Factual record of a woman who remembers her life in the 13th century.

Factual record of a woman who remembers her life in the 13th century.

Factual record of a woman who remembers her life in the 13th century.

This book describes how a group of people, who had lived and suffered together in the 13th century, re-assembled in the 20th century in a limited area in the west of England. Independently of each other these people tuned in, with the piercing accuracy of searchlights, to the same tragic events in the Languedoc in the years 1242 to 1244. One of the most remarkable features of the book is the description of sketches made by a child of seven. It is clear that in these she too was remembering the same tragic years. Of this circle of people alive in the 20th century, the author has discovered the mediaeval names and roles of seven of the eight involved. Though born with a highly developed critical faculty the author regards the material revealed to him as unique. He has written this book to record faithfully an astounding experience and to fulfil the obligation laid on him to provide proof, not only of group reincarnation, but of the indestructibility of the human psyche.

In 1300, the French region of Languedoc had been cowed under the authority of both Rome and France since Pope Innocent III 's Albigensian Crusade nearly a century earlier. That crusade almost wiped out the Cathars, a group of heretical Christians whose beliefs threatened the authority of the Catholic Church. But decades of harrowing repression-enforced by the ruthless Pope Boniface VIII , the Machiavellian French King Philip the Fair of France, and the pitiless grand inquisitor of Toulouse, Bernard Gui (the villain in The Name of the Rose)-had bred resentment. In the city of Carcassonne, anger at the abuses of the Inquisition reached a boiling point and a great orator and fearless rebel emerged to unite the resistance among Cathar and Catholic alike. The people rose up, led by the charismatic Franciscan friar Bernard Délicieux and for a time reclaimed control of their lives and communities. Having written the acclaimed chronicle of the Cathars The Perfect Heresy , Stephen O'Shea returns to the medieval world to chronicle a rare and remarkable story of personal courage and principle standing up to power, amidst the last vestiges of the endlessly fascinating Cathar world. Praise for The Perfect Heresy : "At once a cautionary tale about the corruption of temporal power...and an accounting of the power of faith ...It is also just a darn good read."-Baltimore Sun "An accessible, readable history with lessons ...that were not learned by broad humanity until it saw 20th-century tyrants applying the goals and methods of the Inquisition on a universal scale."-New York Times

A deep-dive into the history, culture, and legacy of the medieval Christian dualist movement, Catharism—as seen in popular novels by Dan Brown and Kate Mosse Centuries after the brutal slaughter of the Cathars by papally endorsed Northern French forces, and their suppression by the Inquisition, the medieval Cathars continue to exert a powerful influence on both popular culture and spiritual seekers. Yet few people know anything of the beliefs of the Cathars beyond vague notions that they believed in reincarnation, were vegetarians, were somehow Gnostic, and had some relation to Mary Magdalene. The Lost Teachings of the Cathars explores the history of this Christian dualist movement between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries, offering a sympathetic yet critical examination of its beliefs and practices. In addition to investigating the Cathars’ origin, their relationship to Gnosticism, and their possible survival of the Inquisition, author Andrew Philip Smith also addresses theories and figures from the Cathars’ recent past. Eccentric esotericists initiated a neo-Cathar revival in the Languedoc which inspired the philosopher Simone Weil. The German Otto Rahn—the real-life Indiana Jones—believed that the Cathars were protectors of the Holy Grail and received support from Heinrich Himmler. Meanwhile, English psychiatrist Arthur Guirdham became convinced that he and a circle of patients had all been Cathars in previous lives. Tourists flock to the Languedoc to visit Cathar country. Bestsellers such as Kate Mosse’ timeslip novel Labyrinth continue to fascinate readers. But what did the Cathars really believe and practice?

"Johnson is clearly striding in the footsteps of authors like Geraldine Brooks and Diana Gabaldon in her juxtaposition of the modern and historical."—New York Journal of Books Three men are trapped in time. One woman could save them all. Historian Lia Carrer has finally returned to southern France, determined to rebuild her life after the death of her husband. If nothing else, her trip could grant her perspective on the region's traditional reincarnation beliefs and resurrect her dying thesis. But instead of finding solace and insight in the region's quiet hills and medieval ruins, Lia falls in love. Raoul's very existence challenges everything she knows about life, history, and her husband's death. As Raoul reveals the story of his past to Lia, she's caught up in the echoes of a historic murder, resulting in a haunting and suspenseful journey through the romantic landscape of the Languedoc region. A remarkable and richly-developed novel, in the tradition of time-travel romances by Susanna Kearsley and Diana Gabaldon, In Another Life masterfully blends historical fiction with a love that conquers time.

Catharism was the most successful heresy of the Middle Ages. Flourishing principally in the Languedoc and Italy, the Cathars taught that the world is evil and must be transcended through a simple life of prayer, work, fasting, and non-violence. They believed themselves to be the heirs of the true heritage of Christianity going back to apostolic times, and completely rejected the Catholic Church and all its trappings, regarding it as the Church of Satan. Cathar services and ceremonies, by contrast, were held in fields, barns, and in people's homes. Finding support from the nobility in the fractious political situation in southern France, the Cathars also found widespread popularity among peasants and artisans. And, unlike the Church, the Cathars respected women; they played a major role in the movement. Alarmed at the success of Catharism, the Church founded the Inquisition and launched the Albigensian Crusade to exterminate the heresy. While previous Crusades had been directed against Muslims in the Middle East, the Albigensian Crusade was the first Crusade to be directed against fellow Christians, and was also the first European genocide. With the fall of the Cathar fortress of Montségur in 1244, Catharism was largely obliterated, although the faith survived into the early fourteenth century. Today, the mystique surrounding the Cathars is as strong as ever, and Sean Martin recounts their story and the myths associated with them in this lively and gripping book.