09-06-2023, 02:53 PM
Hmm, possibly, probably. One can never underestimate the power or reach of the Medieval church. You did mean religious when you said moralistic, right?
When I read the question, my first thought was of Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal, though that was written much later in 1729. And, yes, I have a copy (modern). I know it's a satire and I'm pretty sure he didn't really mean any of it. Reasonably sure. Hmm. Before that, he also wrote Gulliver's Travels, which could be considered worldbuilding and it was also considered a satire. And Swift was an Anglican cleric.
Then I think of one closer to the VM's timeframe: The Travels of Marco Polo (c. 1300). It wasn't worldbuilding but was a popular success, though fantastical and many believed it to be fictional.
The original versions of many of what we consider classic fairy tales much older and were very dark and disturbing. For example, an early version of Sleeping Beauty has the sleeping princess raped by the prince and she wakes after she gives birth to twins when they start suckling on her. They weren't worldbuilding but if they existed, it seems reasonable to assume other works might be as well.
I'm not sure the books noted had a strong, moralistic component, though they were likely read that way, but even if so, the VM may be tamer, if we ever figure it out. The public, especially the lower classes, throughout time has had a taste for the - shall we say - exotic and fantastical, even crude and vulgar. I'm sure someone here could come up with some better examples.
When I read the question, my first thought was of Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal, though that was written much later in 1729. And, yes, I have a copy (modern). I know it's a satire and I'm pretty sure he didn't really mean any of it. Reasonably sure. Hmm. Before that, he also wrote Gulliver's Travels, which could be considered worldbuilding and it was also considered a satire. And Swift was an Anglican cleric.
Then I think of one closer to the VM's timeframe: The Travels of Marco Polo (c. 1300). It wasn't worldbuilding but was a popular success, though fantastical and many believed it to be fictional.
The original versions of many of what we consider classic fairy tales much older and were very dark and disturbing. For example, an early version of Sleeping Beauty has the sleeping princess raped by the prince and she wakes after she gives birth to twins when they start suckling on her. They weren't worldbuilding but if they existed, it seems reasonable to assume other works might be as well.
I'm not sure the books noted had a strong, moralistic component, though they were likely read that way, but even if so, the VM may be tamer, if we ever figure it out. The public, especially the lower classes, throughout time has had a taste for the - shall we say - exotic and fantastical, even crude and vulgar. I'm sure someone here could come up with some better examples.