Chasing the Heretics: A Modern Journey Through the Medieval Languedoc [Paperback]

Rion Klawinski (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Believing in a world in which good and evil were a duality, the Cathars were proscribed, slain at sword point, burned alive or otherwise slaughtered during the Albigensian Crusade (1208 - 1229). Though one of the Catholic Church's bloodiest enterprises, this domestic crusade does not loom large in too many minds today...Yet it is well worth revisiting as it tragically reflects so much of the worst and best in humankind: prohibition of beliefs, relentless suppression, military brutality, heroic resistance, faith unto death, betrayals and massacres... The reader is richly rewarded by this finely written memoir of events that in their day preoccupied popes and kings. -- ForeWord Magazine

Recommended for all travel collections. -- Library Journal --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 217 pages
• Publisher: Ruminator Books (April 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1886913382
• ISBN-13: 978-1886913387
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,056,162 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For armchair travelers and history buffs alike, May 22, 2001

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chasing the Heretics: A Modern Journey Through the Medieval Languedoc (Paperback)

Rion Klawinski blends history and travel in the south of France in writing Chasing The Heretics: A Modern Journey Through The Medieval Languedoc. This remarkably articulate and thoroughly engaging work is part history and part travelogue as Klawinski begins his journey in search of the facts surrounding a murder that happened in 1209, traces the steps of the pacifist Cathars (a 13th century religious sect); and the anti-Cathar Albigensian Crusade. Klawinski uncovers an almost forgotten history of a group of doomed Christians whose influence is still felt in the picturesque Languedoc region to this very day. The reader is treated to a sense of daily life as it was lived almost eight hundred years ago, as well as the ruggedly beauty country side, vibrant cities, and picturesque villages of the present. Chasing The Heretics is enthusiastically recommended reading for armchair travelers and history buffs alike!

22 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars CHASING SOMETHING OTHER THAN HERETICS, November 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Chasing the Heretics: A Modern Journey Through the Medieval Languedoc (Hardcover)

I HAVE VISITED THE AREA, AND WANTED TO READ MORE ABOUT THE HISTORY. THE REVIEW WAS PROMISING, BUT THE BOOK DID NOT DELIVER A BALANCED OR INSIGHTFUL APPROACH TO THE SUBJECT MATTER. HE ADMITS HE DID NOT RESEARCH THE MATTER WELL (REFERS TO A ILL WRITTEN BOOK AS ONE OF HIS GUIDES), ONLY VISITS THE AREAS NORTH OF THE CANAL DU MIDI (EXCEPT FOR ONE BRIEF EXCURSION TO MONTSEGUR, SPENDS MOST OF HIS TIME DEALING WITH HIS FALLING OUT WITH CATHOLICISM RATHER THAN THE COMPLEX MATTER OF WHAT THE CATHARS WERE REALLY ABOUT. THERE ARE EXCELLENT BOOKS ON THE SUBJECT (RENE NELLI...UNFORTUNATELY ONLY AVAILABLE IN FRENCH)..THE LAMBERT BOOK IS A MUCH BETTER INVESTMENT. THERE ARE MANY BOOKS THAT WOULD HAVE ENLARGED AND ENHANCED HIS UNDERSTANDING, HAD HE BOTHERED TO LOOK AND READ. FOR SOMEONE GENUINELY INTERESTED IN THE SUBJECT, CHECK OUT WEBSITES FOR OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS. THE INFO (AND BOOKS) ARE THERE, AND WELL WORTH THE TIME.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent reading!, February 11, 2010

By 

J. Rivera "Peregrinus" (Santiago de Compostela, Spain) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Chasing the Heretics: A Modern Journey Through the Medieval Languedoc (Paperback)

The reader above ("A Customer") apparently expected a history of the cathars, which this book is not. It is an excellent travelogue or travel memoir, using the cathars and their history as a background. There are vignetes throughout the book, referring to the placed that the author visit, which help the reader understand the catahr phenomenon. It is an excellent book!