Sacred Hospitality: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

{{quote|''"Menelaus, there are some strangers come here, two men, who look like sons of Jove. What are we to do? Shall we take their horses out, or tell them to find friends elsewhere as they best can?"''

 

{{examples}}

* Planters mascot [[Anthropomorphic Food|Mr. Peanut]] is always a gracious host at his parties, even towards [[Foil|Richard]], a Christmas nutcracker who [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBE3mby0p6M seems to have "problems" behaving at them.]

 

* This trope appears to be in strong effect in ''[[Kino's Journey]]'', where nearly every country welcomes any travellers from the outside world as guests of honour and gives them free food, lodgings and guided tours at the drop of a hat. Apparently travellers in this world are so rare that this doesn't unduly tax their resources, but it's still amazing how many countries maintain luxurious hotels ready just in case a traveller comes along every few years and needs a place to stay.

* Results in a somewhat tense moment in ''[[Nurarihyon no Mago]]'' when some [[Sorting Algorithm of Evil|old enemies]] show up...[[Rivals Team Up|as guests, this time]].

 

* In ''[[PS238]]'', Hestia, a pre-teen avatar of the same-named Greek god of the home, has the ability to totally incapacitate or worse anyone who breaks the laws of hospitality.

* [[Satan|Lucifer]] in [[Lucifer (comics)|his own comic]] visits the pantheon of the Japanese Underworld, its gods plot extensively to make him break the code of Sacred Hospitality, giving them an excuse to kill him. He [[Politeness Judo|smoothly dodges every attempt]].

* Not even [[The Sandman|Morpheus]] can break this rule. He cannot harm any guest, unless they break it first. Or if they explicitly reject his offer of hospitality, at which point they become fair game. It does not end well for those who reject Dream's hospitality {{spoiler|because he ''is'' Dream - and within his domain, [[Reality Warper|the laws of reality only conform to Earth-standard as long as he says they do]]. He can change them at any time.}}

* During ''[[The Clone Saga]]'', Ben Reilly (who was [[Spider-Man]] at the time) helped the injured mobster Jimmy 6 get medical attention after it was clear there was a contract on his head, and later said he'd help later if he needed it. Unfortunately for Ben, Jimmy (who was the son of up-and-coming crime lord Fortunado, and trying to lay low from his father for a while) took him up on that offer when he needed a place to stay; despite the fact that Jimmy was ''not'' the most pleasant roommate, Ben kept his word. Ben was able to prevent a crisis later when Fortunado did make his move because of it; plus, Jimmy remembered it, and was an occasional ally of Peter, who took over again as Spidey after Ben's death at the hands of Norman Osborn.

 

 

* In ''[[Troll 2]]'', the father stresses the wonders of "typical country hospitality". It turns out that the [[Corrupt Hick|country folk]] are actually evil goblins who want to eat our heroes.

** You can't piss on hospitality! I won't allow it!

** Also in ''Maryada Ramanna'', the 2010 Telugu remake of ''Our Hospitality''. Except instead of violent American southerners, you get South Indian factionists. Also, it's a musical.

* In ''[[Straw Dogs]]'', David finally takes a stand against a group of local toughs when they try to invade his home to abduct a man he's taken in. David fights off the invaders to protect the man, even though he knows that the man is probably a murderer.

* In Disney's ''[[Beauty and the Beast]]'', the Beast's offense was not allowing a poor old woman shelter. Lumiere welcomes Maurice into the castle as a guest when he seeks shelter from the wolves, and when Belle takes his place, Lumiere declares that Belle should also be treated as a guest, rather than a prisoner.

 

* The Trojan war described in ''[[The Iliad]]'' of [[Homer]] actually resulted from a violation of xenia. Paris was a guest of Menelaus but seriously transgressed the bounds of xenia by abducting his host's wife, Helen. Therefore the Achaeans were required by duty to Zeus to avenge this transgression, which as a violation of xenia was an insult to Zeus's authority.

** Two heroes meet during the battle and realize that their grandfathers had once been host and guest. So they trade armor. That way they can ensure that they do not kill each other and so infringe on the obligations of ''xenia''.

** Also, the Free Cities have an unusual variation of this: You must protect your guests...unless they show suicidal tendencies. Then its your responsibility, as a gracious host, to put them out of their misery.

* In [[Stephen Hunt]]'s ''The Court of the Air'', the commodore welcomes Molly to the hospitality of their house.

{{quote|''Then the dwarves bowed low before their Gate, but words stuck in their throats. "Good-bye and good luck, wherever you fare!" said Balin at last. "If ever you visit us again, when our halls are made fair once more, then the feast shall indeed be splendid!"

"If ever you are passing my way," said Bilbo, "don't wait to knock! Tea is at four; but any of you are welcome at any time!"'' }}

** This is also one of the reasons why he gives extravagant gifts (as well as being part of his persona and to ingratiate himself with people) - he wants to be in nobody's debt. Whenever someone tries to give him a gift, he gives them a more valuable one to even things out.

* [[The Travels of Marco Polo|Marco Polo]] wrote that during his travels he came across the district of Kamul. When strangers arrived, the male head of a household would leave his own house and allow the stranger to live there as if it were his own, and as if all the females of the household were his own wives. The people of Kamul felt so strongly about this custom that when the Khan banned it, they sent a delegation to ask him to reverse his decision, which he did. Pretty lousy for the wives, though...

* In one novel by [[Alan Furst]] an [[OSS]] agent in the Balkans is sheltered by a fishing village. Sometime later the villagers discover that left on the shore for them is a feast (smuggled in by the [[OSS]] of course) with a note left to them thanking them. The villagers thereupon wonder what [[Yanks With Tanks|Fabulously Rich]] [[Noble Fugitive|refugee]] they had obtained the gratitude of.

* In [[Neil Gaiman]]'s ''[[Stardust (novel)|Stardust]]'', when one witch [[I Gave My Word|pledges]] to treat another as if she were her guest, the other takes it as a perfect promise.

* This is why Talon Karrde wouldn't turn in Han Solo and Lando Calrissian when the Empire came by in ''[[The Thrawn Trilogy|Heir to the Empire]]''.

* In [[Jim Butcher]]'s ''[[The Dresden Files]]'', even vampires can be taken seriously with hospitality. Of course, they tend to aim for [[Plausible Deniability]] instead of just not harming their guests. It's all down to the most powerful members of the supernatural community being a few hundred years behind the times and having an Old World mentality. The various supernatural groups also have a treaty detailing diplomacy and hospitality and various other aspects of supernaturals dealing with each other. Also, hospitality ''means'' something. Any being's home has a magical barrier at the door referred to as the threshold. Crossing the threshold without being invited in means leaving a chunk of your power at the door, if they can enter at all. How much power they lose is determined by how much the dwelling is a home. Dresden's basement bachelor apartment, inhabited for not much more than ten years, doesn't have much stopping power, but a friend's home, inhabited by the same family for about a hundred years, has a hell of a kick.

* In Robert Louis Stevenson's ballad "Ticonderoga" a Highlander shelters a fugitive. In the night his brother visits him in a dream and tells him that the reason the guest is a fugitive is because he killed the brother of the Highlander. The Highlander is forced to choose between Family Honor and Sacred Hospitality and chooses the later, letting the fugitive stay without taking vengeance. As a result he is given a curse from behind the grave with the word "Ticonderoga". When the Highlander cannot figure what the word means, he tries to work off his worries by enlisting with King George. He soldiers heroically around the world until he ends up in North America where he is finally finds out he is fighting near Ft Ticonderoga. Which is where he is fated to die.

 

* Averted on ''[[Come Dine With Me]]'', in which people are invited to each other's houses, waited on hand and foot, and then encouraged to bitch and moan about the slightest flaws in the food or entertainment. [[Fridge Brilliance]] sets in when you realise that like most [[Reality Show]]s, you're ''meant'' to hate the contestants, and there's nothing better for [[Kick the Dog|making someone look unpleasant]] than seeing them complain about someone else's hospitality.

 

== [[Newspaper Comics]] ==

* ''[[Peanuts]]'':

** In a much later strip, Charlie Brown invites him again, and Snoopy decides to bring a bottle of root beer. Seeing as most adult guests bring wine.

 

* [[Classical Mythology|Greek mythology]] is full of examples. Zeus himself was patron of hospitality (as well as most other social laws), so breaking Sacred Hospitality, either by host or guest, would incur his fury.

** The poor, elderly couple Baucis and Philemon received with glad hospitality two weary travelers whom their wealthier neighbors had driven off. Since these travelers were [[Angel Unaware|Zeus and Hermes]], their neighbors' village got transformed into a lake, and them into fish, while Baucis and Philemon received their wish: that they should die at the same moment so neither of them had to live widowed. When they did die, [[Heartwarming Moments|they turned into trees, their branches forever intertwined in love]].

** The reason the Trojan War started was not only because Paris stole Menelaus' wife (and because all of Helen's other suitors had made an oath to help her husband defend her, if it came to it) - but because Paris was Menelaus' ''guest'' when he did so. The fact that he was visiting Menelaus' kingdom was, in fact, the only reason he ever met Helen. The other kings showed up because of their oath - but it's likely that the war would never have continued for so long if Paris hadn't broken the laws of hospitality at the same time he made off with Helen.

** Bellerophon was an unwitting beneficiary of hospitality's protection. The wife of his first host attempted to seduce him, and then claimed Bellerophon had ravished her when he refused. Suitably enraged, the host could not kill Bellerophon so he instead gave him a missive to be delivered to the wife's father. On arriving in the new city, Bellerophon and his new host feasted for several days before the missive was opened, containing a request that the host kill the bearer of said missive. Now protected doubly by hospitality, the host devised suicidal schemes fro Bellerophon to accomplish... which he did repeatedly.

* There are many cases in [[Norse Mythology]] of people offering hospitality. Apparently in their culture it was a great insult to imply that someone was a bad host. Also, going incognito by calling oneself just "Gest" was acceptable. Odin did it occasionally.

** Often the gods find themselves forced to put up with a troublemaker because they had already offered him (or her) their hospitality. The most well-known example is found in the Old Edda poem ''Lokasenna'' ("Loki's Quarrel"), where the gods attend a feast in Aegir's hall and Loki exploits the rule of hospitality by insulting every single one of them repeatedly, because he knows they can't resort to violence against him without breaking the law of hospitality. At the end, however, the trope is [[Subverted]] when Thor arrives late to the feast and threatens to hit Loki with his hammer—and Loki leaves, because he knows that Thor is the only one there who actually ''will'' hit him.

 

== [[Tabletop Games]] ==

** Some variation of the Aslan code come even before kin ties. One Aslan was praised for killing his brother in battle rather then turn against his host.

* One of the three main customs (the others being Covenant and the Law of the Duel) holding the society of demons together in ''[[Infernum]]''. Being a race almost entirely composed of [[Neutral Evil]] individuals, there's naturally a lot of wrangling over the fine details, such as whether hospitality extends solely to a demon's fortress or to anywhere on a demon's estates. In general, though, so long as a demon remembers to request hospitality (refusal of such a request reflects badly on the host-demon and its whole House), and makes no effort to attack its host, it is perfectly safe while in that fortress. Should either individual attack the other, though, the wronged party is free to do whatever they like to the assailant, and the host is only forbidden from enchanting or injuring their guest- they can otherwise make them as uncomfortable and/or unwelcome as they desire.

** In ''[[Changeling: The Lost]]'', granting hospitality and sanctuary to any Changeling who enters your dwelling for twenty-four hours is mandatory. Unlike most mandatory things in Changeling, however, this one can be denied- it's not magically enforced, but it's plain bad form not to. After all, you're all on the same side. Most of the time.

** In ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade]]'', this is one of the core traditions of the Camarilla, who expect all visiting vampires to announce their presence in the domain they are visiting, and behaving themselves properly while they are there. Surprisingly, this practise is upped by the older members of one of the core clans of the Sabbat, the Tzimisce, who are ''extremely'' strict about hospitality rules, both as a matter of conduct towards the guest, and as a sign of respect towards the host from the guest. This practise is on the other hand lost on some of the younger members of the clan.

* One ''geas'' you can take on yourself as a [[Scion]] of the Irish gods requires you to obey the laws of hospitality as a host. A separate one demands that you always accept such offers from others. If you break the latter, the only way to restore it is to live ''entirely'' on the kindness of others for a period of time depending on how seriously you swore it.

** In ''Scion: Ragnarok'' we're told the Aesir hold this to be true as well. Even the Titans Jord and Ran threw a feast for the Aesir where the only trouble came from (surprise surprise) [[Jerkass|Loki]]. A scion of the Aesir is expected to provide hospitality for his family and can in turn expect the same in their parent's homes. Of course, their divine hosts might imply that a good guest wouldn't mind helping his host out with a ''little'' problem (read: very dangerous quest)

* In a short story written for the [[World of Warcraft]] RPG sourcebook, a group of soldiers find refuge in a peasant's home in post-fall Lordaeron. Having been fighting the Scourge for days, they are grateful for the hot food and beverage the peasant offers. Unfortunately, the peasant is actually a Scourge agent who was using hospitality to fish out information about troop movements. Once one of the soldiers lets slip some details the peasant, [[You Have Outlived Your Usefulness|kills all the soldiers]].

* In the solo adventure module "A Bad Batch of Brownies" (from ''[[Dungeon]] #58''), the reason the brownies are [[Dare to Be Badass|acting "bad"]] (tattooing themselves, wearing leather jackets, trying to sound and act "tough", and making the forest a complete and utter mess) is because they're trying to emulate an unusual guest. "Wild Jack" is a street tough from a biker gang who came through a Well of Many Worlds from an Alternate Prime Material Plane [[From Beyond the Fourth Wall|(as in, ours)]], and while he's not the most cordial or polite of guests, the brownies insist he not be killed or abused, as he's a guest. Not to mention it was their fault he's here, as they were misusing the Well of Many Worlds and now have no idea how to help him get home. The player's goal is finding a way to do that.

 

* As pictured above, in ''[[The Ring of the Nibelung|Die Walkuere]]'', Hunding finds his wife sheltering a man he's been pursuing, and, presumably having learned from the mistakes in Mythology above, lets him stay freely before trying to kill him in the morning. Siegmund betrays Hunding's hospitality by running off with Hunding's wife (Siegmund's long-lost sister). The gods are cool with the incest, but the goddess Fricka demands that Wotan punish Siegmund for his poor guest-behavior with death.

* In [[William Shakespeare]]'s ''[[Macbeth]]'', Macbeth worries about killing Duncan while he was a guest in Macbeth's castle.

 

== [[Video Games]] ==

 

== [[Web Comics]] ==

* ''[[Sparkling Generation Valkyrie Yuuki]]'' has Norse gods Thor, Loki, and Hermod asking to stay at Yuuki's house for an indefinite period. Valkyries Otsana and Shebi use this as justification for barging into some random Japanese guy's apartment. All five resort to terror when the hosts try to turn them down.

* In ''[[No Rest for The Wicked (webcomic)|No Rest for The Wicked]]'', [http://www.forthewicked.net/archive/03-04.html November asks why Red looks on edge, since it's more that the obvious lack of hospitality would inspire]. Turns out that's the first of the village's flaws.

''Later that day'': "Hey, that pile of baskets is looking great." And so on... }}

* In the days when kinship dominated the political scene honorable hostage exchange was a quirky example of this. Though a hostage could be executed if his ruler broke a treaty until then he was treated as a guest. Some versions of this had the guest fighting in the host's army and it was not unknown for a famous warlord to win his spurs in this way.

* During the Russian Revolution, Paul Zaharrof sheltered among Moslem tribesfolk who had known him before the war as a wandering hunter and scientist. One household knocked out a hole in the wall and boarded it up with him inside; though it was an excruciating torture, but it prevented him getting caught when the house was searched. In general, the locals liked him because he had been wandering around long enough to be established as a neighbor. They did not like Russians in general, but Whites at least had a recognizable religion and traditional hierarchy and [[Not So Different|were easier to understand]] than Reds. All that said, Zaharrof got to safety by the hospitality of locals.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Morality Tropes]]

[[Category:Older Than Feudalism]]