History Literature / ACanticleForLeibowitz

* TheEmpire: Texark, which grows under Hannegan's rule exceptionally.

* FutureImperfect: So much. Often PlayedForLaughs though:

* FutureImperfect: The Simplification was so total in grinding down civilization that by ''Fiat Homo'', most of what's known about the past is through folklore and distorted accounts. While the abbey, and to a lesser extent the Catholic Church at large, has preserved as much pre-Deluge knowledge as they could, even they have at best a fragmented portrait of what happened. One, that takes them centuries more to fully piece together [[spoiler:in time for the second Deluge]].

** By ''Fiat Voluntas Tua'', Abbot Zerchi and by extension, the Catholic Church, ultimately come to the conclusion that humanity ''itself'' is this, having failed to truly learn from the Great Deluge [[spoiler:and spark off another one. The Church instead has the Memorabilia taken to the off-world colonies with a group of clergy and children in the hopes that they would fare better.]]

** In ''Fiat Lux'', when asked by Thon Taddeo on what became of the great weapons and machines used by pre-Deluge humanity, Dom Paulo simply says that they were made into plowshares.

%%* BarbarianTribe: Most prominently in the tribal peoples of "Fiat Homo" and the Plains Nomads of "Fiat Lux".

%%* CrapsackWorld: Although many characters [[TheAntiNihilist choose to interpret it]] as AWorldHalfFull.

* 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 civilization's coffin.

* RagnarokProofing: Bits and pieces of the pre-Deluge world become increasingly rare as time passes. Even in ''Fiat Homo,'' it's stated that many of the ruins was
,however, that a group of monks stumbled on a relatively intact nuclear missile facility hidden beneath a village [[spoiler:which they accidentally detonate]].

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

** It's even lampshaded during the debate with Thon Taddeo that it never ''was'' any better at all. Just richer or poorer.

* RagnarokProofing: Bits and pieces of the pre-Deluge world become increasingly rare as time passes. Even in ''Fiat Homo,'' it's stated that many of the ruins were picked bare by scavengers long before. It's also mentioned, however, that a group of monks stumbled on a relatively intact nuclear missile facility hidden beneath a village [[spoiler:which they accidentally detonate]].

* SocietyMarchesOn: The novel was published just three years before Vatican II de-emphasized the use of Latin within the Church. And the texts for a votive Mass for Pilgrims and Travelers, movingly said [[spoiler:before the rocket launches]], have not migrated to the current liturgical books.

* 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]].

* TranslationConvention: The language the characters speak is not actually English, but a distant descendant of it which is translated for the reader. See EternalEnglish.

* TranslatorMicrobes: A large device in Abbot Zirchi's office. It kind-of works.

* [[SocietyMarchesOn Ecclesiology Marches On]]: The novel was published just three years before Vatican II de-emphasized the use of Latin within the Church. And the texts for a votive Mass for Pilgrims and Travelers, movingly said [[spoiler:before the rocket launches]], have not migrated to the current liturgical books.

%%* CaptainErsatz: The Green Star is very clearly UsefulNotes/TheRedCross.

* ContinuityNod: at the very end of the book, The abbot finds the skull of Francis, the protagonist of the first third of the book. It is, of course, symbolic: [[spoiler:both men complete their mission and ensure that humanity can grow and flourish once more, but neither survives to witness the consequences.]]

* CrapsackWorld: Although many characters [[TheAntiNihilist choose to interpret it]] as AWorldHalfFull.

* BarbarianTribe: Most prominently in the tribal peoples of "Fiat Homo" and the Plains Nomads of "Fiat Lux".
* 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]].
* BilingualBonus: With Latin and a little Hebrew, and the bits of German used in the intro of "Fiat Voluntas Tua".

* CallBack: When the abbot finds [[spoiler:Francis' skull]] at the very end of the book. It is, of course, symbolic: [[spoiler:Both men complete their mission and ensure that humanity can grow and flourish once more, but neither survives to witness the consequences.]]
* CaptainErsatz: The Green Star is very clearly UsefulNotes/TheRedCross.

* AsTheGoodBookSays: As the novel has religious overtones, there are plenty of [[Literature/TheBible Biblical]] references and quotations. For instance:
** The book's three parts are titled "Fiat Homo"[[note]]Let there be man[[/note]] and "Fiat Lux"[[note]]Let there be light[[/note]], which both come from the Creation account in [[Literature/BookOfGenesis Genesis]], and "Fiat Voluntas Tua"[[note]]Thy will be done[[/note]], which is a line in the Lord's Prayer from Literature/TheFourGospels.
** The account of the Flame Deluge recounted in "Fiat Lux", which is explicitly stated to have been written by someone with a penchant for Scriptural mimicry. The beginning of the story borrows language from the Literature/BookOfJob and the Flood narrative in Genesis; the conversation between God and the leader after the nuclear war is reminiscent of God's conversation with Cain after Abel's murder.

** 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]].
** "Fiat Homo" likewises ends with a bittersweet note. Francis successfully gives Leibowitz's relics to the Pope, thus leading to the man's canonization [[spoiler:only to be killed by the "Pope's Children" later on]].

* Literature/TheBible: As the novel has religious overtones, there are plenty of Biblical references. For instance:
** The book's three parts are titled "Fiat Homo"[[note]]Let there be man[[/note]] and "Fiat Lux"[[note]]Let there be light[[/note]], which both come from the Creation account in [[Literature/BookOfGenesis Genesis]], and "Fiat Voluntas Tua"[[note]]Thy will be done[[/note]], which is a line in the Lord's Prayer.
** The account of the Flame Deluge recounted in "Fiat Lux", which is explicitly stated to have been written by someone with a penchant for Scriptural mimicry. The beginning of the story hearkens back to the Book of Job and the Flood narrative in Genesis; the conversation between God and the leader after the nuclear war is reminiscent of God's conversation with Cain after Abel's murder.

* AerithAndBob: Gradually occurs over the centuries, thanks to changes in language and culture.

* ApocalypticLog: The papers Brother Francis finds in the fallout shelter.

* AgeWithoutYouth: The recurring Jew appears to grow older but never dies, a fact which perplexes the other characters.

* AmbiguouslyJewish: It's never outright stated that Isaac Leibowitz was Jewish, though it's heavily implied.

** 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.]]

* FantasticCatholicism: Due to internal organization 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.

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

** This also to a degree defines the conflict between Thon Taddeo and the presiding Abbot in ''Fiat Lux''.

* RagnarokProofing: Bits and pieces of the pre-Deluge world become increasingly rare as time passes. Even in ''Fiat Homo,'' it's stated that many of the ruins were picked by scavengers long before. It's also mentioned, however, that a group of monks stumbled on a relatively intact nuclear missile facility hidden beneath a village [[spoiler:which they accidentally detonate]].

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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 Walker Percy, and its themes of religion, recurrence, and church versus state have generated a significant body of scholarly research. Miller's follow-up work, ''Literature/SaintLeibowitzAndTheWildHorseWoman'', was published posthumously in 1997.

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 Walker Percy, 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.

[[folder:A Canticle for Leibowitz]]

[[/folder]]
[[folder:St. Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman]]
* 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.
* BlackAndGrayMorality: In a major contrast from the first book the Catholic Church is looked at through a cynical lens, showing how the individuals in the church pursue their own goals at the expense of religious orthodoxy. The [[OnlySaneMan only ones above the frey]] are Cardinal Silentia and Amen Specklebird.
* BlackSheep: Blacktooth at the Abbey, and with society in general.
* TheChessmaster: Cardinal Brownpony, ruthlessly manipulating events to his advantage for most of the book. It's even heavily implied [[spoiler: he ordered the murder of one of his best friends, Amen Specklebird, to legitimize his claim to the Papacy.]]
* ChurchMilitant: A crusade is launched by the Catholic Church against Texark to retake New Rome. Whether using violence against the enemies of the church is justified or not becomes a debate within the book.
* CorruptChurch: What the Catholic Church is blatantly portrayed as in ''St. Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman.''
* CrisisOfFaith: Blacktooth for most of the book.
* 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.]]
* FantasticRacism: Those with genetic disabilities are shunned by society and are forced to live in reservations. Those born of mutant parents but look normal are known as "spooks" and are blamed for passing on their mutant genes to normal humans, creating more deformed humans. The spooks are used as a convenient scapegoat considering that the nuclear fallout has caused mutations to happen randomly to any newborn.
* FutureImperfect: Like the original, and still PlayedForLaughs, especially when the Church relocates the Prime Meridian in order to liberate it from the influence of the "Green Witch".
* GenghisGambit: Brownpony spends the first half of the book clandestinely arming enemies of Texark for rebellion under the current Pope's nose. His hope is if he can unite Texark's enemies into one faction, they can destroy the Empire. After becoming Pope Amen II he calls a crusade to crystallize the alliance. [[spoiler:This appears to work at first, but he overestimates the power of the church in keeping the various factions in line. Upon arriving at New Rome, Brownpony is betrayed by the Nomad / Mutant army, resulting in New Rome being sacked and Texark destroying all of its enemies in one fell swoop.]]
* GovernmentInExile: The Papacy has been in exile in Valana (roughly Colorado Springs) for the last 70 years because of the events during "Fiat Lux" in ''A Canticle for Leibowitz''. While the schism caused by Hannegan II has been mended, the Papacy refuses to go back to New Rome while it is being occupied by Texark soldiers.
* TheHermit: The Old Jew Benjamin from the original book plays this part again. Also Amen Specklebird in Valana and occasionally Blacktooth St. George.
* HolyCity: New Rome, the original home of the Papacy after the Flame Deluge, heavily implied to be St. Louis. [[spoiler:It is burned to the ground and sacked by the end of the book.]]
* LanguageDrift: More of a theme in the sequel with the main character (Blacktooth) being a translator who is gifted with languages. Various regional languages and dialects have developed out of a mix of English, Spanish, and Latin, depending on the location. Some of the languages include Ol'zark, Rockymount, Nomadic (with various dialects), and Churchspeak. Latin and "Old English" are dead languages and are only known by the church or scholars.
** Language drift has mangled the names of many locations as well. The Missouri River is known as the "Misery" River, the Pecos River is known as the "Bay Ghost" River, and the Canadian River is known as the "Nady Ann."
** Occasionally played for laughs, as a stew for radiation sickness is known colloquially as "Sumofabisch Stew."
* MagnificentBastard: So many characters. A theme of the book is about individual ambition clouding religious judgment. The ones that stand out are Cardinal Brownpony, Hannigan (Emperor) Filpeo Harq, and Archbishop Benefez of Texark. Even a couple of the Abbots of the Leibowitz Abbey cross into this territory, especially in regards to Blacktooth.
* ThePlague: A disease developed by Texark scientists, "Herbert's Disease," is unleashed on the Papal and Nomad armies to make them too sick to fight. The disease spreads rapidly and causes uncontrollable diarrhea. Only the Texarki armies are provided with the pills to stave off the disease, giving them a considerable advantage.
** An passing comment is made about a weaponized sexually-transmitted disease being spread during the Flame Deluge. This could be an reference to AIDS, though considering the Nuclear War happened in the late 1960s this is unlikely.
* {{Retcon}}: There are many retcons in the sequel 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.
* SequelGap: the second book came out 38 years after the original, after the author's suicide.
* SpiritualAntithesis: St. Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman took a completely different tone and writing style than its predecessor. While it was released to very positive reviews it was not nearly as successful, and it is known as "Miller's other novel."
* SinisterMinister: Multiple examples in this one, from the hedonistic Cardinal Benefez to the more benign but morally-ambiguous Cardinal Brownpony.
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