Power & Purity

Cathar Heresy in Medieval Italy

Nonfiction, History, Italy, Medieval, Religion & Spirituality
Cover of the book Power & Purity by Carol Lansing, Oxford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Carol Lansing ISBN: 9780190281694
Publisher: Oxford University Press Publication: February 12, 1998
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: Carol Lansing
ISBN: 9780190281694
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication: February 12, 1998
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

Catharism was a popular medieval heresy based on the belief that the creation of humankind was a disaster in which angelic spirits were trapped in matter by the devil. Their only goal was to escape the body through purification. Cathars denied any value to material life, including the human body, baptism, and the Eucharist, even marriage and childbirth. What could explain the long popularity of such a bleak faith in the towns of southern France and Italy? Power and Purity explores the place of cathar heresy in the life of the medieval Italian town of Orvieto. Based on extensive archival research, it details the social makeup of the Cathar community and argues that the heresy was central to the social and political changes of the 13th century. The late 13th-century repression of Catharism by a local inquisition was part of a larger redefinition of civic and ecclesiastical authority. Author Carol Lansing shows that the faith attracted not an alienated older nobility but artisans, merchants, popular political leaders, and indeed circles of women in Orvieto as well as Florence and Bologna. Cathar beliefs were not so much a pessimistic anomaly as a part of a larger climate of religious doubt. The teachings on the body and the practice of Cathar holy persons addressed questions of sexual difference and the structure of authority that were key elements of medieval Italian life. The pure lives of the Cathar holy people, both male and female, demonstrated a human capacity for self-restraint that served as a powerful social model in towns torn by violent conflict. This study addresses current debates about the rise of persecution, and argues for a climate of popular toleration. Power and Purity will appeal to historians of society and politics as well as religion and gender studies.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Catharism was a popular medieval heresy based on the belief that the creation of humankind was a disaster in which angelic spirits were trapped in matter by the devil. Their only goal was to escape the body through purification. Cathars denied any value to material life, including the human body, baptism, and the Eucharist, even marriage and childbirth. What could explain the long popularity of such a bleak faith in the towns of southern France and Italy? Power and Purity explores the place of cathar heresy in the life of the medieval Italian town of Orvieto. Based on extensive archival research, it details the social makeup of the Cathar community and argues that the heresy was central to the social and political changes of the 13th century. The late 13th-century repression of Catharism by a local inquisition was part of a larger redefinition of civic and ecclesiastical authority. Author Carol Lansing shows that the faith attracted not an alienated older nobility but artisans, merchants, popular political leaders, and indeed circles of women in Orvieto as well as Florence and Bologna. Cathar beliefs were not so much a pessimistic anomaly as a part of a larger climate of religious doubt. The teachings on the body and the practice of Cathar holy persons addressed questions of sexual difference and the structure of authority that were key elements of medieval Italian life. The pure lives of the Cathar holy people, both male and female, demonstrated a human capacity for self-restraint that served as a powerful social model in towns torn by violent conflict. This study addresses current debates about the rise of persecution, and argues for a climate of popular toleration. Power and Purity will appeal to historians of society and politics as well as religion and gender studies.

More books from Oxford University Press

Cover of the book The Poetry of Sappho by Carol Lansing
Cover of the book The Myth of Southern Exceptionalism by Carol Lansing
Cover of the book Freedom's Orator : Mario Savio And The Radical Legacy Of The 1960s by Carol Lansing
Cover of the book John Brown (The Oxford W. E. B. Du Bois) by Carol Lansing
Cover of the book United States Law and Policy on Transitional Justice by Carol Lansing
Cover of the book Sounding the Gallery by Carol Lansing
Cover of the book Pilgrimage of Love by Carol Lansing
Cover of the book Vanishing Sensibilities by Carol Lansing
Cover of the book The Dogs of War by Carol Lansing
Cover of the book The Poetry of Sappho by Carol Lansing
Cover of the book Lifestyles and Feeding Biology by Carol Lansing
Cover of the book Health Social Work: Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide by Carol Lansing
Cover of the book Unlimited Replays by Carol Lansing
Cover of the book Insidious Foes by Carol Lansing
Cover of the book Masculinity, Femininity, and American Political Behavior by Carol Lansing
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy