The ALBIGENSIANS

The region in southeastrn France known as the Languedoc has historicly been a difficult region for the Roman Catholic church. Its cult of saints has numerous unusual qualities to it, and many believe amidst the Christian history there is a continuation of the Gnostic history.

MAGDALENE

The locals believe Mary Magdalene came to live there after the crucifixion. The Gnostics hold Mary to be more than a saint; in some readings she is described as the First Disciple, in others the lover of Jesus and even the mother of his child. The first to see te ressurection, she was believed to transcend even Jesus' own level of mystic attainment, if anything for the sake of her longer life. She is also regarded as the mother of Gnostic Christianity. This perception of Mary is quite opposite the formal doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church, who has decreed that it was impossible for her to be 1. a disciple, 2. a lover of Jesus, 3. anything but a repentant prostitute.

Nevertheless her cult is quite strong in France even today, and the mysterious Black Virgins beneath the old cathedrals of Europe are alternately regarded as her, or of the Isis-like goddess worshipped by her and countless others. And hardly repressed, the Gnostic graced her with one of their greatest honors: the scripting of texts that declare themselves as being written by her, in 'her spirit.'

The GRAIL

The Langeudoc carries a second independant legacy connecting it with Jesus, that of the Holy Grail. Wether brought there by Joseph of Aramethia, or as part of the loot brought to Europe by the Knights Templar following the Crusades, or simply a renaming of an older pagan Arthurian myth, the Grail legend is firmly rooted in that region. Inspired by Wagner's Parcival, German SS troops conducted numerous excavations during the occupation.

The ALBIGENSIANS

The people who lived in that region in the first five centuries were noted by the Church as having their own independant religion. It was commonly known that the local churches (and their coffers) were consistently empty, although many attributed this to the corrupt nature of the priests. The Albigensians instead practiced something very close to Christianity, and were peaceful and altogether unthreatening in their practices. They were also, it would seem, very happy. They were vegetarian or ate solely fish, practiced but did not require monastic acts, married and un-married at will, though the practice generally was discouraged. They often took vows against harming anything living. They openly mocked the Catholic priests, but never took action to threaten or expel them. They practiced a communal form of worship, involving the rotation of reading and preaching between men and women.

The INQUISITION

Perhaps solely for their lack in recognising the Pope as temporal leader for God, the famous Inquisition was invented for the sake of the Albigensians. Seen as a threat to the strength of the Church, Bernard Gui led a papal army to eradicate the region of its people, killing by some accounts almost 80,000 people. The Inquisition proved itself an effective exercise in control, and thrived for almost 300 years longer. Perhaps the most interesting story in all of this is the tale of the last stronghold. Beseiged the ecclesia of the Albigensian church in combination with soldiers successfully lived for weeks. Finally, as the end approached, the Inquisition offered amnesty to all occupants of the fortress who were not ordained in their heretical faith, and they were given a night in which to respond. During that night legends says that several priests slipped away with their mysterious "treasures", for little was found after the fortress was stormed. History tells us that come morning not one occupant took advantage of the amnesty - during the night each soldier and servant had requested that they be ordained.

The KNIGHTS TEMPLAR

Whether blessed or not, the Templars enjoyed a role in history of occupying places of great history. The first place, the sacred Temple of Jerusalem for which they are named, yeilded knowledge both in the inner mysteries of Judaica and exposure to a great mixture of Eastern philosophy. Later, as the Crusades ended and wealth was well accumulated, they were firmly rooted in the very region where the Church had declared its first holy war against the Albigensians. Some years later, after growing increasingly more suspect in their un-orthodox approaches to Church doctrine, and perhaps even in light of the ideas present in that place the Templars themselves became a repetition in history as their numbers were murdered by a then seasoned Inquisition.