|
|
1 |
Weis, Rene The Yellow Cross: The Story of the Last Cathars: 1290-1329
Viking 2000 0670881627 / 9780670881628 First Edition Hard Cover Fine Fine
Like-new condition. NO remainder marks or price clippings. Tight spine - Bright pages. 453 pages. NO writing, marks or tears inside book. - For almost 30 years, the medieval community known as the Cathars was able to stand in opposition to both the oppression of the Catholic Church and the terrors of the Inquisition. Considered heretics, they were forced to wear the yellow cross -- a symbol of shame -- and many of their members were burned at the stake. RenÁ Weis meticulously recounts the events of the Cathars' last stand, making use of previously undocumented documents, such as interrogation transcripts and Inquisition trial records. The Yellow Cross truly brings back to life a forgotten world. From the Publisher A brilliant exploration of the medieval community that, with almost miraculous psychological fortitude and strength of faith, defied the Catholic Church and the Inquisition. The Cathars, whose religion was based on the Gospels but contradicted the orthodoxy of Rome, resided in what is now southwest France. In the early thirteenth century, they became the focus of systematic repression by both the monarchy and the Church, and were forced to wear the yellow cross, the original heretics’ symbol of shame. In successive waves of brutal persecution, thousands of Cathars were captured, summarily tried, and burned at the stake. Yet so ardent was the faith of their community that during the years 1290 to 1320 the Cathars rose up one last time. René Weis tells the full story of these thirty years with the aid of remarkably detailed documentation—including previously untapped trial records, verbatim notes of interrogations, and minutes of the Inquisitors—as well as his own intimate knowledge of the last Cathars’ hiding places, many of which survive to this day. It is a rich medieval tale of faith, adventure, sex, and courage that is miraculously true in every detail. Authoritative, eminently readable, andpeopled with indelible characters—almost 250 of them, from a charismatic, beautiful châtelaine and a double-dealing priest to a loquacious, heroic shepherd and a merciless bishop—The Yellow Cross is a exceptionally vivid re-creation of a fascinating, and otherwise lost, world. From The Critics Booknews In the early 13th century, the Cathars, whose religion contradicted the orthodoxy of Rome, became the objects of a program of repression conducted by the monarchy and the church. They were forced to wear the heretic's symbol of the yellow cross and thousands of Cathars were tried and burned at the stake. In this study, Weis (English literature, University College, London) recounts the 30-year resistance of the Cathars to the Catholic Church and the Inquisition. The volume contains a section of 32 color plates. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR - Rene Weiss' Yellow Cross is an in-depth, dramatic exploration of the medieval community which defied the Catholic Church and the Inquisition, the Cathars, whose religion contradicted Rome. Thirty years of the Cathars' conflicts with Rome are detailed in a history which is readable and involving. The probe includes many insights on social norms and politics of the times, as well as religious sentiments. Kirkus Reviews A meticulous reconstruction of the final years of some persistent medieval Pyrenean heretics whose leaders called "Perfects"were eventually burned or otherwise dispersed by the equally relentless Inquisition. Weis (English/University Coll., London) devoted five years to this remarkably detailed study of the Cathars, a small sect whose tenets included the belief that both the devil and God are eternal, that flesh is the devil's creation (the spirit, God's), that eating meat is unclean (fish and eggs excepted), and that at the time of death the faithful are carried to paradise by 48 angels. Cathars believed that sex is bad but worse in marriage, where it is sanctioned. Employing topographical maps, a hiker's constitution, a knowledge of the relevant languages and of the archival and published sources, and most importantly an insatiable curiosity and a vivid imagination, Weis brings to life a way of life as remote as the mountainous region where it briefly flourished. He pinpoints locations of assignations (and assassinations), of immolations, of individual homes, of alpine trails unused for centuries; he identifies days of the week when key events occurred; he tells what people ate—and with whom they ate it. Among the many notable personalities he reanimates are Pierre Clergue (a priapic priest), the earthy Béatrice de Planisolles (whose stunning testimony to the Inquisitors is an adornment of the story), Arnaud Sicre (who executed a two-year "sting" operation against the Cathars), and Guillaume, Jacques, and Pierre Authié (a family of Perfects whose devotion withstood the flames that consumed them). Pierre supposedly commented at his executionthat, if permitted to speak, he would convert everyone within his hearing. Weis describes the intricate (and often internecine) connections among the families and forces in the region, explaining how the Perfects were able to avoid capture and revealing how local authorities required the proscribed group of believers to attach a yellow religious symbol to their clothing. A work of stunning scholarship and imagination whose appeal will be to determined readers rather than casual ones. (32 pages photographs, 16 color, not seen; 7 maps)
Price:
7.50 USD
|
