History of the Crusades

the Crusades Episode 188, the Crusade, the Crusade against the Cathars, the Cathar legacy.

Hello again. Last week we saw the demise of the Cathar Faith, with the last major group of practicing Cathars in Long dock

rounded up by the Inquisition. But no doubt to the intense dismay of the Crusaders and the

Inquisitor's who had worked so hard to wipe them out, the Cathars didn't vanish from the pages of history.

In fact, Catharism has, in the last couple of centuries undergone somewhat of a revival and is now linked to regional

identity and pride in modern Longdock. Cathar sites such as Carcasson and Monsieur attract vast

numbers of tourists and apparently there's a sign on the highway as you drive into Long dock from the north via Avignon that

declares and I quote entering Cathar Country end quote. There are also a reasonable number of people living in southern France today who identify as Cathars.

The story of the Cathar Revival is an interesting one. By the 20th century, Catharism became

linked with the search for the Holy Grail, and even today conspiracy theorists get themselves into a total lather if you mention the

treasure of Monsieur.

How did this all come about? Well, it all started back in the early 19th century with a man named Napoleon Péra.

Napoleon Péra had been born and raised in the region that had once been the county of

Vois and had eventually made his way to Paris where he was the pastor of the Reformed Church of France.

Now Napoleon Péra was a gifted writer and amateur historian who unfortunately also possessed a vivid imagination.

As the dust was settling following the French Revolution Napoleon Péra railed against the influence of the Catholic Church

in France, believing it to be reactionary and oppressive.

Being from southern France, Napoleon Péra was aware of the story of the Cathar faith,

and in his mind, it offered the perfect tool to reveal the injustices perpetrated by the Church of Rome.

I mean, really everyone loves the story of the committed small band of believers fighting valiantly against their oppressive

militaristic well-organized overlords.

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