Alasdair Macintosh wrote:
>
>
> Well, there is a Cathar website at
>
> http://www.infobahnos.com/~assembly/index2.html
>
> whose contents suggest that some kind of Catharism is still flourishing.
>
> Whether the present-day 'Good Christians' have a lot in common with
> their Albigensian predecessors is, of course, hard to say.
>
I attended a conference in Fanjeaux, France at the beginning of July.
Those of you familiar with the Cathars will know that Fanjeaux was one of
the hotbeds for Catharism in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. In
fact, from the highest point of Fanjeaux one can see the convent founded
by Dominic for the conversion of Cathar women. Upon my arrival in Fanjeaux
I discovered that there was great local pride to show this was Cathar
country. For instance, there is a Cathar mortician in a nearby town (I was
afraid to ask the details!), and for the last two years there has been a
Miss Cathar beauty contest (this is true). In regard to these two details
that I discovered during my short stay, I think the "Albigensian
predecessors" would have found the "present-day Good Christians" quite
different. I should add that there exists a less "touristy" approach to
remind people that they are in Cathar country. In Fanjeaux there was a
exhibition of photos that featured Cathar traces, that is photos of
Montsegur and the like. Next to these photos were quotes taken from the
sources that Otfried has referred to and some inquisitorial procedures
which contain some Cathar bon mots. It was superbly presented and seemed
to represent the Cathar viewpoint which is often difficult to ascertain.
*********************
Carolyn Muessig
[log in to unmask]
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|