The
Cathars ('pure ones'), or, as they called themselves 'Good
Christians' (Bon Hommes) lived mainly in Catalonia and Occitania
(northern Spain, southern France, and northern Italy) in the 12th and
early 13th centuries C.E. They were Gnostics, believed in equality
between men and women, and modelled themselves on what they
understood to have been the patterns and practices of the earliest
church. The lay people were known as 'credente' (believers) while
their 'holy' men and women - the parfait/perfect - were wandering
ascetic teachers, who ate no meat and were celibate.
The
Cathars' scriptures included the non-canonical text of 'The
Secret Supper - The Book of John the Evangelist' as well as the New
Testament. Possibly
influenced by the Bogomilists and Manichaeans, their beliefs may have
included an element of dualism: the good God of Love whose realm was
that of the spirit, and a demon of the realm of matter. Because of
this apparent dualism, and, no doubt, their popularity, they were
regarded by the institutional Roman Catholic Church as heretics, and
the Albigensian Crusade was waged against them during the 13th
century. This resulted in a significant depopulation of the area,
although some Cathars escaped over the border to Spain.
By
early March 1244, the remaining Cathars, some 200 people, were
gathered together at the fortress of Montsegur, near modern day
Lavelenet. On 14th March, Easter Day, knowing that they could not
hold out in the face of the forces ranged against them, they
celebrated their rite of Consolamentum - a spiritual baptism by which
sins were absolved and the spirit was elevated. Two days later they
walked down the mountain-side to their death by fire at the hands of
the Church.
A
relatively well-known, and haunting, Cathar song is Lo Boièr. We
heard it at a concert at Puivert Castle, another former Cathar
stronghold. You can hear it on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlGO9IRJeqg
Lo
Boièr, The Herdsman, is the Occitan name for the Bootes
constellation, the main star of which is Arcturus, the brightest star
of the northern celestial hemisphere. The name Arcturus derives from
the Ancient Greek Ἀρκτοῦρος
(Arktouros)
meaning Guardian of the Bear, the bear in question being the
neighbouring constellation, Ursa Major. Some believe that it was
Arcturus that the Magi followed on their way to the Holy Land.
The
song Lo Boièr is believed to contain encoded messages for the
listener, and it has been said that 'Joana' represents the Cathar
church, the spiritual essence of which 'still vibrates in caves and
water'. Here are the words, in Occitan and in English:
|
Lo
Boièr
|
The
Herdsman
|
|
Quand
lo boièr ven de laurar
Planta
son agulhada:
A,
e, i, ò, u !
Planta
son agulhada.
Trapa
(Tròba) sa femna al pè del fuòc
Trista
e (Tota) desconsolada...
Se
sias (Se n'es) malauta digas-o
Te
farai un potatge (una alhada).
Amb
una raba, amb un caulet
Una
lauseta magra.
Quand
serai mòrta enterratz-me
Al
pus fons (Al prigond) de la cròta (cava)
Los
pés virats (Met-me los pès) a la paret
La
tèsta a la rajada (Lo cap jos la canela)
Los
pelegrins (E los romius) que passaràn
Prendràn
d'aiga senhada.
E
diràn « Qual es mòrt aicí ? »
Aquò
es la paura Joana.
Se
n'es anada al paradís
Al
cèl ambe sas cabras.
|
When
the drover returns from ploughing
He plants the point of his plough A, e, i, o, or! He plants the point of his plough. He finds his wife near the fire Sad and sorrowful ... If you're sick tell me I'll make you a soup, With a beet, with a cabbage A slice of lean bacon... When I'm dead, bury me Deep in the cellar Feet facing the wall The head under the tap. When the pilgrims will pass They will take holy water. And say, "Who died here? " It's poor Joana. She went to heaven In the sky with her goats |
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