A Most Holy War: The Albigensian Crusade and the Battle for Christendom

• DOI: 10.1093/ehr/cep371
• Publication Date: 2009-12-31T02:24:36Z
• Authors: C. Taylor
• Keywords: Heresy; Confessional; Praise; Contempt

As Mark Pegg observes, ‘Catharism’, understood by most as a twelfth- and thirteenth-century heresy that was especially successful in northern Italy southern France, has been the subject of diverse influential popular approaches late, from which professional historians have tended to distance themselves. Few historians, however, show quite much contempt for non-academic interpretations is displayed Pegg; nor do dismiss majority research on Catharism lightly does opening sections this book. The tone set an overly confessional preface author establishes his credentials telling how he visited Montségur, where sect made its last stand 1243–4, being alone there, amid mere tourists, interpreting critically fortress implications. His introduction first two chapters are devoted snapping backbone scholarly heresiology. Along with rest Cathar history, we learn misinterpreted Albigensian Crusade (1209–29) path led subsequently Montségur. They not only ‘vaguely mistaken, or somewhat misguided’ but ‘breathtakingly wrong’ (p. x). Exactly what they got wrong about always entirely clear, it appears originate ‘Cathars’ place: erroneously associated similar events concepts each other sloppily did medieval clergy (here illuminated Pegg, previous work, ‘hot air balloon’ metaphor, p. xi). He correct, course, point out no one Languedoc called ‘Cathar’ their contemporaries 22). We could add neither were early crusades ‘crusades’. frustration arises fact stop scholars noting analogous phenomena categorising them thing rather than another.