The Cathars and Carcassonne

To the strains of the exquisite and melodious voice of Ella Fitzgerald on the car CD player, singing:
‘I love Paris in the springtime,
I love Paris in the fall....’

we motored into the fortress city of Carcassonne, in the region of Languedoc-Roussillan, France, and parked in the bustling lower town. We both mused on the likelihood or sense of loving a city, as opposed to the love of God, of life and the world, or each other. Our further acquaintance with this lovely city however, confirmed the idea that the sentiment might indeed be possible. We were so taken by the majesty and splendour of the city that we decided to stay there much longer than previously planned.

Sketch of the Fortress City

Carcassonne, the walled city on high ground, is two thousand years old at least. Its skyline, floodlit at night, is breathtakingly beautiful. It has a rather scrubby hinterland of indifferent architecture and a somewhat chaotic melée of streets in the lower town, which is separated from the fortress by the stylish River Aude. Evidence exists that the Romans inhabited this area. Myth has it that when the Emperor Charlemagne besieged the city, its King was slain but:

Queen Carcas held out for a further five years. When the starving inhabitants were in extremis, Carcas had a ruse. The last pig was roasted and thrown down from the battlements together with a great deal of corn. It is said that Charlemagne became disillusioned with the siege, considering that if the inhabitants could afford to discard such good food, they could hold out much longer. He then went away with his warriors. Carcas caused the trumpets to sound and the drums to beat in exhultation. A courtier is said to have remarked to the Emperor - “Carcas sona!”

Barbara and I explored the city and its surroundings. Amongst other activities we:

• cycled alongside the River Aude on our folding bikes, admiring the scenery and delighting in the warm, sunny weather.
• cycled along the towpath of the Canal du Midi, where we met three young men who had sailed their yacht down the canal from Brittany and who serenaded us on the guitar - and of course we danced to the tunes!
• went to Divine Service in the Church outside the walls.
• danced at the Carrousel at the main gate of the city and then explored in detail the fortifications, and including the Basilica of St Nazaire and St Celse.

In addition to the Romans, Visigoths, Saracens, Franks and others have passed this way. Nature, Art and History have combined to make this place unique - a Citadel on a cliff, dominating its surroundings for miles around. It has 52 towers and two separate rings of walls and ditches, with a breathtaking 3 km of battlements. The present internal layout dates from the time of (King) St Louis in 1260AD.

The city was one of the centres of crusades against heretics in the 13th century, leaders of the crusades being Simon de Montfort (father of that de Montfort who convened the first English Parliament), and Raymond Trencavel. The dissidents, known variously as Cathars, or Albigensian heretics, were put down most savagely and the adherents massacred.

Catharism (from a Greek word meaning ‘pure’), emerged in this region in the 11th century and continued to flourish till the 13th. In essence, they believed that all matter was evil, that the world was ruled by the devil (Rex Mundi) and that the spiritual world ruled by God was in a constant state of conflict with it. Some adherents - the Parfaits or Pure Ones led a life of complete asceticism and others could go about their ordered daily lives, becoming perfect by receiving the ‘complementum’. In these doctrines they were in direct conflict with the Catholic Church, which, at that time had become very rich and opulent. In Cathari eyes it was corrupt and evil.

The philosopher Hegel has conjectured that societies and institutions proceed to develop by a three-fold process:
THESIS - ANTITHESIS - SYNTHESIS
- The Thesis is an established state of affairs which is stable until it becomes (in the eyes of reasonable persons), extreme. When the order is thus extreme it gives rise to its very opposite - the Antithesis. The two clash and a new Synthesis, which contains some elements of both, in compromise and accommodation and rejection. This Synthesis is initially stable but is ever in danger of becoming extreme and giving rise to yet another Antithesis.

It is evident that the Catholic Church (the Thesis), 700 years ago and more, was unreasonably extreme in ways political and economic. Catharism provided the Antithesis. A partial reformation occurred, (the Synthesis) and then some few centuries later there was the Inquisition. Some might have then said, “Here we go again!”. If these swings are to be avoided or delayed, then a moderate position is to be preferred. Statisticians call this - Regression towards the mean. Much preferred is the oft quoted aphorism of Aristotle - Moderation in all things!

Rod Dawson