Testing the historical veracity of Fiora from League of Legends by Lauren Bergin.
In a previous article I discussed the historical veracity of Yasuo from the online game League of Legends, subsequently examining how the inclusion of historical characters in video games inform public understanding of humanity’s past. Continuing in a similar vein, in this piece I have chosen a very different League of Legends case study: Fiora, the Grand Duellist. I have elected to focus on Fiora as she is a consistent A-tier champion pick, with an astounding pick rate of 3.78% in the Top Lane. Fiora’s continuous popularity make her the perfect case study for this series. A high play rate implies that a vast swathe of players across the globe will likely base their interpretations of the Early Modern duellist on this champion. This work will delve specifically into Riot Games’ construction of Fiora, examining how her gender, nationality and in-game abilities and style work in tandem to create an accurate picture of the duellist. In turn, it seeks to highlight the outreach that League of Legends has in comparison to traditional historical media, arguing that the inclusion of accurately constructed characters improves public knowledge of our past.
Something incredibly unique about Riot Games’ Grand Duellist is her gender. When most people think of a French duellist, their mind wanders to thoughts of The Three Musketeers, all of which are male. Historian Stuart Carroll echoes this, drawing connections between the duel, physical courage, rejection of humiliation and the desire to ensure ones’ honour remains unscathed. Combining these, he concludes that the duel was often a result of competitive masculinity (Carroll, 2006). An attack upon another’s status was considered a call to violence in Early Modern French society, and hence the duel became the “gentlemanly” method of settling disputes. This word, however, implies that duels were only undertaken by men. Sociologist Ben Merriman’s work on the romantic nature of the duel in popular literature proves this, as every antagonist and protagonist discussed are male (Merriman, 2015).
Yet, extensive research proves that women participated in duels as much as their male counterparts. Many of these women entered the duel for similar reasons to their male contemporaries, often disputing challenges to their honour or another female’s involvement with a love interest. There is a plethora of evidence to prove this, with The London Saturday Journal (published in 1841) providing a detailed list of “female duellists”. This includes the famous 17th century opera singer turned fencer Mademoiselle La Maupin (The London Saturday Journal, 1841). By making Fiora a woman, League of Legends successfully identifies and amplifies an underrepresented part of history. Not only this, it promotes historical equality, falling in line with the recent rise of feminist history and gender studies. Fiora is the perfect virtual embodiment of the underrepresented feminist historical sphere, but this is not her only positive historical attribute. She also sheds light on another marginalised sector of history: French history.
The concept of duelling has become synonymous with Early Modern France. French historian François Billacois reiterates this, stating that after the late 16th century the duel became a purely “French phenomenon”. He links this extensively to nationality, noting that contemporary arguments suggested that the French were a hot-blooded people of an aggressive ‘Gaulish temperament’ (Billacois, 1990). It therefore comes as no surprise that Riot Games elected to have Fiora hail from Demacia, the game’s equivalent of historic Western Europe. Her second name, Laurent, coupled with a pronounced French accent and her noble status align her perfectly with the contemporary French duellist. By incorporating all of these elements into her design, Riot Games provide a historically sound picture of honour and warriorship in Early Modern France. This is reinforced by her in-game appearance and movements.
Unlike all of the other champions in the game, Fiora stands to the side with her right hand pointing forwards and her left hand placed at the base of her spine. This mirrors the technique set out by renowned 16th century sword master Domenicio Angelo in his seminal text ‘The School of Fencing’. He describes the standard fencing position as side on, with the sword being gripped in the right hand. Not only this, her active abilities reflect much of Angelo’s teachings, specifically her “lunge” and “riposte” (Angelo, 1787). The focus on stance, posture and authentic techniques is reiterated by Fiora herself in her in-game voice lines. She consistently taunts her enemies by pointing out their “unrefined style” and “poor form”. It is therefore clear that Riot Games have drawn on specific temporal influences when designing Fiora’s movement, adding historical validity to their portrayal of the duelling warrior. Yet, when the player chooses Fiora their eye is drawn to one specific item of her kit: her blade.
At the forefront of her splash art, Fiora’s blade is a virtual representation of the typical Early Modern French rapier. Specifically, the hand guard of her blade replicates the famous ‘boat’ style, popularised during the revolutionary period. A perfect example can be seen on the website Fagan Arms, and may have acted as possible inspiration. Fiora’s weapon is the most iconic aspect of her character, because not only is it eye catching, it dictates her movement and abilities in the same way that the real-life rapier did for contemporary French duellists. By ensuring that the weapon is in line with historical standards, Riot Games inform the player not only of what the rapier looked like, but how it performed in action. It gives the gamer a window into the thought process, tactics and mindset that every swordsman had to have.
This piece, when considered alongside my pervious analysis of the historical veracity of Yasuo, proves that League of Legends has combined the historical and fantastical to create a truly unique player experience. In turn, it represents an innovative method for historical teaching. Utilising Fiora as my case study, I have proven that Riot Games has highlighted numerous aspects of French history that would otherwise go amiss in the public sphere. French history, while popular in scholarly circles, remains largely a mystery in the public domain. This is due largely to most secondary educational establishments choosing to focus on their own country’s history instead of anothers’. Feminist history is even rarer, confined predominantly to the academic sphere. Fiora’s gender, therefore, is of particular importance, as it emphasises an underrepresented field of history. This element of her character when combined with her nationality, fighting style and weaponry make Fiora a particularly unique example of characterization in historical video game studies. Throughout the user’s experience playing Fiora, she consistently claims that “she has no equal”. This phrase rings true, clearly in more ways than one.
