Vilken nivå av korrekthet är viktigt i en historisk setting?

[Frederik J. Jensen]

Det kan jag tänka mig. Jag har aldrig spelat det, men det låter som ett intressant spel. Och på tal om kulturhistoria, undrar jag om detta spel skulle ha tillkommit om det inte var för Annallesskolan i allmänhet och Emmanuel Le Roy Laduries bok om katarbyn Montalliou i synnerhet. Den forskningen gör att vi idag har kunskaper om katarernas föreställningar som jag tror inte fanns före säg 1970-talet. Vet du något om spelets tillkomsthistoria? Står det något i det om vad konstruktörerna byggt spelet på?

When I designed Montsegur 1244 back in 2007-2008, I had learned about Montsegur from playing Ars Magica in 2001-2003 and I visited the site in 2005. I had by no means done a full academic research, e.g. by reading original documents/primary sources.

I got the drive for creating the game from being puzzled by the fact that a group of people under some circumstances had decided to die rather than give up what they believed in. Could that ever be a meaningful choice for me?

Just as an academic retelling of the historical event is an interpretation influenced by the author, I wanted every play of the game to be one possible truth about what happened, influenced by the players at the table.

I was less concerned with getting the historical facts 100% correct than to create a specific, recognisable setup with a few curve balls to get players hooked, like the Perfects view on children and the marriage of Pierre Roger with his cousin’s daughter. Same trick as Vincent Baker did in Dogs in the Vineyard.

The game works so well because it is not about the historical events (though dramatical as the taking of the eastern guard tower) but about the relations between the characters.

When I play the game, I gently steer the group away from common historical pitfalls like the idea that every character has their own room and their own bed and their own money, but the game works even if players go down that route.

I have no idea if the facts about the cathar belief presented in the game would be recognisable to a 13th century believer. Most likely the “objective facts” about the faith changed over time and from place to place anyway.

When I later released the boxed edition, I was lucky to be able to include the historical background written by Ezio Melega which discusses e.g. the roles of women and perfects and how they would be different that what we are used to in our society today.

So you can be inspired to learn about history by playing the game — or you can be inspired to play the game by knowing the history.