The Wandering Heretics of Languedoc (Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought: Fourth Series) by Caterina Bruschi

Author:Caterina Bruschi [Bruschi, Caterina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780511652721
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2009-05-14T00:00:00+00:00

The heretics

Very different is the rival perspective, that of the dissenting individuals and groups. As said before, there is obviously one point of origin, the strong conviction that theirs was the correct interpretation of the Scriptures and of Christian practice.

To start with, let us consider one fraternity – later a recognised Order – for which preaching and itinerancy were the bone of contention, and constituted grounds for temporary exclusion from the official Church: the Humiliati. There is no mention whatsoever of preaching or itinerancy in the Humiliati proposita. This silence is telling. In 1184 Pope Lucius III, in his decretal Ad abolendam, had specifically condemned the Humiliati for their refusal to accept an ecclesiastical authority’s control over their preaching. It would have been surprising if the Order had wanted to dwell, within the renewed ‘programme of life’, on the issue that had led to them being accused of heterodoxy. Understandably, the reconstruction of the Order focused instead on the Humiliati’s lifestyle as being ordered, legitimate and in accordance with the Gospels. 50 There was no mention of preaching. Instead, a whole chapter was devoted to the modes and principles of silence (Omnis boni principium, ch. XXV – De silentio 51). There was also consistent insistence on the Rule of St Benedict as a well-structured and rigid code of practice for all communities, and upon discipline (chs. XXIV, XXXV, XXXVII 52) and exterior signs of conformity (such as the times and modes for prayer, and type of clothing). The political strategy of re-integration into the body of Christianity set by the Humiliati hierarchy highlighted what the authorities wanted to hear from them: a declaration of good will, of the existence of a solid internal structure, of conformity to approved role models and papal policy. While the Rule of the Humiliati devotes only a couple of lines to outdoor activities, and derives them (yet again) from the authority of the Benedictine rule (ch. XXXII – De fratribus in via dirigendis 53), other documents – still official ones, such as private transactions concerning land and goods, records of commercial partnerships and money transfers – reveal a pattern of constant itinerancy, both ‘internal’ (between houses) and ‘external’ (in relation to private or public lay partnerships). Such movement was mainly dictated by individual communities’ business affairs and organisation, and responded to the demands for frequent and steady cooperation with existing lay bodies, such as the communes, private enterprises and guilds. 54

Although they are of differing natures, both the Order’s private acts and the proposita (the Order’s Rule) are official documents. The latter, however, can be seen as producing a ‘life plan’ for the renewed order, a public declaration of integrity and conformity. As we have seen, itinerancy had constituted for the Humiliati the essence of their disobedience, the original reason for excommunication and de-legitimisation of the whole community which (even if only for a brief span of time) had had for this reason to bear the infamy of heresy. Nevertheless, it is obvious that none of the condemned activities were ever halted.

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