How do I write an uneducated character with a genius level intellect in a medieval society?
I am currently writing a medieval (low fantasy) novel set in a society akin to that of Western Europe during the Middle Ages. One of my protagonists is raised poor in a small village, but early on discovers he has blue blood.
One of his three major character traits is his vastly superior intelligence/intellect. In fact, he has what we would define as a genius level IQ (~150), though I know IQ does not account for all aspects of high intelligence. However, I am having trouble figuring out how this would clearly manifest itself with neither a good education nor much knowledge of the world to back up his gifted mind with facts.
Another of his three major character traits is his naïveté. This is in part due to being very sheltered–which is also the main reason why he has little worldly knowledge–but also owes to the fact he is only 15; he simply has not had enough time to "experience" life.
At first, I wanted to present his gifted mind through cunning and deception, (perhaps almost a bit like Tom Sawyer?) and that part of his underdog-like character was to use his sharp tongue to escape impossible situations. However, this would conflict with his third major character trait: idealism. The character is simply too compassionate, honest and honorable to be physically capable of lying to another person for personal gain, for instance. Moreover, this ties to his naïveté as well, in that part of what drives his kindness, is his belief that humans are inherently kind; he simply acts towards others they way he believes they themselves would act.
My question, then, is twofold: how could vastly superior intelligence very visibly manifest itself in someone with little or no education in the medieval world, and does kindness and naïveté conflict with the idea of this sort of character?
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In the real world, especially before the internet, technical expertise and education correlated heavily with economic privilege and access to resources. If the character isn't formally educated, there's little hope for him being academically intelligent. He/she (more likely he, given medieval gender roles) can be skeptical, he/she can have a sharp wit, he/she might even be able to read. Keep in mind, however, that literacy was a rare ability in medieval societies.
One alternative is to have a society that is aesthetically medieval but functions as might a society from a different era (not necessarily a better era, just an era where it is more feasible for a peasant to be educated. If this means the protagonist is a slave whose job is to write down what elites say, well then, you have a society that functions in some ways like the Roman Republic.) For instance, a society with the governmental quality of a republic or maybe a constitutional monarchy or at least some semblance of egalitarinaism and humanism would make the kind of protagonist you're talking about more feasible. Even if it comes packaged with a set of social ills separate from those seen in real-life medieval societies. Mixing and matching your government types with varying levels of egalitarianism, humanism, secularism and mercantilism can result in entirely unique fictional societies which, while they never existed in the real world, are not necessarily unfeasible. The aim is to create a society where the reader can experience sufficient suspension of disbelief within the scope of your story.
On the flip side, keep in mind that socioeconomic status is not a guarantee of illiteracy so much as it is a decent predictor. Consider, for instance, the escaped American slave Fredrick Douglass, who against all socioeconomic odds managed to be more literate and intellectual than the average free man at the time. This shouldn't be regarded as surprising, but it should be regarded as unique, and difficult to attain.
If your protagonist is in a downtrodden position, he will likely require the help, unwitting or not, from people in a higher position.
If you desire even less fidelity to history and more creative freedom, systems of magic and superhuman abilities provide all you need. A character can be graced by the God or Gods with the wit of solomon, Can be given psychic powers which allow for heightened empathy and sensitivity, can decode alphabets of foreign languages without the help of native speakers, can slow down their own perception of time to prolong important decisions.
If you go with a magical system always have a way for your character to become exhausted or less sane with the execution of each "spell" so that their heightened abilities come at a price which increases narrative tension.
A good and increasingly popular example of the sort of character you're setting out to create is Kvothe from the Kingkiller Chronicle. I would also like to mention Will Hunting who, while not a fantasy character, is a lower-class Bostonian janitor who is a genius at math despite being the kind of guy who sometimes gets into street brawls. His character, to me at least, manages to be convincing and compelling despite not necessarily being realistic.
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Medieval men typically worked a trade. Make him gifted in his trade so that commoners come from miles around to acquire his goods. Even nobility have heard of his skills.
You can add artistic mastery to the trade. Like a blacksmith who makes not only the mightiest swords but carves the most amazing Celtic knotwork into the hilt.
He can also be a gifted problem solver. People ask him advice. He solves aggressive conflicts with peaceful determination.
He is cultured in that he believes in love and enjoys music. He rarely drinks, and he's funny when he does.
You basically want a very likeable character who excels at everything he does except for perhaps his fatal flaw.
It also opens the door for some young princess to teach him how to read (a la The Belgariad).
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Having in mind the OP's comment...
By sheltered, I meant very sheltered. This owes to the fact the protagonist is next in line for the throne, but the rest of his family was murdered when he was merely half a year old. His (adoptive) father had to flee the castle with the baby during a coup, and they have since then lived under the rule of their rival country. The father has tried to limit his adopted son's "exposure" to the world in fear they might be discovered and hunted down.
I believe the first thing to do is to decide how the foster father raised the protagonist. He must have received some education in order to prepare him to become an adult. It would be useful to teach them some sort of martial art (even if only how to use a sword and a dagger) because he may need to know how to defend himself in the future.
If the idea was for the protagonist to not attempt to recover the throne, then he should be taught a craft, preferably something that doesn't require much contact with people. If the idea was for the protagonist to be aware of his lineage, then he'd have academic knowledge in the shape of written language and history, besides martial arts.
To be very sheltered would be expected of a child in a noble or rich middle-class family, not in a poor family of exiles. That would just call unwanted attention. The boy should be raised in a way similar to the other boys in the neighbourhood.
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In that period, education was not the province of the nobility but of the church. A intelligent and idealistic young man or woman would have a very obvious outlet for their intelligence and idealism, and an opportunity for an education, by joining a monastery. Monasteries were not just the seats of religious thought and learning. They were centers of science and engineering and economics. Upward mobility within that society was very much available through the church, and a monastery would give opportunities for intellect and idealism to be realized in many different ways.
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