Sean Martin's 'The Cathars' 2005

 

Pocket Essentials first edition - 2005

This is part of a series of short books on history topics published by Pocket Essentials. The author, Sean Martin, had already produced The Black Death, Alchemy and Alchemists and The Knights Templar for them. Like Aubrey Burl (see last Blog), he is not a professional Historian, but a filmmaker, poet and writer. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as some 'professional' Historians are as boring as they come. I read this immediately after Burl's account - even though I have had Martin's book several years - simply to make a little more sense of the Cathars and the Albigensian crusade. It certainly helped.

What I found particularly useful was Martin putting the Cathars in the context of other 'dualist heresies'. I had never heard of Bogomilism until relatively recently. Founded by the priest Bogomil in the early 10th century, it not only influenced Catharism but considerably outlived the latter, with reports of Bogomils continuing up to the 19th century. Another dualist religion, founded by the Persian prophet Mani (216-75), was Manichaeism - it became a byword for heretic in the Middle Ages. This is not to be confused with Marcionism, a Gnostic dualist sect that taught the principle of the two gods, with Christ being the son of the true god, and the Jehovah of the Old Testament being seen as the evil god. I must admit I have a great deal of sympathy for this belief, as I admire the teaching of the Four Gospels (rather than the Pauline teachings) and dislike most of the Old Testament. Other dualist heresies included Paulicianism, which emerged in 7th century Armenia, and Nestorianism, founded by Nestorius (c.386-c.451), which proposed that Christ's person contained two separate beings, one human, the other divine. Apparently, this 'ism' survives to this day. Confused?  So am I!

Once the author has wended his way through the thickets of the various Dualist heresies, he turns to the Albigensian Crusade. It makes much more sense than Aubrey Burl's rather heavy-going account. Briefer, yet more analytical and explanatory, it is a better book. The Inquisition's development is also made clearer - a method for keeping clergy in line was to become one of the most effective means of thought control that Europe has ever known. However, even the early Inquisitors - Conrad of Marburg and his two henchmen, Conrad Tors and the one-eyed, one-handed layman called John,  send shivers down one's spine.  Conrad met an untimely - if deserving - end, stabbed to death by a Franciscan. Then there was Robert the Bulgarian, William Arnold and Stephen of St Thibery - the first eventually disgraced and imprisoned, the latter two murdered by Cathars.

The Cathars claimed to be part of an authentic apostolic tradition dating back to the time of Christ. It is no more capable of proof than the Catholic Church's claim to be descended from Peter. In March 2000, Pope John Paul II issued an apology for the Crusades. No mention was made of the Albigensian Crusade - will the papacy ever say sorry for that blot on its history? Unlikely.