The terms "Arians", "Messalians", and "Manicheans" were widely used in Christian medieval anti-heretical writing to describe contemporary dissidents. These terms were often part of wider typologies and genealogies. To a varying degree, medieval terms and ideas about continuity and the origins of heterodox groups have influenced modern research. Mainly, alleged analogies between catharism and bogomilism, on the one hand, and manicheism, on the other, and genealogical narrations about the Manichean origins of some medieval heterodox movements have been recycled by modern historians. The polemical origin of these ideas does not, in itself, necessarily mean that they are irrelevant or unscientific. However, the paper argues that there are some rules to be observed while creating or taking over any term, typology, or genealogy. It also argues that the terms and typological or genealogical ideas presented here do not observe such rules. The paper points to three basic rules: (1) terms, methods, and theories used must not be influenced by aims whose compatibility with the aims of science cannot be shown; (2) scientific terms, typologies, and genealogies have to be based on a transparent and consistent argument; (3) any piece of knowledge has to be relatable to the used theories and methods.
This article presents a Czech translation with commentary of the anonymous text entitled De heresi catharorum in Lombardia by its finder and editor, Antoine Dondaine. The translation is based on the edition of the Basel manuscript (Basel, Universitätsbibliothek, ms. C.V.17, fol. 85r-87v) in Antoine Dondaine (ed.), "La hiérarchie cathare en Italie I: Le De heresi catharorum", Archivum Fratrum Praedicatorum 19, 1949, 306-312. The introduction summarizes and develops the arguments in favor of a very early date for the text, between 1190 and 1215. Besides notes on particular passages of the text, one topic is commented on in greater detail: the image of Cathar churches as having very definite teachings and a solid awareness of their own identity, history and succession in the episcopal ordination. Against the background of current discussions on the "invention of heresy" and on the deconstruction of anti-heretical discourses, the article argues that there are good reasons not to consider the narrative in the De heresi a mono-vocal polemical fable – as Jean-Louis Biget has claimed, following and slightly simplifying Gabriele Zanella's ideas – but a relatively fair poly-vocal narrative trying to make sense of Cathar groups using not only polemical knowledge but also the narratives of the non-conformists themselves. This conclusion deliberately counters the current deconstructionist trend, eye-opening in many ways but highly ideological when transformed into a dogma sweeping away what interpretive historical work should remain in the first place, i.e. the patient and close reading of sources.
In this article, I analyze the religiosity of Bompietro of Bologna as reported in the register of the inquisition of Bologna, 1291-1310. I attempt to show that Bompietro's religiosity was above all practical; its doctrinal content seems to be scarce, and it was not focused on support of any church (Roman or Cathar). Bompietro's case reveals a non-confessional type of religiosity, one still underrepresented in the image of medieval Christianity. This case also encourages wider reflection on the relations between beliefs, practices and membership. Far from having direct causal links, these relations can sometimes prove quite intricate.
L'article propose la première traduction tchèque du traité antihérétique connu sous le nom de Manifestatio heresis Albigensium et Lugdunensium (Reims, Bibliothèque municipale, ms. 495, ff. 134ͮ-137ͮ). La traduction se base sur l'édition critique d'Antoine Dondaine ("Durand de Huesca et la polémique anti-cathare", Archivum Fratrum Praedicatorum, 29, 1959, 268-271). Le texte est précédé d'une brève introduction à propos du texte qui garde la datation du début du XIIIͤ siècle, mais qui renoue avec les articles respectifs de Monique Zerner et Annie Cazenave pour mettre en cause la solidité des arguments d'Antoine Dondaine et Christine Thouzellier qui ont voulu situer ce traité dans le milieu des Pauvres catholiques.
This article is a case study of medieval religiosity based on trial proceedings against Peter Vidal, extant in the register of Jacques Fournier, bishop of Pamiers. The case of Peter Vidal shows that not all medieval Christians conceived of all moral questions in eschatological terms. In fact, Peter Vidal's opinion about the legitimacy of intercourse with a prostitute is conceived of purely in terms of fair trade. Different as they were from the morals required by Jacques Fournier, Peter Vidal's morals were, I argue, not a deviation from another norm but evidence for the coexistence of various norms in 14th-century Languedoc. This does not mean, however, that all coexisting norms were equally tolerated in all contexts, and Peter's case indeed points more to the severe multi-level control of speech and thought than to tolerance. Finally, Peter's case offers an intriguing insight into the inquisitorial redefinition of the relationship between speech, action, and inner belief.
In June 1299, James (Giacomo) Flamenghi, monk of the Monte Armato abbey near Bologna, was reported to the inquisitor Guido of Vicenza for his lack of observance of ordinary Christian practices. For many years, he avoided fasting, confession, communion, the liturgy of the hours, and Mass. He was also known for his radical ideas: on many occasions, he was heard questioning the existence of the afterlife, paradise, hell, and the immortal soul. In this article, I analyze James Flamenghi's thought and behavior as portrayed in the register of the Bologna inquisition, and place it in the context of different forms of religious skepticism in medieval Europe. I conclude that his skepticism was less a philosophical system than a practical worldview linked to a hedonistic lifestyle. Nevertheless, it seems highly consistent, and difficult to reduce to a simple expression of anticlericalism.
In the last quarter of the 13th century, a group was formed in Milan around memories of Guglielma, considered as a holy woman. Besides mainstream forms of cult, esoteric beliefs about Guglielma came into being, and a small network of people began to claim that Guglielma was a female incarnation of the Holy Spirit. Her followers had the project of establishing a new order in the Catholic church with new gospels, new apostles, a new hierarchy and a female pope. This article aims at a reconstruction of the group in the process of its emergence, reconsiders the source basis of various statements in existing literature, and arrives at the following conclusions: (1) by her way of life, Guglielma stimulated the birth of a congregation venerating her memory, but she was not the author of teachings associating her with the Holy Spirit; (2) in spite of the obvious importance of Andrea Saramita and Mayfreda da Pirovano, there are also other devotees of Guglielma who creatively contributed to the group's conversations and activities, but were overshadowed by the inquisitors' search for heresiarchs and by subsequent historiography; (3) there is no other evidence for the Bohemian and royal origin of Guglielma besides the trial records, and this alleged origin is likely to be a pious legend of her followers; (4) contrary to the suggestions of several historians, the devotees of Guglielma did not intend to establish a purely female hierarchy in the Church; and (5) in their conversations, Guglielma's followers discussed the question of why the Holy Spirit could not incarnate in a man, and for the most part, they saw the female incarnation of the Holy Spirit as a logical outcome of the process of human salvation. In addition to our assessments of these issues, we use the records to draw some conclusions about the precarious process of group formation.
Les inquisiteurs considéraient la croyance selon laquelle Dieu n'a pas créé le monde matériel comme le trait dominant et distinctif de l'hérésie cathare. On peut cependant constater que certaines des affirmations prétendument dualistes que les inquisiteurs aimaient rattacher à leur système fictif de "l'hérésie manichéenne" ne sont pas compatibles avec l'image inquisitoriale du "dualisme". C'est notamment le cas de deux croyances : (1) la croyance que Dieu "ne fait pas fleurir et grener" et (2) la croyance que Dieu bon n'a pas créé le loup, le serpent, le diable, les tempêtes, etc. Il s'agit de propositions autonomes qui ne font pas partie du système du "dualisme cathare". Le "dualisme" est une notion ambiguë et protéiforme et la légitimité de son usage n'est pas évidente, pas plus que celle du but de son existence – la construction de "l'hérésie cathare" comme un courant religieux distinctif. -- Jusqu'à nos jours, pourtant, la caractéristique du "dualisme" continue à hanter l'historiographie des dissidences médiévales. Dans beaucoup de points, les chercheurs suivent les classifications des inquisiteurs. Peut-être notre but est-il le même, en substance : ne jamais permettre aux objets de notre savoir d'ébranler nos catégories préconçues.
L'objectif de ce travail est de revenir aux sources et d'en traduire quelques passages pour offrir au lecteur tchèque les arguments soutenant que le bogomilisme et le catharisme sont deux branches de la même religion. L'étude focalise sur les thèmes suivants: 1) une juxtaposition du récit de la chute des anges dans les sources orientales et occidentales, dont le trait distinctif que représente l'emploi de la parabole de "l'économe de l'iniquité" semble trahir une filiation; 2) la comparaison des formes du consolament, analogues de l'Est à l'Ouest; 3) les possibilités théoriques des contactes (les voyages des marchands italiens en Byzance et dans les Balkans, les moines, les pèlerins); 4) les contactes entre les bogomiles et les cathares, relatés dans les sources (entre autres le voyage de Nicétas); 5) la question de la véridicité des renseignements sur les contactes entre les cathares et les bogomiles (en tenant compte de la critique présentée dans le livre L'histoire du catharisme en discussion : Le "concile" de Saint-Félix (1167), dir. Monique Zerner).