Does the novel make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end? The Cathars were a sect of Christians who flourished in southwest France and Italy in particular, from the end of the 11th century to the middle of the 13th century.
Chats rouges dans un labyrinthe de verre — Wikipédia
The Cathars were Christian Dualists who believed in a universe of equal and opposing forces, permanently and finely balanced: God ruled Heaven, the Devil held sway over the World and everything in it, so they therefore had no concept of Hell beyond their living existence. Fundamental to their belief system was the doctrine of Reincarnation. Because of their Dualist doctrine, the Cathars had no churches or sanctified buildings, they despised the Cross as an instrument of torture, and had no need of relics.
The only thing they valued was the power of the Word and their most sacred text, within the New Testament, was the Gospel of St John. They were vegetarians although they ate fish and, most interesting of all given the historical context, had female as well as male priests—an issue that the Church of England is still struggling with in the 21st century!
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Of course there were fanatics, as in all religions, who hated the World and everything in it, but for the most part Cathar followers were tolerant and accepting of other systems of belief. As a result, at the time of the historical sections of Labyrinth ——the Catholic churches in the Languedoc were empty for the most part and much of the population, from the Counts in their castles to the ordinary folk at the gates, were sympathetic to, if not actually followers of, the Cathar church. Their groundswell of support, coupled with their beliefs, obviously put them into opposition with the accepted Catholic orthodoxy of the day.
The Crusade conducted against the Cathars by the northern French was very brutal and lasted for decades.
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It also gave birth to the Inquisition, which most of us think started in Spain. Why do you think this historical episode is so little known today? Finally, accepting they had lost the battle of words and that the sword was not enough, the Pope decided he needed something more systematic, more suppressive, more insidious. The Inquisition was born. And the consequences of this still haunt the Catholic Church today. The Crusaders razed to the ground any dwellings known to have harboured Cathars and burnt all copies of the New Testament in the local language, Oc or Occitan from which the region gets its name.
For hundreds of years, the Cathars were all but forgotten, even in France itself. The Languedoc truly is Cathar Country. How did you research the different aspects of the book—the archaeology, the history of the Cathars and the Crusade against them, the Grail legends, and so forth? Like all writers of historical fiction, libraries, museums, and books, books and more books! I gobbled up anything I could lay my hands on, from medieval theology, 13th century French history, battle craft, architecture, churches to Occitan poetry and music.
Having thoroughly familiarised myself with all aspects of my medieval time period, I then researched Grail legends and gathered information about the development and proliferation of pavement and walls, labyrinths in medieval Europe and beyond. For this, like all of us nowadays, in addition to visiting libraries and specialist institutions, I could not have managed without the internet. There were also one or two very specific pieces of information—for example, information about medieval manuscripts and book making—where I sought out the help of experts, such as the Curator of Illuminated Manuscripts at the British Library in London.
I also adore physical research! I visited many medieval re-enactment events, both in England and in southwest France, watching Jousts and seeing how battles were fought. Fortunately, my children share my enthusiasm for the medieval past, so were always happy to come with me. It was incredibly difficult! After a week, it was clear that I would have gone down in my first battle! To my disappointment, I turned out not to be a natural swordswoman ….
What I hope is that someone visiting Carcassonne, for example, or any of the key towns mentioned in the novel will be able to use Labyrinth as a guide book! Your book has been compared by many to The Da Vinci Code. Were you aware of that book when you started writing? How are the two novels alike and different? I was a little worried people might think I was jumping on the bandwagon, but the sheer volume of research and length of the book!
At first glance, Brown and I look to be working with a similar sort of material—secret societies, ancient secrets, based in France and the Grail at the heart of our stories. However, the moment I started reading, I realised that despite the obvious similarities with Labyrinth —and I was sure readers who liked one will like the other too—in fact the two novels were actually significantly different in tone, atmosphere, style, scope and intention.
The most obvious difference—apart from the female lead characters, the medieval backbone to Labyrinth , the focus on theology and historical analysis—is the ways in which, as novelists, present our Grail stories.
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What lies at the heart of Labyrinth , however, is not a Christian Grail at all, but rather something far older that belongs to all religions and none. What the success of The Da Vinci Code shows is that the reading public has an appetite for such stories mixing history, myth and mystery, which can only be good for authors and good for reading.
Books such as The Da Vinci Code play an important part in putting reading right at the heart of things. I think that all of us, men and women alike, are attracted to epic stories, stories that take us away from the mundane and the everyday, into the big subjects, the big emotions. Love, Honour, Responsibility, Duty, Loss, Faith, Sacrifice, these are issues that most of us—whoever we are, wherever we live, whatever our experiences in life—can understand. Many of us are also fascinated by the way that history becomes myth, myth becomes legend.
Readers enjoy being literary detectives, tracking stories back to their origins, working things out. The classic stories, stories with stamina, tell us not only about times past, but also throw new light on time present. I also thought that if such a thing as a Grail— grail —did exist then it would be as much of a curse as a blessing and there would be a serious purpose to it, a reason why one person was chosen and another not.
In Labyrinth the purpose of the grail is to allow someone to live in order to bear witness.
Labyrinth Reader’s Guide
In medieval times, as today, history is written by the winners, not those who are defeated. As a novelist, I use the idea of extended life as a way of telling, through hundreds of years, the conquest and subjugation of the independent Languedoc. I think most of us, despite what we read in the newspapers every day, are looking at ways to connect with other people rather than the opposite. Full Cast and Crew. In the falangist Spain of , the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.
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Learn more More Like This. Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Rufus. A Clockwork Orange Requiem for a Dream V for Vendetta The Sixth Sense A boy who communicates with spirits seeks the help of a disheartened child psychologist. No Country for Old Men Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind The Truman Show Monty Python and the Holy Grail Edit Cast Cast overview, first billed only: Doctor Ferreiro Manolo Solo El Tarta Gonzalo Uriarte Edit Storyline In falangist Spain, a girl, fascinated with fairy-tales, is sent along with her pregnant mother to live with her new stepfather, a ruthless captain of the Spanish army.
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What happens when make-believe believes it's real? Edit Details Official Sites: Edit Did You Know? Trivia Doug Jones was the only American on the set, and the only one who didn't speak Spanish. Goofs During the scene of the villagers coming to the mill to receive their food rations, a modern locomotive horn can be heard in the background. Quotes [ first lines ] Pan: A long time ago, in the underground realm, where there are no lies or pain, there lived a Princess who dreamed of the human world. She dreamed of blue skies, soft breeze, and sunshine.
One day, eluding her keepers, the Princess escaped. Once outside, the brightness blinded her and erased every trace of the past from her memory. She forgot who she was and where she came from. Her body suffered cold, sickness, and pain. However, her father, the King, always knew Crazy Credits The title and the names of the actors and the production staff are not shown until the end of the film. Connections Referenced in My Little Pony: Frequently Asked Questions Q: Why was Doug Jones cast in the role of the Faun if he doesn't speak Spanish?