Cathars in Question

Description

Cathars have long been regarded as posing the most organised challenge to orthodox Catholicism in the medieval West, even as a "counter-Church" to orthodoxy in southern France and northern Italy. Their beliefs, understood to be inspired by Balkan dualism, are often seen as the most radical among medieval heresies. However, recent work has fiercely challenged this paradigm, arguing instead that "Catharism" is a construct, mis-named and mis-represented by generations of scholars, and its supposedly radical views were a fantastical projection of the fears of orthodox commentators. This volume brings together a wide range of views from some of the most distinguished internationalscholars in the field, in order to address the debate directly while also opening up new areas for research. Focussing on dualism and anti-materialist beliefs in southern France, Italy and the Balkans, it considers a number of crucial issues. These include: what constitutes popular belief; how (and to what extent) societies of the past were based on the persecution of dissidents; and whether heresy can be seen as an invention of orthodoxy. At the same time, the essays shed new light on some key aspects of the political, cultural, religious and economic relationships between the Balkans and more western regions of Europe in the Middle Ages. Contents Acknowledgments 1 Questions about the Cathars 2 The Paradigm of Catharism; or, the Historians’ Illusion 3 The Cathar Middle Ages as a Methodological and Historiographical Problem 4 The Heretical Dissidence of the ‘Good Men’ in the Albigeois (1276–1329): Localism and Resistance to Roman Clericalism 5 The heretici of Languedoc: Local Holy Menand Women or Organized Religious Group? New Evidence from Inquisitorial, Notarial and Historiographical Sources 6 Cathar Links with the Balkans and Byzantium 7 Pseudepigraphic and Parabiblical Narratives in Medieval Eastern Christian Dualism , and their Implications for the Study of Catharism 8 The Cathars from Non-Catholic Sources 9 Converted-Turned-Inquisitors and the Image of the Adversary: Ranier Sacconi Explains Cathars 10 The Textbook Heretic: Moneta of Cremona’s Cathars 11 ‘Lupi rapaces in ovium vestimentis’: Heretics and Heresy in Papal Correspondence 12 Looking for the ‘Good Men’ in the Languedoc: An Alternative to ‘Cathars’? 13 Principles at Stake: The Debate of April 2013 in Retrospect 14 Goodbye to Catharism? Appendix A. Bernard Gui and names Appendix B. Heretics at Montségur: A Summary Appendix C. Translations of Geoffrey of Auxerre and Geoffrey of Vigeois Index