Synopsis (from book cover):

Did you know that the word “Cathar” has been used only since the 19th century in reference to the 13th century supporters of a faith and a religious practice which the Catholic papacy considered to be dangerously heretical?  Did you know that almost everything that we know about the Cathars comes from interrogations carried out by the Inquisitors in the name of the Catholic Church?  Did you know that, thanks to this religious conflict, the Kingdom of France was able to extend its domination over southern Occitan?

In this book, Claude Lebedel describes as clearly as possible the historic, cultural and religious context, as well as the events which marked this tragedy, cast into the darkness recesses of history between the 13th and 19th centuries, and around which a certain amount of mystery has grown.

Tourists or visitor wishing to follow in the footsteps of the Cathars will find suggestions to help them in their search for a cultural and historical Cathar itinerary.

Review:

The book gives a concise but thorough overview of the Cathars and their faith and the persecution of them by the Catholic church.  It sets out the historical context and the players that were involved.  It sets out the basis of the Cathar faith and describes each of the albegensian crusades against them.

The book is illustrated throughout and there are many pictures of the remains of the Cathar fortresses along with maps showing the location of the Cathar strongholds.  It even has a section that gives ideas for an itinerary to follow in the footsteps of the Cathars.

The book is published by Editions OUEST-FRANCE

I invite you to join me at Vision & Verb where I talk about the Museum of Torture that I visited whilst I was in Carcassonne.  It displayed the instruments of torture that were used in the middle ages.  The museum focused in detail on the Albigensian crusades and the Inquisition and left visitors with a chilling reminder that these things and worse still continue to this day.