The Thirteenth-Century Cathars slaughtered at Montsegur in 1244 today offer an alternative to mainstream Christianity that for many integrates better both with ancient pagan traditions & with modern new age attitudes than does the church. They are used to focus a sense of local pride & independence in the Languedoc of France & they still offer a symbol of largely non-violent resistance against persecution & near-genocide. While they are the source for substantial studies into reincarnation they also give us extraordinary detail to help us understand mediaeval life & the horror of the inquisition. Their spirituality & what it stood for remain alive in countless exemplary ways & it is easy for the picture to become contradictory contentious & confused. Contributors to THE CATHAR VIEW range from the scholarly to the alternative. Chapters take us from accounts of their predecessors the Bogomils through to a review of recent heretical viewpoints about the holy Grail the basis of the Da Vinci code & the burgeoning legend of Mary Magdalene. There are contributions about Cathar sympathisers such as Otto Rahn who for many is the original for Indiana Jones & a look at some of the occultists who have been intrigued by the Cathar inheritance such as the mysterious Polaires. Also investigated is the landscape of the Languedoc & what it holds for walkers & mystics alike. In sum this is a unique & valuable contribution to the literature about the Cathars or Albigenses sympathetic to its subject & offering new clarity about what really underlay their intriguing beliefs. ...

The English medieval cathedrals are one of the wonders of the world. But who made them & why? This fascinating new history of England's cathedrals explores a previously unconsidered view of these extraordinary creations: as constantly-changing structures created by a rich brew of ancient rituals beliefs personalities & politics
- a living window on to the past. Incorporating the latest historical research Jon Cannon presents a picture of the English cathedrals as above all products of their time not just great architectural monuments. These were buildings brought alive by the messages encoded in their sculpture
- & the miraculous events that were believed to occur within them. Full of personalities ideas stories & novel interpretations here are the cathedrals of England as you may never have considered them before. Handsomely illustrated with specially commissioned photographs & diagrams including thematic chapters on key aspects & separate essays on every medieval cathedral in England this magnificent volume is indispensable to every lover of history & architecture.

...

All over Europe from Westminster to Rouen the cathedrals of the Middle Ages still st&. This book explores the world of the medieval master mason. How were these structures built when only primitive machinery was available? Who initiated & designed them? Who built & paid for them? ...

This is a masterful eipc of love war treason plague famine witchcraft anti-Semitism & the Inquisition. 14th-century Spain the medieval city of Barcelona is enjoying a golden age of prosperity. Its humblest inhabitants are building stone by stone a magnificent church to overlook their harbour. This is the Cathedral of the Sea: a church to be built for the people by the people. In its shadow Arnau a young serf on the run from his feudal lord struggles to earn his freedom. After famine plague & thwarted love Arnaus fortunes begin to turn when King Pedro makes him a baron as a reward for his courage in battle. But he is also forced to marry Eleonor a ward of the King whom he does not love. His newfound status excites jealousy from his friends who plot his downfall with devastating consequences. Arnaus journey from slave to nobleman is the story of a struggle between good & evil that will turn Church against State & brother against brother... ...

Organised geographically this illustrated guide to the cathedrals & abbeys of England is the definitive reference to over 60 of England's oldest & most beautiful buildings. The guide enables everyone to experince the enduring appeal of these great monuments to the Christian tradition &

Includes:: 6 regional locator maps over 130 specially commissioned colour photographs & a glossary of terms.

...

Henrys fifth Queen is best known to history as the stupid adolescent who got herself fatally entangled with lovers & ended up on the block. However there was more to her than that. She was a symptom of the power struggle which was going on in the court in 1539-40 between Thomas Cromwell & his conservative rivals among whom the Howard family figured prominently. The Howards were an ambitious clan & Catherines marriage to Henry appeared to signify their triumph. However her weakness ruined them in the short term & undermined Thomas Howard the 3rd Duke of Norfolks power permanently. Catherines advent has to be seen against the background of the failed Cleves marriage & the policy which that represented. Her downfall similarly should be seen in terms of the reformers fighting back against the Howards & bringing down Jane Rochford with her. Politics & sexuality were inextricably mixed especially when the Kings potency was called in question. It is time to have another look at her brief but important reign. ...

A biography of Henry VIII's fifth wife beheaded for playing Henry at his own game
- adultery. At seven o'clock on the morning of
...

The image of Catherine of Aragon has always suffered in comparison to the vivacious eroticism of Anne Boleyn. But when Henry VIII married Catherine she was an auburn-haired beauty in her 20s with a passion she had inherited from her parents Isabella & Ferdinand the joint-rulers of Spain who had driven the Moors from their country. This daughter of conquistadors showed the same steel & sense of command when organising the defeat of the Scots at the Battle of Flodden & Henry was to learn to his cost that he had not met a tougher opponent on or off the battlefield when he tried to divorce her. Henry introduced 4 remarkable women into the tumultuous flow of Englands history; Catherine of Aragon & her daughter Bloody Queen Mary; & Anne Boleyn & her daughter the Virgin Queen Elizabeth. From this contest between 2 mothers & 2 daughters was born the religious passion & violence that inflamed England for centuries says David Starkey. Reformation revolution & Tudor history would all have been vastly different without Catherine of Aragon. Giles Tremletts new biography is the first in more than four decades to be dedicated entirely & uniquely to the tenacious woman whose marriage lasted twice as long as those of Henrys five other wives put together. It draws on fresh material from Spain to trace the dramatic events of her life through Catherine of Aragons own eyes. ...

Wife widow mother survivor the story of the last queen of Henry VIII. Catherine Parr was enjoying her freedom after her first two arranged marriages when she caught the attention of the elderly Henry VIII. The most reluctant of all Henry's wives she offered to become his mistress rather than submit herself to the dangers of becoming Henry's queen. This only increased Henry's enthusiasm for the vibrant intelligent young widow & Catherine was forced to abandon her handsome lover Thomas Seymour for the decrepit king. She quickly made her role as queen a success providing Henry VIII with a domestic tranquillity that he had not known since the early days of his first marriage. For Henry Catherine was a satisfactory choice but he never stopped considering a new marriage much to Catherine's terror. Catherine is remembered as the wife who survived but without her strength of character it could have been very different. It was a relief for Catherine when Henry finally died & she could secretly marry Thomas Seymour. Left with no role in government affairs in her widowhood she retired to the country spending time at her manors at Chelsea & Sudeley. It was here that her heart was broken by her discovery of a love affair between her stepdaughter the future Elizabeth I & her husb&. She died in childbirth accusing her husband of plotting her death. Traditionally portrayed as a matronly & dutiful figure Elizabeth Norton's new biography shows another side to Catherine. Her life was indeed one of duty but throughout she attempted to escape her destiny & find happiness for herself. Ultimately Catherine was betrayed & her great love affair with Thomas Seymour turned sour. ...

The daughter of an impoverished aristocrat Catherine was married aged 16 to Grand Duke Peter heir to the throne of all the Russias a feckless teenager with a weakness for drink. Catherine was only able to give him an heir by passing off her lover's son as his own. In 1762 Catherine rode out of St Petersburg at the head of an army to arrest her husb&. Three months later she became sole empress of the largest empire on earth. She was 33 years old. She ruled Russia as a benevolent autocrat for 34 years fighting the Turks abroad & rebellion at home & shepherding her people through the upheavals of the French Revolution. She took on many lovers but gave her heart to General Potemkin the foremost statesman of her time. She died in 1796 aged 67 revered by her people as 'our mother' praised by Voltaire as a philosopher reviled by her enemies as the Messalina of the North & remembered in history as Catherine the Great. From this extraordinary life of great events fabulous splendour & barbaric cruelty Robert K. Massie has woven a thrilling narrative based on impeccable scholarship & a cinematic eye for detail. ...