Ah, the Chantry. Excuse me. The Orlesian Chantry. The dominant religion in Dragon Age and in the land of Thedas. But what the heck is going on with it? I’ve played every Dragon Age game and it still perplexes me.
The Basics
At its core, the Chantry can be loosely compared to Christianity, with some key differences. In this world, Andraste takes on a role similar to Jesus, while “The Maker” is akin to God, though both are referred to using female pronouns. The Chantry essentially has its own equivalent of a pope, called the Divine, a position that Leliana aspires to—but I digress. There’s a particular view within the Chantry that I’ll let the Dragon Age Wiki explain: “The Chantry’s goal is to spread the Chant of Light to all four corners of the world and to all races. The view of the Chantry on non-humans is that they need saving—they have turned even further from the Maker’s grace than humanity has—a view that has led much of humanity to look down on them.” On top of that, the Chantry also seeks to persecute and control mages. In my playthroughs, particularly as an elf, it often feels like the Chantry hates non-humans. The Chantry even has its own designated assassin—although that’s simplifying things—since Leliana once served as the Chantry’s Left Hand, effectively an assassin’s role.
The Good, The Bad, The Chantry
That said, to be fair, the Chantry does act as a unifying cultural, social, and religious force across Thedas. Throughout the land, it often comes across as one of the few factions with a moral foundation, murky as it may be. The Chantry is also responsible for starting the Circle of Magi, which, depending on your perspective, can be seen as either a good or bad thing. At its root, the Circle was meant to provide a place for mages to learn to control their powers. However, as you’ll discover during gameplay, the Circle hasn’t exactly lived up to that ideal. You might also find yourself helping the Chantry cover up murders or other shady deeds, or even extorting farmers for their tithes. At other times, however, you might assist in running an orphanage supported by the Chantry. This love-hate relationship likely stems from the fact that different sects or regions of the Chantry can be led either by wholesome people or by corrupt elders who shout about Andraste and stir up holy wars.
Sometimes, these holy wars are even justified. Without the Chantry’s involvement, the Blights might have destroyed Thedas. The Chantry played a key role in organizing mages and templars to defeat the Blight. However, the relationship between the mages and templars became more complicated, with Templars overseeing the Circle and the Seekers overseeing the Templars. This tangled relationship is explored throughout all three games, and it only gets murkier as time goes on.
Hey, What’s Going On
Ultimately, the Chantry is a confusing, often contradictory organization, and Bioware should be commended for the realism with which they portray it. In my playthroughs, I usually either revere or despise the Chantry, depending on how much of their endless rhetoric I can tolerate.
As for the Chantry’s role in Veilguard, it hasn’t yet been fully revealed until the game releases. Strangely enough, this is one of the aspects I’m most excited about. How you feel about the Chantry will likely depend on how much patience you have for their sermons and politics.
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