History Literature / ACanticleForLeibowitz

** The sequel [[spoiler:also has a downer ending. The Crusade to bring the Papacy back to New Rome and destroy the Empire of Texark is lost. New Rome is sacked [[CruelTwistEnding by the Nomad armies brought by the Pope to take back the city.]] Cardinal (now Pope) Brownpony commits {{Seppuku}} in a burned out St. Peter's Cathedral [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone once he realizes the extent of his mistake.]] The Plains Nomads are turned against each other and are implied to be wiped out in the coming years. Texark moves the Papacy to Hannegan City and completely under its thumb. Its implied that Blacktooth never sees his lover Ædrea again after searching for most of the book, though he seems content with that.]]

* DownerEnding: The sequel [[spoiler:also has a downer ending. The Crusade to bring the Papacy back to New Rome and destroy the Empire of Texark is lost. New Rome is sacked [[CruelTwistEnding by the Nomad armies brought by the Pope to take back the city.]] Cardinal (now Pope) Brownpony commits {{Seppuku}} in a burned out St. Peter's Cathedral [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone once he realizes the extent of his mistake.]] The Plains Nomads are turned against each other and are implied to be wiped out in the coming years. Texark moves the Papacy to Hannegan City and completely under its thumb. Its implied that Blacktooth never sees his lover Ædrea again after searching for most of the book, though he seems content with that.]]

* AltumVidetur: As the ''lingua franca'' of the Church, Latin is used all over the place in the books, sometimes translated, sometimes not.

* CorruptChurch: What the Catholic Church is blatantly portrayed as in ''St. Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman.'' [[BlackAndGreyMorality It's still to be rooted for over]] TheEmpire, in part because it's not so much a conventional CorruptChurch as it is an exceptionally complex and institutionalized DysfunctionJunction. The [[OnlySaneMan only sane one]] is Cardinal Silentia.

!!Examples:

* AuthorAvatar: Blacktooth St. George in the sequel. In the decades following the publication of ''A Canticle for Leibowitz'', Walter M. Miller Jr. became disillusioned with the Catholic Church as an organization. Struggling with severe depression, Miller became a recluse and refused to interact even with family members. Blacktooth St. George is a depressed Monk at the Abbey of St. Leibowitz who wants to be released from his vows at the abbey after becoming disillusioned with it. Blacktooth mentions multiple times how he feels worthless in spite of his obvious talent with language, and ultimately feels like he doesn't fit in with the world. He becomes extremely sardonic about the political nature of the Papacy over the course of the book, and ends up spending his old age alone as a hermit mystic in a cave.

* CorruptChurch: What the Catholic Church is blatantly portrayed as in ''St. Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman.'' [[BlackAndGreyMorality It's still to be rooted for over]] TheEmpire, in part because it's not so much a conventional CorruptChurch as it is an exceptionally complex and institutionalized DysfunctionJunction. The [[OnlySaneMan only sane one]] is Cardinal Silentia.

* FutureImperfect: So much. Often PlayedForLaughs though, especially when the Church relocates the Prime Meridian in order to liberate it from the influence of the "Green Witch".

* TheHermit: The Old Jew Benjamin. Also Amen Specklebird and [[spoiler:Blacktooth St. George]] in the sequel.

* {{Retcon}}: There are many retcons in the sequel, ''St. Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman'', specifically because it came out nearly 40 years after the original.
** It is implied that Vatican II may have happened in this universe after all, as the sequel mentions Latin was "reintroduced" into the church after being dropped before the apocalypse (Latin was de-emphasized in Vatican II.) Its mentioned that Latin was useful as a code language when speaking of sensitive information after the Flame Deluge.
** The term "Flame Deluge" is rarely used in the sequel, and is usually referred to instead as "The Deluge of Fire and Ice." The concept of a nuclear winter after a major nuclear war was much better understood by the time the second book was published.
** "Texarkana" is shortened to "Texark" in ''Wild Horse Woman'', mentioning that Texarkana was how the Church (incorrectly) referred to the Empire.

** The sequel [[spoiler:also has a downer ending. The Crusade to bring the Papacy back to New Rome and destroy the Empire of Texark is lost. New Rome is sacked [[CruelTwistEnding by the Nomad armies brought by the Pope to take back the city.]] Cardinal (now Pope) Brownpony commits Seppuku in a burned out St. Peter's Cathedral [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone once he realizes the extent of his mistake.]] The Plains Nomads are turned against each other and are implied to be wiped out in the coming years. Texark moves the Papacy to Hannegan City and completely under its thumb. Its implied that Blacktooth never sees his lover Ædrea again after searching for most of the book, though he seems content with that.]]

* FantasticReligiousWeirdness: The story essentially chronicles how the Catholic Church manages to survive (and, in so doing, help ensure the survival of humanity) after an apocalyptic nuclear war knocks human progress back a thousand years or so. Some issues, such as whether or not [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman mutants have proper souls and thus can be regarded as fully human]], are mentioned in passing.

** The book's three parts are titled "Fiat Homo" and "Fiat Lux", which both come from the Creation account in [[Literature/BookOfGenesis Genesis]], and "Fiat Voluntas Tua", which is a line in the Lord's Prayer.

''A Canticle for Leibowitz'' is a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by American Walter M. Miller, Jr., first published in 1960. It's based on three short stories Miller contributed to the science fiction magazine ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction''; it is the only novel published by the author during his lifetime. Considered one of the classics of science fiction, it has never been out of print and has seen over 25 reprints and editions. Appealing to mainstream and genre critics and readers alike, it won the 1961 Hugo Award for best science fiction novel.

''A Canticle for Leibowitz'' is a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by American [[Creator/WalterMMillerJr Walter M. Miller, Jr.]], first published in 1960. It's based on three short stories Miller contributed to the science fiction magazine ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction''; it is the only novel published by the author during his lifetime. Considered one of the classics of science fiction, it has never been out of print and has seen over 25 reprints and editions. Appealing to mainstream and genre critics and readers alike, it won the 1961 Hugo Award for best science fiction novel.

* DaysOfFuturePast: The cyclical nature of history is a major theme of the book, with "Fiat Homo" modeled after the Middle Ages, and "Fiat Lux" closely resembling the Renaissance. Likewise, the Texarkana Schism bears more than a passing resemblance to UsefulNotes/HenryVIII's English Reformation. And that's not counting the Manifest Destiny in ''St. Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman,'' or the UsefulNotes/ColdWar analogy in "Fiat Voluntas Tua."

''A Canticle for Leibowitz'' is a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by American Walter M. Miller, Jr., first published in 1960. It's based on three short stories Miller contributed to the science fiction magazine ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction''; it is the only novel published by the author during his lifetime. Considered one of the classics of science fiction, it has never been out of print and has seen over 25 reprints and editions. Appealing to mainstream and genre critics and readers alike, it won the 1961 Hugo Award for best science fiction novel.

** When Brother Francis finds the fallout shelter at the beginning of the book, he thinks it was meant as a prison to hold a terrible monster called a Fallout, as by that point no-one remembered what nuclear fallout actually ''was'', and folk myth had given the name to a race of terrible demons born from the Flame Deluge.

* CallBack: When the abbot finds [[spoiler:Francis' skull]] at the very end of the book.

* AnyoneCanDie: And they do by the dozen - [[spoiler:almost all named characters die during the story and humanity itself managed to destroy the world for the second time]].

* DownerEnding: It's very easy to interpret the very bitter note of the BittersweetEnding as outright downer. [[spoiler:Humanity destroyed itself for the second time, learning nothing from the past. The magnitude of the destruction is implied as much more severe than the first time around. But what really seals it is how the monks left the Earth - for good]]. Whatever and whoever survives, ''if'' it's even possible to survive, is left for themselves.

* AfterTheEnd: All the way up to [[spoiler:the second end]].

* TheChessmaster: Hannegan, who is also quite the MagnificentBastard. He played everyone and their dog to do exactly what he wanted from them to do, leading to his complete hegemony. It's strongly implied the empire he build is one of the two world superpowers from Fiat Voluntas Tua.

** The narration regarding the Simpletons and the last days of the pre-Deluge world reads like a liturgical sermon that would be more fitting for Martin Luther's time than Martin Luther King's;

*** Hilariously enough, the Simpletons' rallying cry, which managed to survive intact down the generations, sounds much more like what working-class Americans would say.

* {{Mutants}}
** In many different flavors, from simply having patches of skin in various shades to a full-on MultipleHeadCase.
** Known as 'The Pope's Children' after the Pope issues an edict that they are not to be harmed. [[spoiler:Unfortunately for Brother Francis, they didn't return the favor]].

* ShoutOut: The fourth-season finale for ''Babylon5'' (filmed when it was confirmed there would be a fifth season) hints at the future of humanity and how the legends of the show's heroes would endure. The third part occurs after a planetary civil war, where a monastery secretly run by The Rangers is attempting to re-introduce technology. [=JMS=] realized [[http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/guide/088.html#JS halfway through writing the script]] that he was "channeling ''Canticle''" but left it in as a homage.

** The book's three parts are titled "Fiat Homo" and "Fiat Lux", which both come from the Creation account in Genesis, and "Fiat Voluntas Tua", which is a line in the Lord's Prayer.

* CargoCult: It's mentioned in ''Fiat Homo'' that the more primitive tribals are fond of using relics like broken transitors and radio parts as spiritual items, some occassionally dying from ingesting them. Though even the Catholic Church, via the abbey, indulges in this a bit given how the Memorabilia are treated as nigh sacroscant.

* FantasticCatholicism: Due to internal organisation and bit of luck, Catholic Church was one of few, if not ''the only'' institution to survive Flame Deluge and definitely the only one to thrive. The story almost entirely focuses on the monastery started by Leibowitz, preserving as much knowledge of the old world as possible.

* JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: The Simplification in a nutshell, which quickly lost any sense of control or order, turning an anti-intellectualism movement into a mob lynching people able to read and thus becoming the final nail in the civilisation's coffin.
* JustBeforeTheEnd: The third part of the book starts after the inititial, limited exchange of warheads already happend. It goes only worse from there.

** Somewhere between the time directly after the Flame Deluge and ''Fiat Homo'', the information about blueprints being blue and white because they are a negative of the original plans was forgotten or lost. Cue monks spending ''weeks'' on carefully covering entire pages in hard to get blue ink manually, [[CriticalResearchFailure dead-sure it's the way how it's supposed to be done]].

** Benjamin may feature as the immortal WanderingJew. Or maybe not. The story is vague about whether [[spoiler:Zerchi is [[UnreliableNarrator imagining the whole thing]] [[DyingDream because he's dying]]]].

* PersecutedIntellectuals: Part of the aftermath of global nuclear war. After the enraged survivors slaughter the scientists who developed the bombs, they begin to target other scientists... and then other scholars... and then anyone with a formal education... and finally, anyone who could ''read.'' The result is a society of "[[DumbIsGood simpletons]]" where it's dangerous to admit that you know ''anything'' AKA the collapse of society itself.

* ScavengerWorld: At least initially. Fiat Homo takes place six centuries after the Flame Deluge and there is barely anything left to scravenge at this point.

** In-universe, it's this sort of attitude that led to the Simplification immediately after the Flame Deluge. People blamed the scientists and intellectuals for the war and started lynching them ''en masse''.

* TorchesAndPitchforks: The Simplification, where most technology and knowledge was actively destroyed in a backlash against technology after the nuclear war. Which in turn made any organised recovery from the Flame Deluge impossible and send humanity back to pre-medieval stage.

* AfterTheEnd: All the way up to [[spoiler: the second end.]]

* AnyoneCanDie: And they do by the dozen - [[spoiler: almost all named characters die during the story and humanity itself managed to destroy the world for the second time]].
* ApocalypseAnarchy: The chaos in the wake of the Flame Deluge and the Simplification that followed all but guaranteed the near-total collapse of civilization. It would be well over a thousand years before mankind surpasses the pre-Deluge world [[spoiler:only to nearly destroy itself ''again''.]]

** In general, the story chronicles the [[spoiler: second]] rise and fall of civilization, including TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. But this time, [[SaintlyChurch the Church has learned from the past]] and arranged for [[FlingALightIntoTheFuture a starship to be sent out to the Centaurus colony]].

* CallBack: When the abbot finds [[spoiler: Francis' skull]] at the very end of the book.

* ConvenientlyPreciseTranslation: Averted; Francis has quite a bit of difficulty translating the [[TechnoBabble technical jargon]] he finds in the fallout shelter. Later, a [[UniversalTranslator machine translator]] is invented which (like its RealLife counterparts) is [[MyHovercraftIsFullOfEels somewhat less than reliable.]]

* DownerEnding: It's very easy to interpret the very bitter note of the BittersweetEnding as outright downer. [[spoiler: Humanity destroyed itself for the second time, learning nothing from the past. The magnitude of the destruction is implied as much more severe than the first time around. But what really seals it is how the monks left the Earth - for good]]. Whatever and whoever survives, ''if'' it's even possible to survive, is left for themselves.

* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: The Poet who lives at the abbey is only referred to by his occupation, or disparagingly as the Poet-sirrah. Even after he [[spoiler: becomes a folk saint]], he's only ever called Poet.

* GainaxEnding: The Second Coming of Christ (or the return of the Virgin Mary) is [[spoiler: a tomato saleswoman's green-eyed radiation-eating conjoined fetus head, at least if the priest thinking this hasn't just gone insane.]]

* HeroicResolve: Poet is surprised by his own sudden surge of heroism, when he [[spoiler: attacks Texarkanan officer, who was busy killing scared civilians. This ends with MutualKill]], while Poet notes the irony of getting involved into conflict that doesn't bother him in the slightest.

* IdiotHero: Brother Francis Gerard, who is quite the WideEyedIdealist. [[spoiler: It eventually gets him killed]].

** Benjamin may feature as the immortal WanderingJew. Or maybe not. The story is vague about whether [[spoiler: Zerchi is [[UnreliableNarrator imagining the whole thing]] [[DyingDream because he's dying.]]]]

* MercyKill: What the medics authorize for radiation victims. The monks, especially Abbot Zerchi, [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything protest against them vociferously with signs.]]
** Poet performs one on [[spoiler: the officer he wounded himself]].

** Known as 'The Pope's Children' after the Pope issues an edict that they are not to be harmed. [[spoiler: Unfortunately for Brother Francis, they didn't return the favor]].

* PersecutedIntellectuals: Part of the aftermath of global nuclear war. After the enraged survivors slaughter the scientists who developed the bombs, they begin to target other scientists... and then other scholars... and then anyone with a formal education... and finally, anyone who could ''read.'' The result is a society where it's dangerous to admit that you know how to read and ultimately, the collapse of society itself.

* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: The nomadic chief. [[spoiler: Which makes him all that easier to exploit and use by Hannegan]].

* SecretlyDying: [[spoiler: Poet was shot in the guts]] by that cavalry officer. The narration doesn't make it clear for a while.

''A Canticle for Leibowitz'' is a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by American Walter M. Miller, Jr., first published in 1960. Based on three short stories Miller contributed to the science fiction magazine ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction''; it is the only novel published by the author during his lifetime. Considered one of the classics of science fiction, it has never been out of print and has seen over 25 reprints and editions. Appealing to mainstream and genre critics and readers alike, it won the 1961 Hugo Award for best science fiction novel.

* TheBible: As the novel has religious overtones, there are plenty of Biblical references. For instance:

* BlackComedy: Evident throughout the novel, showing the folly of mankind's existence in contrast to the monks' mission.
** The Catholic Church itself is also given this treatment in the novel, whether it's the endless theological disputes or the irony of the "Pope's Children." In addition, each part ends with the events being viewed from the perspective of buzzards [[spoiler:though the end has them replaced with a lucky shark]].

** The parts titled "Fiat Homo" and "Fiat Lux", which both come from the Creation account in Genesis; and "Fiat Voluntas Tua", which is a line in the Lord's Prayer.

* BilingualBonus: With Latin and even a little Hebrew.
** Also the bits of German used in the intro of "Fiat Voluntas Tua".
* BittersweetEnding: The story chronicles the [[spoiler: second]] rise and fall of civilization, including TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. But this time, [[SaintlyChurch the Church has learned from the past]] and arranged for [[FlingALightIntoTheFuture a starship to be sent out to the Centaurus colony]].

* EternalEnglish: Averted. "Modern" English is very much a dead language in the future, and must be studied like one. It's implied that, much like Latin after the fall of the Roman Empire, [[LanguageDrift different dialects of English grew and evolved into full-blown, mutually unintelligible languages.]]

** The circumstances behind the Flame Deluge and its immediate aftermath, such as who the US President was at the time or who fired first, are hotly contested. Yet ''every'' monk seems to take for granted that Leibowitz's wife had a gold tooth.

* LiteralMetaphor: The Old Jew in Dom Paulo's time claims to be several thousand years old, but it's established that, as the Diaspora is even more thinly scattered than ever, he may be the only Jew for hundreds of miles, and copes by seeing himself as the embodiment of all Jewish history. Whether he is ''also'' the immortal Wandering Jew is ambiguous.

* NoOSHACompliance: One of the monks ends up blinded, because he was manually operating an arc lamp withou proper eye protection. Nobody even ''knew'' how damaging it will be for his eyes, so he ended up operating the lamp for few days.

* PersecutedIntellectuals: Part of the aftermath of global nuclear war. After the enraged survivors slaughter the scientists who developed the bombs, they begin to target other scientists...and then other scholars...and then anyone with a formal education...and finally, anyone who could ''read.'' The result is a society where it's dangerous to admit that you know how to read and ultimately, the collapse of society itself.

* ShoutOut: the fourth-season finale for ''Babylon5'' (filmed when it was confirmed there would be a fifth season) hints at the future of humanity and how the legends of the show's heroes would endure. The third part occurs after a planetary civil war, where a monastery secretly run by The Rangers is attempting to re-introduce technology. [=JMS=] realized [[http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/guide/088.html#JS halfway through writing the script]] that he was "channeling ''Canticle''" but left it in as a homage.

* FeudalFuture: Justified, seeing that an Age of Simplification leads to a new dark age.

Inspired by the author's participation in the Allied bombing of the monastery at Monte Cassino during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, the novel is considered a masterpiece by literary critics. It has been compared favorably with the works of Creator/EvelynWaugh, Creator/GrahamGreene, and Creator/WalkerPercy, and its themes of religion, recurrence, and church versus state have generated a significant body of scholarly research. Miller's follow-up work, ''Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman'', was published posthumously in 1997.