by Hamish Coghill'In growing from a huddle of huts round a fortress on a volcanic rock into an international and cosmopolitan city, Edinburgh has had to change'. Not only is Edinburgh one of my favourite cities but it's one I thought I knew really well - that is, until I picked up the book my …
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Books Quote By Pamela Paul: “Books are a…”
I know World Book Day was Thursday, but I thought this was appropriate retrospectively!
'Kill them all; God will know his own.'
Labyrinth
by Kate Mosse
A Review
History attributes those chilling words of the title to Arnaud Amaury, the papal legate who led the massacre at Beziers in 1209 CE.
Whilst the records tell that the French Crusader army spared no one, the real targets of Catholic hatred were the Cathars, a pacifist and gnostic Christian sect. After occupying Beziers, the French moved on to Carcassonne, headquarters of Viscount Trencavel, prince of Languedoc, who was forced to surrender in August of the same year. The last stronghold of the Cathars, Montségur, was besieged in 1244, when the Crusaders burned 200 of the inhabitants who refused to renounce their beliefs.
Labyrinth tells the story of the so-called Albigensian Crusade, mostly through the eyes of Alais, a young woman, daughter of one of Trencavel’s aides, Bertrand Pelletier. Kate Mosse’s research is meticulous. Her detailed descriptions of the land, its people and…
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Frustration
I haven't been getting out much lately, apart from the permitted exercise and an occasional visit to the supermarket or pharmacist. We have managed to get most of our shopping needs delivered. One thing I miss most about this lockdown is being able to go browsing in the local bookshop. Bookshops seem to be all …
2020 is here!
I would like to wish my readers success and happiness during the next twelve months. A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL! *
In Black and White [3]
Early Keyboards [Hydraulis, Organ and Clavichord] by Andrew G Lockhart The hydraulis was invented in Alexandria by a talented engineer called Ctesibius, probably an Egyptian. However, at the time, Alexandria was a Greek city, the centre of Hellenic learning and culture, and whatever the inventor’s nationality, the organ is claimed as a Greek invention. By …
Welcome!
Thank you all for coming with me to andrewglockhartwriter.com, my new site address. I have still a bit of housekeeping to do, updating pages, widgets and all that sort of thing. However, the domain seems to be working OK. My first proper post here, within the next few days will be a review of Kate …
Bookheathen Scribblings 