The Sigmarian Heresy, also called the Sigmarite Heresy, is a belief among the priests and laypeople of the Cult of Ulric that Sigmar is not divine, and is in fact subordinate to Ulric, the god of war, winter and wolves.
In its simplest form, the Sigmarite Heresy proposes that Sigmar is at best an inferior deity to Ulric (some say, a mere demigod who serves Ulric as a shield-bearer) and at worst that he is not a god at all: just the revered memory of a great -- but mortal -- chieftain and monarch.[2a]
History[]
As held by both the Cult of Sigmar and the Cult of Ulric, Sigmar was born a mortal man who revered Ulric as his patron god. During this time, Ulric was among the preeminent deities of the Human tribes of the central Old World. When Sigmar was crowned as the first Emperor of Man, it was the Ar-Ulric who crowned him.[1a] For centuries afterwards, the Cult of Ulric refused to acknowledge Sigmar's divinity once that idea began to take hold among the Imperial populace, even though some of the cult's own seers had received visions of Ulric crowning Sigmar as a god.[3a]
It was at the cusp of the Time of Two Emperors that the Sigmarian Heresy first appeared. In 1360 IC, Ottilia I of Talabecland declared herself empress in opposition to Wilhelm of Stirland, citing evidence that Sigmar was not a legitimate god. With the support of the Ar-Ulric of that era for this position, the heresy became orthodoxy in the Ottilian Empire, with the Cult of Sigmar outlawed and Sigmar's followers persecuted by Taalite and Ulrican witch hunters.[4a]
The heresy would resurface during the Turmoil of 2512 IC, pitting the predominantly Ulrican-worshipping Imperial provinces against the predominantly Sigmarite ones.[2b]
Beliefs[]
The true nature of Sigmar's ascension and his divinity have been debated at numerous theological councils among the cults of the Empire, such as the Council of Nuln and even beyond the boundaries of the Empire at the Council of Tilea.[1a] The underlying theology is complex in the extreme, depending on the deep study of ancient legends and chronicles from many sources -- not all of them Human in origin -- and the very subjective interpretation of key words and phrases in multiple ancient languages.[2a]
In its most extreme form, the Sigmarian Heresy denies the fundamental bedrock belief of the Empire. If Sigmar is not a legitimate god, not recognised by Ulric and the other traditional deities of the Old World Pantheon, and yet he behaves like a god, granting miracles and blessings to his followers, then only one conclusion is possible: that he is really a Chaos God, either a mask worn by one of the four known major Ruinous Powers or a separate malign entity.[2b]
Needless to say, the Cult of Sigmar spares neither flame nor sword in its efforts to suppress this proposition.[2b]
The Chaos Cult of the Purple Hand has been historically involved in the spread of the heresy, using it to hopefully destabilise the Empire and bring it to its knees.[4b]