A Short Introduction to the Tribunal Temple

The most popular religion in Morrowind was the Tribunal Temple, led by the Tribunal. Since its institution after the War of the First Council, this religious organization has had much influence on the province of Morrowind, both political and popular. The Temple was unique in that its gods were (at least in the beginning) actively occupied with it. I will try to explain the basics of the Temple in the following piece.

Organization

As all organizations, the Temple had its own hierarchical structure. The highest individuals in the Temple are the three living gods: Almalexia, Sotha Sil, and Vivec. Since these gods rarely committed themselves with the day-to-day business of the Temple, these roles are given to the Patriarch. The Patriarch oversees the organization of the various temples scattered throughout Morrowind. There was at least one Patriarch in Mournhold, and one in Vivec. The Patriarchs are some of the few who were allowed to have audiences with the Tribunal themselves in the dying days of the Temple. Under the Patrairchs were the Temple Masters, who oversaw the individual temples. They were also the first person an aspiring Temple member had to contact. Apart from the standard command structure was also the Archcanon, sometimes the same person as the Patriarch. The Archcanons were responsible for writing down the teachings of the Temple, and issued new rules. The Temple had many more ranks than these three, but they did not have any special responsibility, apart from commanding the people below them, and listening to the people above them.

Services

The Tribunal Temple was a Temple aimed at the people, and as such offered services to people not enrolled into the Temple. Such services included blessings, potion sellers, and spell merchants. Everyone was able to use these services, but Temple members were offered a discount. Some of these services, however, were restricted to higher ranking members, and simply joining the Temple would not make one able to use them. This included potion and spell merchants.

Believes

The Tribunal Temple came forth from the ancestor and Daedra worship of the ancient Chimer. These beliefs were focussed around the veneration of ones ancestors, and the worship of Boethiah, Azura, and Mephala. These Daedric Princes were said to have aided the Chimer in the past. After the War of the First Council, the Tribunal of Almalexia, Sotha Sil, and Vivec proclaimed themselves as gods (with achieving immortality some time later). The ancestor worship is still in practise, albeit in a different form. Aside from paying tribute to ones departed kin, the Dunmer also venerated the Saints, which were a select group of Chi- and Dunmer that had been important to the race as a whole. Examples include Saint Veloth, who led the exile from Aldmeris, and Saint Nerevar, who was the king of Resdayn during the time of the First Council, and whose death paved the way for the Tribunal to achieve godhood.

The most important part about the Tribunal Temple’s believes, is of course the Tribunal itself. This consists of three gods, who have all taken over elements from the Three Good Daedra. Almalexia, or Ayem, took over elements from Boethiah, Sotha Sil, or Seht, took over elements from Azura, and Vivec, or Vehk, took over elements from Mephala. After the institution of these living gods, the Three Good Daedra became known as the Anticipations. The Tribunal are all three incredibly mighty persons, and as such have been responsible for many events in Morrowind, including multiple times where they saved the people (for instance: Vivec once flooded Vvardenfell to kill of the Tsaeci invaders, while teaching its inhabitants to breath underwater). Eventually their power waned somewhat, and disappeared almost completely with the coming of the Nerevarine, which saw the death of two of the three gods.

History

The Temple was founded directly after the War of the First Council by the three gods. Some time after this war, they had finally achieved immortality, by tempting with the Heart of Lorkhan, found under Red Mountain. The Tribunal soon became one of the most influential forces of Morroiwnd, leading the defence against the Imperials at the end of the First Era, as well as negotiating a treaty with Tiber Septim at the end of the Second Era. While in later years the king of Morrowind and the Emperor of Tamriel increased their influence over Morrowind, the Temple has always remained a strong political body. Along with its relation with the king and the emperor, the Temple has also held relative pleasant relations with the Great Houses. Redoran and especially Idoril were very pro-Temple, while Hlaalu and Dres were generally friendly. As expected, the Telvanni had very little contact with the Temple.

The power of the Temple was destroyed at the end of the Third Era, with the Nerevarine prophecy being fulfilled. This saw the death of Sotha Sil and Almalexia, and the disappearance of Vivec. After the collapse of the Tribunal, the Temple was reorganised in the New Temple, which went back to the initial worship of the Three Good Daedra, and the ancestor worship.