The Medieval Manichee. a Study of the Christian Dualist Heresy
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THE MEDIEVAL MANICHEE THE MEDIEVAL MANICHEE A Study of the Christian Dualist Heresy by STEVEN RVNCIMAN .CAMBRIDGE " UNIVERSITY PRESS PUBLISHED BY THE PRESS SYNDICATE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, United Kingdom CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK http://www.cup.cam.ac.uk 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011-4211, USA http://www.cup.org IO Stamford Road, Oakleigh, Melbourne 3166, Australia Ruiz de Alarcon 13, 28014 Madrid, Spain © Cambridge University Press 1947 This book is in copyright. Subject co statutory exception and co the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any pare may cake place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 1947 Reprinted 1955 Reissued 1982 Reprinted 1984, 1988, 1991, 1996, 1999 Library of Congress catalogue card number: 82-4123 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Runciman, Steven The medieval Manichee. I. Dualism (Religion) I. Tide 273 BL.218 ISBN o 521 06166 o hardback ISBN o 521 28926 2 paperback Transferredto digital printing 2003 Foreword N the following pages I have attempted to trace the history of the Dualist Tradition in Christianity from its Gnostic beginnings I to its final florescence in the later Middle Ages. Theologically speaking, the title which I have given to the book is unjustifiable; for Christian Dualism and Manichaeism were . two distinct and separate religions. But to the ordinary·Medieval churchman, in the East as in the West, all Dualists were Manichaean; and I have used a name that they would · have fowid intelligible and natural. And indeed in many ways this popular misnomer was reasonable, for the Christian Dualists, though they would never have acknowledged Mani's system, were fundamentallynearer to it than ever they were to Medieval or Modem Christianity. I hope therefore that the inaccuracy willbe forgiven me, and that no one will open this book hoping to findin it an exhaustive account of those true Manichaeans who lingered on into the Middle Ages in: the far-off recesses of Turkestan. The recent circumstances of the world and certain personal handicaps have prevented me fromhaving access to certain material that I should have liked to consult and fromhandling more fully one or two points on which I have touched. I must ask for indulgence for such omissions. I do not, however, believe that they affect the main argument. A certain unevenness of treatment in the various chapters has been forcedupon me by the nature of the evidence. If, for example, I have dealt scantily with the theology of the Bosnian Patarenes and amply with their political history, it is because we know practically nothing of the former, whereas the latter provides the key to the long existence of the church. On the other hand, it would have been possible, fromthe plentiful records at our disposal, to give a far fuller accowit of the French Cathars. But much of the material there is redwidant. I have therefore, to keep some propor tion in the book, selected from it what I considered to be essential and relevant to the story. V Vl Foreword At the end of the volume I give a bibliography of the books that I have consulted. There are hardlyany booksthat treatthe historyof the Tradition as a whole. But I am indebted to many works on various aspects of it. For my chapter on the Paulicians, I have made great use of F. C. Conybeare's Key of Truth. I disagree withalmost all of his conclus1ons, but every student of the Armenian Church must be immeasurably grateful to his memory for the work that he did on the sources for its history. For the Bogomils, I owe much to the studies of the Bulgarian historian, Ivanov, on Bogomil literature. For the Cathars, the volumes of M. Guiraud are invaluable. I much regret that I had written the text of my chapter before the second volume of his History of the Inquisition was published. I should like to mentionalso the personal help and encouragement that I have had from Professor Henri Gregoire. I have also had the advantage of many helpfulcriticisms and suggestions from Prince D. Obolensky. My thanksare alsodue to the Syndicsof the CambridgeUniversity Press for their unfailing kindness. S.R. Athens 1946 Since this book was first published several important works on medieval Dualism have appeared. I give a list of them on page 199, as a supplement to the Bibliography, and recommend them to the reader who wishes to followup later research on some of the points covered here. S.R. 28 December 1954 Preface to 1982 reissue In the last few decades there has been a vast increase in the number of scholars interested in medieval European heresy. Since this work first appeared in 1947 numerous books and articles have appeared on the same theme, and several of the original sources have been re-edited. I have added to my bibliography a list of the works that seem to me to be of major importance. This book attempts to show that there was a conscious Dualist tradition based on Gnostic foundations which spread across Europe fromWestern Asia to findits fullestexpression amongst the Cathars of Southern France and of Italy. I think that the argument is still valid, though some of the details have been questioned. As regards the Paulicians, an important work by Dr Garsoian, based on a vast knowledge of Armenian sources, argues that the Paulicians were not in fact Dualists. I do not think that she makes her point fully but that her researches show that amongst the heterodox Armenians who were apt to be lumped together as Paulicians there were sects whose doctrines were not as expressly Dualist as those of the Paulicians living along the Byzantine frontier, whose heresy the Greek sources prove without doubt. For the Bogomils Professor Obolensky's work, published in 1948, remains, I think, the best account. Several useful works have appeared since then, notably Professor Angelov's on the Bogomils in Bulgaria, dealing more with the social than the theological aspect of the movement. The Bosnian Church remains a subject of contro versy. There are scholars who regard it, not as a Dualist church but, rather, a schismatic church which developed its own characteristics, which were not necessarily heretical. I believe that it may have modified its doctrines in its later years, after the Cathar movement in the West, with which it was undoubtedly in touch, had been suppressed. There is a full discussion of the problem in F. Sanjek's Les Chretiens bosniaques et le mouvement cathare. He believes the Church to have been Dualist. VII f vm Prefaf to 1982 reissue The number of works produced in recent years on the Cathar heresy in Western Europe is vast, ranging from books that deal with medieval heresy in general to such detailed studies as Le Roy Ladurie's account of life in a heretic village from 1294 to 1324, based on the local records. Western scholars tend to stress the existence of a Dualist tradition in the West throughout the Dark Ages and to regard the Balkan influence on the heretical movement, which no one now denies, as coming in rather late in the story. Certainly a Western Dualist tradition persisted from early times; but I believe that it was continually reinforced from the East, through Italy, where connections with the East were always maintained. The later connections of the Cathars with the Bogomils are admirably demon strated in the notes of Edina Bozoky' s new edition of the Secret Book of the Cathars, which also emphasizes the connection of Bogomil Cathar literature with the literature of the earlier Gnostics. It shows, perhaps, rash arrogance for an author to reissue a book published some thirty-five years ago. I am grateful to Cambridge University Press for taking this risk and for its habitual helpful courtesy. S.R. January 1982 Contents CHAPTER I PAGE I Introduction Heresy-Persecution-Propaganda CHAPTER II PAGE 5 The Gnostic Background The Problem of Evil-Valentine and Early Gnosticism-Marcion-The fantastic Gnostics-Bardaisan-Mani and the Manichaeans-The Mon tanists-Paul of Samosata and Adoptionism-The Messalians CHAPTER III PAGE 26 The Paulicians I. Armenian Christianity-Messalians and Borborites---Other sects. II. John of Otzun and the first Paulicians-Paulician history from Greek sources-Criticism of its dates-The Persecution of the Paulicians Paulician colonies in Europe-Later Paulician history. III. The name Paulician-Paulician doctrines-The Thonraki,not the same as the Paulicians -The Key of Truth. IV. The origins of Paulicianism CHAPTER IV PAGE 63 The Bogomils I. Bulgarian Christianity-Paulicians in the Balkans-Social conditions. II. Pope Bogomil-Bogomil expansion-The Schism in Bogomilstvo Persecution in Constantinople. III. Bogornil doctrine-Cosmas's descrip tion-The descriptionof Euthymius Zigabenus-Other accounts-Bogomil literature-Pope Jeremiah-Bogomil folklore. IV. The origins of Bogo milstvo-Paulicians and Messalians CHAPTER V PAGE 94 The Patarenes I. The later Bogomils-In Constantinople-In Bulgaria-Persecution. II. Bogomils or Babuni in Serbia. III. Bogomils or Patarenes in Dioclea and Bosnia-Bosnian history, Patarene history-Patarenes' decline with Turkish conquest CHAPTER VI PAGE 116 The Cathars I. Heresy in Western Europe-Dualism in France-Gnostic tendencies Churches in England and Germany-In Italy-In Provence. II. Heretics in the Languedoc-Part played by Nobility-State of Catholic Church Catholic. missions-St Dominic-Peter of Castelnau's murder and the IX X Contents Albigensian Crusad�The Inquisition-The extinction of the Cathars. III. Cathar doctrines-Dualism and Monarchianism-Divergent doctrines Cathar ceremonies-The Convenenza-The Consolamentum-The Perfect -Cathar fasts-Other ceremonies-Church organization-Was there a Black Pope? IV.