6. The Nature of Heresy

About this Lecture

Lecture

In this module, we think about the nature of heresy and what it telsl us about medieval society, focusing in particular on: (i) the range of heretical groups beyond the Cathars and the Waldensians, including the Gugliamites, the Brethren of the Free Spirit, the Spiritual Franciscans, and the Hussites; (ii) why heretical beliefs arise and (in some cases) flourish; (iii) what heresy can tell us about medieval society and culture; and (iv) the mutually-reinforcing relationship between authority and heresy.

Course

In this course, Professor John Arnold (University of Cambridge) explores heresy and the church in Medieval Europe. In the first module, we think about the growth of heretical movements up to the beginning of the Albigensian Crusade. In the two modules that follow that, we examine two particular groups – the Cathars and the Waldensians – before turning in the fourth module to consider some of the methods used by the church to combat heresy. In the fifth module, we think about some of the records that have survive that give us an insight into the kind of people caught up in accusations of heresy, while in the sixth and final module, we think about what heresy can tell us about medieval society more broadly.

Lecturer

John Arnold studied at the University of York, gaining a BA in History, and a D.Phil. in Medieval Studies. He worked at the University of East Anglia, then moved to Birkbeck, University of London, in 2001, until his election to the professorship of medieval history at Cambridge in 2016. He has been lead editor of the journal Cultural and Social History, is on the editorial board of the journal Past & Present, and co-edits several publication series: Genders and Sexualities in History (Palgrave Macmillan), Heresy and Inquisition in the Middle Ages (York Medieval Press), and Oxford Studies in Medieval European History (OUP).