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102BOOK REVIEWS fluence, and their separate histories are a central theme providing, as intended, an excellent parallel to the classic Wakefield and Evans source-book onWestern heresies. The authors weave their way through Western and Eastern sources, denunciations and expositions, and score a bull's-eye with the full translation, for the very first time, from two MSS of Hugh Eteriano's treatise against the Bogomils sponsored by the Emperor Manue 1, touched on but not transcribed by Dondaine. Bernard Hamilton is surely unduly skeptical about Euthymius of the Periblepton on ostentatious blasphemies of Bogomils which have parallels in Catharism, and one misses the opportunity of seeing him encounter Gerhard Rottenwöhrer's idiosyncratic exposition of Bogomil and Cathar history in Die Herkunft der Katharer of 1990. He has,nonetheless, a sure touch on Byzantine history and theology—witness his illumiBating explanation of the relation between Basil the Doctor's influence and contemporary demonology (p. 43); texts are conscientiously handled (see especially Euthymius of the Periblepton ): in sum, this book is a fine contribution. M. D. Lambert Eastcombe, Stroud, Gloucestershire Power & Purity: Cathar Heresy in Medieval Italy. By Carol Lansing. (NewYork: Oxford University Press. 1998. Pp. x, 267. $45.00.) Carol Lansing pursues two ends in this book, a case study of Catharism in a particular community, Orvieto, and a broader examination of Cathar religious practice. Despite some discontinuities between these tasks, the book makes valuable contributions to our understanding of the social context of Catharism in Orvieto and also to the place of Catharism in the popular religiosity of the High Middle Ages. Fragmentary records, all written by opponents of Catharism, make a connected narrative of Cathar history in Orvieto impossible. The efforts of a papal rector, Pietro Parenzo, to suppress Catharism and his subsequent murder in 1199 first illuminate the Cathar presence: in Orvieto. The pro-papal faction in Orvieto attributed his assassination to Cathar sympathizers, and Master John, a cathedral canon, composed an account of his life, martyrdom, and subsequent miracles. Lansing interprets this episode largely in political terms, arguing that Parenzo's local reputation as a saint served the city's bishop in his struggle with the communal government and the pro-papal faction in their struggle with their rivals. The next significant references to Catharism in Orvieto appear in the midthirteenth century, but there were Cathars there in the intervening decades. Lansing uses the list of inquisitorial sentences from 1268 in conjunction with tax records, wills, and other documents to delineate the social milieu of Orvi- étan Cathars. Catharism was not tied exclusively to a single class, though it appeared especially in certain families over two or three generations. Cathars BOOK REVIEWS103 came from a variety of groups, including merchants, moneylenders, minor nobles , furriers, and other artisans. Orviétans proved largely tolerant of local Cathars. A Dominican inquisition foundered for lack of local support in 1239, and during the 1240's several Cathars held civic offices. A more thorough Franciscan inquisition in 1267-68 marked the end of toleration and the beginning of the end of Orviétan Catharism. Lansing devotes much attention to the place of Catharism in the spirituality of thirteenth-century Italy. Catharism was not an isolated, fringe phenomenon; rather "... Cathar beliefs existed within a general climate of religious skepticism in thirteenth-century towns" (p. 83). Many people venerated both Cathar and Catholic holy persons, and some Cathars went to confession and took communion in Catholic churches. For many, theological subtleties counted for less than devotion and reverence for ascetic individuals. Some Cathars, to be sure, challenged Catholic dogma. Pointed divergences came over issues surrounding gender (a creation of Satan or the evil god), marriage (not a sacrament for Cathars), and the bodies of the dead (denial of miracles associated with a holy person's remains). This book makes a significant contribution to our understanding of Italian Catharism. Lansing's examination of Catharism in Orvieto provides a valuable study of heresy in a specific, local context. Her discussion of Cathar beliefs provides several worthwhile insights into the spiritual landscape of thirteenthcentury Italy. Some shortcomings mar the book. Lansing's discussion of the Orviétan inquisition would have benefited from a more thorough...

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