Stephen O'Shea

Неважно, какой из альпийских курортов вы соберетесь посетить на новогодние каникулы, — это именно та книга, которую стоит взять с собой. Автор снует вдоль заснеженного хребта, как челнок ткацкого станка: к северу — к югу, начав с Женевы и продвигаясь постепенно на восток до Словении. По пути он постоянно пересекает границы миров: Lard line, разделяющую Европу на готовящих на животном жире и на оливковом масле; Рёштиграбен, поделившую Швейцарию на любителей и противников драников рёшти (то есть немецко- и франкоговорящие кантоны); и даже оказывается в гиперреальности — швейцарском Хайдиланде. Если вы, как и я, подумали, что Хайди из названия книги относится к имени любимой овчарки фюрера, то вы ошиблись. Хайди — это девочка, героиня детской книжки и один из крупнейших брендов Швейцарии в Восточной Азии. Китайцев и японцев автобусами привозят в эту декоративную деревню. Путешествие на машине позволяет автору увидеть места, куда автобусами не завезут: потрясающие скалы Тре-Чиме-ди-Лаваредо и перевал Стельвио, названный ведущим передачи Top Gear самым живописным местом в мире для автопоездки. Общение с местными жителями помогает узнать регион лучше и не покупаться на их байки о даху, животном с ногами разной длины для устойчивости на склонах.… (more)

Catharism was a Christian sect in south France that defied most everything the “Church” required of its believers. Christians should strive to be like Jesus, a poor man who respected men and women. Cathars reincarnated until they are “Perfect” and finally are released from their corporal bodies to join Christ. This heresy in the 11-1200s was so antithetical to the Church that it called on a crusade to kill them all, ultimately succeeding. O’Shea is an excellent writer and historian, making ancient primary sources accessible. I was confused by the first few chapters but as the story of the crusade developed it was almost impossible to put down. I learned so much about a fascinating Christian sect I knew nothing about and which predated Protestantism. Trigger warnings: the Church and its henchmen were cruel and brutal. Many thousands died cruel, painful deaths.… (more)

Since the name is "Perfect Heresy" I was expecting more details about the actual heresy, the theology, doctrine of the Cathars etc. Instead is was a detailed (reality based) history of the Cathars in what is now southern France. When things started, the region the Cathars were living in was an semi-independent area with its own language, not quite French or Italian or Spanish, but related. Not everyone was a Cathar but non-Cathars respected and protected them. This was beacuse the Cathars, for the most part, were better behaved and more moral than the established Catholic church. Then over the course of 3 or 4 generations a Crusade was launched against the heretics and the local lords who protected them. At the end of the Crusade, the King of France controlled the area and the local lords were exterminated or exiled. There was a lot of politics involved and religion was just an excuse to finance the wars and recruit soldiers.

The book covers mostly the events, personalities and politics and does not go deeply into the religion.

I say it is reality based, because since the early 1800's a lot of semi-fictional writing has taken place that connects the Cathars with the Knights Templars, the Holy Grail, hidden treasure, ancient mystic eastern knowledge and a supposed line of kings descended from Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. This is all false and the development of these myths is gone over in the epilogue.

I did learn that the Albigensian Crusades took place over generations, that many who fought with the Cathars were not believers and that the local power structure was deeply involved. I wanted more information on the actual beliefs of the Cathars but this was not the book for that.
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