Sublime

The experiences of the Founder of Christianity have perhaps left us in a vague doubt of the infallibility of courts of law.

On 12 April 1229, history repeated itself. Raymond VII, like his father before him, was publicly flogged. It was to be known as the Peace of Paris, and the combined strength of Church and king had the count of Toulouse in a vice. Raymond’s lands were seized by the French crown, leaving him with little more than the city of Toulouse and a few minor

Bosnia had always had a reputation for heresy. As early as 1203, Innocent III had urged the king of Hungary – the Church’s only real ally in eastern Europe and the Balkans – to mount a campaign against the heretics there. The Ban – or ruler – of Bosnia, Kulin, was thought to be a heretic, as were 10,000 of his subjects.

“sons of God,” a potential reference to angels, and in this case fallen angels.

The Cathars, or Good Christians as they called themselves, would certainly have been horrified to learn that they were being referred to in derogatory terms that suggested they were participants in fictitious satanic ceremonies that were the product of rumour and the overactive imaginations of Catholic critics. Although the Church was keen to paint

18 Ah, you who drag iniquity along with cords of falsehood,