Shildaria has been in a constant state of war for two generations. As such, survival and feeding the war machine has been the driving aspect of the culture. The arts have not been any sort of priority, even for the nobility. Most people think such things are frivolous at best and a dangerous waste of time at worst.Even so, some of the arts are still welcomed in towns and villages around the countryside.
Music, in particular, is a cherished tradition in the pubs and inns. Singing, recorders, flutes, and percussion are very common. Lutes, plucked psaltries, and basic fiddles are new to the area and considered exotic instruments in all but the largest cities. Many of the provinces will have different lyrics to the same tunes. Drinking songs and patriotic tunes are the most popular music. A musician can eke out a living playing this way, but even the best won’t get much more than that.
Poetry and recitations, especially those involving the glories of the military or the history of Shildaria, are also popular. Storytelling instead of singing can be found in many common rooms, although performers typically get little in the way of pay other than a free room or a meal and whatever the patrons will give them. It isn’t a way to earn a living, but talented individuals will do this as a supplement to other work.
Painting, sculpture, and the like have been relegated to decorations on cups, plates, or eating utensils, but any other practice of the fine arts is frowned upon. It isn’t illegal, per se, but people will not part with their money for something like that and will consider it a waste of time. Artists of this type typically use it as a selling point for their goods, charging a little more for fancy carved spoons, but also selling the plain ones.
Clothing is typically plain and utilitarian. The climate is either rainy and muddy or dry and dusty, so color isn’t something that stays in clothes with the frequency of washing. Many families make their own clothes, so fashion isn’t a high priority in the country. In the cities and northern provinces, however, there is sufficient security and infrastructure that people do have more capacity for stylish clothing. In these areas, stark patterns and garish designs have become extremely popular. The more color, the better.
Plays, acting troupes, and other forms of performing art are not popular. The consensus is that they are a huge waste of time, since they need a lot of area to put on, typically need a lot of people for the play, and the performances themselves take a lot of time for the audience to watch. Even the wealthiest find them unseemly.
Writing and publishing is for non-fiction works alone. Writing stories other than histories or recording battles is again a waste of time in the minds of Shildarians. Some fiction has been imported from Taeoch, but they have not sold well, even in the cities. As with many other aspects of society, survival is an almost all-consuming quest. Sitting down and reading for pleasure isn’t even something the very rich can afford to do.
That’s it for this week. Let me know what you think in the comments below. If there is a particular facet of the art world you’d be interested in knowing how it functions in this setting, let me know. See you next Thursday!
Interesting!
Are the arts condemned because people have lost the ability to appreciate them or because people feel that to spend time on them is a kind of sabotage when ensuring basic survival is so difficult? Is there a modern society that you feel this aspect of Shildaria reflects on?
It’s because they feel that wasting time and resources on things like that compromises their ability to survive. They’re wrong, but societies are often wrong.
I believe that many modern societies deny the importance of the arts. Look at how schools cut programs for the arts and how many people talk about “worthless” degrees in art programs. Most obviously don’t go to the extreme that Shildaria does, of course, but the point of fiction (in my opinion) is to show us what happens when we do or don’t do certain things. What happens to a society that turns their backs on art?
In my other series, the government in Myos embraces the arts, but for many of them, they must glorify religion. A nice seascape? Where are the gods? Portraits? Only of priests. Plays? Only to showcase their religion. As they slowly clamp down on free expression, bad things are happening. This is much more like modern authoritarian regimes, where it’s the government doing it to the people. I think the fact that these people fear the arts shows how powerful they are.