London : Profile Books, 2000. First edition. Hardcover. Near fine cloth copy in a very good if slightly edge-nicked and dust-toned dust wrapper, now mylar-sleeved. Remains particularly well-preserved overall; tight, bright, clean and strong. Physical description: xiii, 333p.: ill.,facsim,maps,plans; 21cm. Notes: Bibliography: p305-311.Subjects: Albigenses France Languedoc. Christian heresies France. Languedoc History Middle Ages, 600-1500. France Church history 987-1515.

Synopsis

The Revolutionary Life and Death of the Medieval CatharsAt the beginning of the thirteenth century, the Cathars, a group of heretical Christians, rose to prominence in Languedoc, now a region of southern France, but then a patchwork of city-states and principalities beholden to neither king nor bishop. The Cathars held revolutionary beliefs that threatened the authority of the Catholic Church as well as the legitimacy of feudal law: They thought the idea of Hell to be a sham; they rejected all sacraments, including marriage; they thought private property an absurd notion and that all things worldly were corrupt; and they preached religious tolerance and equality of the sexes.Supported by the leaders of Languedoc, Catharism enraged the new and formidable pope, Innocent III, who was determined to flex the Church’s muscle after decades of ineffectual weakness. Innocent resolved to eradicate what is now known as the Great Heresy. He recruited the forces of France, eager to expand her territory to the south, to undertake a systematic extermination of the Cathars and their supporters through a series of crusades between 1209 and 1229. By the time the wars were finally over, the ancient social fabric of the Languedoc had been destroyed, the territory of France reached as far as the Mediterranean, and a terrifying new force—the Inquisition—had been unleashed that would torment Europe for centuries.The Perfect Heresy eloquently chronicles the life and death of the Cathar movement—one of Western civilization’s most mind-boggling tales. As he did in his highly praised Back to the Front, Stephen O’Shea brings long-ago events to life though the energy of his prose and the clarity of his insight. Full of colorful and passionate personalities, his latest book sheds new light on the thirteenth century and on the timelessness of religious intolerance.

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Bookseller: MW Books Ltd. (IE)
Bookseller's Inventory #: 340017
Title: The perfect heresy : the life and death of the Cathars / Stephen O'Shea
Author: O'Shea, Stephen
Format/Binding: Hardcover
Book Condition: Used
Quantity Available: 1
Edition: First edition
ISBN 10: 1861972709
ISBN 13: 9781861972705
Publisher: London : Profile Books
Place of Publication: London
Date Published: 2000

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Tight: Used to mean that the binding of a book has not been overly loosened by frequent use.
First Edition: In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
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