…The Life and Death of the Cathars
Synopsis from book cover:
The fascinating story of the Cathar movement in southern France, from a revolutionary flowering to its hideous suppression by crusade of Church and King.
Review:
The book was previously entitled The Perfect Heresy, The Revolutionary Life and Death of Medieval Cathars. The narrative brings to life the medieval world of Cathars, describing the crusades against them and the atrocities of the inquisition.
The book starts by listing the key figures in the Cathar story allowing the reader to connect with each of them as the tragic story of suppression unfolds. The book is very clever in that it reads like a novel making it easily accessibly for everyone, whilst containing detailed historical accounts of the period and the people. It gives a clear overview of the Albigensian crusade in southern France and the massacre of a group of people for expressing a spiritual perspective that threatened the teachings of the Church and the authority of the King.
The book is complete with sources and a selected bibliography for those who wish to explore the subject further.
It sounds like a good book for a movie, Cherry.
The story is incorporated into Labyrinth by Kate Mosse, which has just been made into a film for TV.