Bertrand Pelletier
(1157-1209)
At the beginning of Labyrinth in 1209, Bertrand Pelletier is a relatively old man by medieval standards. He has been Intendant – steward – of the Trencavel household since 1191. He lives with his two daughters in the Château Comtal in Carcassonne.
As a younger man, Pelletier travelled to the Holy Land, arriving in Jerusalem in 1184. There he was recruited into a secret society, the Noublesso de los Seres, by an ancient Arab teacher, Harif. He takes a vow to protect three ancient Egyptian parchments, more than four thousand years old, which together reveal the secret of the true Grail. In March 1187, when it seems Jerusalem is about to fall to Saladin, Pelletier is sent back to France with the papyri and seeks out another member of the Noublesso, a Jew known as Simeon the Bookmaker, who lives in Chartres.
While there, Pelletier meets and marries his wife, Marguerite, in Chartres in 1188. Then, in 1191, he receives instructions from the secret society to return to his home town of Carcassonne to take up the position of steward in the household of the Trencavel family. He takes one of the concealed parchments with him.
Bertrand and Marguerite's first daughter, Oriane, is born shortly after they arrive in Carcassonne, followed in 1193 by a second daughter called Alaïs. Marguerite dies in childbirth in 1200. The child, a boy, also dies.
