In the 13th century, a group of heretics in southwest France, the Cathars, became a serious threat to the Catholic church. In several waves of repression, thousands of Cathars were killed. Yet so ardent was their faith that, early in the next century, the Cathars rose one last time. Using the breathtakingly detailed and uniquely extant documentation from this period, and drawing on his intimate knowledge of the last Cathars' tracks and hiding places, many of which survive to this day, Ren??? Weis tells the full story of ...
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In the 13th century, a group of heretics in southwest France, the Cathars, became a serious threat to the Catholic church. In several waves of repression, thousands of Cathars were killed. Yet so ardent was their faith that, early in the next century, the Cathars rose one last time. Using the breathtakingly detailed and uniquely extant documentation from this period, and drawing on his intimate knowledge of the last Cathars' tracks and hiding places, many of which survive to this day, Ren??? Weis tells the full story of this gripping historical episode.
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Very Good. No Jacket. Card covers, tall 8vo, pp. lvi, 453. Colour ills. A little shelfwear in places, with light creasing to lower corners of covers and down spine, which may be lightly sunned but retains distinct titling and illustration. Contents very clean and tight. VG Size: 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall.
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If you have any doubt that religion is the curse of mankind, read this book -- by a London University Professor of English Literature, Rene Weiss. It is probably best read after Le Roy Ladurie's 'Montallou', and Zoe Oldenburg's 'Massacre at Montsegur' for background (and though a bit academic, it does stand well on its own too). The information on which the book is based is taken from the Inquisitorial Registers and the Vatican Library. There is a cast of hundreds (with a handy guide appended to help keep track). Catharism was a medieval heresy. To quote Weiss: "Here was a dissident faith with, at its doctrinal core, gentleness and the promise of universal redemption. It was inspired by the New Testament and it was Christ and his disciples whom the spiritual leaders of the Cathar church, the so called 'Perfects', emulated. The Cathar's opposition to all forms of killing extended to human and all animal life alike, and like Christ they intended to forgive those who persecuted them. To encounter such a philosophy in the long-distant past is in itself surprising; to learn that in the thirteenth century Languedoc it inspired tens of thousands of ordinary men and women to risk their lives is astonishing". They were wiped out by the Catholic Inquisition. The main players are: 1. Jacques Fournier, fanatical believer in the law, ruthless Dominican, Grand Inquisitor of Sabartes -- who even ordered the digging up of the corpses of heretics -- later to become Pope Benedict XII. He was very fat, died of gangrene in 1342 and was buried adjacent to the Papal Palace in Avignon. During the renovations of 1765 his body was dug up and found to be wearing a ring of garnets and rubies surrounding Christ and the Virgin, and rings inscribed 'Ecce ancilla Domini' -- behold the servant of the Lord, and 'Missus est Angelus' -- the angel has been sent. They were claimed by the then archbishop for himself. 2. The powerful Clergue family of Montallou, with Pierre, its sexually rampant priest, ready to run with the fox and hunt with the hounds, be they Catholic or Cathar. 3. Pierre Maury, shepherd and Cathar guide, generous to a fault, hero of the story ( if a film were to be made he would be played by Sebastien Duperdu). Apprehended in 1323 and brought before Fournier, imprisoned in manacles for life with his brother but considered too small fry to be burned. A fascinating read for anyone interested in details of French medieval daily life, or in the Cathars per se, and in the history of Christianity.
