Lord Raglan's Scale

Lord Raglan, in THE HERO (1936) has classified the parallel life-patterns of the mythical hero of tradition into twenty-two archetypal incidents, as noted below. The higher a particular hero scores, the closer he is to the UR-archetype of the sacred hero-king of prehistoric religious ritual; a historical hero is likely to share rather few of the mythical characteristics.

Note: this used to be a form, but as it never worked I've simply combined the results page with this one.

LORD RAGLANS SCALE

1. The hero's mother is a royal virgin
2. His father is a king and
3. often a near relative of the mother, but
4. the circumstances of his conception are unusual, and
5. he is also reputed to be the son of a god
6. at birth an attempt is made, usually by his father or maternal grandfather, to kill him, but
7. He is spirited away, and
8. Reared by foster-parents in a far country
9. We are told nothing of his childhood, but
10. On reaching manhood he returns or goes to his future kingdom.
11. After a victory over the king and or giant, dragon, or wild beast
12. He marries a princess, often the daughter of his predecessor and
13. becomes king
14. For a time he reigns uneventfully and
15. Prescribes laws but
16. later loses favor with the gods and or his people and
17. Is driven from from the throne and the city after which
18. He meets with a mysterious death
19. often at the top of a hill.
20. his children, if any, do not succeed him.
21. his body is not buried, but nevertheless
22. he has one or more holy sepulchres.

Undoubtedly historical personages always score lower than six, although Alexander the Great might be said to exceed that figure with a possible score of seven, depending on how one interprets some aspects of his life history. Here is how some other people you might have heard of scored.

How Some Heros Scored
• Oedipus scores 21
• Theseus scores 20
• Moses scores 20
• Dionysus scores 19
• Jesus scores 19
• Romulus scores 18
• Perseus scores 18
• Hercules scores 17
• Llew Llaw Gyffes scores 17
• Bellerophon scores 16
• Jason scores 15
• Mwindo scores 14
• Robin Hood scores 13
• Pelops scores 13
• Apollo scores 11
• Sigurd scores 11.

If you have an argument with any of the scores on this list, don't complain to me. It was those darned eastern European judges.

How to Interpret the score of The Hero (or at least my opinion on the subject)
• If the Hero scored less than six:
  • This means that the Hero may a historical figure since historical figures do not conform closly to the UR-Archetype. This is not definite proof that the person existed, since most cartoon characters score fairly low. For those who are known to have existed, there are two ways that this score may still increase over time.
  • If the Hero is still alive, the Hero may gain as many as five more points before death, as the archetypical story focuses largely on the birth and death of the figure. For the previously mentioned reasons this is, however, fairly unlikely.
  • If the story of the Hero is passed along largely by oral tradition, the story may be altered over time to conform more closely to the archetype. Stories about historical figures are often altered in this way, while those that are written down are largely 'frozen' in whatever form they are recorded.
• If the Hero scored more than six:
  • This means that the Hero most likely does not closely represent a historical figure, as it is unusual for a historical personage to score above six. This does not mean that the Hero is entirely fictious, but does indicate that many aspects of the life of the Hero have either been lost or replaced by those of the archetype.
  • If Hero is not already listed on the previous page, please feel free to mail me about them. I'm always looking for additional information
• Why do the stories of heros get altered to conform to the archetype?
  • There is a human desire to make the hero into a larger than life figure, and to shroud the various aspects of their life in meaning. Since chances are, in a society that passes stories along by oral tradition, there is a value placed on the creativity of a story teller, otherwise mundane aspects of life are likely to be embellished, especially if the true details of that aspect of a life have been lost. Beyond that, I do not know but I welcome any and all speculation in this area.

And now, just for the fun of it....

Did I ever tell you that my tomcat Tatsu scored a 13? (The highest score I know of for any figure known to have existed.)

I didn't actually meet Tatsu until he was about three years old, but here's what I guessed based on the average life history of an alley cat:

The hero's mother is a royal virgin

YES- okay, maybe not a virgin but she was a Queen.

His father is a king and

YES- well, king of an alley. It's a small kingdom but it's still a kingdom.

often a near relative of the mother, but

YES- sadly, this is often true

the circumstances of his conception are unusual, and

NO- While there may be quite a lot that is unusual about a cat's mating habits as judged by human standards, I am certain it is all perfectly normal by the cat's.

he is also reputed to be the son of a god

NO- hey, I loved him, but not that much

at birth an attempt is made, usually by his father or maternal grandfather, to kill him, but

YES- This is a common occurance in stray cat populations. A wandering tomcat will often kill kittens that he suspects are not his. IF a wandering tomcat isn't available, there are plenty of other threats. Life as a stray kitten is pretty rough.

He is spirited away, and

YES- Stray and feral mothercats often move the kittens one or more times during kittenhood in order to protect them.

Reared by foster-parents in a far country

NO- While there is often communal kitten-raising wherein Momcats may nurse each other's kittens, we've already assumed a bit of drama in his childhood, and therefore we should try to be a bit conservative at least once.

We are told nothing of his childhood, but

YES- he certainly didn't tell me

On reaching manhood he returns or goes to his future kingdom.

YES- In this case, his territory. Tatsu had all of the physical characteristics of a dominant tomcat (enlarged jowls, stud tail, battle scars) so it's safe to assume he had a territory.

After a victory over the king and or giant, dragon, or wild beast

YES- or in this case, the previous dominant tomcat

He marries a princess, often the daughter of his predecessor and becomes king

YES- Chances are, most of the females in his territory would have been the daughters of his predecessor

For a time he reigns uneventfully and Prescribes laws but

YES- laws in this case being prescribed by scent markings.

later loses favor with the gods and or his people and

YES- the reign of a dominant tomcat is generally woefully short. Tatsu had enough marks on his to indicate he lost a few fights too.

Is driven from from the throne and the city

YES- in this case, he was probably driven in a trap in the car of an animal control officer.

after which He meets with a mysterious death

NO- while Tatsu's death was unexpected, we had a necropsy done and found he'd had cardiomyopathy. Nothing particularly mysterious about that, cats die from it every day.

often at the top of a hill.

NO- top of the bed, yes. Top of a hill, no.

his children, if any, do not succeed him.

NO- None of them succeeded him in our home. This may be scored a YES though, since I'd like to think that somewhere out there is a swaggering spotted tomcat ruling over his granddaddy's old alley.

his body is not buried, but nevertheless

NO- He's buried in my family's garden, next to Pumpkin, our boxer dog.

he has one or more holy sepulchres.

YES- I have a lovely little box with his favorite toys, some of his pictures, and his collar. Since I'm an athiest it would be hard for me to call anything holy, but this is pretty close.

note: all works copyright Abigail Acland unless otherwise noted