Editing Albigensian Crusade (section)

===Growth of Catharism===
[[File:Cartes Occitanie.png|thumb|300px|A map of [[Languedoc]] on the eve of the Albigensian Crusade]]
A number of prominent 12th century preachers insisted on it being the responsibility of the individual to develop a relationship with God, independent of an established clergy. [[Henry of Lausanne]] criticized the priesthood and called for lay reform of the Church.{{sfn|Strayer|1971|p=186}} He gained a large following.{{sfn|Costen|1997|p=54}} Henry's preaching focused on condemning clerical corruption and clerical hierarchy, and there is no evidence that he subscribed to Cathar teachings on dualism.{{sfn|Barber|2014|p=31}} [[Arnold of Brescia]], leader of the Arnoldists, was hanged in 1155 and his body burnt and thrown into the [[Tiber River]], "for fear", one chronicler says, "lest the people might collect them and honour them as the ashes of a martyr".<ref>{{Catholic Encyclopedia |no-icon=1 |prescript= |wstitle=Arnold of Brescia |last=Vacandard |first=Elphège}}</ref> The Waldensians, followers of [[Peter Waldo]], experienced burnings and massacres.{{sfn|Ellwood|Alles|2007|p=471}}

Although these dissenting groups shared some common features with the Cathars, such as [[anti-clericalism]] and rejection of the [[Sacraments of the Catholic Church|sacraments]], they did not, except the Paulicians and Bogomils, subscribe to Cathar dualist beliefs. They did not specifically invoke dualism as a tenet.{{sfn|Barber|2014|pp=22, 31}} The Cathars may have originated directly from the Bogomils, as some scholars believe in a continuous [[Manichaean]] tradition which encompassed both groups. That view is not universally shared.{{sfn|Peters|1980|p=108}} Following the [[First Crusade]], Latin settlers established a dualist community in [[Constantinople]]. It is theorized that this group provided Westerners with Latin translations of Greek Bogomil texts, which included the ''consolamentum'' ritual, thus helping to generate the first organized dualist movement in Western Europe.{{sfn|Tyerman|2006|p=573}}

By the 12th century, organized groups of dissidents, such as the Waldensians and Cathars, were beginning to appear in the towns and cities of newly urbanized areas. In western Mediterranean France, one of the most urbanized areas of Europe at the time, the Cathars grew to represent a popular mass movement,{{sfn|Peter of les Vaux de Cernay|1998|p=5}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Martin-Chabot |first=Eugene |title=Chanson de la croisade albigeoise |language=fr |trans-title=Song of the Albigensian Crusade |title-link=Song of the Albigensian Crusade |date=1931–1961 |page=2}}</ref> and the belief was spreading to other areas. One such area was [[Lombardy]], which by the 1170s was sustaining a community of Cathars.{{sfn|Costen|1997|pp=60–61}} The Cathar movement was seen by some as a reaction against the corrupt and earthly lifestyles of the clergy. It has also been viewed as a manifestation of dissatisfaction with papal power.{{sfn|Strayer|1971|p=214}}

The Cathar movement occasionally mingled with Waldensianism. However, it was distinct from it, for while Waldensians agreed with the Cathars in their opposition to the Catholic hierarchy and emphasis on poverty and simplicity, they generally accepted most Catholic teachings. Both movements eventually came under violent persecution, but the main energies of the Church were directed against Catharism, which was both the more radical and the more numerous of the two sects.{{sfn|Strayer|1971|pp=36–39}}

In [[Cologne]] in 1163, four Cathar men and a girl who had traveled to the city from [[Flanders]] were burned after refusing to repent. Burnings for heresy had been very uncommon, and in the past had sometimes taken place at the behest of noblemen for political rather than religious reasons over the objections of leading Catholic clergy. After this event however, they grew more frequent.{{sfn|Moore|2012|pp=1–4}} Contact was maintained between the older dualist communities in the [[Byzantine Empire]] in the east and the new ones in Western Europe. Emissaries from the former strengthened the dualist beliefs of the latter.{{sfn|Tyerman|2006|pp=573–574}}

[[File:Berruguete ordeal.jpg|thumb|This [[Pedro Berruguete]] work of the 15th century depicts a story of [[Saint Dominic]] and the Albigensians, in which the texts of each were cast into a fire, but only Saint Dominic's proved miraculously resistant to the flames.]]

Catharism continued to spread, but it had its greatest success in the Languedoc. Cathars established virtually no presence in England, and communities in the kingdoms of France and Germany generally did not last long. It was in the Languedoc that they were the most durable.{{sfn|Strayer|1971|pp=14–15}} The Cathars were known as Albigensians because of their association with the city of [[Albi]], and because the 1176 Church council which declared the Cathar doctrine heretical was held near Albi.{{sfn|Mosheim|1867|p=385}} The condemnation was repeated through the [[Third Lateran Council]] of 1179.<ref name="Albigenses"/>

Various reasons have been proposed for the Cathar movement's success in the Languedoc relative to other places. A traditional explanation has been the reputed corruption and poor quality of the clergy, which, according to many accounts, manifested itself through love of money and sexual escapades. Many priests in the Languedoc, especially those in rural parishes, were often poorly educated and functionally illiterate. Many were appointed to their posts by laymen. The theory that the inadequacy of the clergy was the primary factor has been challenged on the grounds of similar stories about clergy appearing elsewhere in areas of Europe that did not have large numbers of religious deviants.{{sfn|Strayer|1971|pp=15–23}}

However, there is evidence of greater corruption among bishops in the Languedoc than in other areas in Europe. [[Pope Innocent III]] wrote a letter in which he accused the [[Archbishop of Narbonne]] of never having visited his diocese during his 10 years as bishop and of demanding money from someone as payment for consecrating him as a bishop. Innocent eventually suspended four bishops in the Languedoc—the Archbishop of Narbonne, and the bishops of [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toulouse|Toulouse]], [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Béziers|Béziers]], and [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Viviers|Viviers]]—from their duties.{{sfn|Strayer|1971|pp=15–23}}

The poor quality of bishops in the Languedoc was due to a mix of the lack of political centralization in the region as well as the papacy placing higher importance on appointments in more politically sensitive areas. The chaotic situation in the episcopacy contributed to the inability of the Church to stamp out the heresy. Among the people, the Cathars were a minority, but they won acceptance from many Catholics in the region. Those who became Cathars were often accepted by their families. Several Cathars were chosen as members of the governing council of the city of Toulouse.{{sfn|Strayer|1971|pp=15–23}}

The Languedoc region participated less in popular religious movements than other areas of Europe. The First Crusade stirred up some support in the area, as [[Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse]] was one of its principal leaders. Nevertheless, the popularity of Crusading was not as durable in the Languedoc as it was in France. Strayer speculates that a general climate of laxity prevailed in the region which allowed nonconformist religious movements to grow without being seriously challenged.{{sfn|Strayer|1971|pp=15–23}}