Legacy
The inquisitions in combination with the brutal Albigensian Crusade were very successful in eliminating opposition and contrast to the Catholic institution. When they started, the other sects were quite strong and growing, but by the 14th century the Waldensians had been driven underground and the Cathars (no relation to Catholics) had been slaughtered en masse or forced to recant. Some residents of the Pays Cathare identify themselves as Cathars even today. They claim to be descended from the Cathars of the Middle Ages. However, the delivering of the consolamentum, on which historical Catharism was based, required a linear succession by a bon homme in good standing. It is believed that one of the last known bons hommes, Guillaume Belibaste, was burned in 1321.
Read more about this topic: Medieval Inquisition
Famous quotes containing the word legacy:
“What is popularly called fame is nothing but an empty name and a legacy from paganism.”
—Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536)