Cell – The room wherein a monk slept and meditated.
Chapter House – In a monastery it is a hall where monks meet to read the chapters of their rule, to discuss transgressions and punishments or the day-to-day business of the monastery.
Cistercians – A monastic order, founded at Citeaux by the abbot of Molesme, though it was St Bernard who made the order popular and seems to stand out in the minds of his contemporaries. The Cistercians followed a stricter version of the Benedictine rule and shunned all excess. Their churches were decorated simply and their habits were grey-white. They were known as white monks.
Consolamentum – A Cathar sacrament given to a Credente, or Cathar believer. It signified the descent of the Holy Ghost, and marked him as a Perfect – a perfect human being, who had to live an austere life henceforth. Those Credente who could not live the life of a Perfect, chose to receive the consolamentum for the first time on their deathbed. Taken in this way, it was similar to the Catholic ‘extreme unction’.
Copts – Christian descendants of the ancient Egyptians who retained the patriarchal chair of Alexandria. The Coptic church was founded by St Mark, a pupil of St Paul. The Coptic language is derived from ancient native spoken Egyptian, however it is written by the use of the Greek alphabet, adding seven vowel symbols from demotic to represent sounds not known in Greek. The almost entirely religious Coptic literature contains translations from Greek of the original writings of the Greek fathers and founders of Eastern monasticism. The Copts are known to have translated texts condemned by the church in the early centuries. Texts throwing light on early Gnosticism and Manicheism have been found. Examples include, the Pistis Sophia, the Bruce Codex, as well as apocryphal and apocalyptic texts. The Gospel of Thomas, the Secret Gospel of Matthew, and other secret gospels may have been preserved away from the scrutiny of the church in this language, hidden below the ground in Coptic monasteries.
Dominicans – An order of preaching friars founded by Dominic Guzman in 1215, based on the rule of St Augustine of Hippo. Dominic was noted for his vigorous fight against the Cathar heresy and a large majority of inquisitors came from this order of friars. They were sometimes called Domini Canes (Hounds of the Lord). Known as the black friars, they wore a habit of black over white.
Franciscans – The Friars Minor were founded by St Francis of Assisi in 1209. They believed in austere poverty and were known for their preaching among the poor. Later the inquisition drew many of its inquisitors from this order. The splinter groups called the ‘Spirituals’ and the ‘Fraticelli’ suffered persecution by the church. They wore brown-grey habits of coarse wool and were known as grey monks.
Frederick II – Holy Roman Emperor, son of Frederick I Barbarossa, and grandson of Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, Duke of Swabia. Frederick struggled with the papacy for power and was excommunicated. He died in the year 1254.
Ghibellines – A political party in Italy who fought against papal authority. They were sometimes allied with heretical groups and known to support Frederick II in his wars with the pope.
Gilgamesh – Sumerian hero and king.
Gnostic – The word gnostic derives from the Greek word gnosis, which means knowledge or revelation. Gnostic beliefs were based upon the dualism of good and evil. This influenced Manicheism and Catharism.
Guedes – Craft or trade guilds.
Holy Inquisition – The name given to the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church responsible for dealing with the prosecution of heresy. Torture was authorised in 1252 by Pope Innocent IV, however an inquisitor could not draw blood; the maxim was to effect the greatest pain with a minimum of mess. Death by fire was a standard punishment usually conducted by a secular power. Other punishments included pilgrimage and the wearing of crosses stitched onto clothing, according to the severity of a crime.
Holy See – Denotes papal authority and jurisdiction.
Hospitaller – In a monastery he is the monk who provides for travellers and pilgrims.
Infirmarian – A physician.
Inquisitor – Church official given the responsibility of conducting an inquisition. Generally inquisitors came from either the Dominican or the Franciscan orders. Usually there were two at every inquisition.
Jean de Joinville – Born between 1224 and 1225, was a friend of King Louis and fought with him on crusade. He was commissioned by Philip le Bel to write a biography of his grandfather – the ‘Life of St Louis’ in his old age.
Knights Templar – The Poor Knights of the Temple of Solomon, also known as the Christian Militia, was an order founded to protect pilgrims on their way to the holy places in 1119. Monks of this order followed a strict rule, laid down by St Bernard, of chastity, poverty and obedience. The first order to engage in warfare, they became a well organised military force. They formed the advance guard to every attack and the rear guard of every retreat during the time of the Crusades. In time they became ‘bankers’, holding the titles and moneys of the wealthy nobility for safe keeping and lending money to those who aspired to join the Crusades and needed horses and arms. The order became prosperous and by the thirteenth century had numerous commanderies and smaller preceptories spread throughout Europe, and in the Holy Land. They answered only to the pope and paid no tax, and so it is not surprising that other monastic orders envied them, as did kings and nobles who owed them money. They wore white linen habits that bore a red cross.
Lay brother – One who, though not in holy orders, is bound by its vows, usually engaged in manual work.
Louis IX – King of France (1214–1270), later canonised.
Maimonides – Jewish philosopher, physician and master of rabbinic literature (1135–1204).
Montsegur – Refer to Cathars.
Monstrance – A chalice that contains the host (consecrated bread of the eucharist) given as a sacrament during mass.
Nave – The central part of a church or cathedral extending from the main entrance to the choir.
Obidientiaries – Senior monks in a monastery.
Outremer – Refers to overseas or those states established in the conquered territories of the Holy Land.
Palimpsest – A parchment on which the original writing has been removed and something else has been written. A practice adopted due to the shortage of material.
Perfect – Refer to Consolamentum
Plato – Greek Philosopher (c. 427–347 BC).
Preceptor – Among the Knights Templar a preceptory was a lesser house governed by a preceptor. The larger houses were called commanderies.
Psaltery – A book from which the psalms are read during liturgy.
Rere dorter – Latrines.
Sacristan – The monk in charge of the altar, sacred vessels and vestments for the celebration of the eucharist.
Saint Jerome – One of the great fathers of the Catholic church and known mainly for his translation of the Greek Bible to Latin (c. 340–420 AD).
Saladin – Ruler of Egypt and Syria.
Saracen – A loose term used to describe people of Eastern origin, i.e. Ayyubids; Fatimids; Mameluks; Muslims; Seljuk Turks.
Seven Churches – The book of Revelation written by St John was addressed to seven churches in the Roman province of Asia. They represented the entire church. Ephesus was founded by Paul (a centre of the Eastern church), Smyrna, Pergamum (this religious centre had a famous shrine to Zeus and a Temple of Augustus, hence Ezekiel’s mention of the floor of the church being as cold as the crypts at Augustus, alluding to the worship of emperors), Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.
Socius – The ‘unofficial’ term used to describe the less senior of two inquisitors.
Thomas Aquinas – Dominican scholastic philosopher and theologian, who interpreted Aristotle’s works and used them to explain Christian theology.
Tonsure – The shaving of the hair leaving a circle on top of the head, symbolising the crown of thorns.
Trencavel – Hereditary Counts of Beziers. This family was i
nvolved in the Cathar heresies of Languedoc.
Transept – The transverse arms of a church making the shape of a cross.
Waldensians – Followers of Peter Waldo of Lyons. They shunned wealth and criticised the church for its affluence and decadence. They believed that corrupt bishops and priests should not give the sacrament. They were condemned by the church and suffered persecution.
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