by Sean Martin
113 As in the case of the Cathars, charges of devil worship and sexual promiscuity were among the most powerful stock-in-trade accusations against political enemies. Such charges were even levelled against Pope Boniface VIII by King Philip IV of France.
114 R I Moore, The Formation of a Persecuting Society.
115 Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov, Book 5, Chapter 5, translated by Constance Garnett.
116 Robert Eisenman & Michael Wise, The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered, pp.212–9; see also Holger Kersten, Jesus Lived in India; Baigent and Leigh, The Dead Sea Scrolls Deception, pp.286–7.
Appendix I:
Chronology
930s–40s
Emergence of Bogomilism in Bulgaria
c. 970
First anti-Bogomil tract, Cosmas the Priest’s Sermon Against the Heretics
991
Gerbert d’Aurillac, later Pope Sylvester II, forced to swear his orthodoxy at Rheims
999
Leutard, first known heretic in the west, active in Châlons-sur-Marne
1022
First arrests and executions for heresy in the west, at Orléans
1082
Bogomil missionaries possibly active in Sicily
c.1100
Execution of Bogomil Heresiarch Basil the Physician in Constantinople
1110s–50s
Heretics at large: era of Tanchelm of Antwerp, Arnold of Brescia, Henry of Lausanne et al.
1143
First recorded mention of Cathars, burnt at Cologne
1145
St Bernard preaches against Cathars and visits the Languedoc
1163
Council of Tours; Eckbert of Schönau’s Sermones ad Catharos
1165
Cathar/Catholic debate at Lombers
1167
Cathar Conference at St Félix
1179
Third Lateran Council: use of force against heretics recommended
1181
Short-lived military campaign against Cathars in Lavaur, led by Henri de Marcy
1184
Ad abolendam denounces the Cathars and other heretical sects
1198
Accession of Pope Innocent III; Cistercians appointed to preach to heretics in the Languedoc
1199
Vergentis in senium equates heresy with treason, and allows heretics’ property to be confiscated
1203
April: Bosnian Church forced to swear fealty to Rome
Arnold Amaury and Peter of Castelnau appointed papal legates in the Languedoc
1204
Refortification of Montségur
1204–7
Cathar/Catholic debates in the Languedoc
1206
March: Dominic de Guzmán proposes preaching in poverty in the Languedoc to bring people back to the Church; the Dominican Order is later founded as a result
1208
14 January: assassination of Peter of Castelnau
10 March: Innocent calls for a Crusade against the Cathars
1209
18 June: Raymond VI publicly flogged
22 July: sack of Béziers. At least 9,000 people murdered by Crusaders; start of the Albigensian Crusade
Early August: siege of Carcassonne
15 August: surrender of Carcassonne
Late August: Simon de Montfort becomes viscount of Béziers and Carcassonne and assumes leadership of the Albigensian Crusade
10 November: Raymond Roger Trencavel found dead in his cell
1210
April: siege and fall of Bram; forced march of 100 blinded and mutilated men to Cabaret; fall of Cabaret
June/July: siege and fall of Minerve
22 July: 140 Perfect burnt outside Minerve
1211
April/May: siege and fall of Lavaur; 80 knights hanged; Lady Geralda of Lavaur thrown down a well and stoned to death
3 May: 400 Perfect burnt outside Lavaur
Late May: 50–100 Perfect burnt at Les Cassès
1213
17 January: Innocent suspends the Albigensian Crusade
21 May: Innocent persuaded to relaunch Crusade
12 September: Battle of Muret; King Peter II of Aragon killed; at least 7,000 die with him
1215
20 November: Fourth Lateran Council transfers land to Simon de Montfort, making him Lord of all Languedoc
1216
16 July Innocent dies unexpectedly in Perugia
August: sack of Toulouse
1217
13 September: soldiers loyal to Raymond VI enter Toulouse; siege of Toulouse begins
1218
25 June: Simon de Montfort killed outside walls of Toulouse
1219
Massacre of Marmande: 7,000 killed
1221
Death of St Dominic
1222
August: death of Raymond VI
1224
Amaury de Montfort relinquishes control of the Languedoc to the French crown
1225
Death of Arnold Amaury
1226
Spring: Louis VIII’s Crusade against the south gets underway
Cathar Council of Pieusse: bishopric of the Razès founded
8 November: Louis dies at 39; his widow, Blanche of Castile, becomes Regent
1228
Scorched-earth campaign against Toulouse
1229
12 April: Raymond VII publicly flogged in Paris; end of the Albigensian Crusade
1231
The Inquisition founded to combat Catharism
1233
Spring: Inquisition arrives in the Languedoc
30 July: first Inquisitor Conrad of Marburg murdered
August: 200 Cathars and Waldensians burnt in Verona
1234–46
Crusades against heresy in Bosnia
1239
180 heretics burnt at Mont Aimé in Champagne
1240
Trencavel Revolt
1240s
The Book of the Two Principles thought to have been written
1242
28 May: Inquisitors Stephen of St Thibéry and William Arnald murdered at Avignonet; Raymond VII launches final campaign against the Papacy and French crown
1243
May: siege of Montségur begins
1244
2 March: Montségur surrenders on condition of a two-week truce
13 March: 21 Believers and mercenaries ask for – and are given – the Consolamentum
16 March: Montségur evacuated; all 225 Perfect are burnt on the so-called Field of the Cremated
1245–46
Extensive Inquisitorial proceedings in the Languedoc
1249
June: Raymond VII burns 80 Cathars at Agen
September: death of Raymond VII
1252
Inquisitor Peter of Verona (St Peter Martyr) murdered in Italy; use of torture given papal approval by Innocent VI
1255
August: fall of Quéribus, last Cathar stronghold in the Languedoc
1276
Fall of Sirmione, last Cathar fortress in Italy
1278
February: burning of more than 200 Perfect in Verona
1296
October: Peter and William Autier travel to Lombardy to be consoled
1299
Autumn: Autiers return to the Languedoc: start of Cathar revival
1303
Appointment of Geoffrey d’Ablis as Inquisitor in Carcassonne
1305
September: William Bélibaste’s first encounter with Autier Perfect while in hiding after murdering a fellow shepherd
1307
Appointment of Geoffrey d’Ablis as Inquisitor in Toulouse
September: Bélibaste, imprisoned for heresy, escapes from jail
1308
8 September: entire village of Montaillou arrested on heresy charges
1309
Late summer: Peter Autier arres
ted
1310
9 April: Autier burnt at the stake in Toulouse
1315
Bélibaste establishes Cathar community in Morella and Sant Mateu, south of Tarragona in Catalonia
1317
James Fournier becomes bishop of Pamiers and begins Inquisitorial proceedings
1321
March: Bélibaste betrayed and arrested
Last known Italian Cathar bishop arrested
1325
Pope John XXII calls for action against the Bosnian Church
1329
16 January: Peter Clergue, rector of Montaillou, posthumously burnt
1342
Last known Cathar in Florence appears before the Inquisition
1387–9
Inquisition of Antonio di Settimo di Savigliano. Antonio di Galosna and Jacob Bech arrested and burnt
1412
Posthumous burning of 15 Cathars at Chieri
1459
Bosnian Church persecuted by King Stephen Thomas
1463
Fall of Bosnia to the Ottoman Turks
1867
Last reported Bogomils in Bosnia
Appendix II:
An Heretical Lexicon
A glossary of heresies, heretical practices and other groups mentioned in this book.
Adoptionism Belief that Christ was not born divine, but only became so after his baptism.
Apostolics Sect modelled on the Franciscans. They were founded in 1260 by Gerard Segarelli, and strove to live lives of poverty, humility and service. They believed that the Church had been in decline since the time of Constantine the Great due to its pursuit of power and worldly wealth, and were declared heretical in 1287. Segarelli was burned at Parma in 1300, but the sect continued under the leadership of Brother Dulcin. Jacob Bech, the last known Cathar in the Alps, was a member of the group before converting to Catharism.
Apparellamentum Monthly rite of confession performed by the Perfect, who would usually confess to a Cathar deacon, or, occasionally, a bishop.
Arianism Named after Arius (256–336), a Christian priest from Alexandria, who denied that Christ and God were one person, seeing them instead as two different Divine entities. The heresy was the first serious doctrinal dispute the Church had to face once it had been legalised by Constantine, and it was the major issue faced by the Council of Nicaea.
Believers The majority of Cathars were Believers. That is to say, they had taken the convenanza, but were not yet consoled. They were not subject to any dietary restrictions.
Bogomilism Dualist heresy founded by the priest Bogomil in the early tenth century. It appears to have influenced Catharism strongly, although the earliest tangible evidence is only datable to 1167. The movement considerably outlived the Cathars, with reports of Bogomils continuing up to the nineteenth century.
Celtic church According to tradition, the Celtic church was founded by Joseph of Arimathea at Glastonbury during the mid-first century AD, and the case could be made for the Celtic church being the original form of Christianity in Europe. It went into decline after the Synod of Whitby in 664, where it was forcibly absorbed into the Catholic Church. Numerous modern Celtic churches exist today.
Consolamentum Cathar rite of baptism that elevated the Believer to the state of a Perfect. Many Cathars took the consolamentum on their deathbeds.
Convenanza Formal rite that made a Cathar Listener a Believer.
Docetism The belief that Christ did not have a physical body, common amongst Gnostics. Docetics believed that Jesus’s body was an illusion, as was his crucifixion. Docetism was declared heretical by the Church. Both the Bogomils and the Cathars were Docetist.
Donatism Heresy that denied the validity of offices said by corrupt priests. Many of the reform movements of the eleventh and twelfth centuries were sympathetic to the Donatist position. The Cathars were Donatist in that a consolamentum performed by a Perfect who later – even accidentally – broke their vows was invalid.
Dualism The belief that good and evil are two independent, opposing principles. Absolute dualists regard the evil principle to be as strong as the good, and see the two as being locked in conflict for all time. Absolute dualists frequently regard time as cyclical and believe in reincarnation. Moderate dualists see evil as being inferior to the good principle, which will triumph over it at the end of time. Both maintain a hostility to the material world. The Cathars began as moderates, but were converted to absolute Dualism at the Council of St Félix. Some Cathars – such as the Church of Concorezzo – remained moderates.
Elchasaites Jewish Christian sect who were, interestingly, also known as katharoi. Their most famous member was the Persian prophet Mani.
Endura Cathar rite that allows the newly consoled nothing but cold water. Mainly associated with the Autier revival – where it was a practical necessity – the endura was in fact a feature of Catharism from the beginning.
Essenes Radical Jewish sect that existed from the second century BC to the first century AD. Arguments have been put forward to suggest that both Jesus and John the Baptist had links with the sect. The community at Qumran, which produced the Dead Sea Scrolls, is thought to have been Essene.
Gnosticism Term used to designate many different sects who flourished in the first few centuries AD. Although nominally Christian, many elements of Gnosticism are pre-Christian, such as the belief in Dualism. The name derives from the Greek word for knowledge, gnosis.
Listeners In the Cathar context, a Listener was a person interested in Catharism, but was not ready or willing to become an actual member of the church, which required the taking of the convenanza.
Luciferanism Heresy believed by the Inquisitor Conrad of Marburg to be widespread across Europe. Luciferans were held to worship the devil, engage in orgies and perform child sacrifice. The heresy never actually existed, but that did not stop Pope Gregory IX from issuing the bull Vox in Rama in 1233 denouncing it.
Manichaeism Universalist, dualist religion founded by the Persian prophet Mani (216–75). It was seen as the worst heresy since Marcionism (see below), and St Augustine – once a member of the sect – denounced it. It was largely wiped out in Europe during the sixth century, although it survived for another thousand years in Asia. ‘Manichaean’ became a byword for heretic during the Middle Ages.
Marcionism 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.
Massalianism Dualist heresy that is thought to have originated in fourth-century Mesopotamia. The name means ‘the praying people’. Also known as Enthusiasts.
Melioramentum Formal greeting made by a Cathar Believer to a Perfect.
Nestorianism The belief, first proposed by Nestorius (c. 386–c. 451), the patriarch of Constantinople, that Christ’s person contained two separate beings, one human, the other divine. Nestorianism was declared heretical at the Council of Ephesus in 431, but the Nestorian church – despite persecution – survives to this day.
Patarenes Italian name for Cathars. The term was also used in Bosnia.
Paulicianism Dualist heresy that emerged in seventh-century Armenia. In 717, a council of the Armenian Church denounced them as ‘sons of Satan’ and ‘fuel for the fire eternal’. They are thought to have survived until the seventeenth century.
Pelagianism Pelagius (c. 360–c. 435) was a British monk whose teachings denied Original Sin. Pelagianism was condemned as heresy at the Council of Carthage in 417.
Perfect The Cathar equivalent of priests, they were austere black-robed ascetics who were the heart and soul of the Cathar movement. Bogomilism also had Perfect.
Piphles According to Eckbert of Schönau, this was the name used for dualist heretics in Flanders, although no one knows where the word came from.
Publicans Name used for heretics in the twelfth century, a group of whom came to England to proselytise during the reign of Henry II, probably in the win
ter of 1165–66.
Simony Strictly speaking, simony is the exchange of something spiritual for something temporal, but it usually refers to the ecclesiastical crime of the buying of offices and privileges by the clergy. Named after Simon Magus, who, in Acts 8.18–24, offers Peter and John money in return for the ability to bestow the Holy Spirit. Dante reserved the Eighth Circle of Hell for simoniacs in the Inferno.