Memento Mori
In the Middle Ages, objects called memento mori were treasured as memorabilia of the dearly departed. Some mementos were items the dead had owned in life, such as combs, jewelry or tools, which were decorated by beloved survivors. Other mementos, honoring either specific souls or all the dead folk of the land, were created specifically to remind the living of the dead — or of Death itself — and were prominently displayed in churches throughout Europe. Many medieval mementos featured the dead as skeletal shades of their past themselves or depicted Death himself doing his grisly work. More gruesome mementos show the dead as rotting corpses. In Victorian England, the limits of memento mori expanded again to include photographs of the deceased after their death, typically dressed in their Sunday best and often surrounded by flowers and other serene imagery.
The phrase “memento mori” has various, subtly different meanings. Most often, it is said to mean “remember thy death,” or “remember that you will die.” (A more sentimental translation would be “remember the dead.”) Although The Message of a memento mori is sobering and sad, these grim reminders are also meant to remind the living to “get living.”
That the Osites chose to name their mystical tradition of death magic Memento Mori is not surprising, but it does sometimes draw disapproval from Sanctified traditionalists. What is a memento mori to the undead but a reminder of life? What is it to a Sanctified vampire but a temptation to get involved in the affairs of mortals? Such semantic arguments seldom amount to real trouble for Osites, however, as they clearly have little interest in the living.
Instead, the semantics of this Discipline’s name reflects the Osite desire for knowledge of death. The Osites, as a whole, don’t seek to spur on death, circumvent it or even master it. Memento Mori is, foremost, a tool for gaining worldly insight through the study of the dead. With it, an Osite can observe the departed, consult with corpses, draw power from the dead and study the effects of death on others.
The phrase “memento mori” has various, subtly different meanings. Most often, it is said to mean “remember thy death,” or “remember that you will die.” (A more sentimental translation would be “remember the dead.”) Although The Message of a memento mori is sobering and sad, these grim reminders are also meant to remind the living to “get living.”
That the Osites chose to name their mystical tradition of death magic Memento Mori is not surprising, but it does sometimes draw disapproval from Sanctified traditionalists. What is a memento mori to the undead but a reminder of life? What is it to a Sanctified vampire but a temptation to get involved in the affairs of mortals? Such semantic arguments seldom amount to real trouble for Osites, however, as they clearly have little interest in the living.
Instead, the semantics of this Discipline’s name reflects the Osite desire for knowledge of death. The Osites, as a whole, don’t seek to spur on death, circumvent it or even master it. Memento Mori is, foremost, a tool for gaining worldly insight through the study of the dead. With it, an Osite can observe the departed, consult with corpses, draw power from the dead and study the effects of death on others.
Related Ethnicities