Cathars being expelled from Carcassone in 1209.

Catharism was a movement with Gnostic elements that originated around the middle of the 10th century, branded by the contemporary Roman Catholic Church as heretical. It existed throughout much of Western Europe, but its home was in Languedoc and surrounding areas in southern France. The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... For other uses of the name Carcassonne, see Carcassonne (disambiguation). ... Events Albigensian Crusade against Cathars (1209-1218) the Franciscans are founded. ... This article may be too technical for most readers to understand. ... ( 9th century - 10th century - 11th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 10th century was that century which lasted from 901 to 1000. ... Saint Peters Basilica in Rome. ... Heresy, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is a theological or religious opinion or doctrine maintained in opposition, or held to be contrary, to the ‘catholic’ or orthodox doctrine of the Christian Church, or, by extension, to that of any church, creed, or religious system, considered as orthodox. ... Western Europe is distinguished from Eastern Europe by differences of history and culture rather than by geography. ... Coat of arms of the province of Languedoc, now being used as an official flag by the Midi-Pyrénees region as well as by the city of Toulouse Languedoc (Lengadòc in Occitan) is a former province of France, now continued in the modern-day régions of Languedoc...

The name Cathar most likely originated from Greek catharos, "the pure ones". One of the first recorded uses is Eckbert von Schönau who wrote on heretics from Cologne in 1181: "Hos nostra germania catharos appellat."

The Cathars are also called 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 southern town of Albi (the ancient Albiga). The designation is hardly exact, for the centre was at Toulouse and in the neighbouring districts. (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... Geoffroy du Breuil of Vigeois was a 12th century French chronicler. ... Events Jayavarman VII assumes control of the Khmer kingdom. ... Albi is also a municipality in the comarca (county) of Garrigues, in Catalonia. ... The Capitole, the 18th century city hall of Toulouse and best known landmark in the city; in the foreground is the Place du Capitole, a hub of urban life at the very center of the city Toulouse (pronounced in standard French, in local Toulouse accent) ( Occitan: Tolosa, pronounced ) is a...

Origins

The beliefs came originally from Eastern Europe by way of trade routes. The name of Bulgarians (Bougres) was also applied to the Albigenses, and they maintained an association with the Bogomils of Thrace. Their doctrines have numerous resemblances to those of the Bogomils, and still more to those of the Paulicians, with whom they are also sometimes connected. It is difficult to form any precise idea of the Cathar doctrines, as all the existing knowledge of them is derived from their opponents, and the few texts from the Cathars (the Rituel Cathare de Lyon and the Nouveau Testament en Provencal) contain very little information concerning their beliefs and moral practices. What is certain is that they formed an anti-sacerdotal party in opposition to the Catholic Church, and raised a continued protest against perceived corruption of the clergy. The Cathar theologians, called Cathari or perfecti by their Catholic executioners and judges, they were known to themselves, their followers and even their co-citizens as 'bons hommes' or 'bons chretiens', literally 'good men' or 'good chistians', were few in number; the mass of believers (credentes) were not initiated into the doctrine at all - they were allegedly freed from all moral prohibition and all religious obligation, on condition that they promised by an act called convenenza to become "hereticized" by receiving the consolamentum, the baptism of the Spirit, before their death. Eastern Europe is, by convention, that part of Europe from the Ural and Caucasus mountains in the East to an arbitrarily chosen boundary in the West. ... A trade route is a commonly used path of travel for those (e. ... Bogomils was the name of an ancient Gnostic religious community which is thought to have originated in Bulgaria. ... Thrace is a historical and geographic area in south-east Europe spread over southern Bulgaria, north-eastern Greece, and European Turkey. ... Bogomils was the name of an ancient Gnostic religious community which is thought to have originated in Bulgaria. ... Roman Catholic priest LCDR Allen R. Kuss (USN) aboard USS Enterprise A priest or priestess is a holy man or woman who takes an officiating role in worship of any religion, with the distinguishing characteristic of offering sacrifices. ... Consolamentum, known as heretication to its critics, was the baptismal sacrament of the Albigensians. ...

The first French 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, and a significant proportion of the southern nobility. The people were impressed by the bons hommes, and the anti-sacerdotal preaching of Peter of Bruys and Henry of Lausanne in Perigord. Capital Limoges Area 16,942 km² Regional President Jean-Paul Denanot Population  - 2004 estimate  - 1999 census  - Density 710,939 42/km² Arrondissements 8 Cantons 106 Communes 747 Départements Corrèze Creuse Haute-Vienne Limousin is a former province of France and now a region of France, around the city... Events Mael Morda starts a rebellion against Brian Boru in Ireland, which would eventually end in 1014 at the Battle of Clontarf. ... Events Hospice built in Jerusalem by Knights Hospitaller City of Saint-Germain-en-Laye founded Births Harold Godwinson, king of England Empress Agnes, regent of the Holy Roman Empire Deaths June 20 - Lyfing, Archbishop of Canterbury Ferdowsi Tousi, Persian epic poet Categories: 1020 ... The Capitole, the 18th century city hall of Toulouse and best known landmark in the city; in the foreground is the Place du Capitole, a hub of urban life at the very center of the city Toulouse (pronounced in standard French, in local Toulouse accent) ( Occitan: Tolosa, pronounced ) is a... Events Several Catharist heretics are killed in Toulouse. ... Events November 12 - Dying Emperor Constantine VIII of the Byzantine Empire marries his daughter Zoe of Byzantium to his chosen heir Romanus Argyrus. ... Events Anselm of Canterbury leaves Italy. ... Centuries: 11th century - 12th century - 13th century Decades: 1050s 1060s 1070s 1080s 1090s - 1100s - 1110s 1120s 1130s 1140s 1150s Years: 1100 1101 1102 1103 1104 1105 1106 1107 1108 1109 Events and Trends 1107 Emperor Toba ascends the throne of Japan The great Buddhist centre of learning at Nalanda is... Capital Bordeaux Area 41,309 km² Regional President Alain Rousset ( PS) (since 1998) Population   - 2004 estimate   - 1999 census   - Density (Ranked 6th) 3,049,000 2,908,359 74/km² (2004) Arrondissements 18 Cantons 235 Communes 2,296 Départements Dordogne Gironde Landes Lot-et-Garonne Pyrénées-Atlantiques Aquitaine... Peter of Bruys (or de Bruis) (1st half 12th Century) -- Peter was an early heretic in medieval Europe. ... Henry of Lausanne (variously known as of Bruys, of Cluny, of Toulouse, and as the Deacon), French heresiarch of the first half of the 12th century. ...

Beliefs

Catharism was based on the idea that the world was evil. This was a distinct feature of older versions of Gnosticism and Neoplatonism, such as Manicheanism and the theology of the Bogomils, and the appearance of this idea in Catharism was probably due to the influence of these older Gnostic lines of thought. According to the Cathars, the world had been created by an evil deity known to the Gnostics as the Demiurge. The Cathars identified the Demiurge with the being the Christians called Satan. Earlier Gnostics, however, did not identify the Demiurge with Satan. This article may be too technical for most readers to understand. ... Neoplatonism (also Neo-Platonism) is an ancient school of philosophy beginning in the 3rd century A.D. It was based on the teachings of Plato and Platonists; but it interpreted Plato in many new ways, such that Neoplatonism was quite different from what Plato taught, though not many Neoplatonists would... Manichaeism was one of the major ancient religions. ... Bogomils was the name of an ancient Gnostic religious community which is thought to have originated in Bulgaria. ... The term Demiurge (or Yaldabaoth, Yao and several other variants, such as Ptahil used in Mandaeanism) refers in some belief systems to a deity responsible for the creation of the physical universe and the physical aspect of humanity. ... Christianity is an Abrahamic religion based on the life, teachings, death by crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth as described in the New Testament. ... Gustave Dores depiction of Satan from John Miltons Paradise Lost Satan (שָׂטָן Standard Hebrew Satan, Latin Sátanas, Tiberian Hebrew Śāṭān; Aramaic שִׂטְנָא Śiṭnâ: both words mean Adversary; accuser) is an angel, demon, or minor god in many religions. ...

The Cathars also believed that souls would be reborn when they escaped the material world and succeeded to the immaterial heaven. The way to escape was to live an ascetic's life, and to be not corrupted by the world. Those that did live this life were called 'Perfects' (Parfaits). They had the power to wipe away a person's sins and connections to the material world, so that they would go to heaven when they died. The Perfects themselves lived lives of unimpeachable frugality, in stark contrast to that lived within the corrupt and opulent church of the time. Commonly, the wiping away of sin, called the consolamentum, was performed on someone about to die. After receiving this, the believer would almost always stop eating, so that they could die faster, and with less taint from the world. The consolamentum was the only sacrament of the Cathar faith. They did not perform any rite of marriage, as procreation (bringing more souls into the world) was frowned upon. It was as a result of this particular belief that the term "buggery" was coined (after the 'Bulgars', or 'Bougres') since if they were to give in to sexual temptation, this would at least ensure that no children resulted. Reincarnation, also called transmigration of souls, is the rebirth in another body (after physical death), of some critical part of a persons personality or spirit. ... The word ascetic derives from the ancient Greek term askesis (practice, training or exercise). ... A sacrament is a Christian rite that mediates divine grace. ...

The Cathars also held many beliefs that were odious to the rest of medieval society. They believed that Jesus had been an apparition, a ghost, that showed the way to God. They refused to believe that the good God could or would come in material form, since all physical objects were tainted by sin. This specific belief is called docetism. Furthermore, they believed that the God of the Old Testament was the Devil, since he had created the world. They also did not believe in any sacrament except the consolamentum, which was another major heresy. Jesus, also known as Jesus Christ, is the central figure in Christianity. ... The term God is used to designate a Supreme Being; however, there are countless definitions of God. ... In Christianity, Docetism is the belief that Jesus did not have a physical body; rather, that his body was an illusion, as was his crucifixion. ... The Old Testament or the Hebrew Scriptures (also called the Hebrew Bible) constitutes the first major part of the Bible according to Christianity. ...

Women were treated as equals, because their physical form was irrelevant; their soul could have been a man's soul before, and it might once again become one.

Cathar Perfects were also vegetarians. They were required to avoid eating anything considered to be a by product of sexual reproduction, including cheese, eggs, milk and butter. Having said this, they were allowed to eat fish, as little was then known about the mating habits of marine creatures which were generally believed to simply appear spontaneously in the sea.

One of their ideas most heretical to feudal Europe was the belief that oaths were a sin, because they attached you to the world. To call them a sin in this manner was very dangerous in a society where illiteracy was wide-spread and almost all business transactions and pledges of allegiance were based on oaths.

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, and well shows the power of the sect in the south of France 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, where he took the stronghold at Lavaur, did not extinguish the movement. Events King Afonso I of Portugal and the Crusaders capture Lisbon from Muslims First written mention of Moscow. ... The Blessed Eugene III, né Bernardo Pignatelli (d. ... Bernard of Clairvaux, illustrated in A Short History of Monks and Monasteries by Alfred Wesley Wishart, 1900 Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (Fontaines, near Dijon, 1090 – August 21, 1153 in Clairvaux) was a French abbot and theologian who was the main voice of conservatism during the intellectual revival of Western Europe...

The persistent decisions of the 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. Pope Innocent III, however, when he came to power in 1198, resolved to suppress the Albigenses. Location within France Tours is a city in France, the préfecture (capital city) of the Indre-et-Loire département, on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. ... Events Owain Gwynedd is recognized as ruler of Wales. ... The Third Council of the Lateran met in March, 1179 as the 11th ecumenical council. ... Events Third Council of the Lateran condemned Waldensians and Cathars as heretics, institutes a reformation of clerical life, and creates the first ghettos for Jews Afonso I is recognized as the true King of Portugal by Portugal the protection of the Catholic Church against the Castillian monarchy Philip II is... Innocent III, né Lotario de Conti ( 1161–June 16, 1216), was Pope from January 8, 1198 until his death. ... Events End of the reign of Emperor Go-Toba of Japan Emperor Tsuchimikado ascends to the throne of Japan January 8 - Pope Innocent III ascends Papal Throne Births August 24 - Alexander II of Scotland (d. ...

At first he 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 the bishops of the district, who rejected the extraordinary authority which the Pope had conferred upon his legates. In 1204 Innocent III suspended the authority of the bishops in the south of France. Papal legate Peter of Castelnau, known for excommunicating the noblemen who protected the Cathars, retaliated in 1207 by excommunicating the Count of Toulouse, as an abettor of heresy. He was murdered near Saint Gilles Abbey in 1208 on his way back to Rome, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, "probably at the connivance of Raymond VI, count of Toulouse". As soon as he heard of the murder of Peter of Castelnau, the Pope ordered his legates to preach the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars. A bishop is an ordained member of the Christian clergy who holds a specific position of authority in any of a number of Christian churches. ... The Pope is the Catholic Bishop and patriarch of Rome, and head of the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches. ... Events February - Byzantine emperor Alexius IV is overthrown in a revolution, and Alexius V is proclaimed emperor. ... Events Stephen Langton consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury June 17 by Pope Innocent III Births September 8 - King Sancho II of Portugal October 1 - Henry III of England (English monarch) in Winchester Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi (poet and Sufi mystic) Elizabeth of Hungary St. ... Abettor (from to abet, O. Fr. ... Events Philip of Swabia King of Germany and rival Holy Roman Emperor to Otto IV, assassinated June 21 in Bamberg by German Count Otto of Wittelsbach because Philip had refused to give him his daughter in marriage. ... Location within Italy The Roman Colosseum Rome (Italian and Latin: Roma) is the capital city of Italy and of its Latium region. ... Raymond VI of Toulouse (October 27, 1156 - August 2, 1222) was count of Toulouse from 1194 to 1222. ... The Albigensian Crusade (1209-1229) was a 20-year military effort initiated by the Roman Catholic Church to eliminate the Cathars in southern France, a sect considered heretical by the Roman Catholic hierarchy. ...

This war threw the whole of the nobility of the north of France against that of the south, possibly instigated by a papal decree stating that all land owned by Cathars could be confiscated at will. As the area was full of Cathar sympathisers, this made the entire area a target for northern nobles looking to gain new lands. It is thus hardly surprising that the barons of the north flocked south to do battle for the Church.

In one famous incident in 1209, most of Béziers was slaughtered by the Catholic forces headed by the Papal legate. Arnaud-Amaury, the Abbot of Citeaux, was asked how to distinguish between the Catholic and Cathars, and allegedly answered, "Kill them all, God will know his own". The Catholic Encyclopedia denies these words were ever spoken. Events Albigensian Crusade against Cathars (1209-1218) the Franciscans are founded. ...

The war also involved Peter II, the king of Aragon, who owned fiefdoms and had vassals in the area. Peter died fighting against the crusade on September 12, 1213 at the Battle of Muret. Peter II of Aragon (1174 - September 12, 1213), surnamed the Catholic, was the king of Aragon (as Pedro II) and count of Barcelona (as Pere I) from 1196 to 1213. ... Capital Zaragoza Area  – Total  – % of Spain Ranked 4th  47 719 km²  9,4% Population  – Total (2003)  – % of Spain  – Density Ranked 11th  1 217 514  2,9%  25,51/km² Demonym  – English  – Spanish  Aragonese  aragonés Statute of Autonomy August 16, 1982 ISO 3166-2 AR Parliamentary representation  – Congress seats  – Senate seats... September 12 is the 255th day of the year (256th in leap years). ... Events Alix of Thouars, heiress of the duchy of Brittany marries Peter of Dreux; beginning of the Dreux rule in Brittany, which would last until 1514 Births March 9 - Hugh IV, Duke of Burgundy Deaths September 12 - Peter II of Aragon at the Battle of Muret Heads of state France...

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 Beziers of the whole of its fiefs. The independence of the princes of the south was at an end. But in spite of the wholesale massacre of Cathars during the war, Catharism was not extinguished. Events March 18 - Sixth Crusade of Emperor Frederick II ends in truce with Sultan al-Kamil and coronation of Frederick as King of Jerusalem. ... B ziers (Besi rs in Occitan) is a city in Languedoc, in the southwest of France. ...

The Inquisition was established in 1229 to root out the Cathars. Operating in the south at Toulouse, Albi, Carcassonne and other towns during the whole of the 13th century and a great part of the 14th, it succeeded in extirpating the movement. From May 1243 to March 1244, the Cathar citadel of Montségur was besieged by the troops of the seneschal of Carcassonne and the archbishop of Narbonne. On March 16, 1244 a large and symbolically important execution took place, where leaders of Catharism together with more than 200 Cathar laity were thrown into an enormous fire at the prat des cramats near the foot of the castle. Moreover, the church decreed severe chastisement against all laymen suspected of sympathy with Cathars (Council of Narbonne, 1235; Bull Ad extirpanda, 1252). Pedro Berruguete. ... For other uses of the name Carcassonne, see Carcassonne (disambiguation). ... March 16 is the 75th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (76th in Leap years). ... Events Sultan Malik al-Muattam razes city walls. ... Cathedral in Narbonne. ... Events Anglo-Norman invasion of Connacht St. ... Ad extirpanda is a papal bull issued on May 15, 1252, by Pope Innocent IV. It authorized the use of torture for eliciting confessions from heretics during the Inquisition and explicitly condoned the practice of executing relapsed heretics by burning them alive. ...

Hunted down by the Inquisition and abandoned by the nobles of the district, the Albigenses became more and more scattered, hiding in the forests and mountains, and only meeting surreptitiously. The people made some attempts to overthrow the Inquisition and the French, and insurrections broke out under the leadership of Bernard of Foix, Aimerv of Narbonne and Bernard Délicieux at the beginning of the 14th century. But at this point vast inquests were set on foot by the Inquisition, which increased its efforts in the district. Precise indications of these are found in the registers of the Inquisitors, Bernard of Caux, Jean de St Pierre, Geoffroy d'Ablis, and others. The sect was exhausted and could find no more adepts and after 1330 the records of the Inquisition contain few proceedings against Cathars. The last Cathar Perfect, Guillaume Bélibaste, was executed in 1321. Other heretical movements, such as the anti-trinitarian Waldensians and the pantheistic Brethren of the Free Spirit survived into the 14th and 15th century, until they were gradually replaced by early Protestant sects, such as the Hussites. Events Births Deaths September 14 - Dante Alighieri - author of The Divine Comedy, one of the great classics of World Literature and a foundation of Italian Literature, also considered a great masterpiece of Christian literature. ... The Waldensians were followers of Peter Waldo (or Valdes or Vaudes); they called themselves the Poor men of Lyon, the Poor of Lombardy, or the Poor. ... The Brethren of the Free Spirit (Brüder und Schwestern des Freien Geistes) was a medieval heretical pantheistic movement. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... The Hussites comprised an early Protestant Christian movement, followers of Jan Hus. ...

Influences

• Christian Rosencreuz, according to some, may have been associated with an underground Cathar movement that hid from the Inquisition. However, this is highly unlikely because there is absolutely no evidence that the Cathar movement still existed by Rosencreuz' time, nor is there any concrete evidence that Rosencreuz existed at all.

According to the Rosicrucian legend, the order began with one Christian Rosenkreuz, born in 1378 in Germany. ...

The Holy Grail

It has been suggested in some modern fiction and non-fiction books that the Cathars could have been the protectors of the Holy Grail of Christian mythology, especially in the book Holy Blood, Holy Grail, although modern investigation into this book has largely discredited its findings. In Christian mythology, the Holy Grail was the dish, plate, cup or vessel that Jesus drank from during the Last Supper. ... Holy Blood, Holy Grail is a New York Times bestseller and work of pseudohistory written by authors Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln, which was published in 1982 by Dell (ISBN 055212138). ...

References

• Histories of the Cathars: Montaillou: The Promised Land of Error, Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie, trans. Barbera Bray, Vintage Books, 1979
• Montsegur and the Mystery of the Cathars, Jean Markale, ISBN 0-89281-090-4, Inner Traditions, http://www.innertraditions.com/titles/momyca.html
• The Cathars, Malcolm Lambert, ISBN 0-631-14343-2, Blackwell, 1998
• The Treasure of Montsegur: A Novel of the Cathars, Sophy Burnham, ISBN 0060000791, Harper, 2002
• The Perfect Heresy, Stephen Shea, ISBN 1-86197-350-0, Profile Books 2000, http://www.profilebooks.co.uk/title.php?titleissue_id=26
• Heresy and the Inquisition II Persecution of Heretics (http://www.askwhy.co.uk/christianity/0811Inquisition.html) by Dr M D Magee, 12 December 2002.
• B&B Accommodation near Cathar castles (http://www.esperazabedandbreakfast.com)
• The Cathars of the Langudoc (http://www.languedoc-france.info/12_cathars.htm) James McDonald, 2005.

Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie (born 1929) is a noted French historian whose work is focused upon Languedoc in the ancien regime focusing on the history of the peasantry. ... December 12 is the 346th day (347th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External Links

• seal of france (http://www.nd.edu/~medvllib/seals/soeast.html)
• Visiting the Cathar Castles (http://france-for-visitors.com/languedoc/cathar-castles.html) - In English

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... The Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1911) in many ways represents the sum of knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century. ...