Prophecies and saviours

[alshainofthenorth]

Are there any fantasy geeks around who are up to a discussion about 
prophecy and destiny as fantasy plot devices?

It struck me when I was in another forum, reading a thread about 
Fantasy Clichés We Can't Stand, that in the last fantasy wave (think 
Lucas, Eddings, Jordan, Rowling, Pullman and probably some more) it's 
been foretold that the Chosen One will be born to strike down the Bad 
Guy/bring balance to The Force/become the new Eve/whatever. The 
prophecy element has become such an over-used plot device that I'm 
going to scream if I see it written one more time. I prefer my heroes 
more like Frodo Baggins and Sam Gamgee -- people who haven't been 
selected by destiny, who could have chosen not to go but did it 
anyway.

I've been looking for the common root to this element, and even 
though I suspect that the deepest ones go back to the Messianic 
tradition of the Jewish and Christian religions, there may be newer 
roots in classical fantasy, but I can't seem to find them. Tolkien, 
if I remember correctly, used prophetic elements sparingly (Aragorn 
and the Paths of the Dead is a subplot), and I can't recall anything 
about King Arthur's birth being foretold by seers either.

When and why did this prophecy element become so important?

Alshain the Curious