Viscount Hugh D'Arcis, Emperor of the South

Derek Armstrong — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 00:14:35 +0000

Viscount D'Arcis Ruled Occitannia with a Firm Hand

It's hard not to like the Viscount of Carcassonne, conqueror, Emperor of the South in all but name, yet his inflexible authority may make him Ramon Troubadour's greatest enemy in The Last Troubadour.

History

Hugh D'Arcis assume the legacy of Simon de Montford, an invader, a man who brooked no questioning of his authority, a man who led an army against the Cathar Christians, yet in his own peculiar way, remembered in history as a just lord.

As Described in The Last Troubadour

VISCOUNT HUGH D’ARCIS—seneschal for King Louis for
all the lands south of the Loire—sat on a raised dais. He watched the
juggler’s clumsy antics with only half-focused eyes as he held out his
hands for the laverer. The poor boy trembled as he massaged Hugh’s
hands with a damp cloth steeped in sage and rosemary.
Hugh dried his hands then sipped a sweet Pisan wine with great
enthusiasm. Flies buzzed around the leavings on the table, swarming
the uneaten mortrews and capon bones. The fragrance of the feast, so
sumptuous when they had entered the great hall, was now a vile perfume
of carcasses and sopping bread trenchers. Not even the sweetness of
milk-honey pudding could bring back Hugh’s appetite. But it had been
a wondrous night.

Viscount, enemy of the "Fool's" Quest

Carcassonne is ruled by the iron hand of Viscount Hugh'DArcis. Though a just lord, he is plagued by a Church anxious to rid itself of heresy, of a land full of rebels, and a daughter — his Adelais — who is the greatest rebel of all. You'll love to hate the Viscount Hugh D'Arcis as he goes up against the Fool and his merry friends:

Ramon, The Fool

Adelais, the unpredictable "Fortune"
Seigneur, for Strength
Arnot, the Templar, the Charioteer
The Grand Duo, the Lovers,

and more. Meet them all, in The Last Trobuadour!

In the Cards

From A. E. Waite, Key to the Tarot

"He is a crowned monarch--commanding, stately, seated on a throne, the arms of which axe fronted by rams' heads. He is executive and realization, the power of this world, here clothed with the highest of its natural attributes. He is occasionally represented as seated on a cubic stone, which, however, confuses some of the issues. He is the virile power, to which the Empress responds..."

Tarot-based character for THE EMPEROR Major Arcana card in The Last Troubadour, first book of Song of Montsegur, Derek Armstrong from Kunati Books (ISBN 9781601640109)

Viscount Hugh D'Arcis, Emperor of the South