The Cathars: The History and Legacy of the Gnostic Christian Sect During the Middle Ages

by Charles River Editors

*Includes pictures *Includes medieval accounts *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents “The Roman Church...[says] that the heretics they persecute are the church of wolves. But this is absurd, for the wolves have always pursued and killed the sheep, and today it would have to be the other way around for the sheep to be so mad as to bite, pursue, and kill the wolves, and for the wolves to be so patient as to let the sheep devour them!” – Excerpt from the alleged writings of the Cathars The unique, copper-red hue of the naturally cracked earth on the foothills of the French Pyrenees is obviously stunning, but if the rumors are to be believed, they, too, are rich with medicinal properties. For centuries, locals have been scooping up and bottling the precious dirt and turning them into an array of poultices, salves, and even tonics. This land is also home to several legends and local traditions. When the earth is drenched by heavy storms, the crumbling red soil drifts into the River Aude, staining the water with crimson. This beautiful, yet haunting phenomenon, which the locals call the “blood of the Cathars,” is a symbolic reminder of the blood shed by these “heretics” at the hands of the Catholic Church. Despite the controversial events, and their supposed heresy, it seemed that the fall of the Cathars brought an everlasting curse upon the region. As one unnamed farmer, documented by French medievalist Jean Duernoy, put it, “Since the heretics were chased away from Sabartes, there is no longer good weather in this area.” Another notary from Tarn echoed his sentiments, asserting, “When the heretics lived in these lands, we did not have so many storms and lightning. Now that we are with Franciscans and Dominicans, the lightning strikes more frequently...” But who were these Cathars, and why was the Catholic Church so committed to getting rid of them? The The History and Legacy of the Gnostic Christian Sect During the Middle Ages examines the origins of the cult, their fascinating belief system, their gradual development over the years, and the events that contributed to their epic downfall. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about the Cathars like never before.

Genres: History, Religion, Nonfiction

64 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 31, 2018

About the author

Charles River Editors is an independent publisher of thousands of ebooks on Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and Apple iBookstore & provider of original content for third parties.

Reviews

[James Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

The basic theme of this book is about a Christian group that didn't adhere to the strict ideology of the Church and so they were wiped out. Literally. Killed to the last person because their belief did not toe the 'official' line.

The book discusses the Holy Grail, Mary Magdalene and her journey to France and her eventual death there.

The Cathars believed that Mary and Jesus were married and had two sons and one daughter. After the supposed death of Jesus Mary and one of the sons went north, another son went with Joseph of Arimathea to England and Jesus and their daughter went to Rennes-la-Chateau. They believed that Jesus was a celestial being. There was no virgin birth, no Holy Trinity, no cross and no resurrection. They did believe in reincarnation. They were vegetarians. There was no actual priesthood.

One interesting point was that the Catholic Church demanded people pay 10% of their wages to them or be excommunicated.

The Cathars built hospitals, monasteries, schools and even helped worker guilds.

Their children taught the Essenes, the Knights Templar and the Cathars.

This was also tied in to the Arthurian kings and the Merovingean kings.

In one occasion 20,000 men, women and children who were Cathars or associated with them were trapped in a basilica which was then set on fire, killing every single one of them. Also at times Cathars were burned alive at the stake. The Church profited by taking Cathar assets.



Granted, the Cathar beliefs included some rather unusual things but was that justification for committing genocide on them? Of course, they weren't the only group wiped out by the Church for the Knights Templar, who fought bravely in the Crusades, were also murdered and their assets seized by the Church.

A very good but upsetting book.

[Richard Brylczyk · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having heard the name but being totally ignorant of the Cathars I red this book to learn more. The migration of gnostic creeds to the homeland of the Cathars was interesting as was the description of their persecution in the Middle Ages. I had hoped for a less abrupt ending with some thoughts on their legacy, if any, in the current time. The bibliography provided in the references may provide the information I sought, but a high level summary would have been appreciated.

[Gerard Delaney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most enlightening! Almost embarrassing the Papal behaviour , pecuniary interests and intolerance. The Middle Ages seem just to be an extension of The Dark Ages,

Most enlightening! Almost embarrassing the Papal behaviour, pecuniary interests and intolerance, The Middle Ages seem just to be an extension of The Dark Ages,

[Vickie Woodard · Rating 5 out of 5]

A much persecuted religious body, the Cathars existed mainly in western Europe. They believed in two Gods: the God of the New Testament and an evil God, the ruler of our physical world.
The Catholic church went to great lengths to eradicate the Cathars. I don't understand why they were so threatened.

[Eddie Reynolds Manzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Great Read: Cathars got bunged up!

Yep. Dissent was not tolerated by the Roman Church. This was the systematic extermination of dissenting views - interpretation of documents. Gnostic teachers had to be rounded up for reeducation. Or hanged.