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'''''Arts and Majesty''''' is an ancient work of [[Roshar]]an literature that has come to define the [[Vorinism|Vorin]] ideas of masculine and feminine arts.{{wob ref|6245}} It defines certain topics and practices as masculine or feminine; the feminine arts are generally those that can be practiced with a single hand, while the masculine arts involve both hands, associating delicacy with women and brute force with men.{{wob ref|4447}} The idea of the [[safehand]] comes from this distinction between one-handed and two-handed arts.{{wob ref|6245}} In modern Vorin culture, practices that are not explicitly mentioned in the book (and are not too similar to ones that are) may be properly performed by anybody.{{book ref|sa2|25}}
== History ==
''Arts and Majesty'' was written by a female artist{{wob ref|6245}}{{wob ref|4447}} well before the [[Day of Recreance]].{{wob ref|900}} It may not have had much influence on culture before the Recreance; soon afterward, however, some men in power came across it and began emphasizing it to justify keeping [[Shardblade]]s and [[Shardplate]] away from women.{{wob ref|5898}}{{wob ref|12662}} As retaliation, a movement of women caused writing and literacy to move into the domain of women.{{wob ref|6245}}
The division between masculine and feminine arts became part of Vorin culture over the next few decades{{wob ref|900}} and remained solidly in place even thousands of years later, with the safehand and the femininity of writing being especially prominent in day-to-day life. ''Arts and Majesty'' itself also stayed well-known despite its age, at least among upper-class lighteyes.{{book ref|sa2|25}} In some cases, the distinction between the arts moved beyond a mere cultural norm and gained religious overtones; men who could write, for example, could actually be seen as blasphemous and not just strange.{{book ref|wor|12}}
== Arts ==
{{columns|count=2|
=== Unspecified ===
* horseback riding and the care of horses{{book ref|sa2|25}}
* knitting{{wob ref|6564}}
* singing{{book ref|sa1|57}}
=== Feminine ===
* reading and writing{{book ref|sa1|3}}
* painting and drawing{{book ref|sa1|5}}
* science{{book ref|sa1|3}} (e.g., zoology, botany, and natural history{{book ref|sa1|7}})
* logic{{book ref|sa1|3}}
* playing musical instruments{{book ref|sa1|57}}
=== Masculine ===
* combat{{book ref|sa1|26}} (facetiously, "hitting things", according to [[Navani Kholin]]{{book ref|sa1|28}})
* tactics{{book ref|sa3|39}}
* politics{{book ref|sa3|65}}
* carpentry{{book ref|sa1|31}}
* commerce{{book ref|sa1|8}}
}}
== Trivia ==
* The idea of the safehand and the division between one-handed and two-handed arts arose from [[Brandon]]'s fascination with different taboos across real-life cultures.{{wob ref|5898}}
* LEGO building would probably be considered a feminine art; since it is difficult to do one-handed, though, it might end up being mostly done with two hands behind the scenes anyway.{{wob ref|13264}}
== Notes ==
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