A Secret Order
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"The Talamasca Files" Date of Original Parlor Publication: 13 March 2010
"We watch, and we are always here."
Rice, Anne. The Witching Hour (Lives of Mayfair Witches Book 1) (p. 4). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Who Are the Talamasca?
Who are these scholars, the Talamasca? It is easy to be impressed by their knowledge, mannerisms, lifestyle and immense wealth. Throughout the Lives of the Mayfair Witches and the Vampire Chronicles, we see snapshots of their history as seen through the eyes of witches, vampires and the scholars themselves. The Talamasca is referenced in the poem that Ancient Evelyn teaches Julien Mayfair as a girl in his attic hideaway (see The Poem). They are the scholars that the verse warns about.
Michael Curry embarrasses Aaron Lightner when he points out a link between the Talamasca's wealth and the fall of the Knights Templar. The Knights Templar were soldiers of the Church until the 14th century, when the Church declared them heretics. The Knights were executed and their vast holdings reclaimed by the Church, distributed in part to the reigning monarchs, and somehow, a portion of those holdings also fell into the hands of the Talamasca. Aaron Lightner's explanation of the Knights Templar as the basis of the wealth of the Talamasca was meant to convey that the Talamasca had no part in the destruction of the Knights; only that their left behind wealth had found a new home.
Centuries later, Marius meets one member of the Talamasca in Venice, Italy while he is living there with Amadeo, soon to become Armand. At this time, the scholar is young. Years later, Marius meets him again when he journeys to the Motherhouse in England, which is not the mansion occupied by the 20th century scholars but a remote medieval castle.
It is in the 16th century that we see the Motherhouse in Amsterdam, where Peter van Abel takes young Deborah after her mother is executed as a witch.
Throughout this history, members of the Talamasca have quietly tried to make contact with the vampires and witches they watched, and they always seemed to be around. 'We Watch and We Are Always Here' is a very apt motto for them.
The File on the Mayfair Witches is full of references to habits, speech patterns, preferences, rumors, and the like regarding the Witches in general and in particular, the Legacy Witches as individuals. Throughout this extensive file, they are not only recording observations and learned facts about the family's power as witches, but also about sightings of Lasher and accounts of his abilities, if he has any. They are just as interested in Lasher as a ghost as they are in the family as witches.
What do they do with all of this information besides store it in the vaults where Rembrandt's painting of Deborah and Armand's artwork are kept? What purpose does this information serve? It could serve an important purpose if the information were provided to the people it concerned, as in the case of Rowan Mayfair, who found more answers than most people in the dark could ever hope for. Does this information serve all of mankind by being disseminated all at once, or does it serve by illuminating the lives of the people whose paranormal powers have effects on the world around them?
As David Talbot collects stories from fellow vampires, perhaps someday he will find some meaning in them that he didn't find in the Talamasca. The Talamasca does not seem to refute or support its own findings; merely, it serves as a human database of facts and folklore collected throughout the centuries.
The Knights Templar
When Michael Curry woke in a suite at the Pontchartrain Hotel in New Orleans, he found Aaron Lightner in the other room. Lightner, a member of the Talamasca, had been trying to approach Michael to discuss the possibility of Michael's joining this mysterious order.
That had come about because after Michael awoke in the hospital after having drowned and resuscitated, something strange was happening with his hands.
The effects of the drowning and resuscitation on Michael Curry's hands made it into the AMC series, even if Michael Curry himself did not.
History of the Knights Templar
Catholic Encyclopedia's Knights Templars
One particular film about the Knights Templar is Kingdom of Heaven (2005). The film is set in the Crusades of the 12th century, during the reign of King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem.
"The Talamasca Files" Date of Original Parlor Publication: 13 March 2010
Talamasca: The Secret Order
Raglan James in Talamasca: The Secret Order
Image: Yahoo/Nerdist
The Body Thief and the Talamasca
I admit I am not as familiar with the Vampire Chronicles as I am with the Mayfair Witches. It's been several years since I read The Tale of the Body Thief. That meant I had to refresh my memory as to who Raglan James was.
From what I recall, Raglan James ended up with a rather unique connection to the Talamasca. It was in the form of David Talbot.
As I have been struggling with discomfort over Season 3 of Mayfair Witches being set in Salem, Massachusetts, I thought a lot about Taltos, the third and final novel in the Lives of the Mayfair Witches series. Thinking of this and then watching Talamasca, I recalled how Taltos was almost as much about the Talamasca as it was about the Mayfair Witches and the Taltos. It was in the form of a shakeup in the ranks of the Talamasca that occurred because of some rogue agents who had tried to gain access to Lasher in his once-again mortal form. Why?
There was a female Taltos in England.
While that was going on, Lestat crossed paths with a body thief. And so did David Talbot.
The body thief was Raglan James.
Now, Season 2 of Mayfair Witches--oh dear Gawd, I think I understand this particular change a lot better now--already had Lasher actually being caught by the Talamasca and taken not to England, but Scotland. Problem: the female Taltos Ian Mayfair and the Talamasca had there wasn't named Tessa. Probably because Tessa Mayfair had already died in Season 1. Okay, Emaleth, then.
In the novels, the rogue Talamasca agents failed to get Lasher. The older agent did get the chance to meet the real St. Ashlar of Donnelaith--right before Rowan Mayfair gave him a nice aneurysm.
Well, of COURSE Rowan was going to need a carpenter in the series! By the time she and Moira returned from Scotland to pull Olivia and JoJo out of the thrall, the Mayfair house had deteriorated significantly more than it had been before they went to Scotland to find Lasher.
Whatever happens next in Mayfair Witches, I have to wonder if the idea is to sort of "dove-tail" it with Talamasca. Let's hope so.
It's already been made clear that Talamasca is not based upon a single novel Anne Rice wrote called Talamasca. It's about the order that is prevalent across both the Vampire Chronicles and the Lives of the Mayfair Witches novels. I have to wonder now if the witch in Talamasca and the appearance of Raglan James might actually be meant to connect this Immortal Universe of AMC shows based upon the Anne Rice novels they have the filming rights to.
Didn't we see Raglan James in a Season 2 episode of Interview With the Vampire? He was the one who warned Daniel that his laptop had been hacked into, wasn't he?
~November 10, 2025