Hierophant — Cardinal Sinibaldo Fiesco, soon to be Pope Innocent IV

Hero or villain? After the turbulent reign of Gregory, a Pope perpetually at war with the German Emperor, Pope Innocent (Cardinal Fiesco in book one of the trilogy) must seem a hero to many. He brought a firm hand to Church affairs, strengthening her throughout Europe. He strengthened the Inquisition, firming the hold of Christianity over a still very pagan and heretical Europe. To many, he is a hero. To some of my characters, he was a vile villain. But in truth, he was neither in The Last Troubadour.

History

Pope Innocent IV must be contrasted to his predecesor's peculiar papacy. Pope Gregory spent most of his rule at war wih a German Emperor he excommunicated, but he is best known for having elevated Francis of Acissi  to Sainthood. Less appetizing, he created the first monastic Inquisition, an armslength authority charged with ridding Europe of heresy. The Inquisition proved up to the task, enthusiastically converting and purging, until pagans and heretics and Jews were driven into hiding or slums. Sinibaldo, a main antagonist in the entire trilogy, is portrayed in history — and in the trilogy — as a practical politician who strengthened the Church and the Inquisition.

As Described in The Last Troubadour

Pope Gregory sat crumpled in the plush throne, a shriveled shell of
the man he had once been, asleep but not at peace, his arms twitching
and his grayish lips trembling. By the light of the cheerful braziers on
either side of the marble dais, Holy Father appeared gaunt and ancient.
He had slept since that afternoon, first drifting off as the archbishop of
Agen reported on the heresies in his archdiocese. Fiesco had hustled
all the petitioners from the grand audience room, even those who had
waited months, then sat at the gilt chancellor’s desk, placed between
the pillars to catch the afternoon sun through Saint Michael’s window.
He used the time to quill another exhortation to the king of France to
march on the unholy emperor of Germany. He would stamp it with the
papal seal, of course.

Then Fiesco leaned back in his chair and watched his dear friend
sleep in the papal throne.

 

Hierophant against the "Fool's" Quest

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 rather the summa totius theologiæ, when it has passed into the utmost rigidity of expression; but he symbolizes also all things that are righteous and sacred on the manifest side. As such, he is the channel of grace belonging to the world of institution as distinct from that of Nature, and he is the leader of salvation for the human race at large. He is the order and the head of the recognized hierarchy, which is the reflection of another and greater hierarchic order; but it may so happen that the pontiff forgets the significance of this his symbolic state and acts as if he contained within his proper measures all that his sign signifies or his symbol seeks to shew forth. He is not, as it has been thought, philosophy-except on the theological side; he is not inspiration; and he is not religion, although he is a mode of its expression."

Read more about The Hierophant card, its history, legends, significance, meaning...

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