The Albigensians: Their Origins and the Action of the Church in the 12th Century

of Italy, nor the CatharsFrom the Greek word for 'pure'. A name used for various dualist groups across Europe who rejected the material world as evil. of Germany,
present themselves to us as masters or
as followers of a religion unknown
until their time. They are only the disciples of a
philosophy that is already very ancient; they are
only the descendants of the original: "secte infâme" "infamous sect" A common historical label for Manichaeans, who were regarded as the ultimate heretics in Roman and Canon law.. The
same is true for the AlbigensiansHeretics in Southern France during the 12th and 13th centuries. They were the target of the Albigensian Crusade.. The dualist error, which was
driven out of all the Roman provinces and
established itself beyond the Danube from the 3rd to the 7th century,
lived for a long time, almost invincible, in
Armenia under the name of PaulicianismA Christian dualist sect that emerged in the 7th century. They rejected the Old Testament and the religious authority of the institutional Church.. Through
an unexpected resurgence, it appeared
among the Slavic peoples in the 9th century
with the BogomilsA religious movement in the Balkans that combined dualism with social critique of the Byzantine Church and state.. This same error made another ap-
pearance in the 10th century on the shores of the Adria-
tic, when the Slavic peoplesPopulations in Eastern and Central Europe whose trade networks became conduits for religious ideas between the Byzantine and Western worlds. carried their
then-flourishing trade to that region. From there, it
passed into Italy, where it established itself. From
Italy, having taken a vigorous flight, it spread
throughout all of modern France,
mainly in LanguedocA historical region in Southern France where the city of Albi is located. It was the center of the Albigensian movement.. That region
knew it under the name of the
doctrine of the original: "Albigois" Albigensians.

This is the fact that we will
first strive to demonstrate by speaking of the various
ManichaeanFollowers of the prophet Mani. In this context, it refers broadly to any group believing in a cosmic struggle between a good spiritual god and an evil material god. sects which, from the 3rd to the 10th century,
have infested the world. We will then try