Subject: Re: (urth) different sev's and silk as seeker
From: matthew.malthouse@guardian.co.uk
Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 11:01:35 +0100

On 10/07/2003 07:43:14 Andrew Bollen wrote:


>I think it makes moire thematic sense for the Torturers to be distinctly
>secular from the start. The historical inquisiition had to hand their
>victims over to the secular arm for punishment, for example. The Masters 
of
>the Guild have no priestly functions, as far as I can see, and their
>ceremonies don't appear to have much to do with Christian ceremonies.

There's a thousand year history of pageant, masque and re-enactment buy 
guilds, oratorical and chivalrous orders of scriptural events both in 
religious and secular circumstances.  The mummers plays and mysteries of 
England the the decenial cycle of mysteries in (some place I forget) 
Germany remain to this day.

The description of the ceremonies given by Severian with St Catherine, her 
wheel and execution are very much in accord with extant traditions.

Matthew

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