Excellent4.8 out of 5On Trustpilot
  1. The Church/
  2. Church History

Power and Purity

Cathar Heresy in Medieval Italy

by Carol Lansing (professor Of History, Professor Of History, University Of California, Santa Barbara)

  • Paperback
  • 288 pages
  • Publisher: Oxford University Press
  • 16.8 x 21.2 x 2 cm

£41.08

Free UK Delivery

Available - Usually dispatched within 4 days

Buying for a school or church? Upgrade to a FREE Eden Advance Account

Free delivery on orders over £10

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.
Power and Purity and Power And Purity
Power And PurityPower and Purity

  • Author

    Carol Lansing (professor Of History, Professor Of History, University Of California, Santa Barbara)

  • Book Format

    Paperback / softback

  • Publisher

    Oxford University Press

  • Published

    October 2001

  • Edition

    New edition

  • Weight

    332g

  • Page Count

    288

  • Dimensions

    16.8 x 21.2 x 2 cm

  • ISBN

    9780195149807

  • ISBN-10

    0195149807

  • Eden Code

    1146815

Over 14,000 churches and schools have upgraded to an Advance Account and we‘d love to welcome you into this free program. We know that church volunteers and school teachers often use their own money, then have claim it back on on an expense form. We can take all of that hassle away by invoicing your church or school directly and delivering your order straight away.

Opening an account is quick and easy, with most accounts being approved and setup within a few hours of filling in the form below (on weekdays, not weekends). As soon as we‘ve approved the application we‘ll send you an email to let you know that its done.

Upgrade to a FREE Eden Advance Account
Write a review
      Ask a question