Emotional Dissent: Cathars, Communities, and Theological Disobedience

This paper explores religious dissent from the angle of emotion and community. The paper closely examines the rituals described by accused “Cathars” in Toulouse, Bibliothèque Municipale MS 609, which was the product of the Lauragais-wide inquisition undertaken from 1244 to 1245.The result of this examination is three-fold. First, the paper shows that popular dissent occurred often at an individual level rather than in consistent waves of protest against the power of a dominant church. Second, this individual dissent, whether intentional or unintentional, often happened during emotional moments: in the wake of the Albigensian Crusade, in community gatherings, or at the side of a loved one’s deathbed. Finally, the paper proposes that these emotional moments, when considered together, show an identity-making process by which the people in this area formed their notion of what it meant to be a Christian. The final result of the analysis, therefore, shows a diverse network of dissent, connected by emotional experiences, which played a significant role in the development of a Christian identity among those accused by the inquisitors.