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in 1209.]] Catharism was a name given to a religious sect with Gnostic elements that appeared in the Languedoc region of France in the 11th Century and flourished in the 12th and 13th Centuries . Catharism had its roots in the Paulician movement in Armenia and was also influenced by the Bogomiles with whom the Paulicians eventually merged. They also became influenced by Dualist and perhaps Manichaean beliefs. Like many medieval movements, there were various schools of thought and practice amongst the Cathari; some were dualistic, other gnostic, some closer to orthodoxy while abstaining from an acceptance of Roman Catholic doctrines. The dualist theology was the most prominent, however, and held that the physical world was evil and created by Satan , who was taken to be identical with the God of the Old Testament ; and that men underwent a series of Reincarnation s before reaching the pure realm of spirit, the presence of the God of Love described in the New Testament and his messenger Jesus . The Roman Catholic Church regarded the sect as Heretical ; faced with the rapid spread of the movement across the Languedoc and the failure of peaceful attempts at conversion, the Church launched the Albigensian Crusade to crush the movement. NAME There is consensus that ''Cathars'' was a name given to them and, not one that they chose. Indeed, the Cathars had no official name for their movement, preferring to refer to themselves only as ''Bons Hommes et Bonnes Femmes'' (Good Men and Good Women). The most popular theory is that the word ''Cathar'' most likely originated from Greek ''καθαροί'' (Katharoi), meaning "pure ones", a term related to the word Katharsis or Catharsis, meaning "purification". Another is that the term is abusive, referring to the bizarre and obscene ritual " Kiss Of The Cat ", which the Cathars were falsely rumored to practice. The first recorded use of the word is by religious authority Eckbert Von Schönau , who wrote of heretics from Cologne in 1181: ''Hos nostra Germania catharos appellat'' ("In Germany we call these people Cathars"). The Cathars were also sometimes referred to as the Albigensians. This name originates from the end of the 12th Century , and was used by the chronicler Geoffroy Du Breuil Of Vigeois in 1181. The name refers to the town of Albi (the ancient Albiga) northeast of Toulouse. The designation is misleading as the movement had no centre and is known to have flourished in areas that are now parts of Italy (e.g., Lombardy and Tuscany), Germany (particularly the Rhineland ), Northern France and Belgium, and Aragon & Catalonia in today's Spain, as well as the Languedoc. ORIGINS The Cathars' beliefs are thought to have come originally from Eastern Europe and the Byzantine Empire by way of Trade Route s. The name of Bulgarians (Bougres) was also applied to the Albigenses, and they maintained an association with the similar Christian movement the Bogomils ('Friends of God') of Thrace . Their doctrines have numerous resemblances to those of the Bogomils and the earlier Paulicians as well as the Manicheans and the Christian Gnostics of the first few centuries AD. Much of our existing knowledge of the Cathars is derived from their opponents, the writings of the Cathars having been destroyed because of the doctrinal threat they posed to Christian theology. For this reason it is likely, as with most heretical movements of the period, that we have only a partial view of their beliefs. Conclusions about Cathar ideology continue to be fiercely debated with commentators regularly accusing others of speculation, distortion and bias. There are a few texts from the Cathars themselves which were preserved by their opponents (the ''Rituel Cathare de Lyon'', the ''Nouveau Testament en Provencal'') which give us a glimpse of the inner working of their faith, but these still leave many questions unanswered. One large text which has survived, ''The Book of Two Principles'', elaborates the principles of dualistic theology from the point of view of some of the Albanenses Cathars. The first known Occitan Cathars appeared in Limousin between 1012 and 1020. Several were discovered and put to death at Toulouse in 1022. The synods of Charroux (Vienne) (1028) and Toulouse (1056) condemned the growing sect. Preachers were summoned to the districts of the Agenais and the Toulousain to combat the Cathar doctrine in the 1100s. The Cathars, however, gained ground in the south thanks to the protection given by William, Duke of Aquitaine , the Counts of Toulouse and a significant proportion of the southern nobility. A number of Catholic priests are also known to have adopted Cathar beliefs. People were impressed by the ''Bons Hommes'' and ''Bonnes Femmes'', and the anti-sacerdotal preaching of Peter Of Bruys and Henry Of Lausanne in Périgord . A landmark in the "institutional history" of the Cathars was the Council held in 1167 at Saint-Félix-Lauragais , attended by many local figures and also by the Bogomil ''papa'' Nicetas , the Cathar bishop of (northern) France and a leader of the Cathars of Lombardy . One of the unsolved debates among historians is whether Cathars represent a continuation of historic threads of Marcionism , Gnosticism and Manicheanism ; although there are, in fact, clear connections between the beliefs of the Cathars and, for example, the ''Treatise on Resurrection'' of the Nag Hammadi Codices. Nevertheless the possibility of independent re-invention cannot be entirely ruled out, or that the authors of the Nag Hammadi Codices and the Cathars were independently inspired by similar sources. BELIEFS General Cathars in general formed an anti- Sacerdotal party in opposition to the Catholic Church, protesting what they perceived to be the moral, spiritual, and political corruption of the Catholic Church. They claimed an Apostolic Connection to the early founders of Christianity and saw Rome as having betrayed and corrupted the original purity of the message. The human condition The Cathars claimed there existed within mankind a spark of divine light. This light, or spirit, had fallen into captivity within a realm of corruption — identified with the physical body and world. This was a distinct feature of classical Gnosticism , of Manichaeism and of the theology of the Bogomils. This concept of the human condition within Catharism was most probably due to direct and indirect historical influences from these older (and sometimes also violently suppressed) Gnostic movements. According to the Cathars, the world had been created by a lesser deity, much like the figure known in classical Gnostic myth as the Demiurge . This creative force was identified with the Old Testament God and was not the "True God", though he claimed for himself the title of the "one and only God". The Cathars identified this lesser deity, the Demiurge, with Satan . (Most forms of classical Gnosticism had not made this explicit link between the Demiurge and Satan). Essentially, the Cathars believed that the Old Testament God of Jews and Christians was an imposter, and His worship was a corrupt abomination infused by the failings of the material realm. Spirit — the vital essence of humanity — was thus trapped in a polluted world created by a usurper God and ruled by his corrupt minions. Eschatology The goal of Cathar . Those who were unable to achieve liberation during their current mortal journey would return another time to continue the struggle for perfection. Thus it should be understood that reincarnation was neither a necessary nor a desirable event, but a result of the fact that not all humans could break the enthralling chains of matter within a single lifetime. Consolamentum Cathar society was divided into two general categories, the '' Perfecti '' (Perfects, Parfaits) and the ''Credentes'' (Believers). The Perfecti were the core of the movement, though the actual number of Perfecti in Cathar society was always relatively small, numbering perhaps a few thousand at any one time. Regardless of their number, they represented the perpetuating heart of the Cathar tradition, the "true Christian Church". (When discussing the tenets of Cathar faith it must be understood that absolute demands of extreme Asceticism fell only upon the Perfecti.) An individual entered into the community of Perfecti through a of the Holy Spirit , baptismal regeneration, Absolution , and Ordination all in one. Upon reception of the consolamentum, the new Perfectus surrendered his or her worldly goods to the community, vested himself in a simple black robe with cord belt, and undertook a life dedicated to following the example of Christ and His Apostles — an often peripatetic life devoted to purity, prayer, preaching and charitable work, as it was claimed. Above all, the Perfecti were dedicated to enabling others find the road that led from the dark land ruled by the dark lord, to the realm of light which they believed to be humankind's first source and ultimate end. While the Perfecti vowed themselves to Ascetic lives of Simplicity , frugality and purity, Cathar '' Credentes '' (believers) were not expected to adopt the same stringent lifestyle. They were however expected to refrain from eating Meat and Dairy products, from killing and from swearing Oath s. Catharism was above all a populist Religion and the numbers of those who considered themselves "believers" in the late twelfth century included a sizable portion of the population of Languedoc, counting among them many noble families and courts. These individuals often drank, ate meat, and led relatively normal lives within medieval society — in contrast to the Perfecti, whom they honored as exemplars. Though unable to embrace the life of chastity, the credentes looked toward an eventual time when this would be their calling and path. Many credentes would also eventually receive the consolamentum as death drew near — performing the ritual of liberation at a moment when the heavy obligations of purity required of Perfecti would be temporally short. Some of those who received the sacrament of the consolamentum upon their death-beds may thereafter have shunned further food or drink in order to speed death. This has been termed the ''endura''. It was claimed by Catharism's opponents that by such self-imposed starvation, the Cathars were committing Suicide in order to escape this world. Other than at such moments of ''extremis'', however, little evidence exists to support such Cathar practices more generally. Theology The Catharist concept of Jesus might be called Docetistic - theologically speaking it resembled Modalistic Monarchism in the West and Adoptionism in the East. Simply put, most Cathars believed that Jesus had been a manifestation of spirit unbounded by the limitations of matter — a sort of divine phantom and not a real human being. They embraced the '' Gospel Of John '' as their most sacred text, and completely rejected the Old Testament — indeed, most of them proclaimed that the God of the Old Testament was, really, the Devil . They proclaimed that there was a higher God — the True God — and Jesus was his messenger. These are views similar to those of Marcion . The God found in the Old Testament had nothing to do with the God of Love known to Cathars. The Old Testament God had created the world as a movements and foreshadows later critical voices.) The dogma of the Trinity and the sacrament of the Eucharist , among others, were rejected as abominations. Belief in Metempsychosis , or the Transmigration of souls, resulted in the rejection of Hell and Purgatory , which were and are dogmas of the Roman Catholic Faith. For the Cathars, this world was the only Hell - there was nothing worse to fear after death, save perhaps a return visit to this world. While this is the understanding of Cathar theology related by the Catholic Church, crucial to the study of the Cathars is their fundamental disagreement over the meaning of "resurrection". In the book ''Massacre at Montsegur'' (a book widely regarded by medievalists as having a pro-Cathar bias) the Cathars are referred to as "Western Buddhists" because of their belief in "re-incarnation" and non-violence.''Massacre at Montsegur: A History of the Albigensian Crusade'', Zoe Oldenbourg Such were the disagreements that eventually led to the extermination of the sect. Social relationships From the theological underpinnings of the Cathar faith there came practical injunctions that were considered destabilizing to the mores of medieval society. For instance, Cathars rejected the giving of oaths as wrongful; an oath served to place one under the domination of the Demiurge and the world. To reject oaths in this manner was seen as anarchic in a society where illiteracy was wide-spread and almost all business transactions and pledges of allegiance were based on the giving of oaths. Sexual intercourse and reproduction propagated the slavery of spirit to flesh, hence procreation was considered undesirable. Informal relationships were considered preferable to marriage among Cathar credentes. Perfecti were supposed to observe complete celibacy, and separation from a partner would be necessary for those who would become Perfecti. For the credentes however, sexual activity was not prohibited, but the creation of children was strongly discouraged, resulting in the charge by their opponents of sexual perversion. The common English insult "bugger" is said to derive from "bulgar", the notion that cathars followed the "Bulgarian heresy" whose teaching entailed sexual activity which avoided procreation. Killing was abhorrent to the Cathars; so was the copulation that produced enslavement in matter. Consequently, abstention from all animal food except fish was enjoined of the Perfecti. (The Perfecti apparently avoided eating anything considered to be a by-product of sexual reproduction, including cheese, eggs, milk and butter.) War and capital punishment were also condemned, an abnormality in the medieval age. Such teachings, both in theological intent and practical consequence, brought upon the Cathars condemnation from civil and religious authorities as being enemies of Christian belief and social order. and the Cathars (Albigensians), in which the books of both were thrown on a fire and St. Dominic's books were miraculously preserved from the flames. Painting by Pedro Berruguete ]] SUPPRESSION In 1147, Pope Eugene III sent a legate to the affected district in order to arrest the progress of the Cathars. The few isolated successes of Bernard Of Clairvaux could not obscure the poor results of this mission, which clearly showed the power of the sect in the Languedoc at that period. The missions of Cardinal Peter Of St. Chrysogonus to Toulouse and the Toulousain in 1178, and of Henry, Cardinal-bishop Of Albano , in 1180–1181, obtained merely momentary successes. Henry Of Albano 's armed expedition, which took the stronghold at Lavaur, did not extinguish the movement. Decisions of Catholic Church councils against the Cathars at this period — in particular, those of the Council of Tours (1163) and of the Third Council Of The Lateran (1179) — had scarcely more effect. When Pope Innocent III came to power in 1198, he was resolved to deal with the Cathars. At first Innocent tried pacific conversion, and sent a number of legates into the affected regions. They had to contend not only with the Cathars, the nobles who protected them, and the people who venerated them, but also with many of the Bishop s of the region, who resented the considerable authority which the Pope had conferred upon the legates. In 1204, Innocent III suspended the authority of a number of bishops in the south of France; in 1205 he appointed a new and vigorous Bishop Of Toulouse , the former troubadour Foulques . In 1206 Diego Of Osma and his canon, the future Saint Dominic , began a programme of conversion in Languedoc; as part of this, Catholic-Cathar public debates were held at Verfeil , Servian , Pamiers , Montréal and elsewhere. Saint Dominic met and debated the Cathars in 1203 during his mission to the Languedoc. He concluded that only preachers who displayed real sanctity, humility and asceticism could win over convinced Cathar believers. His conviction led eventually to the establishment of the Dominican Order in 1216 . The order was to live up to the terms of his famous rebuke, "Zeal must be met by zeal, humility by humility, false sanctity by real sanctity, preaching falsehood by preaching truth." St. Dominic managed only few converts. Albigensian Crusade In January 1208 the papal legate, . This war threw the whole of the nobility of the north of France against that of the south. Possibly inspired by a papal decree stating that all land owned by the Cathars and their defenders could be confiscated. As the Languedoc was teeming with Cathars and their sympathisers, this made the territory a target for French nobles looking to gain new lands. The barons of the north headed south to do battle. Massacre The crusader army came under the command, both spiritual and military, of the papal legate Arnaud-Amaury , Abbot of Cîteaux . In the first significant engagement of the war, the town of Béziers was taken on 22 July 1209 . Arnaud, the Cistercian abbot-commander is supposed to have been asked how to tell Cathar from Roman Catholic . His famous reply, recalled by a fellow Cistercian , was ''"Caedite eos. Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius."'' — “Kill them all, the Lord will recognise His own”.“Caedite eos. Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eis.” Caesarius of Heisterbach, Caesarius Heiserbacencis monachi ordinis Cisterciensis, Dialogus miraculorum, ed. J. Strange, Cologne, 1851, J. M. Heberle, Vol 2 , 296-8. Caesarius (c) was a Cistercian Master of Novices. After a failed attack, the knights pursued the retreating Cathars back through the open gates of the city. The doors of the church of St Mary Magdalene were broken down and the refugees dragged out and slaughtered. Reportedly, 7,000 people died there including many women and children. Elsewhere in the town many more thousands were mutilated and killed. Prisoners were blinded, dragged behind horses, and used for target practice. What remained of the city was razed by fire. Arnaud, the abbot-commander, wrote to Pope Innocent III : "''Today your Holiness, twenty thousand heretics were put to the sword, regardless of rank, age, or sex''".Patrologia Latinae cursus completus, series Latina, 221 vols., ed. J-P Migne ), Paris, Vol. 216:col 139 The population of Béziers was then probably no more than 15,000 but with local refugees seeking shelter within the city walls, the number claimed, 20,000, is possible. It was after the success of the siege of Carcassonne which followed the massacre at Beziers, that Simon De Montfort was appointed to lead the Crusader army. Prominent opponents of the Crusaders were Raymond-Roger De Trencavel , viscount of Carcassonne, and his feudal overlord Peter II , the king of Aragon , who owned fiefdoms and had other vassals in the area. Peter died fighting against the crusade on September 12 , 1213 at the Battle Of Muret . Treaty and persecution The war ended in the Treaty Of Paris ( 1229 ), by which the king of France dispossessed the house of Toulouse of the greater part of its Fiefs , and that of the Trencavels (Viscounts of Béziers and Carcassonne) of the whole of their fiefs. The independence of the princes of the Languedoc was at an end. But in spite of the wholesale massacre of Cathars during the war, Catharism was not yet extinguished. In 1215 , the bishops of the Catholic Church met at the Fourth Council Of The Lateran under Pope Innocent. One of the key goals of the council was to combat the heresy of the Cathars without explaining exactly what that heresy originated with: the Cathar's interpretation of the Doctrine of the 'resurrection' as meaning "reincarnation". |
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