| Hours & Information | Locations | Departments | Friends of the Library | Foundation |
|
|
San Bernardino Public Library 555 West 6th Street 909.381.8201 | ||||
|
|
Catalogs at Other CA Libraries Children's Events Teen Events San Bernardino Pioneers Historical Treasures of San Bernardino Magazine, Health Articles Civil Service Tests Databases Typing Practice and Computer Skills Virtual Library Policies and Rules |
Living Section of the San Bernardino SUN June 18, 2006 
The Treasure of Montsegur By Sophy Burnham HarperCollins, 2002 
A Novel About the Cathars You won't find "Cathar" listed in Webster's New World or in the Random House abridged or in many other dictionaries. What most dictionaries list is "cathartic" and "catharsis," English words that derive from the same Greek word "katharos" meaning "pure" as does the word "Cathar/s." But Goggle "Cathar/s" and you will find numerous sites explaining Cathar history and legends. A fleeting reference to the Cathars in Dan Brown's "The DaVinci Code" sent the curious in search of information about them. But long before "The DaVinci Code," authors Baigent, Leigh and Lincoln, placed the Cathars in the center of their 1982 bestselling book "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" which made an argument for the theory that Jesus Christ had been married to Mary Magdalene and that their bloodline survived in the South of France with the Cathars. The Cathars lived primarily in the south of France between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries and practiced an unusual form of Christianity, which the Catholic Church considered heretical. As early as 1204 the Catholic Church started a campaign to eliminate their increasing threat to its authority and power. The war on the Cathars ended officially in 1244 with the fall of the Montsegur castle but stray Cathars when discovered, continued to be burned as heretics. Legend has it that shortly before the fall of Montsegur, four Cathars smuggled out of the castle some sort of a mysterious treasure. The authors of "Holy Blood, Holly Grail" believe this treasure to have been documents proving that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and that his bloodline is in essence the Hoy Grail. "The Treasure of Montsegur," a novel by Sophy Burnham was the April reading selection of the Library Literary Salon. In keeping with the intent of the Salon, the book sparked a mind-jogging discussion on a wide range of topics - from the theories of "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" and "The Da Vinci Code" to religious persecution. "The Treasure of Montsegur" is the story of the 40-year long war on the Cathars as told by the book's protagonist, Jeanne. Found as a baby outside the smoldering ruin or what had been the city of Beziers where in 1209, 20,000 Cathars had been burned and massacred, Jeanne is raised in the Cathar faith by her adoptive mother, Lady Esclarmonde, a real historical figure. Two marriages and an affair with her best friend's husband later, Jeanne finds herself in besieged Montsegur. According to the author, there is a great deal of information about the final days of Montsegur and the names and even some of the life histories of those who were trapped in the castle and later burned have also been recorded. Based on this we can assume historic authenticity about the part of the book describing how the Cathars spent their last days in the fortress. Historically, on March 1, 1244 the Cathars and the Catholic army negotiated a truce. The Cathars were given 15 days before surrendering. The mercenaries and those Cathars who renounced their faith as heresy were allowed to go free but the religious leaders called "perfecti" and those who refused to give up their faith were burned as heretics. This being fiction, it is Jeanne who is chosen to be one of the four people who steal away with the treasure. We meet her many years after the fall of Montsegur. Filthy, homeless and dressed in rags, she roams the area remembering her life while evading the Inquisition still on the prowl for heretics. Her only and most prized possession is a Bible translated in the vernacular. Metaphorically, Jeanne's wondering represents a cathartic journey into the soul, her search for self-knowledge and for the meaning of God. "I have found the treasure," Jeanne thinks at the very end when she is tortured by the Inquisition. "This is what everyone is looking for: the treasure is our own immortal soul. I am the treasure. I have found the treasure of Montsegur." The author portrays the Cathars in a favorable light. They called themselves Friends of God and their church the Church of Love. They were pacifists and vegetarians. They believed in the divinity of Jesus Christ but not in the resurrection. Reading this book one might think that the reasons the Catholic Church persecuted them may have been their use of the Bible in the vernacular and their rejection of the Pope's authority. But other sources about the Cathars hint of something sinister. They were dualists, which means that they believed in two equally powerful gods, a good god and an evil one. In "The Cathar Faith, A Critical Introduction," Peter Wronski writes: "According to the Cathars, marriage was a form of prostitution. Children were born as demons until they could be consciously lead to choose salvation in the Cathar path." In general, the Cathars believed that the material world, including the human body are the products of the evil god and had to be overcome by the soul which was pure and the product of the good god. As to the Cathar treasure - it remains a mystery that undoubtedly will provide future writers, historians and archeologists with interesting material for their work. Ophelia Georgiev Roop Library Director San Bernardino Public Library |
| ©2008 SBPL.org | Book Reviews · Art Gallery · FAQ · Board of Trustees · Library News · City Website |