2011/11/25 by Whitney Huey · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Aesthetics #Asceticism #Baptism #Ceremony #Dualism #Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis #History #Medieval Literature and History #Medieval and Early Modern Justice #Period (music) #Philosophy #Purgatory #Religious studies #Sociology #Theology
paper · doi:10.1002/9780470670606.wbecc0246
openalex publication_date 2011/11/25 · openalex created_date 2022/05/12 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/14
Abstract The Cathars, also known as the Albigensians, thrived in France and northern Italy during the 12th and 13th centuries. They were considered heretical by the church because of their dualism, the belief in two gods — a God of goodness and a God of evil, a belief thought by many scholars to have its roots in Manichaeism and the beliefs of the Bogomils. The Cathars rejected free will, the sacraments, church hierarchy, and the existence of purgatory and hell. They believed that matter was evil and had to be rejected. The Cathars divided themselves into two groups: the perfecti , the perfect ones, and the credentes , the believers. The perfecti were often simply referred to as the “pure ones” because they were able to reject the material world and all that bound their souls to earth. There was a strict process for becoming a perfectus . During a period called the abstinentia , candidates were assigned to a current perfectus for training. When they were considered ready, they became full perfecti in a ceremony called the consolamentum , which was a second baptism . Since they were the teachers and leaders of the communities, perfecti lived a strict ascetic lifestyle — they rejected meat and eggs, wore plain clothing, abstained from sexual relations, and studied religious works. Some practiced endura , which was to stop eating. Many scholars have argued whether or not this was intentional suicide. The credentes were to support the perfecti and to try to live less sinful lives. Catharism was particularly popular in the politically unstable region of southern France. In his efforts to eliminate heresy, Innocent III declared the Albigensian Crusade in the early 13th century, which caused great turmoil in southern France but failed to eradicate the heresy. The Inquisition was then established in the region to root out the Cathars. Over time the Cathars also became associated with witchcraft and numerous bizarre occult practices leading to their further oppression.