The Cathars: The Rise and Fall of the Great Heresy - Softcover

Martin, Seán

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1843443368 ISBN 13: 9781843443360

Publisher: Oldcastle Books Ltd, 2014

Synopsis

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.

About this title

About the Author

Seán Martin is a writer, poet and filmmaker. He is the author of The Knights Templar, The Cathars, The Gnostics, The Black Death, Alchemy and Alchemists, A Short History of Disease and, for Kamera Books, Andrei Tarkovsky and New Waves in Cinema. His films include Lanterna Magicka: Bill Douglas & the Secret History of Cinema (released by the BFI), Folie à Deux and a series of documentaries on the filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky: Tarkovsky's Andrei Rublev: A Journey (released by Criterion), The Dream in the Mirror (released by Criterion), The Last Dream: Andrei Tarkovsky and The Sacrifice and A Dream of Italy: Tarkovsky and Nostalghia. Martin won the Wigtown Poetry Prize in 2011, and his collection of poems, The Girl Who Got onto the Ferry in Citizen Kane, is published by Templar Poetry.

Edition details

• Publisher: Oldcastle Books Ltd
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1843443368
• ISBN 13: 9781843443360
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256