![]() ![]() In spite of ferocious repression, from the middle of the IIIrd century the doctrine spread to Palestine, Egypt and even Rome, and long held its place in Europe and western Asia. This doctrine was considered as the most fearsome enemy of all other religions, and of Christianity in particular.įrom 297 AD onward, Diocletian fought against the followers of Manichaeism. It is a syncretic form of Zoroastrianism (an ancient Iranian religion dating from about 600 BC) derived from Mazdaism which originated on the banks of the Indus, and of Gnosticism (IIIrd century AD). This philosophy, originating in the Middle East, holds that absolute duality exists between two principles: good and evil, the spirit and the flesh, light and darkness, God and Satan. In Italy, they were called Patarins from the name of the Patara movement, which was opposed to the clergy.Ĭatharism is the heir to Manicheism, a dualist philosophy dating from the IIIrd century, which was founded by Manes or Mani, born in 216 AD in Babylonia (Persia). In Germany, the Cathars were known as Katter and in the north of France as Katiers, as they were alleged to worship the devil in the shape of a cat. It had already co-existed, clandestinely or sometimes openly, with the Byzantine or Roman church. ![]() Catharism did not originate in Languedoc, nor even in France, as is commonly believed. One of the most famous burnings took place at Montségur, in Languedoc, in 1244.Īs I live in Cathar country, I thought it would be interesting to recollect for readers this fascinating period in the history of France and of brulology.Ĭatharism (from the Greek “kataros”, pure) designates a religious movement close to Catholicism, which reached the height of its popularity in Western Europe at the end of the 12th century. Considered as heretics, the Cathars were decimated (the Albigensian crusade, initiated by Pope Innocent III). This belief led them to follow an ascetic way of life. The Cathar vision of the universe was dualist: light and the spirit (good) confronted matter and darkness (evil). Its followers were particularly numerous in Occitania, southern France. But it was in the Middle Ages, with the Inquisition, that great bonfires came into widespread use, making it possible to eliminate the Cathars “en masse”.Ĭatharism designates a religious movement of Christian origin dating from the late XIIth century. The tradition of burning at the stake is a very ancient one: punishment by fire was already used in antiquity, before Christ, and ranked high among violent methods of execution. Like many French and English words, burn and brulology thus share a common ancestry. The same root “brenn” in Old Norse (Nordic or Old North Germanic) gave rise to the English “burn”. This later became “brûler”, where the “s” is replaced by the circumflex accent on the “u”, a common process with mediaeval words. Taken together, these became “brustulare”, then “brusler” in the Middle Ages (as in the 12th century Oxford Psalter). The etymology of the French terms “brûlure” and “brûlologie” comes from the vulgar Latin “ustulare”, to burn (which led in currentday Italian to “ustioni”, burns), in combination with the Old Frankish (West Germanic) root “brenn”, burn. “Brulology*” is an anglicisation of the French term, brûlologie, or the specialty of burn care. The subject is of course a long way from our usual scientific preoccupations, but there is no reason why “brulologists” (burn specialists) should not take an interest in history and culture. This gives us the opportunity to describe the historical fresco of events that unfolded in southern France over nearly 150 years. They were exterminated by burning at the stake on huge pyres. They preached an austere form of Christianity originating in the East and were opposed to a dogmatic, coercive Catholicism. The Cathars are among the great burn victims of history. For those who are not familiar with the history of Occitania, southern France. The title of this article may seem unusual. ![]()
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