Sean Martin (1) (1966–)

This is the best book on the Cathars I have read. It is about the religion and its history. Other books say they are about the Cathars but the books are just about the battles of the Albigensian Crusade and its politics. Other Cathar books are mystical new age books about secret eastern knowledge, the holy grail, the Knights Templar or Mary Magdalene. Other books say the Cathar belief were mysterious and sprang from nowhere. This book traces a straightforward chain from Paulicians, to Bogomils to the Cathars. It gives a transcript of a consolamentum, the "secret and mysterious" sacrament that is the core of the practice of Catharism. I guess it takes some of the romance out of the legends around Catharism but I like that it makes understanding it much easier.

The only hard part about the history in the book is that almost everyone involved is named Raymond. There is a Raymond V, Raymond VI, Raymond VII. There is a Raymond Roger Count of Foix. There is another Raymond Roger Trencavel. When people are not named Raymond, they are named Peter. Peter II, Peter of Bruys, Peter of Castelnau and Peter Roger of Mirepoix (another Roger). There were even women named Raymonde (with an e) who had affairs with guys named Peter. It is very hard to keep the players straight.

That being said, if you want to know what Catharism was, where it came from and what happened to it, this is the book to read.… (plus d'informations)