Catharism (/ˈkæθərɪzəm/; from Greek: καθαρός, katharos, pure) was a name given to a Christian religious movement with dualistic and gnostic elements that appeared in the Languedoc region of France and other parts of Europe in the 11th century and flourished in the 12th and 13th centuries. In 1208 Pope Innocent III attempted to use diplomacy to end Catharism but in that year, his papal legate Pierre de Castelnau was murdered while returning to Rome. This prompted the Pope into action and resulted in the Albigensian Crusade. The Albigensian Crusade, sought to extinguish the movement in the early decades of the thirteenth century but was not entirely successful. When the pope realized the crusade had failed to eliminate the Catharist movement he launched the Inquisition, which was set up to finish the job.
Catharism had its roots in the Paulician movement in Armenia and the Bogomils of Bulgaria which took influences from the Paulicians. Though the term "Cathar" has been used for centuries to identify the movement, whether the movement identified itself with this name is debatable. In Cathar texts, the terms "Good Men" (Bons Hommes) or "Good Christians" are the common terms of self-identification.
Read more about Catharism: Origins, General Beliefs, Suppression, Later History, Oldest Account of Ordinary People Told in Their Own Words, Legacy in Art and Music