Catharism (pronounced KATH-er-iz-um) was a Christian religious movement that existed in northern Italy and southern France from the 12th to the 14th centuries. The movement was called heretical by the Catholic Church, which led to attacks by the Albigensian Crusade and the Medieval Inquisition. By 1350, these efforts had ended the Cathar movement, and many followers were killed, hanged, or burned.

People who followed Catharism were called Cathars or Albigensians, named after the French city Albi where the movement began. They referred to themselves as "Good Christians." Cathars believed in two gods: a good God who created the spiritual world and an evil god who ruled the physical world. They associated the evil god with Satan and believed this god was linked to the Old Testament.

Cathars taught that human souls were angelic spirits trapped in the physical world. They believed these souls would be reborn until they achieved salvation through a ritual called "consolamentum," a type of baptism performed near death. At that time, they believed the soul would return to the good God as a "Cathar Perfect." Early Cathar leaders did not set strict rules, so beliefs and practices varied across regions and over time.

The first written records of Catharism appeared in 1143. Four years later, the Catholic Church criticized Cathar practices, especially the consolamentum ritual. Pope Innocent III, who ruled from 1198 to 1216, tried to stop Catharism by sending missionaries and urging local leaders to act. In 1208, a Church official named Pierre de Castelnau was killed while returning to Rome after condemning a French noble for being too kind to Cathars. Pope Innocent III declared de Castelnau a martyr and started the Albigensian Crusade in 1209. This 20-year campaign weakened the Cathar movement, and the Inquisition later destroyed it.

Scholars debate whether Catharism was a real organized religion or if the Church exaggerated its influence. Some argue that Cathars lacked a central leadership and had different beliefs in different areas, making it unclear if the Church overstated the threat or if the movement ever existed as a unified group.

Term

The term "Cathar" has been used for many years to describe this movement. However, it is unclear if the group itself used this name. In writings by the Cathars, they referred to themselves as "Good Men," "Good Women," or "Good Christians."

In the records of people questioned by the Inquisition, the accused heretics did not use the word "Cathar" to describe themselves. Instead, the term "Cathar" (also called "Gazarri") was created by Catholic religious scholars and used only by the Inquisition or by writers who supported the Orthodox Church. For example, an anonymous book from 1430 titled The Errors of the Gazarri, or of Those Who Travel Riding a Broom or a Stick described the beliefs of the Cathars.

There is no doubt that many different religious groups existed in 12th- and 13th-century France with beliefs that differed from the Church in Rome. Historical documents from this time clearly show this.

Some of these groups, such as the Waldensians or Valdeis, shared beliefs and traditions similar to those later grouped under the term "Catharism." It is clear that a spiritual and community movement existed because many people were willing to die to protect their beliefs. Whether they defended their ideas or the people who held them, the fact that many chose to face death rather than renounce their beliefs is important.

As scholar Claire Taylor explains, some researchers, like Pegg and Moore, argue that the Cathars did not exist. However, Taylor points out that denying the existence of this group ignores the evidence that thousands of people suffered severe punishment and death for their beliefs. A key part of this debate is the presence of a distinct religious belief system that many people were willing to fight for.

The term "Cathar" was used in different ways throughout history to describe various groups that were considered heretics. For example, Saint Augustine, writing in the 4th century, described a group called "Catharistas" who mixed male and female bodily fluids into flour to make a "Sacrament." John Damascene, writing in the 8th century, also wrote about an earlier group called the "Cathari" who rejected remarriage and believed that forgiveness of sins after baptism was not possible. These groups are likely the same as those mentioned in a rule from the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in 325, which discussed how to treat people who had previously been called "Cathari." These groups were not the same as the "Perfecti" of the Albigenses, who were part of a later movement. The term "Cathar" was used by the Church to describe any group it considered heretical.

Origins

The origins of the Cathars' beliefs are not clear, but many theories suggest they came from the Byzantine Empire, mainly through trade routes, and spread from the First Bulgarian Empire to the Netherlands. Their movement was greatly influenced by the Bogomils of the First Bulgarian Empire and may have started in the Byzantine Empire, particularly through followers of the Paulician movement in Armenia and eastern Anatolia who were moved to Thrace (Philippopolis).

The term "Bulgarians" (Bougres) was also used for the Albigensians, who were connected to the Bogomils ("Friends of God") of Thrace. Scholars agree that there was a strong sharing of rituals and ideas between Bogomilism and Catharism. Their beliefs are similar to those of the Bogomils and Paulicians, who influenced them, as well as the earlier Marcianists, who lived in the same areas as the Paulicians, Manicheans, and early Christian Gnostics. However, many scholars, including Mark Pegg, say it is incorrect to assume direct historical links based on modern comparisons.

Most Cathar writings were destroyed because the Papacy saw their beliefs as a threat. Therefore, most information about Catharism comes from their opponents. Cathar ideas are still debated, with critics often accusing each other of making guesses, misrepresenting facts, or being biased. Only a few Cathar texts remain, preserved by their opponents, such as the Rituel Cathare de Lyon, which offers some insight into their beliefs. One important text, The Book of Two Principles (Liber de duobus principiis), explains dualistic theology from the perspective of some Albanese Cathars.

Most scholars now agree that Catharism as a known historical movement did not appear until at least 1143, when a group with similar beliefs was first reported in Cologne by the cleric Eberwin of Steinfeld. A major event in Cathar history was a meeting held in 1167 at Saint-Félix-Lauragais, attended by local leaders and Bogomil papa Nicetas, the Cathar bishop of northern France and a leader of Cathars in Lombardy.

Catharism was mainly a local movement in western Europe, appearing in the Rhineland cities, especially Cologne, in the mid-12th century, northern France around the same time, and particularly in the Languedoc region. It also spread to northern Italian cities in the mid-to-late 12th century. Catharism was most popular in the Languedoc and northern Italy, surviving in the Languedoc in a much smaller form until about 1325 and in Italian cities until the Inquisitions of the 14th century ended the movement.

Catharism is generally believed to be a mix of Zoroastrianism, Gnosticism, and Manichaeism.

Beliefs

Gnostic cosmology described two creator gods. The first was the god of the spiritual world mentioned in the New Testament, while the second was the demiurge, a figure from the Old Testament who created the physical universe. The demiurge was sometimes called Rex Mundi, meaning "King of the World."

Some Gnostic groups, like the Cathars, believed the universe was shaped by two opposing forces: good and evil. The demiurge was sometimes linked to Satan or seen as related to him, but these ideas were not agreed upon by all. Some Cathar groups believed in a version of dualism where the evil god, Satan, had once served the true God before turning against him. Others believed in absolute dualism, where the two gods were equal in power and importance.

According to Cathar beliefs, the physical world, including the human body, was made by Rex Mundi. This made matter sinful. Humans were thought to be angels who had been tricked by Satan before a battle in heaven led by Michael. After this battle, these angels were trapped in the material world. To return to their angelic form, Cathars believed people had to completely reject their physical bodies. Until then, they would be trapped in a cycle of reincarnation, suffering endless lives on Earth.

Zoé Oldenbourg compared Cathars to "Western Buddhists" because she believed their view of resurrection in Christianity was similar to the Buddhist idea of rebirth.

Cathars honored Jesus Christ and called themselves "Good Christians." However, they did not believe Jesus had a physical body or that he rose from the dead. Their view of Jesus was similar to a belief called Docetism, which taught that Jesus was an angel who only seemed human. This illusion might have been created by the Virgin Mary, who was also seen as an angel in human form, or by a human born without a father.

Cathars rejected the idea that Jesus rose from the dead, seeing it as a symbol of reincarnation. They also saw the cross as a tool of torture and evil. They believed John the Baptist, who was linked to the prophet Elijah, was a harmful figure who spread false baptism practices. For Cathars, the resurrection described in the New Testament was a symbol of rebirth, not a physical event.

Most Cathars did not believe in the traditional Christian idea of Jesus being part of a three-part God (the Trinity). Instead, they believed in ideas like modalistic Monarchianism (Sabellianism) in the West and adoptionism in the East. These views might have been connected to Docetism. Some sources claimed Cathars believed in Arianism, a different Christian idea, though this is debated by scholars.

Some Cathar communities believed in a spiritual world created by the good God, called the "Land of the Living." This world was thought to be the true home of the soul, while the physical world was corrupt. In this view, the story of Jesus happened in the spiritual realm, not the material one. The physical Jesus was seen as evil, a false teacher who had a relationship with Mary Magdalene. The true Jesus was believed to have influenced the physical world through actions similar to the "Harrowing of Hell," but by taking over the body of Paul. A 13th-century writer named Pierre des Vaux-de-Cernay recorded these beliefs.

Some Cathars believed in a story similar to the tale of Enoch, where Eve's daughters had children with demons, creating giants. A great flood was thought to have been caused by Satan, who was upset when demons revealed he was not the real god. Others believed the flood was an attempt by the true God to destroy the giants. The Holy Spirit was sometimes seen as a single being or as a group of angels who had not followed Satan.

Cathars believed that women's physical beauty made it harder for men to reject the material world. However, some Cathar groups allowed families and children, believing that the true God had two spiritual wives named Collam and Hoolibam. These names were linked to Oholah and Oholibah in other texts. Some believed the true God had caused the war in heaven by tempting the wife of Satan, or the other way around. Cathars who accepted this story thought having children would not stop them from reaching God's kingdom.

Some Cathar communities believed in a Day of Judgment that would come when the number of righteous people matched the number of angels who had fallen. At this time, believers would go to the spiritual world, while sinners would be punished with eternal fire along with Satan.

Cathars ate fish but avoided meat, eggs, cheese, and milk, as these were seen as products of sexual activity. They believed animals carried souls from past lives and forbade killing them, except for fish, which they thought appeared naturally.

Cathars shared some ideas with early Protestants, such as rejecting the belief that bread and wine become the actual body and blood of Jesus (transubstantiation), the idea of purgatory, prayers for the dead, and prayers to saints. They also believed the Bible should be read in the language people spoke daily.

The Cathars used texts from the New Testament and other works, such as The Gospel of the Secret Supper, a version of The Ascension of Isaiah, and The Book of the Two Principles. They considered most of the Old Testament to be written by Satan, except for a few books. They saw the Book of Revelation not as a prediction of the future but as a story about Satan's rebellion. Their interpretations of these texts included ideas common in Gnostic writings.

Organization

Cathars were a group that opposed the Catholic Church before the Reformation. They believed the Church had become morally, spiritually, and politically corrupt. Unlike the Catholic Church, the Cathars had only one main religious ceremony called the Consolamentum, or Consolation. This ceremony was a short spiritual event that removed all sin from a believer and allowed them to join a higher group called the Perfect.

Many Cathars received the Consolamentum when they were near death. This was because the Perfect were expected to follow strict rules of purity, which would be easier to follow for a short time. Some people who received the Consolamentum on their deathbeds stopped eating all food except cold water until they died. This practice was called the endura. Some church writers claimed that if a Cathar showed signs of recovery after receiving the Consolamentum, they might be smothered to ensure their entry into paradise. However, there is little evidence to support this as a common practice.

The Cathars rejected the sacrament of the Eucharist, believing it could not be the body of Christ. They also refused to participate in Baptism by water. According to Bernard Gui, an inquisitor, Cathars criticized the Church’s sacraments, arguing that the Eucharist was made from straw and passed through horse hair during processing. They claimed that if the Eucharist were truly the body of Christ, it would be consumed entirely by Christians. Regarding Baptism, they believed water was material and corruptible, created by evil forces, and that the Church sold water, oil, and confession for money.

Killing was strongly opposed by the Cathars. The Perfecti, or spiritual leaders, avoided eating meat and sometimes fish, as well as foods from sexual reproduction. They rejected war and capital punishment, which was unusual in medieval Europe. However, the Cathars had armed fighters who sometimes committed violence. For example, the Papal Legate Pierre de Castelnau was killed in 1208.

The Cathars viewed reproduction as a moral evil because they believed it continued the cycle of reincarnation and suffering. If a person accused of heresy could prove they were legally married, the charge was often dismissed. Despite their views on the Old Testament God, which included antisemitism, the Cathars did not hate Jewish people as a group. In fact, Jews held higher status in Cathar regions and were appointed as officials, which angered the Catholic Church.

Despite their rejection of reproduction, the Cathars grew in numbers in southeastern France. By 1207, many towns in Provence were mostly populated by Cathars, who had strong ties to nearby communities. Bishop Fulk of Toulouse, who led anti-Cathar efforts, was told by local knights that they could not hunt Cathars because they were raised among them and had relatives who lived piously.

The Cathar Church in Languedoc had a simple structure, with baptized spiritual leaders (called bonhommes) and ordinary believers (credentes). By 1140, they had established liturgy and doctrine. They created bishoprics in Albi, Toulouse, Carcassonne, and Agen by 1200. In 1225, the bishopric of Razès was added. Bishops had assistants called filius maior and filius minor, who worked with deacons. The Perfecti were respected for their austere and charitable lives, traveling in pairs to serve communities.

Catharism gave women opportunities for leadership, as women could be believers or Perfecti who administered the Consolamentum. Cathars believed in reincarnation, with souls being reborn as men or women until they committed to rejecting the material world. They saw the spirit as immaterial and sexless, believing women could be spiritual leaders. This view was influenced by Mary Magdalene’s role in early Christianity, which the Cathars valued more than the Church did.

Catharism attracted many women because it allowed them to lead, unlike the Catholic Church. Female Perfecti lived ascetically but had their own homes. However, not all women accepted Cathar teachings, such as Hildegard of Bingen, who condemned Cathars in 1163. While female Perfecti rarely traveled to preach, they helped spread Catharism by creating homes for women. These homes educated women, who then raised children who became believers. This pattern helped Catharism grow rapidly.

Although women played a key role in spreading Catharism, the movement was not fully equal. Some Cathars believed a person’s final reincarnation had to be as a man to achieve salvation. This idea was later taught by French Cathars, who claimed women must be reborn as men to be saved.

Suppression

In 1147, Pope Eugene III sent a representative to the Cathar region to stop the spread of Cathar beliefs. Although Bernard of Clairvaux had some limited success, the overall mission failed, showing how strong the Cathar movement was in the Languedoc area. Later, in 1178, Cardinal Peter of Saint Chrysogonus visited Toulouse, and in 1180–81, Cardinal Henry of Marcy tried to reduce Cathar influence. These efforts had only short-term results. Henry’s military attack captured the stronghold at Lavaur, but it did not stop the Cathar movement.

Decisions made by Catholic Church councils, such as the Council of Tours in 1163 and the Third Council of the Lateran in 1179, had little effect on the Cathars. When Pope Innocent III became pope in 1198, he decided to take action against them. At first, he tried to convert Cathars peacefully by sending representatives to their regions. These representatives faced challenges from the Cathars, local nobles who protected them, and even some bishops who resented the power given to the Pope’s envoys. In 1204, Innocent III removed several bishops in Occitania. In 1205, he appointed Foulques, a former troubadour, as the new bishop of Toulouse. In 1206, Diego of Osma and his assistant, Saint Dominic, began a conversion program in Languedoc, including public debates with Cathars in places like Verfeil and Pamiers.

Dominic met with Cathars in 1203 and concluded that only preachers who showed true holiness, humility, and self-discipline could convince Cathars to change their beliefs. He believed the Church as a whole lacked these qualities. This idea led to the creation of the Dominican Order in 1216. The order followed Dominic’s belief that “Zeal must be met by zeal, humility by humility, false sanctity by real sanctity, and preaching falsehood by preaching truth.” However, even Dominic converted only a few Cathars.

In January 1208, Pope Innocent III sent Pierre de Castelnau, a Cistercian monk, to speak with Raymond VI, Count of Toulouse. Castelnau excommunicated Raymond for supporting Cathars, after an argument in which Raymond allegedly threatened him. Soon after, Castelnau was murdered, likely by a knight serving Raymond. His body was later buried in the Abbey of Saint-Gilles.

After learning of the murder, Pope Innocent III ordered a crusade against the Cathars and asked King Philip Augustus of France for help. Some historians see this event as a turning point, as it marked the first time the Church used military force. Raymond of Toulouse was excommunicated again in 1209.

King Philip II of France did not lead the crusade himself and could not send his son, Louis, due to other conflicts, including battles in Flanders and the threat of an Angevin revival. However, he allowed some of his nobles, like Simon de Montfort and Bouchard de Marly, to join. The 20-year war against the Cathars in Languedoc became known as the Albigensian Crusade, named after the city of Albi.

The crusade involved French nobles fighting against those in Languedoc. A papal decree allowed the seizure of lands owned by Cathars and their supporters, angering southern lords and even King Philip II, who claimed suzerainty over those lands. Despite Philip’s objections, Pope Innocent III refused to change the decree, making the region a target for northern nobles seeking new lands.

The first major target of the crusaders was the Trencavel family, who controlled Carcassonne, Béziers, and Albi. With little coordination, the crusaders captured Carcassonne, imprisoning Raymond Roger Trencavel, who died in his citadel. Simon de Montfort was granted Trencavel’s lands by the Pope, angering Peter II of Aragon, who had previously stayed neutral.

Simon de Montfort focused on holding his gains during the winter, facing desertions from local lords and attempts to expand his territory. His forces were later strengthened by reinforcements from northern France, Germany, and other regions. His summer campaigns recovered lost ground and expanded the crusade’s reach, including battles in the Aveyron and near the Rhône. His greatest victory came at the Battle of Muret in 1213, where his small cavalry force defeated a much larger allied army led by Raymond of Toulouse and Peter II of Aragon. Peter II’s death ended the influence of the Aragonese in the region.

In 1214, King Philip II’s victory at Bouvines helped end the Anglo-French War and weakened the Angevin Empire, allowing him to focus on the crusade. In 1226, Louis VIII of France led a large force into southern France to support the crusade.

The crusader army was led by Arnaud Amalric, a papal legate and abbot. In 1209, the town of Béziers was besieged. The city’s Catholic residents were allowed to leave, but many stayed to fight with the Cathars. After a failed attack by the city’s defenders, Arnaud Amalric reported to Pope Innocent III that his soldiers acted without orders. The doors of the church of St. Mary Magdalene were broken during the siege.

Later history

After Catharism was stopped, people who were Cathars faced unfair treatment. Sometimes, they had to live outside towns and away from their defenses. They kept their Cathar identity even after joining the Catholic Church. Using the word "Cathar" today refers to their culture or family background, not their religion. People are still interested in learning about the Cathars and their history, traditions, and beliefs.

The term "Pays cathare" means "Cathar Country" in French. It is used to show the region where Catharism was most common. This area includes places like Montségur and Carcassonne. The Aude department in France uses "Pays cathare" in its tourism materials. There are ruins from the wars against the Cathars that people can still see today.

Interrogation of heretics

In the late 13th to early 14th century, Jacques Fournier, who was the Bishop of Pamiers and later became Pope Benedict XII, questioned people in and around the village of Montaillou who were suspected of having wrong beliefs. During these interviews, scribes wrote down the conversations. A document from this time, called the Fournier Register, was found in Vatican archives in the 1960s. Jean Duvernoy edited this document, and it became the foundation for Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie’s book Montaillou: The Promised Land of Error.

Historical and current scholarship

In the 1930s, a book titled Crusade Against the Grail was published by Otto Rahn, a young German man who later became an SS officer. This book renewed interest in the relationship between the Cathars and the Holy Grail, especially in Germany. Rahn believed that the 13th-century story Parzival by Wolfram von Eschenbach secretly described the Cathars. Alfred Rosenberg, a Nazi government official and writer, praised the Cathars in his book The Myth of the Twentieth Century.

English-language academic books about the Cathars first appeared in the early 2000s, such as The Cathars by Malcolm Lambert and The Cathars by Malcolm Barber.

Starting in the 1990s, historians like R. I. Moore questioned whether Catharism was a real, organized religion. Using research by French historians like Monique Zerner and Uwe Brunn, Moore argued in The War on Heresy that Catharism was not a secret religion brought from the East but instead a spiritual movement that arose in Western Europe during the 12th and 13th centuries. Moore claimed that the people persecuted as Cathars were not followers of a hidden faith but part of a broader religious revival. His work reflects a growing trend among historians to examine how the church created the idea of heresy.

Since the 1990s, scholars have described the fear of Cathars as a "moral panic." The crusade against Cathars has been compared to other historical events, such as witch-hunts, anti-Semitic persecution, and the Satanic Panic.

In 2016, a book titled Cathars in Question, edited by Antonio Sennis, collected different views from scholars who studied medieval heresy. These scholars, including Feuchter, Stoyanov, Sackville, and others, had discussed the topic at meetings in London in 2013. Sennis described the debate as a highly controversial discussion about whether "Catharism" was a real medieval phenomenon.

Dr. Andrew Roach, writing in The English Historical Review, noted that scholars who contributed to Cathars in Question still disagree. He asked whether historians can be certain that the church’s descriptions of heresy were not shaped by their own biases or misunderstandings.

Professor Rebecca Rist calls the debate the "heresy debate," explaining that some historians argue Catharism was a real religious movement with roots in the Balkans, while others believe it was invented by the medieval church to target religious dissenters. She agrees that the church may have exaggerated the threat of Catharism but says there is evidence that the heresy existed.

Professor Claire Taylor has called for a "post-revisionism" in the debate, noting that earlier historians assumed Catharism was a form of dualism linked to Bogomilism, while more recent scholars focus on the social causes of the movement. Lucy Sackville argues that while the revisionists highlight the unclear origins of the Cathars and their labeling as "Manichaeans," this does not mean their heresy lacked an organized belief system.

In art and music

The main legacy of the Cathar movement is found in the poems and songs created by Cathar troubadours. However, this artistic contribution is only a small part of the larger Occitan language and art traditions. A specific Occitan song called Lo Boièr is closely connected to Catharism. Recent artistic projects that focus on the Cathar influence in Provençal and troubadour art include music recordings by Thomas Binkley, electric hurdy-gurdy musician Valentin Clastrier, La Nef, and Jordi Savall.

In popular culture, Catharism has been associated with the Knights Templar, a religious group of monks established after the First Crusade (1095–1099). This connection has led to some theories about the Cathars and the idea that they might have possessed the Holy Grail, as suggested in the book The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail.

Reinterpretations

In the 16th century, John Foxe and in the 20th century, Jean Duvernoy, both Protestants, claimed that Cathars followed ideas similar to early Protestant beliefs. However, many historians disagreed with this view. Foxe believed Cathars followed Calvinist ideas about salvation. Others argued that Cathars did not believe in dualism, a belief in two opposing forces, and that claims about dualism were either misunderstandings, incorrectly linked to Cathars, or made by people who opposed them.

Some historians suggested that Cathars may have followed Protestant ideas because the Protestant Reformation spread quickly to areas where Cathars lived. They claimed Cathars held Protestant beliefs before the Reformation. However, most historians consider these arguments weak, as they require ignoring the differences between Cathar beliefs and Protestantism, such as the absence of dualism in Protestantism.

In the 20th century, some Baptists argued that Cathars were early followers of Baptist beliefs, a theory called Baptist successionism. James Milton Carroll wrote in his book The Trail of Blood that groups like the Novatianists, also called Cathari, were ancestors of Baptist groups. However, Dwight Longenecker, writing for Catholic Answers, stated there is no historical proof to support Baptist successionism.

Hisel Berlin, who supported the Baptist successionist theory, claimed that many claims about Cathars were false and that Cathars rejected practices like infant baptism. Since the late 19th century, most historians studying Baptist history have moved away from the successionist theory, instead believing that modern Baptists developed from 17th-century English Separatists.