(urth) Rose the Graced not Rose the Chaste
Dave Tallman
davetallman at msn.com
Sun Jun 22 22:45:04 PDT 2008
In Shadow X, Thecla quotes:
"Here Rose the Graced, not Rose the Chaste, reposes.
The scent that rises is no scent of roses."
In http://www.bibliomania.com/2/3/255/1183/23925/1.html I found the
following:
Rosamond (Fair). Higden, monk of Chester, says: “She was the fayre
daughter of Walter, Lord Clifford, concubine of Henry II., and poisoned
by Queen Elianor, A.D. 1177. Henry made for her a house of wonderful
working, so that no man or woman might come to her. This house was named
Labyrinthus, and was wrought like unto a knot in a garden called a maze.
But the queen came to her by a clue of thredde, and so dealt with her
that she lived not long after. She was buried at Godstow, in an house of
nunnes, with these verses upon her tombe:-
Here Rose the graced, not Rose the chaste, reposes;
The smell that rises is no smell of roses.
This story is referenced in "A Solar Labyrinth": "The Fayre Rosamund
dropped her embroidery with her needle thrust through it, but forgot the
yarn in her pocket, thus furnishing Queen Eleanor's knights with the
clue they required to solve Hampton Court Maze."
I have a couple of observations from this. First, this is yet another
example of a reference to Earth's history. Urth is either in Earth's
future or the Big Bang/Grand Gnab cycle repeats in so many details that
free will is suspect.
Second, this is one of many maze/labyrinth references in the New Sun
books. Another interesting one is the labyrinthine library of Master
Ultan, which recalls the library ruled by another Borges-like figure in
Eco's "The Name of the Rose." (This connects roses and mazes once again).
Can anyone see a connection with the character named Rose (or
Rose-in-Marble) in the Long Sun books?
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