Deconstuctionist interpretation of the origins of catharismn and the report of the Tractatus de hereticis
Year: 2018
Type: book-chapter
Abstract: Deconstructionist interpretation of Catharism, which is getting more and more popular among the scholars in the recent years, totally rejects all the conclusions of the historiography of this heresy, denying it’s most distinctive features, such as eastern - Bogomil origins and dualistic character of it’s teachings. The article tries to verify the first part of this interpretation, concerning the origins of Catharism, according to which, eastern roots of this heresy were invented by the Catholic authors to discredit the "dissidents". Arguments of the deconstructionist scholars were confronted with the informations contained in the only report concerning historical origins of Catharism, (a part of the Tractatus de hereticis, written in the second half of the 13th century), which confirms eastern - Bogomil roots of this heresy. Confrontation of this report with the testimonies of various independent sources from the 12th and the 13th centuries, both western, concerning Catharism and eastern, concerning Bogomilism shows clearly, that there is no reason to deny it’s credibility as it is done by the adherents of the deconstructionist school, and in consequence, that it is highly improbable, that eastern roots of Catharism were invented by the Catholic clergy.
Author: Czarnecki, Piotr
Language: Polish
Subfield: History
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7134626238