History UsefulNotes / TheCathars

The legacy of Catharism has endured, spurred on by the preservation of various Cathar-related ruins in Languedoc, and the fact that almost all the historical records of the Cathars were produced by their Catholic opponents, so little is truly known about them for certain. As a result, they are heavily ShroudedInMyth, subject to countless speculations and a popular ingredient in various supposed historical conspiracies. On one hand, they're a fountain of legends, spawning theories that they were in possession of the [[Myth/KingArthurAndTheHolyGrail Holy Grail]] and other conspiracies. On the other hand, a vocal minority of academics have begun to suggest that the Cathar movement didn't even exist--that is, Rome spun reports of a few small localized heretical groups (or even lied from the beginning to the end about the existence of those groups) into a vast movement to justify a crusade. As you can see, the Cathars are a major topic of heated debate among medieval historians. They're also a point of attraction for their home region in France, which proudly bills itself as ''Pays Cathare'' ("Cathar Country").

The legacy of Catharism has endured, spurred on by the preservation of various Cathar-related ruins in Languedoc, and the fact that almost all the historical records of the Cathars were produced by their Catholic opponents, so little is truly known about them for certain. As a result, they are heavily ShroudedInMyth, subject to countless speculations and a popular ingredient in various supposed historical conspiracies. On one hand, they're a fountain of legends, spawning theories that they were in possession of the Holy Grail and other conspiracies. You might have come to this page due to Creator/DanBrown's ''Literature/TheDaVinciCode'', where they are claimed to be secret custodians of the bloodline of Jesus and Mary Magdalene -- something whose sole concept, ironically, would have infuriated true Cathars. On the other hand, a vocal minority of academics have begun to suggest that the Cathar movement didn't even exist--that is, Rome spun reports of a few small localized heretical groups (or even lied from the beginning to the end about the existence of those groups) into a vast movement to justify a crusade. As you can see, the Cathars are a major topic of heated debate among medieval historians. They're also a point of attraction for their home region in France, which proudly bills itself as ''Pays Cathare'' ("Cathar Country").

The Cathars (from the ancient Greek ''katharoi'', "the pure ones") were a [[TheMiddleAges medieval]] religious movement of UsefulNotes/{{Christian|ity}} UsefulNotes/{{Gnosticism}}, active from the 11th to 14th centuries around Southern Europe, particularly southern UsefulNotes/{{France}} and northwestern UsefulNotes/{{Italy}}. Considered a vital part of the community in those regions, the Cathars drew the ire of the Catholic Church and [[UsefulNotes/{{Turkey}} Ottoman Empire]], which saw them as competition for both religious and political reasons, leading to their extermination.

The Cathars (from the ancient Greek ''katharoi'', "the pure ones") were a medieval religious movement of Christian UsefulNotes/{{Gnosticism}}, active from the 11th to 14th centuries around Southern Europe, particularly southern France and northwestern Italy. Considered a vital part of the community in those regions, the Cathars drew the ire of the Catholic Church and Ottoman Empire, which saw them as competition for both religious and political reasons, leading to their extermination.

The origin of this movement remains unknown, although it has been traditionally tied to the Bogomils, a 10th century Gnostic sect from the Bulgarian Empire founded by a preacher who called himself Bogomil ("Bogomil" is a Slavic term meaning "dear to God"). The Bogomils were social anarchists who rejected regular Christian teachings and replaced them with a creation myth of moderate dualism. According to their doctrine, God had two sons, [[SiblingYinYang Sataniel and Michael]]; the former revolted and created the material world as a prison, enslaving mankind there and founding the Abrahamic religions out of arrogance, while the latter took the guise of Jesus and came to the world to teach humans the way to escape. Bogomils were deeply social, rejecting the cross, any religious hierarchy beyond the rank of teacher, and any temple beyond the human body, which meant it was their duty to travel far and wide to preach and heal the sick. Bogomilism was eradicated in the 13th century by both the Pope and the Orthodox Church, but they had time to influence religious thought in the south of France and Italy, giving birth to Catharism.