In the 14th century part of our current read, The Dream of Scipio, Olivier de Noyen encounters two “heretics” and learns of their beliefs, one of which is reincarnation. In the novel, this is traced back to the 5th century protagonist Manlius, his philosophical treatise on The Dream of Scipio, and his philosopher friend Sophia.
As in so much in the novel, there is a grain of truth to it, and we were reminded of the Cathars, which were quite familiar to some in our reading group. Wikipedia (handle with care as usual) has an extensive article on Catharism, with a number of external links, one of which is Cathars and Cathar Beliefs in the Languedoc (Cathars and the Cathar Crusade: history, cathar theology, crusade leaders, explanations, maps and source documents).
Recent Comments