This study contributes to the ongoing debate about the existence and nature of the Cathar heresy in Languedoc in the long thirteenth century. Using testimony of accused heretics, it traces a network of fundraising, donations, testamentary bequests, deposit-holding, moneylending, and other types of financial transactions that evidences the existence of a discreet group of people traditionally called ‘Cathars’. This study demonstrates that, unlike many other medieval religious movements, this group did not practice voluntary poverty as part of a holy life. Since the Cathars are traditionally thought to be radical dualists who rejected the material world in all its forms, and because their clergy professed asceticism in other aspects of life, the failure to embrace holy poverty struck contemporary observers as hypocritical and self-serving. Many modern historians have agreed with this assessment, while others have argued that the Cathars did, in fact, embrace poverty. This study serves as a corrective to both points of view: the ‘Cathars’ in thirteenth-century Languedoc neither embraced poverty, nor cynically claimed to do so while disregarding their principles. Rather, repudiation of money was not part of their way of life. That the Cathars of Languedoc did not embrace apostolic poverty is not surprising when we consider that they were embedded in a local culture with strong moneylending traditions. These local practices did not conform to the norms of the Catholic church, rendering the region vulnerable to charges of usury as well as heresy. As part of its effort to standardize religious practice, in the thirteenth century the papacy waged an aggressive campaign against Cathar heresy. Uneasy with the rapid economic expansion of the high Middle Ages, it also stepped up attacks on usury, which was seen by some as a kind of heresy. Seeing that Cathars did not embrace holy poverty – and, in fact, participated in the economy – contemporary critics accused them of practicing usury and pursuing wealth. Languedoc, already deeply associated with Catharism, came under attack in the thirteenth century for its credit culture as well. Using case studies of early thirteenth-century Toulouse and late thirteenth-century Albi, this dissertation examines the association between heresy and usury and argues that attacks on their practitioners were intended to enforce conformity to orthodox norms and eradicate difference within Latin Christendom.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Catholic University of America, 1934. / Bibliography: p. 159-163.

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Contemporary pilgrimage activities associated with the Volto Santo may be traced to the origins of the cult, which, as I argue in this dissertation, was established in the late eleventh century. I propose this new date of the cult's establishment, as well as its development and promotion in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, based on research in the areas of Lucca's political, religious, and economic histories, as well as other Lucchese relic cults, the hagiographic and iconographic traditions associated with the Volto Santo, other competing relic cults in Tuscany, and the impact of Lucca's textile industry. This dissertation provides the first substantial contribution to the art historical contextualization of Il Volto Santo during the latter Middle Ages by investigating the intricate relationships between the religious, political, and economic affairs involving the Volto Santo during the late eleventh through thirteenth centuries. In addition, it complements the growing scholarship dedicated to pilgrimage studies associated with the Via Francigena. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Art History in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester 2015. / October 29, 2015. / Includes bibliographical references. / Paula L. Gerson, Professor Directing Dissertation; Irene Zanini-Cordi, University Representative; Lynn Jones, Committee Member; Stephanie Leitch, Committee Member.

In this dissertation I provide a detailed analysis of the role played by the Tachikawa-ryu in the development of Japanese esoteric Buddhist doctrine during the medieval period (900-1200). In doing so, I seek to challenge currently held, inaccurate views of the role played by this tradition in the history of Japanese esoteric Buddhism and Japanese religion more generally. The Tachikawa-ryu, which has yet to receive sustained attention in English-language scholarship, began in the twelfth century and later came to be denounced as heretical by mainstream Buddhist institutions. The project will be divided into four sections: three of these will each focus on a different chronological stage in the development of the Tachikawa-ryu, while the introduction will address the portrayal of this tradition in twentieth-century scholarship.

Walter de Gray became archbishop of York in 1215 while attending the Fourth Lateran Council in Rome. King John of England recommended Walter for the role, and the new archbishop ruled for the next four decades with the skills of a well-connected royal administrator and a commitment to reforming his churches according to the principles advanced by the general council. Over the next four decades the archbishop reorganized and revitalized a province that had lost much of its stature through neglect and mismanagement by his predecessor. Architectural patronage played a central role in Gray's reform program, and it created four well-known Gothic edifices at the metropolitan church of York and at its dependent satellites, or minsters, Beverley, Ripon, and Southwell. Each construction project was supported by an indulgence from the archbishop and happened alongside important constitutional changes at each church. York Cathedral received a new transept as Gray campaigned for the canonization of a former archbishop and restructured the chapter and its offices. He rebuilt the damaged choir of Beverley Minster as a shrine to its bishop-founder St John while packing its prestigious chapter with trusted lieutenants. He completed Ripon Minster with a two-towered faà§ade after promoting its legendary saint Wilfrid and creating a rich new stall for the chapter. Gray also may have been instrumental in choosing the design for the new east end of Southwell Minster, where he provided new statutes and stipends for the resident canons. The institutional relationships and the programmatic significance of these monuments have not been considered previously, and the four studies here show that reform and rebuilding worked together successfully to raise the profile of York and its minsters. During the building campaigns Gray created new prebends and augmented benefices in order to recruit talented clergy, and he and his allies laid down new statutes to foster the professional ecclesiastic standards and education favored by the Lateran Council. New architectural settings encouraged veneration of local saints, and their stories as pious past prelates of York bolstered the reputation of Gray and his office. New chapels allowed for the founding of chantries, often endowed by the archbishop's handpicked churchmen, and these paid for extra masses and the elaborate liturgical schedules expected of important churches in thirteenth-century England. The story of Walter de Gray and his building program gives scholarly attention to a leading figure in English medieval history, and it provides a new historical structure for understanding several important Gothic churches that rarely find a place in the architectural history of the Middle Ages. Moreover, these four monuments serve as a test case by which to evaluate scholarly approaches to English Gothic architecture of the twelfth and thirteenth century that have attempted to go beyond stylistic analysis, particularly Peter Brieger's idea of an episcopal style.