in the case of Gimli) but they know to balance wisdom with love of combat, and know that they must strive to keep from losing themselves. The Warrior is supposed to be someone who is the male mirror/image of the Battle-Maiden, and is therefore Honour-Bound to strive to help others, and to fight for his nation, his beliefs and for others. This is the highest calling for him.
Remember this when writing such characters, as they are without a doubt the most popular in all of literature.
In recent times they have been subverted and ultimately always written as weaklings, cowards and feeble old men who have no inner strength. Examples of subverted heroes include the likes of Rocky Balboa in the Creed movies, Luke in the Disney Wars movies, Han Solo in Force Awakens, and most other warriors in recent cinema in recent years.
That said, in their classic portrayals they were all grand and great characters and heroes. Some such as Rocky in the og 6 movies was someone who really struggled with depression and helping himself as much as he helped others, so that when he passed away he still sought to help others in Rocky Balboa. Luke was ultimately to become a great Jedi Master in the Jedi Knight games and was a source of constant wisdom and guidance to Kyle Katarn and Jaden Korr.
This is the nature of the subversion and deconstruction that has wreaked such havoc upon cinema, video-games and other portrayals of the warrior. They would prefer to showcase the Masochist without ever having him rise up to be the Warrior in his fullness.
They don’t quite realize that the reason audiences loved Rocky, Luke, heck even Kiyomori in Taira no Kiyomori, or even Herakles in classic mythology, or Sigurdr from the Volsungs’ Saga or Sigmundr his father was because they inspired men. They inspired them to be better, to aim to do better and to protect others.
Gawain isn’t popular because he succumbed to weakness, when he accidentally slew a woman. He isn’t popular and great because he gave way to vice and seduction like Lancelot or Tristan. He was tempted in the same way as them, but held to his oaths.
But what’s more is that rather than guard only one woman, he guards ALL women. On top of that he protects their children, and also those men unable to protect themselves as his uncle does in most myths.
You see, the Maiden’s Knight is beloved, is great precisely because of his vaunted goodness, not in spite of it. Sadly he’s a neglected character archetype and has been for the past 50 years or so.
Some have shown him in his fullness, in his complete grandeur. I mean James the Black Douglas has appeared in Robert the Bruce 2019, Hudson is there in Gargoyles always offering wisdom and strength to Goliath, there’s also James Douglas in Tranter’s book Robert the Bruce, there’s Sabin from Final Fantasy 6, there’s Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird who imparts a warrior’s heart and ideals to his children.
Can modern writers write a Warrior? Certainly. I’ve seen him crop up over and over again hereon Substack. He’s there in
, , , , ’s many stories and countless others hereon Substack. Even my own stories from Darkspire Conspiracy, to Prince of Flames, to Bear & Cub, to Jex the Hero are replete wtih him.I won’t say do better, but rather be better. Read, write and act and think better, this is how we emulate the Warrior I think (and this is as much a message to myself as it is to others). So best of luck and remember that the Way of the Warrior is at times a lonely one, but it is truly a worthy one even if it doesn’t always mean drawing your sword so to speak.
The catch though is the priest defeats the warrior in the long view of history. That is how the Christians defeated Rome without firing a single shot. I get the frustration many on the right feel with demonic clown world, but if you literally battle them, they will just re-group for another round of fighting. The only way to stop that, is not to fight them, but convert them, a wholly different mindset.
"His is the pursuit of Justice." This, along with the desire to protect the weak and defenseless, makes this archetype the clear ancestor of the modern superhero. While ideally both knights and superheroes are supposed to be morally pure, the reality of their activities prevents them from being so.