** acts of religious intolerance -- supression of the Cathars








Acts of Religious Intolerance--Gnosticsm and Supression of the Cathars


Figure 1.--This medieval image shows the Cathars being expelled from Carcassonne (1209), the beginning of the Albigensian Crusade (1209-29). Carcassonne is a French fortified city in the Occitanie region--southern France. Albigenses were essentially another name for the Cathars. The Albigensian/Cathar Crusade (Croisade des albigeois) was a 20-year military campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc (southern France). The image here come from a manuscript of the 'Grandes Chroniques de France' (about 1415) ascribed to Boucicaut Master's workshop. So the image while medieval is dated two centuries after the actual crusade. It brings up the difference between expulsion and exile. Exiled people have to leave the territory, but they could bring with them some of their possessions. Expelled people were forced out of their homes without their possessions. In many cases this mean death from starvation and exposure. The image also does not touch on the fact that many Cathars were put to the sword or burned at the stake. While promoted by Pope Innocent, the Crusade was conducted by the French crown and took on a political nature. The Cathars were substantially reduced but a basic change in the County of Toulouse in Languedoc, bringing it under the control of the French crown and significantly reducing the formerly distinct regional culture. Source: British Library. I

Historians use the term Catahrists or Cathari to described a large number of widely defused sects and were related to Gnostic Christianity. The Novatians in the 3rd century who had heretical beliefs about baptism. Some include the 10th century Paulicians in Thrace. The sect by the 12th century was of considerable importance in the Balkans (Albania, Bulgaria, and Slavonia) before the Turkish conquest. In the West the sect began to gain importance in Turin about 1035 and were called Patarini from a street in Milan where rag gatherers were common. The Catahrists gained their greatest influence in southern France, especially around Montaillou, where they were called Albigenses or Poblicants (a corruption of Paulicians). They are also associated with the Waldenses of France, Germany, and Italy. The Catharists held Manichaean views and adhered to an ascetic life style. Their religious ritual was simple. The Church was appalled at the growing strength of this heresy by the 13th century. The Catharists refused to pay tithes or give obedience to the Roman Church. Religious leaders were called 'perfects' or 'Good Men'. Pope Innocent III's reaction was to organize the only Crusade ever carried out in Western Europe. [Weis] The Cathar books and scrolls were destroyed to an extent that there are virtually no surviving documents. All we have are the records of the Dominican inquisitors who persecuted them. Slowly the Catharists fell into the hands of the Inquisition. Many Catharists themselves were also condemned to the flames. The largely pacifist Catharists were assaulted by the 14th century Crusade supported by the French monarchy which coveted the lands of unruly nobles who supported them. One writer describes the Crusade that suppressed the Catharists as the largest land grab in French history. The province of Languedoc where people spoke Occitan was seized by the French. [O'Shea]

Gnostic Christinaity

Historians use the term Catahrists or Cathari to described a large number of widely defused sects and were related to Gnostic Christianity. The term Gnosticism is derived from Greek meaning 'having knowledge'. It is a amalgem of diverse religious ideas which appeared in the Judeo-Christian community (late-1st century AD). We see Gnostic ideas being expressed in both Jewish and early Christian thinking. [Magris. pp. 3515-16.] The basic thrust was to emphasise personal spiritual knowledge (gnosis) over the orthodox teachings and traditions and tghe authority of established Jewish and eraly Christian leaders. Unlike orthodox Christianity, there was never an establish gnostic church to establish a unified theology. Not was there ever a state with the means enforce or protect Gnostic doctrine. Gnostics tended to view material existence and a focus on possessions and wealth as flawed, even evil. Gnostic cosmogony came to see a sharpndistinction between a supreme, hidden God and a malevolent lesser divinity, often associated with the Jewish Yahweh of the Old Testament who was depicted as creating the material universe. The core of Gnosticism was that the principal path to salvation was direct knowledge of God in the form of mystical or esoteric insight. As a result, the few surviving Gnostic texts do not emphasize sin and repentance like orthodox Christian theology, but rather deal with illusion and enlightenment. [Pagels, p. xx.] Gnosticism flourished within the early Christian Church until the eraly Christian Fathers denounced them as heresy (2nd century). [Layton] These ideas, however, persisted within fringe Christian groups until supressed by force during the medieval era. . Standard Christian thinking denies there is actually Christian Gnosticism. Church theologians contend that Christianity and Gnosticism are mutually exclusive systems of belief. They asert that Gnosticism contradict what it means to be a Christian. While Gnostics may claim to be Christian, they are in factnon-Christian. Gnosticism was the most dangerous heresy that threatened the early Christian church (1st-3rd centuries). This was before the Church acquired the force of the Roman state to enforce compliance with approved religious doctrine. Gnosticism was strongly ninflued by pagan philosophers, especially Plato. The Church had two main issues with the Gnostics which eventually resulted with the use of force to supress thaem. First was the dualism depicted between spirit and matter. Gnostics came to see that matter meaning possessions were inherently evil and spirit is good. This was not the view of the Church and the establishment which came to adopt Christiuanity. Second, the Church objected to Gnostic idea of possessing an elevated knowledge or 'higher truth' which was only known to a select few. They claimed to possess a greater knowledge, and not from the Bible. Their knowledge was acquired on more elevated, mystical level f existence. This of course was a direct challenge to the Church fathers and priesthood teaching orthodox theology. Interestingly, the medieval Church was not all tht amxious to having the faithful actuall read the Bible which is why they opposed tranlation apprioved Latin Vulgate into the vernacular national languages so most individuals could read it. This would become a major tennent of the Reformation. Our knowledge of the Gnostics was limited by the successful destruction of most of their writings. The fairly recent discovery of Gnostic texts like the 'Gospel of Thomas' has copened up a fuller understanding of the Gnostics. [Layton]

Specific Groups

There are several groups which adopted Gnostic ideas and theology. The most imprtant were the Cathars of southern France The only crusade ever conducted in Western Europe was needed to supress them.

Novatians

The Novatians in the 3rd century who had heretical beliefs about baptism.

Balkans

Some include the 10th century Paulicians in Thrace. The sect by the 12th century was of considerable importance in the Balkans (Albania, Bulgaria, and Slavonia) before the Turkish conquest.

Italy

In the West the sect began to gain importance in Turin about 1035 and were called Patarini from a street in Milan where rag gatherers were common.

Southern France: The Cathars

Gnostic doctine gained their greatest influence among the Catharists in southern France, especially around Montaillou, where they were called Albigenses or Poblicants (a corruption of Paulicians). The Catharists held Manichaean views and adhered to an ascetic life style. Their religious ritual was simple. The Church was appalled at the growing strength of this heresy by the 13th century. The Catharists refused to pay tithes or give obedience to the Roman Church. Religious leaders were called 'perfects' or 'Good Men'. Pope Innocent III's reaction was to organize the only Crusade ever carried out in Western Europe. [Weis] This medieval image here shows the Cathars being expelled from Carcassonne (1209) (figure 1). This was the beginning of the Albigensian Crusade (1209-29). Carcassonne is a French fortified city in the Occitanie region--southern France. Albigenses were essentially another name for the Cathars. The Albigensian/Cathar Crusade (Croisade des albigeois) was a 20-year military campaign to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc (southern France). The image here come from a manuscript of the 'Grandes Chroniques de France' (about 1415) ascribed to Boucicaut Master's workshop. So the image while medieval is dated two centuries after the actual crusade. It brings up the difference between expulsion and exile. Exiled people have to leave the territory, but they could bring with them some of their possessions. Expelled people were forced out of their homes without their possessions. In many cases this mean death from starvation and exposure. The image also does not touch on the fact that many Cathars were put to the sword or burned at the stake. While promoted by Pope Innocent, the Crusade was conducted by the French crown and took on a political nature. The Cathars were substantially reduced but a basic change in the County of Toulouse in Languedoc, bringing it under the control of the French crown and significantly reducing the formerly distinct regional culture. The Cathar books and scrolls were destroyed to an extent that there are virtually no surviving documents. All we have are the records of the Dominican inquisitors who persecuted them. Slowly the Catharists fell into the hands of the Inquisition. Many Catharists themselves were also condemned to the flames. The largely pacifist Catharists were assaulted by the 14th century Crusade supported by the French monarchy which coveted the lands of unruly nobles who supported them. One writer describes the Crusade that suppressed the Catharists as the largest land grab in French history. The province of Languedoc where people spoke Occitan was seized by the French. [O'Shea]

Waldenses

The Cartharists are also associated with the Waldenses of France, Germany, and Italy.

Clothing: Medieval French Underwear

The image of the expulsion of the Cathars here is set in the 13th century (1209). The painting, however, dates to the 15th century. The artist had no way of knowing how people dressed in the 13th century, esoecially their underclothes. The convention was to paint people in contemoeary dress rather than tio try to depict the clothing of eralier eras. The expelled people were driven out withoiut their possessions. Whether than meant without their clothing, we do not know. It is possible, many were not just expelled, but actually killed. The only clothing depicted under than the soldiers is underwear. We do not have a lot of information on medieval underwear. We susopect that the great bulk of the population did not have underwear. The fact that the expelled here did have underwear, at keadt the men, suggests the artist is suggestung that they were not poor peasants, and they are being driven out of the city. This is thus a rare insight into 15th century underwear which looks surprisingly modern. There is no hint as to the fabric, but it would not have been cotton--which at the time was a luxury fabric. We can only assume it was linnen. We thought this may have been more of a concession to modesty than a an accurate depiction. A HBC contriburtor writes, "We have other evidence of this sort of male underwear in 15th century France. Probably in the 13th century common people, as mostly were the Cathars, didn't wear any underpants. Interesting that in the Carcassonne painting women unlike the men were not depicted wearing underpants (figure 1). We know that wealthy French women wore underpants in the 16-17th century but yet in the early 20th century many peasant women didn't wear them. For the children we have little evidence. Anyway we know from the personal journal of Jean Héroard (1551-1628), French Court physician, that the young Luis XIII didn't wear underpants. Even in the French novel The War of Buttons by Louis Pergaud (1912) one of the boys didn't wear underpants."

Sources

Layton, Bentley. "Prolegomena to the study of ancient Gnosticism" in <>The Social World of the First Christians (1995). Layton has develed into the fairly recent dicovery of Gmostic texts like the 'Gospel of Thomas'.

Magris, Aldo (2005), "Gnosticism: Gnosticism from its origins to the Middle Ages (further considerations)" in Lindsay Jones, Lindsay (ed.), MacMillan Encyclopedia of Religion (MacMillan: 2005).

O'Shea, Stephen. The Perfect Heresy: The Revolutionary Life and Death of the Medieval Cathars (Walker, 2001), 333p.

Pagels, Elaine (1989). The Gnostic Gospels (New York: Random House, 1989). .

Wein, Berel. Triumph of Survival.






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Created: 11:21 PM 9/29/2018
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