Animals Are Allowed Lives Apart From The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse

Summary: Animals are allowed lives apart from The Winter Ghosts, historical fiction novel by Kate Mosse about Good Christians in 14th-century southwestern France.

"God talks to human beings through many vectors: through each other, through organized religion, through the great books of those religions, through wise people, through art and music and literature and poetry, but nowhere with such detail and grace and color and joy as through creation. When we destroy a species, when we destroy a special place, we're diminishing our capacity to sense the divine, understand who God is and what our own potential is." Robert Francis Kennedy Jr., April 19, 2023, Boston Park Plaza Hotel, Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts.

“And there’s many people out there who want us to move to the next planet already and I’m like, hang on, let’s not give up on this planet yet," William, Prince of Wales, July 31, 2023, Sorted Food food truck, London, England, United Kingdom.

Mistle thrush (Turdus viscivorous, from Latin turdus, "[Eurasian] fieldfare [Turdus pilaris], thrush"; and from Latin viscum, “mistletoe” and vorō, “to devour” via Latin viscivorus.) abides in the Languedoc (from French langues de òc, “languages of [south France-mannered] yes”) cultural areas with which Frederick Watson acquaints himself in 1928 and in 1933. That passerine, perching-bird family member acts as the only animal sentient addressed by completest common name in The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse; illustration of (2--lower) mistle thrush (Latin: Turdus viscivorus; French: grive draine, "La Drenne") with (1--upper) redwing (Latin: Turdus iliacus; French: grive mauvis, "Le Mauvis) in François-Nicolas Martinet, Histoire des oiseaux peints dans tous leurs aspects apparents et sensibles, ornée de planches coloriées, tome V (1796), numéro XIX: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Animals are allowed lives apart from The Winter Ghosts, historical fiction by Kate Mosse about Good Christians, also acknowledged as Albigensians and Cathars (from Greek καθαροί, “pure ones”) in 14th-century southwestern France.

Cathar castles brought together in walled settlements, built as bigger cities or small villages, on flat land-surrounded low hills and on rugged mountain tops, Cathar believers. Les châteaux cathares (from French les châteaux cathares, “the castles cathar”) conserved wild animals and plants in woodlands close by bird- and livestock-friendly cultivated crop lands. Cathar dwellers developed difficult domains, daunting to dwellers northward, in Aguilar, Arques, Carcassone, Foix, Lastours-Cabaret, Minerve, Montségur, Narbonne, Peyrepertuse, Puilaurens, Puivert, Quéribus, Rennes-le-château, Termes and Villerouge-Termenès.

Cathar exponents equally expertly, sustainably, uniquely evolved exacting environments, execrated by their enemies ensconced northward, in Durfort, Fanjeaux, Laurac, Mas-Saintes-Puelles, Padern, Pieusse, Roquefixade, Saissac and Usson.

Cathar faithful found bears, foxes, rabbits, wild boars and wolves featured among woodland wildlife and foxes, rabbits and scrub birds figured among farm and field foragers.

Cathar-guided grounds guard blackbird (Turdus merula) and thrush members of Turdidae passerine, perching-bird family and robin (Erithacus rubecula) members of the Muscicapidae Old World flycatchers family. Frederick Watson, as Freddie, heads the historical fiction novel where he hails farm and field foragers and woodland wildlife by their common, not their scientific, names. He identifies by completest common name only the open-country, scrub-bird indicated as mistle thrush (Turdus viscivorus), integrated taxonomically by Carl Linnaeus (May 23, 1707-Jan. 10, 1778).

Farmland, field and woodland animals, whose expected natural lifespans only necessary food-gathering and textile- and tool-sourcing jeopardize, journey judiciously through The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse.

Freddie knows how to keep apart similar Turdidae (from Latin turdus, “fetty/fettyfare/fieldfare/[Eurasian] large thrush [Turdus pilaris]”; Latin -idæ from Greek -ειδής/εἶδος, “-resembling/resemblance”) calls, cries and songs.

His listening for animal-sentient life in 14th- and 20th-century Cathar-legacied lands leads him to barking dogs and bleating sheep living long in Languedoc, not Languedoïl, lands. He mentions Languedoc (from French langues de òc, “languages of [south France-mannered] yes”), not Languedoïl (from French langues de oïl, “languages of [north France-mannered] yes”), animals. He never directly names bees or cows or fish or goats or pigs even as he notes edible products from such insects, such livestock, such seafood.

Female poultry and male poultry offer edible chicken meat obtained by village occupants in The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse even as Freddie only observes hens.

We presume the Languedoc presence of honey bees (Apis mellifera) even as female workers produce from plant nectar and pollen Languedoc honey perfect for Saint-Étienne preparations.

Livestock such as cows and goats, quested for butter, and pigs, quested for bacon, salted ham and pork, queue alongside the sheep quested for edible mutton. Freddie runs across no cows even as young bulls or one-plus-year-old uncalved females realize Bibent restaurant filet mignon (from French fil -et, “thread-let” and mignon, "tender[loin]"). Trout served with chicken, mutton and salted pork suggests carnivorous, freshwater, ray-finned Salmonidae (from Latin salmō -idæ [from Greek -ειδής/εἶδος] -appearing/appearance”) family lake-, river-, wetland-swimming membership.

Farm, field, woodland animals as edible bacon, beef tenderloin, butter, chicken, ham, honey, mutton, pork and trout turn The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse traditionally tasty.

Café Bibent (from Latin bibent, "they drink") in Toulouse (from Latin Tolōsa, perhaps from Irish Gaelic tulach, "hill") ambiances of Cathar (from Greek καθαροί, “pure ones”) cultural areas addresses no Cathar-affiliated appetites anciently archived in area farms and villages. Its audience, such as Frederick Watson in The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse, applauds its appetizing filet mignon (from French fil -et, “thread-let” and mignon, "tender[loin]"); postcard of Café Bibent, ca. 1907, 5 place du Capitole, Toulouse, published by Toulouse-based Éditions Labouche frères, founded in 1848: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Mistle thrush (Turdus viscivorous, from Latin turdus, "[Eurasian] fieldfare [Turdus pilaris], thrush"; and from Latin viscum, “mistletoe” and vorō, “to devour” via Latin viscivorus.) abides in the Languedoc (from French langues de òc, “languages of [south France-mannered] yes”) cultural areas with which Frederick Watson acquaints himself in 1928 and in 1933. That passerine, perching-bird family member acts as the only animal sentient addressed by completest common name in The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse; illustration of (2--lower) mistle thrush (Latin: Turdus viscivorus; French: grive draine, "La Drenne") with (1--upper) redwing (Latin: Turdus iliacus; French: grive mauvis, "Le Mauvis) in François-Nicolas Martinet, Histoire des oiseaux peints dans tous leurs aspects apparents et sensibles, ornée de planches coloriées, tome V (1796), numéro XIX: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:François-Nicolas_Martinet_-_Histoire_des_oiseaux_-_V_-_grive_mauvis_et_grive_draine.jpg; Public Domain, via BnF (Bibliothèque nationale de France) Gallica @ https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8454704r.texteImage

Café Bibent (from Latin bibent, "they drink") in Toulouse (from Latin Tolōsa, perhaps from Irish Gaelic tulach, "hill") ambiances of Cathar (from Greek καθαροί, “pure ones”) cultural areas addresses no Cathar-affiliated appetites anciently archived in area farms and villages. Its audience, such as Frederick Watson in The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse, applauds its appetizing filet mignon (from French fil -et, “thread-let” and mignon, "tender[loin]"); postcard of Café Bibent, ca. 1907, 5 place du Capitole, Toulouse, published by Toulouse-based Éditions Labouche frères, founded in 1848: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:P548-394.jpg

For further information:

Dictionnaire de l’Occitan Médiéval. DOM en ligne. Munich, Germany: Bavarian Academy of Sciences..
Available @ https://dom-en-ligne.de/dom.php?lhid=4dqN83calp4xbiz5Nsx8Wu

Lepage, Denis. 2024. Avibase – Bird Checklists of the World France.” Avibase – The World Bird Database > Checklists > Avibase – Bird Checklists of the World > Europe > France.
Available @ https://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/checklist.jsp?region=FR

Marriner, Derdriu. 9 February 2024. "Plants Are Allowed Lives Apart From The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2024/02/plants-are-allowed-lives-apart-from.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 2 February 2024. "Brian Gallagher Adds Graphic Art to The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2024/02/brian-gallagher-adds-graphic-art-to.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 26 January 2024. "Kate Mosse Adds A Fictitious Place to Real Places in The Winter Ghosts." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2024/01/kate-mosse-adds-fictitious-place-to.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 19 January 2024. "Kate Mosse Assembles Fictitious and Real People in The Winter Ghosts." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2024/01/kate-mosse-assembles-fictitious-and.html

Mosse, Kate. October 2009. The Winter Ghosts. London UK: Orion Publishing Group.