In the Indiana Jones movies, Indiana is usually searching for a rare artifact with mystical powers,

while some other nefarious archaeologist, usually a Nazi, is trying to find the artifact before India.

Believe it or not, that trope of a Nazi archaeologist looking for an item of

incredible power actually has a kernel of truth to it. Sort of. Learn more

about Otto Ron and the real-life Nazi search for the Holy Grail on this episode of

everything everywhere daily. Otto Ron was born in 1904 in in Middlestat, Germany.

He attended the University of Giesen, where he earned his degree in philology.

And FYI, philology is basically the study of linguistics and Literature in a historical context.

While at the University of Gieson, one of his professors was a Baron von Gaul, who introduced

him to the Alba Jensen Movement, also known as the Cathars.

And before I get too far, I should probably explain who the Cathars were because they're kind

of central to the story.

The Cathars were a religious movement which had its heyday from the 11th to 14th century. They primarily existed in southern France and

northern Italy. The Cathar's ideology was believed to have come from the East from

the Byzantine Empire, and it's also known as Albigensianism based on the French city of Albie where it was centered.

If you have ever come across the term before, it was probably from the Albigensian heresy, which is what

it was considered by the Catholic Church.

The Cathars had a belief system which differed

dramatically from Orthodox Christianity. For starters they thought there were

two twin opposing deities. One was an evil god who created the world which was the god of the Old Testament, and the other was a benign god who created the spirit world and was the god of the New Testament.

As such, all matter and the physical world was to be considered evil.

The Catharists thought that all people were angels who had literally made a deal with the devil to get corruptible physical bodies.

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