The Cathars are - were - a Christian sect flourishing particularly from the 11th - 13th centuries, particularly in this part of the world. They were dualistic, believing there was a God of Good, and a God of Evil, and they lived simply, abjuring the temporal power that was such a feature of the Catholic church of the time. The Catholics hated this heretical sect and called for a crusade against them. All this happened 800 years ago, and the bloody events of the Albigensian crusade are being commemorated this year in the Pyrénées Cathares. We’ve been on walks, talks, all sorts of things organised by Pays d'art et d'histoire des Pyrénées Cathares over the last few months, but yesterday was A Big Challenge. We met at Montségur, scene of a long siege that ended with
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