The Birth of Popular Heresy

by Robert I. Moore

The seeds of heresy are contained in Christianity itself, which began as a religion of dissent. In the Middle Ages the Church was the main focus of intellectual activity, and its spiritual leaders themselves often questioned the practices and beliefs which heretics openly challenged. The documentary analysed in this volume trace the development of popular heresy from its beginnings. Four main themes are the first manifestations of popular dissent in the eleventh century; the emergence of evangelical anticlericalism in the twelfth century; the infiltration of western heterodoxy in the mid-1100s; and the establishment and early organization of Cathar Churches in southern France and northern Italy which ultimately led to the inquisition. Originally published by Edward Arnold, 1975.

Genres: History, Religion

166 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 1975

Reviews

[Tyler Fahey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Briefly, if you're very academically oriented, mainly into scholarly reading, this book is perfect for you. I do not mind it, but this book is dense, but very factual, informative, and has a lot of great information. I've learned a lot of things in this class up until I dropped it as incomplete due to an internship opportunity. If you're interested in the Roman Catholic Church, it's history, and the development of the Christian Church throughout the Middle Ages, this book is for you primarily if you are interested in politics and cultural aspects of the Middle Ages.

Dr. John Eby, my professor of history, is very knowledgeable about the Monks and Monestarys in Europe during this period, and this book does talk about those subjects to some extent. Like I previously mentioned in "The Birth of Popular Heresy," it's an excellent book for class discussions. If you have a great facilitator, but, this is a scholarly book, to me, academic publications can be bland, but there is a lot of great information in this book.