excerpt from
Bretonnia-sourcebook,
Book4a-Religion, pp.
15-16
The cult has declined greatly since its glory days when it was the most
widespread of all Bretonnian cults. As described in the history, the
Lady is essentially an embodiment of the Bretonni people (and for this
reason has never been popular amongst the Norse of Armorique or the
Navarrese), and despite the decline in the cult's influence worship of
the Lady has always remained strong in some areas. For some, the Lady
is still the single most important deity, the guardian and patron of
the kingdom as a whole. The Lady is worshipped across a fairly wide
social spectrum, and her worship still has a certain degree of respect,
even though the cult has little political power. Most people treat her
as a sort of patron saint, and she is invoked in countless
half-forgotten rituals and phrases that are part of everyday life, used
as good luck charms. Thus soldiers calling on "Our Lady of Battles" to
aid them before they fight are not invoking Myrmidia, but actually
using an ancient prayer to the Lady. The Lady's influence can still be
traced in language and superstition, but few know much about her actual
worship. Most see her as an amalgamation of Myrmidia, Verena and
Shallya, beautiful, merciful, bringing justice and giving strength in
battle. The darker side of her worship, the connections with fertility
and sacrifice, that link her cult in some ways far more closely with
that of Rhya, are forgotten by most people. The cult has no real
hierarchy, and only a few clerics. The most significant group of her
worshippers is a small circle of traditionalist nobles, who believe
that the Lady can restore the past glories of the kingdom if her
worship was to be revived on a large scale. This highly conservative
group, comprised mainly of knights, is active in the court, and headed
by Leoncoeur, who has become the king's personal champion.