The Cathars: The Most Successful Heresy of the Middle Ages

Without lifting a sword, the Cathars posed a threat to Catholicism greater than the Muslims or Jews—or so the Church believed. The Cathars believed that matter was essentially evil—especially the human body—and that the material world had to be transcended through a simple life of prayer, work, fasting, and nonviolence. Though they radically departed from certain traditional Christian beliefs, the Cathars still believed themselves to be the heirs of the true heritage of Christianity. They completely rejected the Catholic Church and all its opulent trappings, regarding it as the Church of Satan; Cathar services and ceremonies, by contrast, were held in fields, barns, and people's homes.The Cathars found widespread popularity among peasants and artisans. They respected women, who played a major role in the movement. Alarmed at the success of Catharism, the Church began the Inquisition and launched the Albigensian Crusade to exterminate the heresy. The Albigensian Crusade was the first Crusade to be directed against fellow Christians and was also the first European genocide. Today, the mystique surrounding the Cathars is as strong as ever. Their myths and complete history are examined here in __The Cathars__—the compelling true story of this once peaceful religious sect. Acknowledgments......Page 6 Contents......Page 9 Prologue: Béziers......Page 11 Heresy and Orthodoxy......Page 15 Dualism......Page 16 The Good Religion......Page 18 The World, the Flesh and the Devil......Page 20 Essenes, Gnostics and the First Christians......Page 24 The Council of Nicaea......Page 28 Manichaeism and Other Dualist Heresies......Page 31 The Bogomils......Page 34 The First Western Heretics......Page 41 Church Reforms......Page 44 The First Cathars......Page 46 The Living Icons......Page 52 The Consolamentum......Page 54 The Spread of Catharism......Page 59 The Council of St Félix......Page 61 Catharism in Italy......Page 65 Map of the Languedoc in 1200......Page 70 The Languedoc at the Turn of the Thirteenth Century......Page 71 Innocent III......Page 75 An Enterprise of Peace and Faith......Page 78 The Albigensian Crusade......Page 83 Simon de Montfort......Page 87 The Fourth Lateran Council......Page 93 The Siege of Toulouse......Page 94 De Montfort’s Impact on Catharism......Page 96 The Changing of the Guard......Page 99 The Peace of Paris......Page 101 The Inquisition......Page 105 The First Inquisitors......Page 106 The Inquisition in the Languedoc......Page 108 The Trencavel and St Gilles Revolts......Page 112 The Fall of Montségur......Page 114 The Inquisition after Montségur......Page 118 The Fall of Quéribus......Page 120 The Autier Revival......Page 122 Peter Autier......Page 124 The Endura......Page 128 Geoffrey d’Ablis and Bernard Gui......Page 132 The Last Perfect......Page 133 Montaillou......Page 136 Thirteenth-Century Italian Catharism......Page 139 Map of Catharism in Italy......Page 140 Cathar Writings......Page 142 The Decline of Italian Catharism......Page 144 The Last Cathars......Page 146 The Enigma of the Bosnian Church......Page 149 Map of the Bosnian and Bogomil Churches......Page 150 The Cathars and the Holy Grail......Page 154 The Troubadours and the Knights Templar......Page 157 Modern Cathars......Page 158 The Persecuting Society......Page 161 Endnotes......Page 165 Appendix I: Chronology......Page 173 Appendix II: An Heretical Lexicon......Page 178 Suggestions for Further Reading......Page 183 Select Bibliography......Page 184 Contemporaneous Accounts and Sources......Page 186 Index......Page 189 Acknowledgments 6 Contents 9 Prologue: Béziers 11 Heresy and Orthodoxy 15 Dualism 16 The Good Religion 18 The World, the Flesh and the Devil 20 Essenes, Gnostics and the First Christians 24 The Council of Nicaea 28 Manichaeism and Other Dualist Heresies 31 The Bogomils 34 The Foxes in the Vineyard of the Lord 41 The First Western Heretics 41 Church Reforms 44 The First Cathars 46 The Living Icons 52 The Consolamentum 54 The Spread of Catharism 59 The Council of St Félix 61 Catharism in Italy 65 Map of the Languedoc in 1200 70 The Albigensian Crusade 71 The Languedoc at the Turn of the Thirteenth Century 71 Innocent III 75 An Enterprise of Peace and Faith 78 The Albigensian Crusade 83 Simon de Montfort 87 The Fourth Lateran Council 93 The Siege of Toulouse 94 De Montfort’s Impact on Catharism 96 The Changing of the Guard 99 The Peace of Paris 101 The Inquisition 105 The First Inquisitors 106 The Inquisition in the Languedoc 108 The Trencavel and St Gilles Revolts 112 The Fall of Montségur 114 The Inquisition after Montségur 118 The Fall of Quéribus 120 The Autier Revival 122 Peter Autier 124 The Endura 128 Geoffrey d’Ablis and Bernard Gui 132 The Last Perfect 133 Montaillou 136 Italy and Bosnia 139 Thirteenth-Century Italian Catharism 139 Map of Catharism in Italy 140 Cathar Writings 142 The Decline of Italian Catharism 144 The Last Cathars 146 The Enigma of the Bosnian Church 149 Map of the Bosnian and Bogomil Churches 150 The Cathar Treasure 154 The Cathars and the Holy Grail 154 The Troubadours and the Knights Templar 157 Modern Cathars 158 The Persecuting Society 161 Endnotes 165 Appendix I: Chronology 173 Appendix II: An Heretical Lexicon 178 Suggestions for Further Reading 183 Select Bibliography 184 Contemporaneous Accounts and Sources 186 Index 189 Catharism was the most successful heresy of the Middle Ages. Flourishing principally in the Languedoc and Italy, the Cathars taught that the world is evil and must be transcended through a simple life of prayer, work, fasting and non-violence. They believed themselves to be the heirs of the true heritage of Christianity going back to apostolic times, and completely rejected the Catholic Church and all its trappings, regarding it as the Church of Satan; Cathar services and ceremonies, by contrast, were held in fields, barns and in people’s homes. Finding support from the nobility in the fractious political situation in southern France, the Cathars also found widespread popularity among peasants and artisans. And again unlike the Church, the Cathars respected women, and women played a major role in the movement. Alarmed at the success of Catharism, the Church founded the Inquisition and launched the Albigensian Crusade to exterminate the heresy. While previous Crusades had been directed against Muslims in the Middle East, the Albigensian Crusade was the first Crusade to be directed against fellow Christians, and was also the first European genocide. With the fall of the Cathar fortress of Montsegur in 1244, Catharism was largely obliterated, although the faith survived into the early fourteenth century. Today, the mystique surrounding the Cathars is as strong as ever, and Sean Martin recounts their story and the myths associated with them in this lively and gripping book. It was the Feast Day of St Mary Magdalene, 22 July 1209, and an all-out massacre had not been planned.