Dame Esclarmonde de Foix, the Priestess Cathar
The Dame — The "Jewel" of the South, a Hope of an Entire People
The Dame has always assumed mystical significance in the legends of the Cathars, particularly of the fall of Montségur.
History
The Dame Esclarmonde de Foix was the "Holy" Perfect of the Cathars, one of the most famous historical characters of the time. She is famous for her perfect serenity in the face of her enemies, for leading her people to salvation. In legend, she acquires near magical significance. In The Last Troubadour, she is the "object" of the Fool's quest, the hope of the peresecuted Christian Cathars in the face of a brutal Inquisition.
As Described in The Last Troubadour
“ ‘Be at peace, Ramon,’ said a voice as soft as a summer breeze. The
voice came from above me. I felt it, rather than heard it. Was it Jesus
speaking to me? I looked up.
“A smiling face hovered over me like an angel, sky blue eyes a sharp
contrast to her parchment pale face and cascading silver hair. The Silver
Lady knelt and touched my head.
“I flinched but I didn’t move. I could only stare at her. Nothing else
existed in that moment.
“And—this is hard to explain—I felt my own pain draining away. I
felt warmth and comfort. A fragrance like peach blossoms..."
The Priestess on the "Fool's" Quest
Ramon Troubadour has returned to his home city of Carcassonne, 12 years after the Inquisition condemned his mother for heresy on the pyre.
Now a man, a fool, a jester and the last surviving troubadour, he must rescue the Holy Dame of the Christian Cathars — the High Priestess — from a similar fate. Against him is an entire army, the Inquisition, and the terrifying Diableteur. Helping him, all his merry friends, characters straight out of the tarot:
Adelais, the unpredictable "Fortune"
and more. Meet them all, in The Last Trobuadour!
In the Cards
From A. E. Waite, Key to the Tarot
"She represents also the Second Marriage of the Prince who is no longer of this world; she is the spiritual Bride and Mother, the daughter of the stars and the Higher Garden of Eden. She is, in fine, the Queen of the borrowed light, but this is the light of all. She is the Moon nourished by the milk of the Supernal Mother...."
Read more about the Priestess Card, its history, legends
significance, meaning...
Derek Armstrong
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