Crusade Against the Grail - Rennes-le-Chateau Research and ...

THE CRUSADE 117
Through a fatal turn of events, Occitania and its Tabor were inundated with
hatred and damnation. Obeying a deadly law, the powerful of the world rewarded
the supreme Minne of the Cathars with the most violent hatred!
They were those who knew also the Father; Where are they then?
They were burnt alive.
GOETHE, THE ETERNAL JEW
During the second half of the twelfth century, the Pure Doctrine marched
triumphantly across the Occitan provinces of the south of France. Knights,
townsfolk, and even some of the clergy saw in the "good men" the enunciators of
the true Evangelism, and very little more was needed to sweep Rome's power over
Christianity from Provence, Languedoc, and Gascony.
No country could boast of its spiritual freedom and religious tolerance with
greater reason than Occitania. All opinions could be freely expressed, all religious
confessions were treated equally, and it is quite possible to assert that no real
antagonism existed between classes. We have already learned the necessary
requirements to be armed as a chavalier.
In no other part of Europe did chivalry flourish as in Occitania. Occitan
knights were as at home in the Holy Land or Tripoli—which was really nothing
other than an Occitan province—as in the Roussillon or Toulouse. For certain, it
was their spirit of adventure, not religious fervor, that led them to the Orient.
Almost all who returned brought, instead of religious edification, an unforgettable
recollection of the splendor, mysticism, and pleasant life of the Orient. Added to
this was the fact that the Church demanded a spiritual and temporal submission
that was incompatible with Occitan honor and pride in being free men. Almost all
the barons and knights of the country were Cathar believers. With great respect,
they welcomed the Perfect Ones to their castles, served them at their tables, and
entrusted the education of their children to them. 5
At last, after a long and brutal fight against feudalism, the burghers of
Occitania's cities had achieved their autonomy and freedom. Enriched, and proud
of their extensive commerce with Oriental ports, they defended their municipal
privileges with ever-growing success. The