The Cathars

"Al cap des set cens ans verdegeo le laurel" "After seven hundred years, the laurel will be green again." Cathar Prophecy - 1244.

The hill at Montsegur is ten minutes from my home. I can see it in the distance every day as I drive into the village that I live in. To me and many others, it is a sacred place and a reminder of the great movement that was Catharism, a great Gnostic church and movement that flourished in this region in the 13th and early fourteenth century. Below the hill or the Pog as it is known locally lies a peaceful meadow named 'The Field of the Burned'. It is here on the 16th March 1244, that over two hundred Cathars died at the hands of the Catholic church, rather than renounce their simple faith.

Who were the Cathars or Bons Hommes as they simply called themselves ? Perhaps the easiest way to trace the origins of the Cathar Church is to work back from the Languedoc and the Ariege. Catharism appeared in Western Europe in the eleventh century. Cathar beliefs seemed to have popped up around the same time in many countries, not only the Languedoc but also other areas of France, the Netherlands and various German states. They almost certainly spread from Northern Italy, carried by travellers, merchants and probably Cathar preachers - Parfaits. Certainly the Cathar Church was already well established in Northern Italy at that stage. (This Occitan speaking area would later provide a refuge for Cathars from the Languedoc obliged to flee their homeland during the Crusade). The religion came to Northern Italy via Bulgaria and probably originated in the Eastern Part of the Byzantine Empire. It may have originated in a form of Manichaen belief with connections to Persian Zoroastrianism and early Christian Gnostic dualism.

In the Languedoc, famous at the time for its culture, tolerance and liberalism, the Cathar religion became hugely popular and gained more and more followers during the twelfth century. By the early thirteenth century Catharism was the majority religion in the area with many followers amongst the nobility as well as the ordinary people. The Cathar Parfaits were brilliant theologians and inspiring leaders to their people. Renouncing worldly riches, they wore plain dark blue gowns, ate vegetarian foods, and lived a strictly ascetic life. They held to the tenet that Christ was cosmic, (and so could not be crucified). Marriage, baptism, and communion were not recognized as valid rituals. As Judith Mann says, What set the Cathari apart from other gnostic sects was the ritual of the The Consolamentum. This ceremony consisted of the Parfait laying his hands upon the head of the receipient. A transmission of immense spiritual energy was said to take place, inspiring to those who witnessed it. The energy transferred during the Consolamentum progressed the spirit in its journey towards the Light, especially at the time of death. To not fear death was a crowning achievement and the Bons Hommes were renowned for their faith and courage in this regard

Attacks on the South of France were led by the Catholic fanatic, Simon de Montfort. Whole towns were massacred in the most brutal fashion. The wild impassable ariege caused the death of thousands of his own men as he forced them into steep ravines and up treacherous mountainsides. De Montfort attacked Montsegur in 1209 but was defeated. Montsegur stood firm as a symbol of hope. By 1215, the Catholic Church established the dreadful Inquisition. During the next 50 years this brutal arm of the Church killed as many as one million people in the area, more than in all of the other crusades against heresies combined. Throughout these terrible times, Montsegur stood firm and defied the Church, standing as a bastion of the Cathar faith until the murder of two Dominican Inquisitors at Avignonet became the catalyst for more ferocious attacks against the fortress. The courageous Cathars and their supporters resisted for six months. But eventually and perhaps through treachery, the difficult slope of Montsegur was scaled and on 16th March 1244, Montsegur surrendered. Singing, 205 Cathars marched down the mountain to their deaths.

Today, a memorial steele silently testifies to the martyrdom of the cathars. When Montsegur fell, coins and sacred objects left behind by the Cathars were taken by the enemy, but according to Inquisition records, the real treasure vanished the night before the fall of the fortress. Four Cathars and the Cathars' treasure were said to have been let down the steepest side of the mountain by ropes and disappeared. Speculation still exists about the nature of the treasure (many believe it consisted of sacred books), and where might it be hidden. No trace of the treaure has ever been found or at least recorded in any way.

Silently and hauntingly, the hill at Montsegur stands in eternal tribute to the martyrs and their beliefs. Montsegur is a sacred and holy place steeped in history and faith. The courage and faith of the Cathars was astonishing. Their prophecy that the laurel would be green again after seven hundred years points right to the 1960s and cultural and consciousness revolution that began in those days. The Cathars were a bridge between ancient gnosticism and modern spiritualism. As a spiritualist, I consider the Cathars to be my spiritual predecssors and forefathers. They represented the last great attempt to introduce a Gnostic church in Europe. For many, Montsegur has an archetypal, compelling energy that cannot easily be explained. Since the day I first saw Montsegur, I could not rest until I returned to live in this haunting and beautiful land. When I go up the hill to the Chateau, I do not want to leave and when asked recently what the feeling is, I replied, 'one of overwhelming goodness'.

John Bradshaw (with some historical detail from Judith Mann's wonderful site at www.mystae.com).