Alaïs du Mas

[close] ALAÏS DU MAS (PELLETIER) (1193-1244)

Alaïs is the second daughter of Bertrand and Marguerite Pelletier. Born in Carcassonne in 1193, she was a frail child and, at first, not expected to survive. Her older sister Oriane is much more robust. But, although quiet and biddable, she grows to be a resilient, brave and fiercely independent woman. She is very loyal, with a strong sense of fairness and is protective of those less powerful than herself.

Because of her father’s position as intendant – steward – to Raymond-Roger Trencavel, Alaïs is brought up within the Trencavel household and has the run of the Chateau Comtal. Alaïs is her father’s favourite and shares many of his characteristics, such as a strong sense of duty and determination to serve. She develops a deep knowledge of medicinal herbs and people come to rely on Alaïs for her skill in healing.

From childhood, Alaïs has had frequent headaches and visions. Her symptoms call to mind Labyrinthine vertigo or Ménières disease, where sufferers experience a sense of time-out-of-time – or falling through time.

At the beginning of Labyrinth, Alaïs is 17. She’s been married a matter of months to Guilhem du Mas, an ambitious young chevalier attached to the Trencavel household. Although a good judge of character, Alaïs is deeply in love with her husband and therefore blind to his faults.

Alaïs has a strong friendship with an old woman called Esclarmonde de Servian, who lives within the fortified Cité with her great-grandson, Sajhë.