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imported>Cristophorus35
m Minor grammar changes. Also, I think is important to emphasize God's identity as the Father of Understanding. I know the reader can understand this by reading the rests of the hints, but I feel the article doesn't reflect well the intentions of Aelfred that were explained in his documents.
imported>Darman36
Found mentions elsewhere. BTS already on Yaldabaoth pg, this is about the title. Pretty sure worshipping Isu in Temples is tied to Fulke in ACV , but idk if stated in ACO or ACOD
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{{Era|Culture|Isu|Templars}}
{{Era|Culture|Isu|Ancients|Templars}}
{{Update|the [[Assassin's Creed (series)|''Assassin's Creed'' series]] and ''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]''}}
{{Update|the [[Assassin's Creed (series)|''Assassin's Creed'' series]] and ''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]''}}
{{Quote|May the Father of Understanding guide you.|Masun, writing the Templar blessing to a Masyaf basket weaver, 1191 CE|Assassin's Creed|Pickpocketing (Masun)}}
{{Quote|May the Father of Understanding guide you.|Masun, writing the Templar blessing to a Masyaf basket weaver, 1191 CE|Assassin's Creed|Pickpocketing (Masun)}}
The '''Father of Understanding''' is a title originating in the [[Isu]] [[Isu Era|Era]]. Originally part of a triad of titles, alongside the [[Mother of Wisdom]] and the [[Sacred Voice]], the [[Order of the Ancients]] took these titles and its holders as divine beings to worship until being reformed into the [[Templars|Templar Order]]. Subsequently, the "Father of Understanding" became a subject often mentioned in reverence by Templars, particularly during ritual ceremonies, blessings or as a form of greeting to one another.
The '''Father of Understanding''' is a title originating in the [[Isu]] [[Isu Era|Era]]. Originally part of a triad of titles alongside the [[Mother of Wisdom]] and the [[Sacred Voice]], the secretive religious cabal known as the [[Order of the Ancients]] took these titles and its holders as divine beings to worship until being reformed into the [[Templars|Templar Order]]. Thereafter, the "Father of Understanding" became a subject often mentioned in reverence by Templars, particularly during ritual ceremonies, blessings or as a form of greeting to one another.


==Symbolism and reverence==
==Symbolism and reverence==
It is unknown what the title symbolized in the Isu Era. Following the [[Great Catastrophe]],<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'' – [[In Bocca al Lupo]]</ref> the Father of Understanding, along with the [[Mother of Wisdom]] and the [[Sacred Voice]], was adopted as a Trinity of Deities by a secretive religious cabal, the Order of the Ancients. During the Ancient World, the Order of the Ancients strictly revered them as divine beings in secluded temples throughout the Old World. It was not until the rise of an early incarnation of the Templar Order, founded by [[Alfred the Great]], that this trinitarian practice was abolished for being regarded as ''"pagan blasphemies"''<ref name="ThePoorFellowSoldier">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[The Poor Fellow-Soldier]]</ref>.
It is unknown what the title symbolized in the Isu Era. Following the [[Great Catastrophe]],<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'' – [[In Bocca al Lupo]]</ref> the titles of the Father of Understanding, the Mother of Wisdom, and the [[Sacred Voice]] were adopted as a trinity of deities by the Order of the Ancients,<ref name="ThePoorFellowSoldier">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[The Poor Fellow-Soldier]]</ref> who strictly revered them as divine beings in secluded [[Temple (Isu)|Temples]] throughout the world.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Origins]]'' – {{Cite|17 March 2021. Memory needed}}</ref><ref>''Assassin's Creed: Valhalla'' – {{Cite|17 March 2021. Memories needed}}</ref> It was not until the rise of an early incarnation of the Templar Order, founded by King [[Alfred the Great|Alfred]] of [[Wessex]], that this trinitarian practice was abolished for being regarded as ''"pagan blasphemies"''.<ref name="ThePoorFellowSoldier"/>


By the time the [[Templar Order]] became a public monastic order, only reverence for the Father of Understanding remained. In addition to its religious significance<ref name="ThePoorFellowSoldier" />, the title also came to allude to the principle of order that the Templars embraced. As part of Templar dogma, it not only served as a reverence for a divine supreme being, but also as the "divinely" logic the Templars appeal to in their ambition to shepherd and transform the [[Earth|world]] and humanity as a whole into an [[New World Order|eternally peaceful utopia]] which blossoms and advances under their secluded leadership.<ref name="The Essential Guide2">''[[Assassin's Creed: The Essential Guide]]''</ref>
By the time the Templar Order became a public monastic order, only reverence for the Father of Understanding remained. In addition to its religious significance,<ref name="ThePoorFellowSoldier" /> the title also came to allude to the principle of order that the Templars embraced. As part of Templar dogma, it not only served as a reverence for a divine supreme being, but also as the "divinely given" logic the Templars appealed to in their ambition to shepherd and transform the [[Earth|world]] and [[human]]ity as a whole into an [[New World Order|eternally peaceful utopia]] which would blossom and advance under their secluded leadership.<ref name="The Essential Guide2">''[[Assassin's Creed: The Essential Guide]]'' {{c|2nd edition}}</ref>


==History==
==History==
===Isu Era===
===Isu Era===
On the 24th day of 2161 Isu Era, [[Samael]], an Isu official tasked with the preparatory work for [[Project Anthropos]], referred to [[Yaldabaoth]] as the Father of Understanding alongside [[Saklas]] as the Mother of Wisdom and [[Samael]] as the Sacred Voice.<ref name="SecureShare2">''Assassin's Creed: Valhalla'' – [[Layla Hassan's personal files]] – SecureShare: "PRE_trslt_Canterbury.odt <v. 1 by ahenry>"</ref>
On the 24th day of 2161 Isu Era, [[Samael]], an Isu official tasked with the preparatory work for [[Project Anthropos]], referred to [[Yaldabaoth]] as the Father of Understanding alongside [[Saklas]] as the Mother of Wisdom and [[Samael]] as the Sacred Voice.<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Valhalla'' – [[Layla Hassan's personal files]] – SecureShare: "PRE_trslt_Canterbury.odt <v. 1 by ahenry>"</ref>


As part of the [[Capitoline Triad]], [[Jupiter|Suttungr]] was titled the Father of Understanding, in counterpart to [[Juno|Hyrrokin]] as the Mother of Wisdom and [[Minerva|Gunnlǫð]] as the Sacred Voice.<ref name="Price of Wisdom">''Assassin's Creed: Valhalla'' - [[The Price of Wisdom]]</ref>
As part of the [[Capitoline Triad]], [[Jupiter|Suttungr]] was titled the Father of Understanding, in counterpart to [[Juno|Hyrrokin]] as the Mother of Wisdom and [[Minerva|Gunnlǫð]] as the Sacred Voice.<ref name="Price of Wisdom">''Assassin's Creed: Valhalla'' – [[The Price of Wisdom]]</ref>


===Antiquity and early history===
===Antiquity and early history===
In 15th March 44 BCE, when the leader of the Order of the Ancients, [[Lucius Septimius]] engaged in battle with the [[Hidden Ones|Hidden One]] [[Amunet|Aya]], she questioned whether [[Julius Caesar]] was the new king of the Order of the Ancients, to which Septimius replied that Caesar was the Father of Understanding.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Origins]]'' – [[Fall of an Empire, Rise of Another]]</ref>
The first known use of the title was in 47 BCE, when the [[Medjay]] [[Bayek]] of [[Siwa]] entered [[Cyrene]] in order to assassinate the [[Egypt]]ian Order of the Ancients member [[Flavius Metellus]]. As he made his way to the [[Rome|Roman]] [[Roman Akropolis|Akropolis]], he heard an orator who served the Order of the Ancients proclaim that the Order's rule was fated to happen, before invoking the Father of Understanding to guide humanity.<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Origins'' – [[The Final Weighing]]</ref>


During the [[Vikings|Viking]] [[Viking expansion|expansion]], members of the Order of the Ancients in [[England]] revered a Trinity of deities they called the Father of Understanding, the Mother of Wisdom and the Sacred Voice. It was noted in King [[Alfred the Great]]'s research that these beliefs were from the {{Wiki|Gnosticism|Gnostic}} texts, and therefore blasphemous to his accepted religion of [[Christianity]]. He stated that the Mother of Wisdom and the Sacred Voice were vile blasphemies, and that the Father of Understanding was God, the one true creator of the universe. After destroying the Order of the Ancients in England, King Alfred vowed to create a new order, in which the Father of Understanding would be revered as the almighty source of goodness, harmony and order for all mankind.<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Valhalla'' – [[The Poor Fellow-Soldier]]</ref>
However, its apparent meaning would not be revealed until three years later on 15th March 44 BCE, when the leader of the Order of the Ancients, [[Lucius Septimius]] engaged in a fatal battle with the [[Hidden Ones|Hidden One]] [[Amunet|Aya]]. When Aya questioned whether [[Julius Caesar]] was the new king of the Order of the Ancients, Septimius corrected her, insisting that Caesar was the Father of Understanding. However, with Caesar's [[Assassination of Julius Caesar|assassination]] shortly thereafter in the [[Theatre of Pompey|Theatre]] of [[Pompey]] at the hands of Aya, [[Marcus Junius Brutus|Brutus]], and 39 other {{Wiki|Roman Senate|Roman Senators}}, the title was not passed on to a successor and eventually fell out of use.<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Origins'' – [[Fall of an Empire, Rise of Another]]</ref>
 
By the time of the 9th century [[Vikings|Viking]] [[Viking expansion|expansion]] into [[England]], members of the [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] Order of the Ancients revered the trinity of the Father of Understanding, the Mother of Wisdom and the Sacred Voice. It was noted in King Alfred's research that these beliefs came from the {{Wiki|Gnosticism|Gnostic}} texts, and were therefore sacrilegious to his accepted religion of [[Christianity]]. He stated that the Mother of Wisdom and the Sacred Voice were vile blasphemies, and maintained that the true Father of Understanding was God. After destroying the Order of the Ancients in England through the unwitting help of the [[shieldmaiden]] [[Eivor Varinsdottir]] of the [[Raven Clan]], King Alfred privately vowed to create a new order in which the Father of Understanding would be revered as an almighty source of goodness, harmony, and order for all mankind.<ref name="ThePoorFellowSoldier"/>


===Influence===
===Influence===
Over the next two hundred years, worship of the Father as an entity ceased with the rise of Christianity and the name instead became a symbolic catchphrase among Templars, representing their goal to lead humanity by adopting the role of a concerned "father" instructing a wayward child. However, this did not stop the Templars' continued use of the Father's title among themselves. By the [[Third Crusade]], the [[Levantine Rite of the Templar Order|Levantine Templars]] would sign his name as a closing in their letters.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed]]'' – [[Pickpocketing (Masun)]]</ref> Similarly, the [[Roman Rite of the Templar Order|Italian Templars]] during the [[Renaissance]] would invoke him when resolving meetings.<ref>''Assassin's Creed II'' – [[Novella's Secret]]</ref>
Over the next two hundred years, worship of the Father as an entity ceased with the rise of Christianity and the name instead became a symbolic catchphrase among Templars, representing their goal to lead humanity by adopting the role of a concerned "father" instructing a wayward child. However, this did not stop the Templars' continued use of the Father's title among themselves. By the [[Third Crusade]], the [[Levantine Rite of the Templar Order|Levantine Templars]] would sign his name as a closing in their letters.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed]]'' – [[Pickpocketing (Masun)]]</ref>


In 1715, the phrase was used briefly by [[Laureano de Torres y Ayala]], [[Grand Master of the Templar Order|Grand Master]] of the [[West Indies Rite of the Templar Order|West Indies Templars]], during his first meeting with the [[Piracy|pirate]] [[Edward Kenway]], who was impersonating the late [[Assassins|Assassin]] turncoat [[Duncan Walpole]].<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag]]'' – [[Mister Walpole, I Presume?]]</ref>
Similarly, the [[Roman Rite of the Templar Order|Italian Templars]] during the [[Renaissance]] would invoke him when resolving meetings. Notably, the Italian [[Grand Master of the Templar Order|Grand Master]] and then-[[Cardinal]] [[Rodrigo Borgia]] twice called upon the Father to bless his fellow Templars: once in 1476 after the [[Assassination of Galeazzo Maria Sforza|assassination]] of the Duke of [[Milan]] [[Galeazzo Maria Sforza]],<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Lineage]]''</ref> and again two years later when finalizing the plan to assassinate both [[Lorenzo de' Medici]] and his brother [[Giuliano de' Medici|Giuliano]] during Sunday Mass at the [[Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore|Duomo]] as part of the [[House of Pazzi|Pazzi]] [[Pazzi conspiracy|conspiracy]] to remove the [[Florence|Florentine]] [[House of Medici|Medici family]] from power.<ref>''Assassin's Creed II'' – [[Novella's Secret]]</ref>


Before and during the [[United States|American]] [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]], the phrase was used three times by [[Haytham Kenway]]; first, during the [[Initiation into the Templar Order|induction]] of [[Charles Lee]] to the [[American Rite of the Templar Order|Colonial Templars]] in 1755,<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed III]]'' – [[The Braddock Expedition (memory)|The Braddock Expedition]]</ref> again, when inducting [[Shay Cormac]] to the Order in 1757,<ref name="ACRogue2">''[[Assassin's Creed: Rogue]]'' – [[Scars]]</ref> and lastly, when Haytham used it as a password to enter the [[Smith and Company Brewery]] with his son, [[Ratonhnhaké:ton|Connor]].<ref>''Assassin's Creed III'' – [[Father and Son]]</ref>
Knowledge of the Father was not restricted to Western [[Europe]], as it eventually made its way to [[Asia]], specifically to 16-century [[China]] during the [[Ming dynasty]]. In 1526, the [[Eight Tigers]], the [[Jiajing Emperor]]'s Templar court [[eunuch]]s, captured [[Shao Jun]],<ref name="TheEscape">''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China]]'' – [[The Escape (China)|The Escape]]</ref> one of the last members of the [[Chinese Brotherhood of Assassins|Chinese Assassins]] following a [[Great Rites Controversy|purge]] enacted on the pretense of removing the Emperor's political opponents.<ref>''Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China'' – [[Database: Scroll 9 (China)|Database: Scroll 9]]</ref> After unsuccessfully questioning her in the [[Maijishan Grottoes]] on the nature of the [[Precursor box|mysterious box]] found among her effects,<ref name="TheEscape"/> the Tiger [[Gao Feng]] retired briefly to meet with fellow Tiger [[Qiu Ju]]. Ju granted Feng permission to torture the information out before stating that he would depart for [[Beijing]], to which Feng called on the Father of Understanding to guide the Tigers in their mission.<ref name="BladeChapter1">''[[Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]</ref>


During his investigation into the [[Parisian Rite of the Templar Order|Parisian Templars]]' affiliation with the [[Cult of Baphomet]], the [[Parisian Brotherhood of Assassins|French Assassin]] [[Arno Dorian]] required a password to gain entrance into the cult's lair. He was informed by a cult recruiter that the password was "The Father of Understanding".<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Unity]]'' – [[The Cult of Baphomet]]</ref>
The phrase was used again that year by the Tiger [[Yu Dayong]].<ref name="BladeChapter4">''Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun'' – [[Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]</ref> Having since escaped her cell and reunited with her Mentor [[Wang Yangming]],<ref>''Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China'' – [[The Return]]</ref> Jun infiltrated the port city of [[Macau]] to assassinate Dayong, who had made a fortune selling political and Templar opponents into [[slavery]] under the [[Portugal|Portuguese]]. After cornering Dayong on his [[fort]]ress balcony, Jun stabbed him in the liver with her ''[[jian]]'' before leaving him to bleed to death. Dayong survived long enough to warn a visiting Qiu Ju of Shao Jun's presence, before uttering the traditional blessing as his final words and expiring from his wound.<ref name="BladeChapter4"/>


The use of the blessing continued, though infrequently, into the modern era. In 1868, [[James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan]], a [[British Rite of the Templar Order|British Templar]], and a {{Wiki|Conservative Party (UK)|Tory}} in the {{Wiki|House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons}}, wrote to Grand Master [[Crawford Starrick]], informing him that the death of Prime Minister [[Benjamin Disraeli]] would indefinitely stall the House passing the {{Wiki|Parliamentary Elections Act 1868|Corrupt Practices Act}} and that [[William Gladstone]] would be far more pliable to puppeting, before signing the letter in closing with the traditional blessing.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Syndicate]]'' – [[Playing Politics]]</ref>
With the Europeans' discovery of the [[Americas]] and [[Caribbean]] in the [[Age of Discovery]], the Father of Understanding's name was carried over the [[Atlantic Ocean]]. In 1715, the phrase was used briefly by [[Laureano de Torres y Ayala]], Grand Master of the [[West Indies Rite of the Templar Order|West Indies Templars]], during his first meeting with the [[Piracy|pirate]] [[Edward Kenway]], who was impersonating the late [[Assassins|Assassin]] turncoat [[Duncan Walpole]].<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag]]'' – [[Mister Walpole, I Presume?]]</ref>


Over a century later in September 2012, [[Abstergo Industries]]' CEO [[Alan Rikkin]] emailed [[Warren Vidic]] regarding historical events or artifacts to investigate further and placed the phrase at the end of his message.<ref>''Assassin's Creed'' – [[Emails|Email subject header: "Analysis"]]</ref> In 2014, the [[Master Templar]] [[Juhani Otso Berg]] voiced a belief that the Father of Understanding had guided the research analyst pejoratively known as "[[Numbskull]]" to [[Abstergo Entertainment]] in order to prove one of Berg's theories by reliving Shay Cormac's memories.<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Rogue'' – [[21st century conversations|Modern day]]</ref>
Before and during the [[United States|American]] [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]], the phrase was used three times by [[Haytham Kenway]]; first, during the [[Initiation into the Templar Order|induction]] of [[Charles Lee]] to the [[American Rite of the Templar Order|Colonial Templars]] in 1755,<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed III]]'' – [[The Braddock Expedition (memory)|The Braddock Expedition]]</ref> again, when inducting [[Shay Cormac]] to the Order in 1757,<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Rogue]]'' – [[Scars]]</ref> and lastly in 1778, as a password to enter the [[Smith and Company Brewery]] with his son, [[Ratonhnhaké:ton|Connor]].<ref>''Assassin's Creed III'' – [[Father and Son]]</ref> Shay himself would later use the phrase in December 1776 after assassinating the [[Parisian Brotherhood of Assassins|French Assassin]] [[Charles Dorian]] in the [[Palace of Versailles|Palace]] of [[Versailles]] and reclaiming the lost Precursor box which he knew held [[Isu map|a map]] of more Isu [[Temple (Isu)|Temples]]. As he exited the building, Shay quietly repeated the words spoken to him at his induction into the Order, reaffirming his loyalty to the Templars, before invoking the Father of Understanding to guide humanity.<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Rogue'' – [[QXNzYXNzaW5hdGlvbg0K]]</ref>


==Behind the scenes==
Before and after the [[France|French]] [[French Revolution|Revolution]], the [[Sage]] and Grand Master of the [[Parisian Rite of the Templar Order|French Templars]] [[François-Thomas Germain]] mentioned the Father of Understanding twice: the first time, when concluding a meeting at the [[Hôtel de Beauvais]] in [[Paris]] which was attended by [[Aloys la Touche]],<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Unity]]'' – [[Rise of the Assassin]]</ref> and again upon his death in [[Temple (Paris)|Temple]], when he suggested to the French Assassin [[Arno Dorian]] that the Father of Understanding had apparently wished for both men to meet and discuss Germain's life while reviewing his memories.<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Unity'' – [[The Temple]]</ref>
In Western Mystery Religions, especially Gnosticism, Yaldabaoth is one of the many names of the Demiurge, an omnipotent supreme entity who is believed to have created humans and imbued them with souls, while also trying to limit mankind's knowledge by forbidding them the fruits of paradise.<ref>{{WP|Demiurge}}</ref>  
 
At some point during the Revolution, Arno investigated the French Templars' affiliation with the [[Cult of Baphomet]]. Arno required a password to gain entrance into the cult's lair, and was informed by a cult recruiter that the password was "The Father of Understanding", confirming his suspicions.<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Unity'' – [[The Cult of Baphomet]]</ref>
 
The use of the blessing continued, though much more infrequently, into the modern era. In 1868, [[James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan]], a [[British Rite of the Templar Order|British Templar]], and a {{Wiki|Conservative Party (UK)|Tory}} in the {{Wiki|House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons}}, wrote to Grand Master [[Crawford Starrick]], informing him that the death of Prime Minister [[Benjamin Disraeli]] would indefinitely stall the House passing the {{Wiki|Parliamentary Elections Act 1868|Corrupt Practices Act}} and that [[William Gladstone]] would be far more pliable to puppeting as Prime Minister, before signing the letter in closing with the traditional blessing.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Syndicate]]'' – [[Playing Politics]]</ref>
 
Over a century later in September 2012, [[Abstergo Industries]]' CEO [[Alan Rikkin]] emailed [[Warren Vidic]] regarding historical events or artifacts to investigate further and placed the phrase at the end of his message.<ref>''Assassin's Creed'' – [[Emails|Email subject header: "Analysis"]]</ref> In 2014, the [[Master Templar]] [[Juhani Otso Berg]] voiced a belief that the Father of Understanding had fatefully guided the research analyst pejoratively known as "[[Numbskull]]" to [[Abstergo Entertainment]] in order to relive Shay Cormac's memories and "prove" Berg's theory that in spite of, Assassins truly wanted order instead of the freedom [[The Creed|their Creed]] claimed to promise to its adherents.<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Rogue'' – [[21st century conversations|Modern day]]</ref>
 
In 2019, the Templar doctor [[Kaori Kagami]] called upon the Father of Understanding while in her [[Abstergo Industries]] lab in [[Yokohama]], [[Japan]]. After convincing her patient [[Lisa Huang]] that her [[Animus]] sessions reliving the [[Genetic memory|genetic memories]] of her ancestor Shao Jun were to help curb her aggressive tendencies, Kagami ended their appointment and asked Lisa to consider continuing the treatment. Finally alone as Lisa began walking home, Kagami called an associate and informed them that she had found ''"the treasure"'', before ending the call by appealing to the Father of Understanding to guide her sessions with Lisa.<ref name="BladeChapter1"/>


==References==
==References==
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[[pt-br:Pai da Compreensão]]
[[zh:认知之父]]
[[zh:认知之父]]
[[Category:Templar Order]]
[[Category:Legends]]
[[Category:Legends]]
[[Category:Isu society]]
[[Category:Order of the Ancients]]
[[Category:Order of the Ancients]]
[[Category:Isu society]]
[[Category:Order of the Ancients deities]]
[[Category:Order of the Ancients deities]]
[[Category:Templar Order]]

Revision as of 07:20, 17 March 2021

Patience, brothers. Soon we will reveal the secrets of the Assassin's Creed series and Assassin's Creed: Valhalla.

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"May the Father of Understanding guide you."
―Masun, writing the Templar blessing to a Masyaf basket weaver, 1191 CE[src]-[m]

The Father of Understanding is a title originating in the Isu Era. Originally part of a triad of titles alongside the Mother of Wisdom and the Sacred Voice, the secretive religious cabal known as the Order of the Ancients took these titles and its holders as divine beings to worship until being reformed into the Templar Order. Thereafter, the "Father of Understanding" became a subject often mentioned in reverence by Templars, particularly during ritual ceremonies, blessings or as a form of greeting to one another.

Symbolism and reverence

It is unknown what the title symbolized in the Isu Era. Following the Great Catastrophe,[1] the titles of the Father of Understanding, the Mother of Wisdom, and the Sacred Voice were adopted as a trinity of deities by the Order of the Ancients,[2] who strictly revered them as divine beings in secluded Temples throughout the world.[3][4] It was not until the rise of an early incarnation of the Templar Order, founded by King Alfred of Wessex, that this trinitarian practice was abolished for being regarded as "pagan blasphemies".[2]

By the time the Templar Order became a public monastic order, only reverence for the Father of Understanding remained. In addition to its religious significance,[2] the title also came to allude to the principle of order that the Templars embraced. As part of Templar dogma, it not only served as a reverence for a divine supreme being, but also as the "divinely given" logic the Templars appealed to in their ambition to shepherd and transform the world and humanity as a whole into an eternally peaceful utopia which would blossom and advance under their secluded leadership.[5]

History

Isu Era

On the 24th day of 2161 Isu Era, Samael, an Isu official tasked with the preparatory work for Project Anthropos, referred to Yaldabaoth as the Father of Understanding alongside Saklas as the Mother of Wisdom and Samael as the Sacred Voice.[6]

As part of the Capitoline Triad, Suttungr was titled the Father of Understanding, in counterpart to Hyrrokin as the Mother of Wisdom and Gunnlǫð as the Sacred Voice.[7]

Antiquity and early history

The first known use of the title was in 47 BCE, when the Medjay Bayek of Siwa entered Cyrene in order to assassinate the Egyptian Order of the Ancients member Flavius Metellus. As he made his way to the Roman Akropolis, he heard an orator who served the Order of the Ancients proclaim that the Order's rule was fated to happen, before invoking the Father of Understanding to guide humanity.[8]

However, its apparent meaning would not be revealed until three years later on 15th March 44 BCE, when the leader of the Order of the Ancients, Lucius Septimius engaged in a fatal battle with the Hidden One Aya. When Aya questioned whether Julius Caesar was the new king of the Order of the Ancients, Septimius corrected her, insisting that Caesar was the Father of Understanding. However, with Caesar's assassination shortly thereafter in the Theatre of Pompey at the hands of Aya, Brutus, and 39 other Roman Senators, the title was not passed on to a successor and eventually fell out of use.[9]

By the time of the 9th century Viking expansion into England, members of the Anglo-Saxon Order of the Ancients revered the trinity of the Father of Understanding, the Mother of Wisdom and the Sacred Voice. It was noted in King Alfred's research that these beliefs came from the Gnostic texts, and were therefore sacrilegious to his accepted religion of Christianity. He stated that the Mother of Wisdom and the Sacred Voice were vile blasphemies, and maintained that the true Father of Understanding was God. After destroying the Order of the Ancients in England through the unwitting help of the shieldmaiden Eivor Varinsdottir of the Raven Clan, King Alfred privately vowed to create a new order in which the Father of Understanding would be revered as an almighty source of goodness, harmony, and order for all mankind.[2]

Influence

Over the next two hundred years, worship of the Father as an entity ceased with the rise of Christianity and the name instead became a symbolic catchphrase among Templars, representing their goal to lead humanity by adopting the role of a concerned "father" instructing a wayward child. However, this did not stop the Templars' continued use of the Father's title among themselves. By the Third Crusade, the Levantine Templars would sign his name as a closing in their letters.[10]

Similarly, the Italian Templars during the Renaissance would invoke him when resolving meetings. Notably, the Italian Grand Master and then-Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia twice called upon the Father to bless his fellow Templars: once in 1476 after the assassination of the Duke of Milan Galeazzo Maria Sforza,[11] and again two years later when finalizing the plan to assassinate both Lorenzo de' Medici and his brother Giuliano during Sunday Mass at the Duomo as part of the Pazzi conspiracy to remove the Florentine Medici family from power.[12]

Knowledge of the Father was not restricted to Western Europe, as it eventually made its way to Asia, specifically to 16-century China during the Ming dynasty. In 1526, the Eight Tigers, the Jiajing Emperor's Templar court eunuchs, captured Shao Jun,[13] one of the last members of the Chinese Assassins following a purge enacted on the pretense of removing the Emperor's political opponents.[14] After unsuccessfully questioning her in the Maijishan Grottoes on the nature of the mysterious box found among her effects,[13] the Tiger Gao Feng retired briefly to meet with fellow Tiger Qiu Ju. Ju granted Feng permission to torture the information out before stating that he would depart for Beijing, to which Feng called on the Father of Understanding to guide the Tigers in their mission.[15]

The phrase was used again that year by the Tiger Yu Dayong.[16] Having since escaped her cell and reunited with her Mentor Wang Yangming,[17] Jun infiltrated the port city of Macau to assassinate Dayong, who had made a fortune selling political and Templar opponents into slavery under the Portuguese. After cornering Dayong on his fortress balcony, Jun stabbed him in the liver with her jian before leaving him to bleed to death. Dayong survived long enough to warn a visiting Qiu Ju of Shao Jun's presence, before uttering the traditional blessing as his final words and expiring from his wound.[16]

With the Europeans' discovery of the Americas and Caribbean in the Age of Discovery, the Father of Understanding's name was carried over the Atlantic Ocean. In 1715, the phrase was used briefly by Laureano de Torres y Ayala, Grand Master of the West Indies Templars, during his first meeting with the pirate Edward Kenway, who was impersonating the late Assassin turncoat Duncan Walpole.[18]

Before and during the American Revolutionary War, the phrase was used three times by Haytham Kenway; first, during the induction of Charles Lee to the Colonial Templars in 1755,[19] again, when inducting Shay Cormac to the Order in 1757,[20] and lastly in 1778, as a password to enter the Smith and Company Brewery with his son, Connor.[21] Shay himself would later use the phrase in December 1776 after assassinating the French Assassin Charles Dorian in the Palace of Versailles and reclaiming the lost Precursor box which he knew held a map of more Isu Temples. As he exited the building, Shay quietly repeated the words spoken to him at his induction into the Order, reaffirming his loyalty to the Templars, before invoking the Father of Understanding to guide humanity.[22]

Before and after the French Revolution, the Sage and Grand Master of the French Templars François-Thomas Germain mentioned the Father of Understanding twice: the first time, when concluding a meeting at the Hôtel de Beauvais in Paris which was attended by Aloys la Touche,[23] and again upon his death in Temple, when he suggested to the French Assassin Arno Dorian that the Father of Understanding had apparently wished for both men to meet and discuss Germain's life while reviewing his memories.[24]

At some point during the Revolution, Arno investigated the French Templars' affiliation with the Cult of Baphomet. Arno required a password to gain entrance into the cult's lair, and was informed by a cult recruiter that the password was "The Father of Understanding", confirming his suspicions.[25]

The use of the blessing continued, though much more infrequently, into the modern era. In 1868, James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan, a British Templar, and a Tory in the House of Commons, wrote to Grand Master Crawford Starrick, informing him that the death of Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli would indefinitely stall the House passing the Corrupt Practices Act and that William Gladstone would be far more pliable to puppeting as Prime Minister, before signing the letter in closing with the traditional blessing.[26]

Over a century later in September 2012, Abstergo Industries' CEO Alan Rikkin emailed Warren Vidic regarding historical events or artifacts to investigate further and placed the phrase at the end of his message.[27] In 2014, the Master Templar Juhani Otso Berg voiced a belief that the Father of Understanding had fatefully guided the research analyst pejoratively known as "Numbskull" to Abstergo Entertainment in order to relive Shay Cormac's memories and "prove" Berg's theory that in spite of, Assassins truly wanted order instead of the freedom their Creed claimed to promise to its adherents.[28]

In 2019, the Templar doctor Kaori Kagami called upon the Father of Understanding while in her Abstergo Industries lab in Yokohama, Japan. After convincing her patient Lisa Huang that her Animus sessions reliving the genetic memories of her ancestor Shao Jun were to help curb her aggressive tendencies, Kagami ended their appointment and asked Lisa to consider continuing the treatment. Finally alone as Lisa began walking home, Kagami called an associate and informed them that she had found "the treasure", before ending the call by appealing to the Father of Understanding to guide her sessions with Lisa.[15]

References

  1. ↑ Assassin's Creed II – In Bocca al Lupo
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – The Poor Fellow-Soldier
  3. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Origins – [citation needed]
  4. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – [citation needed]
  5. ↑ Assassin's Creed: The Essential Guide (2nd edition)
  6. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Layla Hassan's personal files – SecureShare: "PRE_trslt_Canterbury.odt <v. 1 by ahenry>"
  7. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – The Price of Wisdom
  8. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Origins – The Final Weighing
  9. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Origins – Fall of an Empire, Rise of Another
  10. ↑ Assassin's Creed – Pickpocketing (Masun)
  11. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Lineage
  12. ↑ Assassin's Creed II – Novella's Secret
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China – The Escape
  14. ↑ Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China – Database: Scroll 9
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun – Chapter 1
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun – Chapter 4
  17. ↑ Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China – The Return
  18. ↑ Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag – Mister Walpole, I Presume?
  19. ↑ Assassin's Creed III – The Braddock Expedition
  20. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Rogue – Scars
  21. ↑ Assassin's Creed III – Father and Son
  22. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Rogue – QXNzYXNzaW5hdGlvbg0K
  23. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Unity – Rise of the Assassin
  24. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Unity – The Temple
  25. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Unity – The Cult of Baphomet
  26. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Syndicate – Playing Politics
  27. ↑ Assassin's Creed – Email subject header: "Analysis"
  28. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Rogue – Modern day

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