Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
bishop's palace (the similar, bold brick building to the right, now housing the Toulouse-
LautrecMuseum).Imaginethechurchwitharooftopmorelikethatofthebishop'spalace.
The Cathars
The Cathars were a heretical group of Christians who grew in numbers from the
11th through the 13th century under tolerant rule in Languedoc-Roussillon. They
sawlifeasabattlebetweengood(thespiritual)andbad(thematerial),andtheycon-
sidered material things evil and of the devil. Although others called them “Cathars”
(from the Greek word for “pure”) or “Albigensians” (for their main city, Albi), they
called themselves simply “friends of God.” Cathars focused on the teachings of St.
John, and recognized only baptism as a sacrament. Because they believed in rein-
carnation, they were vegetarians.
Travelers encounter traces of the Cathars in their Languedoc sightseeing be-
causeoftheAlbigensianCrusades(1209-1240s).ThekingofFrancewantedtocon-
solidate his grip on southern France. The pope needed to make a strong point that
the only acceptable Christianity was Roman style. Both found self-serving reasons
to wage a genocidal war against the Cathars, who never amounted to more than 10
percent of the local population and coexisted happily with their non-Cathar neigh-
bors. After a terrible generation of torture and mass burnings, the Cathars were
wiped out. The last Cathar was burned in 1321.
Today, tourists find haunting castle ruins (once Cathar strongholds) high in the
Pyrenees, and eat meaty, if misnamed,
salades Cathar.
•
Climb up to the extravagant Flamboyant Gothic...
Entry Porch:
The entry was built about two centuries after the original plain church
(1494), when concerns about Cathar sensitivities were long passé. Originally colorfully
painted, it provided one fancy entry.
• Head into the cathedral's...
Interior:
The inside of the church—also far from plain—looks essentially as it did
in 1500. The highlights are the vast
Last Judgment
painting (west wall, under the organ)
and the ornate choir (east end).
• Walk to the front of the altar and face the...
Last Judgment:
The oldest art in the church (1474), this is also the biggest Last
Judgment painting from the Middle Ages. The dead come out of the ground, then line up
