GOD'S HERETICS. THE ALBIGENSIAN CRUSADE

BELIEVING in a radical separation of good and evil, flesh
and spirit, the heretical medieval Cathar sect separated
themselves from the rest of the world, often in soaring
castles or fortified churches.

Despite one of the bloodiest episodes in Christian history the
Albigensian Crusade - the military onslaught failed to bring the
Cathars back into the fold. Then the full power of the Church
was unleashed against these heretics, and for years the
Inquisition mercilessly persecuted them. This stirring book
recreates medieval Languedoc and the rich array of characters
who died for their beliefs under the hot
Provençal sun. Here is a vivid account of
the way the Crusade and its legacy turned
and twisted for over a hundred years. He
focuses on the personalities on both
their motivations and objectives, creating
an overwhelming impression of the
powerful beliefs that drove persecutor
and victim. The Albigensian Crusade and
the heresy it sought to suppress were of enormous significance in
medieval Europe. For the modern reader, the Crusade offers an
early example of the persecution of dissident minorities that has
dogged European history.

AUBREY BURL
is the author of Danse Macabre: François
Villon, Poetry and Murder in Medieval France (Sutton, 2000)
He is best known as the author of several outstanding books on
stone circles, including The Stone Circles of the British Isles, The
Stonehenge People, A Guide to the Stone Circles of Britain,
Ireland and Brittany and Prehistoric Avebury,

This is a good book that lost the opportunity to be a great book through its own machinations (or rather, that of its author). The writing is crisp, but at times goes into a diversion that derails the history, jumping back on track a little later without warning. The side trips are interesting, but often will appear later in the story, and should have been left linear rather than presented without warning in the midst of an otherwise chronological text. In addition, there are a few too many stray commas that make reading occasionally difficult, especially when you find the places later from which those commas escaped, leaving a run-on sentence without adequate punctuation. Otherwise, an interesting, well written history of the Albigensian crusade, without sparing either side from the brutalities committed in the name of belief. The fact that many of the players had the same name (Raymonds formed an entire army of their own) means that the book could have used some sort of flow chart to keep the players separated. The footnoting and sourcing was also somewhat erratic. But don't let the negatives turn you away - the book is (mostly) well-written, well-researched, and readable. ( )