"Innovative"* Tarot-based Characters
The concept of building characters AND plot on the timeless imagery of the Tarot cards seems to have resonated with readers. Kunati recorded tens of thousands of unique visit hits to The Last Troubadour web page on the Kunati main site.
Quick Links to the Tarot-Based Characters
Ramon, The Fool • Nevara, the Magician • The Dame, the Priestess • Magba, the Empress • Viscount D'Arci, the Emperor • Pope Innocent, the Hierophant • Doré and Osric, the Lovers • Templar Arnot, the Chariot • Seigneur, Strength • Guilhem, the Hermit • Adelais, Wheel of Fortune • Perce, Justice • Brother Jaie, the Hanged Man • Diableteur, Death • Atta and Hatta, Temperance • Archbishop Amiel, the Devil
Tie-in Tarot Deck
Kunati Books plans to publish a specially illustrated tie-in Tarot deck, illustrated by internationally famous artist Kam Wai Yu.
The Last Troubadour
The Song of Montségur trilogy recalls the rise of the brutal monastic Inquisition in the South of France, an epic story of heroes and villains of the 13th century. Rather than spin a dark tale of glory and death, I fancifully retell these momentous events with your reading pleasure as my goal: two cups adventure, a pound of real history, a large dollop of humor, a dash of tragedy and hopefully enough mystical juice to create a buzz, roasted over a fire of heretics and witches. Enjoy!
From The Silver Dame of Montségur to the terrible witchhunter Diableteur, all of my larger-than-life characters are drawn from history. Many legends (and half-baked histories) associate the development of the Tarot cards with the Cathar heresies and this period in history. In The Last Troubadour, you will meet my “inventor” of the first tarot deck, Nevara of the Baug Balar “circus” and the characters from history that inspired her deck. Although we know the full decks appeared around this time—the four-suited Turuq came earlier—associating Nevara with major trumps of the Tarot is pure imagination. All major characters and events are historical, fancifully dressed up here with Tarot attributions.
Medieval Cards
Until the Troubadour Tarot deck is issued by Kunati, please enjoy references here to the Medieval deck Tarot, the Tarocchi dei Viconti Sforza, an Italian deck dating to 1450, 200 years after Ramon Troubadour's adventures in the Occitan.
Please click on your favorite card or name to learn more about these "innovative" characters.
0 — The Fool
Ramon, last of the Occitan’s famous heretical troubadours
I — The Magician
Nevara, the albino pagan sorceress of the Baug Balar “circus”
II — The High Priestess
Dame Esclarmonde de Foix, the High Lady of the Cathar Christians
III — The Empress
Magba, the ever-pregnant mother of the Baug Balar entertainers
IV — The Emperor
Hugh d’Arcis, conquering Viscount of Carcassonne
V — The Hierophant (Pope)
Cardinal Sinibaldo Fiesco, the future Pope Innocent IV
VI — The Lovers
The Grand Duo, the famous rebels Doré the bastard and Osric the hammer
VII — The Chariot
Arnot, the disenfranchised Templar
VIII — Strength
Seigneur, the “Cyclops” one-eyed crusader
IX — The Hermit
Guilhem d’Alions, the ancient Perfectus of the Cathars
X — Fortune
Adelais, the rebellious daughter of the conquering Viscount of Carcassonne
XI — Justice
Perce de Mendes, too-loyal squire of the famous Cyclops Seigneur
XII — The Hanged Man
The suicidal Dominican monk, Brother Jaie
XIII — Death
The Diableteur, feared witch-hunter
XIV — Temperance
Atta and Hatta, the twins
XV — The Devil
Archbishop Peter Amiel of Narbonne, worldly leader of the crusaders
* Quote from Booklist Review of The Last Troubadour, August 07
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