The Cathar Heritage

Origins

The evidence which is available suggests that the cathar faith had very early beginnings, probably before the birth of Jesus.  It is probably an amalgam of  the earlier religions of Egypt, Persia, Sumer and India. The message was unified, simplified and made available to all by Jesus teaching. It was intended to eradicate the Jewish Messanic Faith and it’s inherent nationalism. 

Heresy

The fathers of Church of Rome, determined to protect their Jewish heritage, adopted some of this alternative religion and tried to obscure the differences. They moved to eliminate any belief which departed in any way from their approved Liturgy.”Heresy” quickly changed in meaning from “different opinion” to “crime against faith”.

Commonality

In order to avoid recognition of the true strength of the alternative faith, the Church of Rome gave the the alternative faith a different name in all the territories in which it occured, stressing different aspects of the teaching in each place.  In fact many of these different ‘Heresies’ were similar, perhaps identical. A Wide-Spread Belief Very little is known about the Cathar faith which can be subjected to the normal academic proof of veracity. What we do know is that it had very early beginnings, before the birth of Jesus. It is an amalgam of the earlier religions of Egypt, Persia, Sumer and India. The message was unified, simplified and made available to all by Jesus teaching. The Church of Rome, determined to protect the Jewish heritage, adopted some of this alternative religion and tried to obscure the differences. The Emperor Constantine in allowing the Church of Rome to prosper failed to recognise these differences. "Heracy" quickly changed in meaning from "different opinion" to "crime against faith". In order to avoid recognition of the true strength of the alternative faith, the Church of Rome gave the faith a different name in all the territories in which it occured stressing different aspects of the teaching in each place.

Cathar Beliefs

What then is this “Cathar” faith which the Church of Rome tried so hard to eradicate?

Cathar beliefs are so different that it is difficult to understand why they both call themselves Christians.

The Cathar faith is fundamentally different than the Christianity taught by the Church. Cathars believe that “God the father” of the Roman church is Set the Egyptian God of chaos,”The Demierge” or the Devil. The physical world is the Devil’s realm and this world is hell. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament of the Church of Rome are therefore inspired by the Devil and should be rejected. The Church of Rome betrays itself by its obsession with the material world;  wealth, property, elaborate churches, extravagent lifestyles,bejewelled vestments and elaborate ceremonials.
The Church of Rome naturally sees all these beliefs as a dangerous attack on its establishment and a threat to its continuance as the leading European Religion. hence the Crusade, hence the Inquisition..

Essentially optimistic, Cathars believed that the Good God would eventually triumph.

Unlike the Church of Rome which enforced strict adherence to doctrine, the Cathar faith encourages discussions of the mysteries of faith and permits variations in belief.

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A history of persecution

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Both the Church of Rome and The Cathars believed that Jesus was a real person. That is about all they had in common. When did the persecution start? There was violence on the streets of Rome during the reigns of Tiberius, not long after the date given for Jesus death. the violence was repeated in the reigns of Gaius (Caligula) and Claudius. By the time of Claudius the violence had spread to Alexandria and other provincial capitals. What were the "Jews" fighting about? By extrapolation backwards from subsequent events it seems obvious it was about religious differences.

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The Novgorod Codex

It was not just a Mediterranian phenomenon. Novgorod is a city situated between Moscow and St Petersburg. The Novgorod Codex found during the excavation of the city in 2000 contains many “hidden messages” including ” The world is a town in which people not forsaking the true faith in Christ are excluded from the church” Here carbon dating raises the possibility that the tablets were from the sixth century, but an academic historian has declared this date to be impossible because the texts are clearly related to christianity and christianity only reached the Kevian Rus in the tenth century.

Catharism

The Cathars are believed themselves to be unique. The argument is that the faith had thrived, in the roman empire away from the cities and in particular undisturbed in Occitan from the time of Jesus.The Cathar church had no possessions, no grand churches or bejewelled vestments, no ritual, ceremonies, sacraments or pagentry. Its liturgy was sparse and there was no formal hierachy organised on a geographical basis. This means that it was and is invisible to mainstream historians. Church of Rome used some of the Cathar’s modest piety to denegrate their faith.

The most dangerous woman in the world

The Treasure of Trencavel

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Extract from The Prisoner of Foix--Chapter 43 -The EntranceNo need to buy a Kindle. Read it on your computer or tablet

John Stanley-26th April 1355

 

'Looks like we are going to see a bit of excitement, John. The Captain tried to get an agreement from the Prince that if there is surf running across the channel to Arcachon we will turn back to Bordeaux, but the Prince would hear none of it. Instead, he has offered to provide insurance for all three ships. If they are damaged or sunk, the owners will be compensated and every sailor who makes the passage will be given a bounty payment. What none of this seems to take into account is that if we sink in rough, fast-flowing waters we might all drown.'

John raised his eyebrows. 'But that is what we are going to do?'

'Yes, despite the fact that surf running accross the entrance is not uncommon and the deep water channel moves continually. In the end, the Prince attacked their captains on their weakest point, their professional pride! He threw down the gauntlet. He offered to take the Sally first through the channel, and to take control during the passage.' He raised his brow. 'We are going into the Bay of Arcachon, come what may! '

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Extract from The Eagle of Carcassone -- Chapter 24-- A Real GoddessNo need to buy a Kindle. Read it on your computer or tablet

John Stanley - 22 July 1355

An hour later John walked with Ximene close to the river along the valley below St Feriole. It was the very essence of a summer’s day. The sun was fierce but in the shadow of the trees, it was cool and fragrant. The trees and shrubs along the riverbank hid their progress, from the Château, from St Feriole.

Eventually they reached a point where John thought it was safe to emerge from cover. To his satisfaction the stream extended into a pool with a sandy beach, shaded by trees. Where the stream entered the pool there was a flat grassy area, almost circular. Behind this, the bulk of two mountain ridges provided a splendid backdrop. He looked around once more ‘Not just a good training ground but a great training ground. If the Greek heroes knew about this they might be tempted to join me, to train with me’

Ximene laughed out loud. He turned to look at her. She had removed her outer clothes and was wearing a white chemise, cut short so that it barely reached her knees. Around her waist, she wore a plaited leather belt, obviously fashioned from the multitude of leather straps to be found in the tackle room.

She ran her hands down over her breasts. ‘When you were unconscious I heard you muttering about gods and goddesses, so  I have decided that from now on, for you, I will be the goddess.’

Available February 2020
The Prisoner of FoixVol 1 of the series—The Treasure of Trencavel

Aquitaine, an English possession, is in crisis. It is under threat from neighbouring nations and internal dissension.

The Black Prince, King Edward III’s eldest son has been given the task of taking command in Aquitaine.

Suddenly there is an opportunity. Ximene Trencavel is the heiress to the lands of Occitan, to the east of Aquitaine: lands controlled by the Franks. Ximene wants independence, both for herself and for Occitan.

A union between Aquitaine and Occitan would be mutually beneficial. The Black Prince undertakes a secret journey to meet Ximene to negotiate a marriage contract. It is, however, a marriage neither of them really wants.

Meanwhile, the  Franks plot to murder Ximene to prevent ,not just the marriage, but any kind of union between England and Occitan.

The Eagle Of CarcassonneVol II of the series—The Treasure of Trencavel

The loose alliance between Ximene Trencavel and the Black Prince is under threat.

The Prince invades Occitan, to show his support for Ximene but it becomes an invasion which creates more problems than it solves.

The Prince has fallen hopelessly in love with Joan of Kent and Joan is now determined to marry him and become the next Queen of England.

Joan is therefore  determined to convince Ximene that she should not marry the Prince.

Part of her strategy is to encourage Ximene’s relationship with John Stanley—one of the Princes bodyguards—not an easy task as both John and Ximene have doubts about their compatibility.

However, John is grievously injured in a battle and Ximene commits herself to nurse him back to health.