Cathars

Baptism, the primary rite of Christian initiation, was once the only form of Christian initiation. This dissertation assesses baptismal theory and practice, and how key elements of early baptism have been re-purposed in the creation of other initiatory rites and ceremonies.

Katharlar: Balkan Kökenli, Avrupa Ortaçağinda Katoliklerce Yakilarak Öldürülen
Heretik Hiristiyan Dinî Hareket Üzerine Bir İnceleme
Cathars: An Analysis on the Heretic Christian Religious Movement of Balkan Origin Killed By Burning ın the Middle Age of Europe by Catholics

This paper aims to illustrate the post-medieval reception of the Cathar heresy and the birth and development of a real «neo-Cathar mithology» from the end of XIX century to present day. After a brief historiographical introduction on Cathars, it will consider the contemporary neo-Cathar revival, which can be divided into two different phases. During the first one (end of the XIX century-first half of the XX), the Albigensian heresy was mostly considered as an esoteric and syncretic belief or as the founding myth of Occitanian identity; in the second one, instead, it was regarded as a sort of ancient and authentic gnostic-Christian message in opposition to Roman Catholicism. Both phases converged, during the second half of the XX century, in a succesful commercial phenomenon, which has led to the production of novels, movies and songs dedicated to the cathar epic.
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"Questo studio intende illustrare la ricezione post-medievale dell’eresia catara e la nascita e lo sviluppo, dalla fine del XIX secolo fino ai nostri giorni, di una vera e propria «mitologia neocatara». Dopo una breve introduzione storiografica sui catari, esso prenderà in esame il revival neocataro contemporano, che può essere diviso in due diverse-fasi. Durante la prima (fine del XIX secolo-prima metà del XX), l’eresia albigese fu vista principalmente come una credenza esoterica e sincretica o come il mito fondativo dell’identità occitana; nella seconda fu invece considerata come una sorta di antico-e autentico messaggio gnostico-cristiano contrapposto al cattolicesimo romano. Entrambe le fasi sono confluite, durante la seconda metà del XX secolo, in un fenomeno commerciale di successo, che ha portato alla produzione di romanzi, film e brani-musicali dedicati all’epopea catara.

Reprise revue, corrigée et augmentée sous forme d'ouvrage de« Exemplum et histoire. Césaire de Heisterbach (v. 1180-v. 1240) et la croisade albigeoise », dans Bibliothèque de l'École des chartes, 147, 1989, p. 49-86. A été ajouté un long chapitre sur un nouveau témoignage extrait des Otia imperialia de Gervais de Tilbury, composés vers 1215. Les propos d'un revenant, à Beaucaire, font en effet écho aux propos du légat. Ce qui abonde encore dans le sens de la plausibilité des paroles d'Arnaud Amaury. L'ouvrage, destiné à un public cultivé, est illustré de photographies inédites, de cartes, et d'un index des noms propres.

KATHARLAR Marx'ın da yazdığı gibi Taş Devrinden yıldız savaşlarına kadar, insanlar için evrensel bir öyküden söz edilecekse, bu başarının değil, yoksulluğun ve acının öyküsü olacaktır. İçinde yaşadığımız olağanüstü hal bir istisna değil, kuraldır. Herhalde acı çekmek deyimini en ziyadesiyle yaşayan topluluklardan biri Katharlardı. O kadar ki sadece Katharları yok edebilmek için ortaçağ Katolik kilisesi engizisyonu icat etmek zorunda kaldı. Haçlı Seferleriyle ve işkence altında alınan ifadelerle çalışan özel yetkili engizisyon mahkemeleri ile 500 yıl süren bir kült kırımıyla yaklaşık 1 000 000 Kathar öldürüldü. Katolik Hristiyanlığı bu kadar hiddetlendiren Katharların önce sosyal yapılarını ve yaşama tarzlarını irdelemekle işe başlayalım. Kathar topluluğu Ermişler, müminler ve dinleyiciler olarak üç ana bölümden oluşuyordu. Cemaatlerinde kadınlar da mümin ve ermiş olabiliyordu. Dinleyiciler inanca tüm kalpleriyle katılmayıp ara sıra vaazları dinleyenlerdi. Vaazları dinleyip sonra mümin olmayı seçenler "convenanza" adlı ayinle resmi olarak Kathar cemaatine bağlanarak mümin olurlardı. Mümin olabilmek için kendi kararını verebilecek akıl yaşına ulaşmanın dışında hiçbir koşul ve zorunluluk gerekmiyordu. Cemaatin çoğunluğu müminlerden oluşuyordu. Müminler sıradan işleri olan, kasabalarda ve köylerde yaşayan sıradan erkek ve kadınlardan oluşuyordu. Ermişler gibi etten, şaraptan ve seksten uzak durmak zorunda değillerdi. İstedikleri gibi yer içer evlenir ve çocuk sahibi olurlardı. Genellikle zanaatla ama özellikle dokumacılıkla uğraşırlardı. Ermişler ise hareketin rahipliğini yapan gösterişsiz ancak en üst seviye Katharlardı. Consolamentum isimli vaftiz töreni ile müminler ermiş olur yani kurtuluşa ulaşırlardı. Bu yeminle zinadan, adam öldürmekten, yalandan, yemin etmekten ve hırsızlıktan uzak durmaya söz verirlerdi. Ermişlerin hayatlarının sonuna kadar verdikleri sözleri tutmaları beklenirdi. Günde on beş defa dua ederler, etten, şaraptan ve seksten uzak dururlar, evlenmezler, pazartesi, çarşamba ve cuma oruç tutarlar, ayrıca yılda üç kez 40 günlük oruç tutarlardı. Duaları at sırtında, müminlerin evine girerken ya da nehirleri geçerken yaparlardı. Bu zorunluluk onların, müminlerle sürekli iletişim içinde kalmalarını sağlıyordu. Yıllık oruçlarını Noel arifesinde, paskalya arifesinde ve Petrus ve Paulus yortusu arifesinde tutarlardı. Erkek Ermişler genellikle iki kişi olarak seyahat eder, mal bulurlarsa ancak gerçek sahibine iade edebileceklerse alırlar, kapana kısılmış hayvan görürlerse hayvanı ancak, avcıyı para karşılığı ödüllendirebileceklerse serbest bırakabilirlerdi. Müminleri ziyaret ettiklerinde onların yiyeceklerini kutsamaları ve onların sorunları için hediye bırakmaları beklenirdi. Ayda bir ermişler cemaatleriyle buluşup "apparellamentum" isimli günah çıkarma ayini düzenlerlerdi. Siyah, koyu mavi, koyu yeşil cüppe giyerler ve bellerini iple bağlarlardı. Kadın ermişler ise Kathar evlerinden oluşan bir ağ yapılandırırlardı. Bazı evler sadece kadınlara özeldi. Ermişlerin kurallarını uygulayabilmenin zorluğu nedeniyle, birçok mümin consolamentum'u ölüm döşeğinde alırdı. Katharlarda dini amaçlı Kilise ve katedraller yoktu. İnsanların evlerinde, ahırlarda ve arsalarda toplanırlardı. Ekonomik hayatta kadınların mülk sahibi olma ve sosyal statülerini yükseltme şansları vardı. Öldürmek ve ölüm cezası yasaktı. Herhangi bir Kathar elini kana buladığında onu ömrünün geri kalanını kusursuzluğa adayarak geçirmeye mahkûm ediyorlardı. Öğretinin koşullarını kabul etmeyenler ya da cayanlar ellerini kollarını sallayarak topluluktan çıkabiliyorlardı. Ortak mülkiyeti bir erdem olarak görüyorlar ve Consolamentumla beraber tüm varlıklarını Katharların ortak kasasına bırakıyorlardı. Bir anlamda devlettiler. Ortak kasadan finanse ettiği işlikler yoluyla toplumsal ve ekonomik yaşantıya bütün ağırlıklarıyla katılıyorlardı. Vergi toplamıyor, serfleri çalıştırmıyorlardı. İşlikler yoluyla isteyen Katharın ve tüm din adamlarının el emeklerinin karşılığı bu ortak kasaya giriyordu. Devletsiz bir kültür olduğu için kendisi dışında kendisini yönetecek bir otoriteye, bir öndere ihtiyaç duymamış; bu anlamda devletsiz yani doğrudan demokrasinin canlı bir örneği olmuşlardır. Katharlar "yargılamayın; siz de bir gün yargılanabilirsiniz" diyorlardı. Kendilerini bağladıkları iyi

Католики оправдывали жестокие гонения на катаров тем, что это не просто ересь (т.е. религиозные взгляды, расходящиеся с ортодоксальной догматикой), а "антиобщественное, негуманное и социально опасное явление". Анн Бренон, современная исследовательница катаризма, в своей работе "Катаризм и семья в Лангедоке XIII-XIV столетий" утверждает: это мнение противоречит фактам.
В этом очерке я расскажу, каково было настоящее отношение катаров к семье и обществу и как оно влияло на социально-нравственный климат в тех областях, где катаризм имел широкое распространение – прежде всего в Окситании.

The Secret Book, a product of the medieval theosophy, also known in the literature as Gospel of John, belongs to apocryphal literature with apocalyptic and visionary orientation. The content of The Secret Book implies heretical elements, mainly typical for dualistic doctrines and especially for the doctrine of Bogomilism. In its content it describes the prehistory of creation of the world, the creation itself, and also uncovers the future history of the mankind, in which, in cosmogony sense, it mixes christian believes with non-christian ones, based on religious-philosophical concept of moderate dualism and gnosticism.
This text, today, is known only through two transcriptions in Latin, Parisian and Viennese versions, known by the names Codex Carcashsoniensis and Vienna Version. The translation in Latin is directly connected with the missionary work of the Bogomil babun (priest) Nasaria in 1170, whose goal was to spread the ideas of Bogomils among devotees of Catharism.
This 1999 publication  is the reverse translation of this text in Latin to Macedonian, the native tongue of the Bogomils in Macedonia, from the region of the Lake Prespa, who wrote it.

Some Catholics retained the Essene lifestyle while otherwise conforming. Canon 8 of the Nicene Council of 325 concerned “those who call themselves Cathari”. Canon 19 concerns “the Paulianists”. For established Christianity, the Ebionite-like or Nazarene-like Christians were a nuisance, but they persisted to become the earliest declared heretics. “Heresy” was unorthodoxy, and could apply only to whoever had been baptized as Christians. Manichæans were not Christians, and Manichæism could not have been a Christian heresy. Yet, so-called Manichæan sects were labelled as heresies by Catholics, and even the sectaries accepted they were. They must have been a dualistic form of Christianity. The Dead Sea Scrolls show the Essenes were dualistic. Cathars must have been Christians who kept much more of the original Essenism than Catholic Christianity.

La implantación de la disidencia cátara en Cataluña es una cuestión conocida desde tiempos antiguos. No obstante, el interés suscitado por el tema es reciente, estando estrechamente vinculado con el desarrollo de una industria turística y cultural centrada en una particular imagen, en ocasiones un tanto vulgarizada, de lo que fue este movimiento disidente en la Europa occidental.
A partir de la conservación de cierto volumen de documentación referida a la difusión y la implantación del catarismo en Cataluña, la presente tesis plantea un estudio de la misma con el fin de determinar qué realidades socioeconómicas favorecieron la difusión del catarismo occitano al sur de los Pirineos, y cuáles fueron sus dinámicas de implantación, formulando a continuación una propuesta evolutiva global de la disidencia cátara en Cataluña, desde los primeros testimonios de mediados del siglo XII hasta la captura y la condena de los últimos disidentes documentados, ya bien entrado el siglo XIV. Las fuentes empleadas para la elaboración de la presente tesis pueden clasificarse en narrativas, normativas, procesales y trovadorescas y, si bien su volumen es relativamente importante, es de destacar la pérdida, por circunstancias históricas diversas, de la mayor parte de la documentación inquisitorial catalana, solo compensada de un modo muy parcial por la conservación en archivos franceses de registros inquisitoriales relativos a la realidad del catarismo catalán.
La tesis doctoral se estructura en once capítulos, contando con la introducción y la conclusión general, habiéndose dedicado los capítulos 2, 3 y 4 al contexto político y socioeconómico de Cataluña a caballo de los siglos XII y XIII, los capítulos 5, 6, 7 y 8 a la articulación del movimiento disidente en Cataluña y a su incidencia social y territorial hasta finales del primer tercio del siglo XIII, y los capítulos 9 y 10 a las dinámicas seguidas por el catarismo a la luz de los mecanismos represivos implementados por la monarquía y la Iglesia.
El trabajo de investigación que ha guiado la elaboración de la presente tesis ha permitido concluir que la disidencia cátara alcanzó en Cataluña un nivel de implantación que, aun siendo sensiblemente inferior que en Occitania, fue lo suficientemente relevante como para determinar la creación de una estructura eclesiástica cátara propia para Cataluña y para generar un elevado grado de inquietud entre las autoridades eclesiásticas y seculares de la Corona de Aragón que llevó a introducir y a perfeccionar el Tribunal de la Santa Inquisición como medida de contención, que sólo muy a la larga daría sus frutos. La introducción y posterior implantación del catarismo al sur de los Pirineos habría afectado, muy especialmente, a los grandes núcleos urbanos de la Cataluña occidental y, en estrecha dependencia con ellos, a las áreas montañosas situadas al norte y al sur de este espacio catalán occidental, donde los predicadores de la disidencia hallarían refugio y complicidades suficientes para continuar con su tarea pastoral en ciudades y villas. Miembros de las clases urbanas, algunos de ellos de posición destacada, algunos nobles pirenaicos y miembros de comunidades rurales del ámbito pirenaico y de las montañas del interior de Tarragona configuraron, en términos generales, el entorno social que sostuvo el catarismo catalán a partir de una compleja red de complicidades cuyos orígenes hay que vincular con el crecimiento económico del siglos XII y XIII, unido a la relativa atonía de la Iglesia catalana, incapaz de adaptarse a las nuevas demandas espirituales que dicha expansión generaba, sin olvidar los estrechos vínculos políticos, económicos y culturales que unieron Cataluña con el mundo occitano a lo largo de todo el período estudiado.

Four Church Councils in 1119, 1139, 1148 and 1163 declared the Cathars to be heretics. The Council of Toulouse in 1119 and then the Lateran Council of 1139 urged the secular powers to proceed violently against heresy—they did not. Even so, Cathars were burned or imprisoned in many places, but, William IX of Aquitaine and many of the nobles of the Midi continued to protect them. They valued their industry and integrity in a corrupt world. The French bishops at the Council of Tours (1163) discussed the presence of Cathars in Cologne, Bonn and Liege. They called them Manichæans, a taunt, for they knew they were not, and the Cathars called themselves the Good Christians. From 1180 to 1230, the Catholic Church enacted legislation against heresy, and set up a permanent tribunal, staffed by Dominican friars. It was the Inquisition.

La recherche des sources judéo-chrétiennes qui ont influencé le système théologique et philosophique de Martinès de Pasqually, mystique franco-espagnol du XVIII ème siècle, aboutit au Valentinisme, mouvement chrétien hétérodoxe qui s'est développé à partir d'Alexandrie au II ème siècle. L'étude du Traité de la Réintégration, oeuvre maîtresse de Martinès, puis celle de l'Exposé valentinien, issu des « écoles » se réclamant de Valentin, dénotent de nombreux points de convergence et permettent de conclure à un parallélisme raisonnable entre les deux systèmes.

Une réflexion autour des noms donnés à la dissidence religieuse étudiée aboutit à proposer l'emploi d'une nouvelle dénomination, celle d'"hérésie des bons hommes". Historiquement erronés, même s'ils reprennent parfois la terminologie choisie à l'époque par l'Eglise, les noms couramment utilisés, en particulier "cathares" et "catharisme", devraient être abandonnés, car ils éludent la dimension de construction à des fins persécutrices qui est constitutive de l'hérésie. Cette dernière est d'abord une qualification juridique, qui transforma la dissidence en déviance par un effet d'"implantation perverse" (Michel Foucault) propre à l'efficacité du droit. Le nom de "bons hommes", issu de la pratique des hérétiques, rappelle que la contestation consistait d'abord à reconnaître des autorités concurrentes de l'Eglise et que son contenu concernait l'ordre théologico-politique du monde dans son ensemble. Les idées et pratiques dissidentes n'étaient ni stables, ni cohérentes, car elles n'étaient pas soutenues par des institutions. Avant d'être une erreur, l'hérésie était une errance.

Une analyse des attaques lancées par certains contributeurs des "Mélanges Jean Duvernoy" contre une historiographie récente des hérésies médiévales. L'actuelle remise en cause de la notion unifiante et réifiante de "catharisme" est rejetée sans argumentation convaincante, mais aussi comparée à la falsification de l'histoire du génocide des juifs par les négationnistes...

Le Livre des sentences de Bernard Gui recueille 940 décisions de justice rendues par ce célèbre inquisiteur de Toulouse entre 1308 et 1323. A cette époque, les mouvements hérétiques de Languedoc étaient en déclin et subissaient de plein fouet la répression. Les extraits ici traduits donnent un aperçu des méthodes de l’Inquisition, mais aussi des caractéristiques de chacun des trois principaux groupes de contestataires poursuivis dans le Midi : « bons hommes amis de Dieu » ou « bons chrétiens » (que l’on a pris l’habitude aujourd’hui d’appeler improprement « cathares »), « Pauvres de Lyon » ou vaudois, enfin béguins et partisans des franciscains Spirituels. Ces sources éclairent d’une lumière crue l’histoire des persécutions contre les anticléricaux et les évangélistes languedociens qui s’efforcèrent de résister à l’ordre théocratique de l’Église romaine.

Cette communication reconsidère la totalité des additions et marginalia et une partie des signes de lecteur présents dans le manuscrit cathare J.II.44 de la Bibliothèque nationale centrale de Florence (Firenze, Biblioteca nazionale centrale, Conv. soppr., ms. J.II.44, connu aussi sous la cote I.II.44), révise l’identification des mains et pose de nouvelles conclusions sur la genèse et l’usage du manuscrit. Les additions et signes de lecteur ont été sous-estimés et en partie mal interprétés dans les présentations classiques du manuscrit dûes à Antoine Dondaine, Arno Borst et Christine Thouzellier. Un réexamen des signes de lecteur et des additions montre que ces importants témoins de l’usage du manuscrit ne proviennent pas d’un milieu inquisitorial, comme Borst et Thouzellier le conjecturaient pour certains d’entre eux, mais renvoient, pour la plupart, au milieu de l’Église cathare de Desenzano au milieu du XIIIe siècle. Les additions révèlent au moins deux tendances assez inattendues dans la pensée des lecteurs de la compilation : une tendance moraliste et sapientielle et une tendance apocalyptique. L’identification de ces deux tendances approfondit considérablement notre connaissance de la culture religieuse au sein de l’Église cathare de Desenzano.

The essays in this collection focus on how identity and difference functioned in communities ranging from that of seventh-century Frankish monasteries to thirteenth- and fourteenth-century Paris. While difference and identity have become popular topics in medieval studies, most work has concentrated on the negative consequences that social, religious and other distinctions could have for the marked population. This collection departs from that paradigm to argue that while difference is by definition a relational quality, it did not always create diametrical opposites leading to grave social consequences for those deemed "different." Rather, difference of many kinds, including ethnicity, disability, and disease, could function to strengthen social ties between the normative and supposedly marginalized groups. Medieval society’s “others” frequently lived within the community and functioned as a vital part of it, creating solidarity and acceptance, rather than marginalization.

Introduction (by Justine Firnhaber-Baker)
http://www.ashgate.com/pdf/SamplePages/Difference_and_Identity_in_Francia_and_Medieval_France_Intro.pdf

H-France review: http://www.h-france.net/vol11reviews/vol11no120Smith.pdf
The Medieval review: https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/handle/2022/14396"

This article presents a reconsideration of the origin of the manuscript Lyon, Bibliotheque municipale, ms. PA 36, containing a complete Occitan translation of the New Testament and a Cathar text known as the Ritual of Lyon. The codex of Lyon is important not only for the history of dissident Christian traditions, but also for the history of medieval vernacular translations of the Bible. Despite scrutinizing the manuscript since mid-nineteenth century, scholars have fallen short of suggesting convincing arguments concerning its genesis. The dates proposed for the codex and the Ritual of Lyon vary significantly as well. Building upon earlier linguistic findings and considering internal as well as external evidence, we argue that far from being the witness of the supposed golden age of Occitan Catharism at the beginning of the thirteenth century, the codex as well as the Ritual of Lyon itself are connected with a spirited early-fourteenth-century attempt at restoring Cathar Christianity in Languedoc, headed by a former notary of Ax, Peter Autier. This finding is an important contribution to the history and interpretation of the manuscript, the Ritual of Lyon, and the oldest extant translation of the New Testament in Occitan.

Par son contenu, le seul texte connu à représenter la véritable scolastique cathare, le Liber de duobus principiis, semble apparenté au volumen magnum de Jean de Lugio, résumé par Rainier Sacconi en 1250. Il reste plus probable que Jean de Lugio n’ait pas écrit le Liber, mais certaines arguments de G. Rottenwöhrer sur la distance entre le Liber et le volumen magnum sont imprécis, discutables ou interprétables par la différence entre la doctrine ésotérique et exotérique. Le manuscrit conservé n’est pas l’autographe du Liber. L’auteur reste inconnu ; il n’existe aucune raison suffisante pour l’attribuer à l’un des scribes, ni même au scribe B qui semble pourtant avoir une instruction théologique plus ou moins vaste et réclamer une autorité pour modifier le contenu du texte.
La Somme de Rainier Sacconi et le Liber peuvent encore fournir des précisions à propos de Jean de Lugio et son cercle. Il est possible que Rainier lui-même ait jadis été membre de ce groupe (il en connaissait la doctrine ésotérique et il est entré en possession du volumen magnum), ce qui n’exclue toutefois pas qu’il ait appartenu un certain temps aux Concorezzenses.
On manque d’indications à propos de la formation de Jean de Lugio, sauf peut-être le fait qu’il citait le Digeste dans un contexte assez spécifique, où l’emploi du passage en question n’est pas un choix évident : peut-être Jean a-t-il au moins touché l’étude du droit. Dans le Liber, il y a deux autres citations de sources judiciaires, dont une a été ajoutée postérieurement par le scribe B.

Autor rada je Manuel Lorenz. Rad je izvorno objavljen pod naslovom: “Bogomilen, Katharer und bosnische ‘Christen’. Der Transfer dualistischer Häresien zwischen Orient und Okzident (11.-13. Jh.)” 2011. godine u zborniku radova: Vermitteln – Übersetzen – Begegnen: Transferphänomene im europäischen Mittelalter und in der Frühen Neuzeit. Interdisziplinäre Annäherungen. Göttingen: V & R Unipress, ur. Balázs J. Nemes / Achim Rabus, Nova mediaevalia; Bd. 8. 87-136.

The Albigensian Crusade was an internal campaign against the Albigensian/Cathar heretics in the south of France through the alliance of the Papacy and French Monarchy between 1209 and 1229. The Albigensians posed a great threat to the institutional Church with their unorthodox beliefs such as the rejection of baptism and church hierarchy. The reasons for the Albigensian Crusade are still a source of debate among the historians though there are many studies on the subject. This paper will try to contextualise the Albigensian Crusade by examining multifaceted factors that resulted in the mass persecution of the heretics. It will be argued that it is crucial to discuss the interaction of various factors such as the rising power of the Papacy, Crusading ideology, medieval heresy and socioeconomic and political conditions in the region to understand fully the Albigensian Crusade.

The manuscript J II 44, held by the National Central Library of Florence (Firenze, Biblioteca nazionale centrale, Conventi soppressi, ms. J II 44, also known under the shelf mark I II 44), contains several theological treatises originating in the heterodox milieu of mid-thirteenth-century Lombard Cathars from the Desenzano Church who were also called Albanenses. The main works in the manuscript – The Liber de duobus principiis and the Florence Ritual – were competently edited by Antoine Dondaine and Christine Thouzellier in the 1930s and 1970s. However, smaller pieces, additions, and marginalia in the manuscript have attracted less attention. Some of them remain unpublished and have passed almost unnoticed in recent scholarship. Probably the most interesting of these unpublished parts is a compilation from Old Testament sapiential books on fol. 51v-53r. This article provides an edition of this piece with an introduction and commentary explaining its interest. The compilation is by no means a result of the haphazard copying of biblical passages. Quite to the contrary, it shows careful and focused theological work. Albeit written down and most probably also compiled by the Cathar redactor of the Florence manuscript, this collection of quotes departs from what we know about Catharism, and serves as a warning against interpreting Catharism as a theological system limited to dualism, soteriology, and the criticism of the Catholic Church. No less importantly, however, this sapiential compilation and the Florence manuscript in general also help us to avoid the other extreme: interpreting Catharism merely as a popular movement with virtually no elements of theological learning.

Taking the relationship between cultural transfers and musicology as a starting point, the Kyrie trope, Deus solus et immensus, is an extraordinary case-study in the historical context of local exchanges produced in the repertoire of the liturgical song. Beyond the philological-musical research, the main stylistic patterns of transmission (readings, variant, elements, etc.) are clearly identifiable to be of the utmost importance for some liturgical dynamics as well as the most varied features of identity related to the theological thought in the Christian conception of faith. Thus, it is necessary to take into account both the liturgical and theological effect of a sacred work in order to understand properly the tradition of plainsong such as Deus solus et immensus. Regarding to this point, the moral doctrine “ut legem credendi lex statuat supplicandi” (Prosper of Aquitaine, PL 50, 535B) recovers the most authentic application of its meaning in the liturgy and therefore a comprehensive analysis will be proposed in this paper with the aim of understanding the singularity of a manuscript tradition extended as a whole from St. Gall in the middle of the 10th century to Gerona at the end of the 15th century.

La Charte de Niquinta, texte qui rapporte un grand rassemblement hérétique à Saint-Félix de Lauragais en 1167 et qui se réclame de la provenance dissidente, est un enjeu essentiel de la recherche actuelle sur le catharisme et le bogomilisme. La Charte est le seul document dissident à témoigner d’une organisation assez solide de la dissidence cathare dans le Midi dès le XIIe siècle et à postuler les liens des hérétiques méridionaux avec la dissidence orientale. L’hypothèse d’un faux moderne se montre plutôt improbable. Mais il reste plusieurs autres hypothèses de sa rédaction au Moyen Âge, donc de son interprétation : il peut s’agir d’une stylisation antihérétique, d’un document relatant largement des faits historiques, d’un faux dissident, d’une légende dissidente du XIIIe siècle. Cet article résume l’état actuel de la discussion et apporte des arguments pour et contre les différentes hypothèses.

Plutôt qu’un faux du XVIe ou XVIIe siècle, la Charte de Niquinta semble être un récit sur les commencements, rédigé au XIIIe siècle. Si nous écartons l’hypothèse d’un faux catholique des années 1220, qui se heurte à l’ensemble du document, il reste trois hypothèses principales sur la nature du document. Il peut s’agir : (1) d’un rapport historique, (2) d’un faux de Pierre Pollan et/ou Pierre Isarn, destiné à soutenir les intérêts de l’église du Carcassès, ou (3) d’un récit légendaire sur les commencements des églises dissidentes dans le Midi, influencé par les légendes sur les origines des églises d’Italie, dont nous connaissons, de toute évidence, des versions remaniées et « complétées » par les polémistes grâce au De heresi catharorum et au Tractatus de hereticis. Cette narration a pu incorporer un acte de bornage authentique, dressé à un rassemblement de portée locale.