As the 13th century dawns, an ancient scroll kept hidden in the French Pyrenees is rumored to hold shocking revelations about Jesus of Nazareth. A charismatic Cathar holy woman must defy Rome to preserve the truth. Christianity is about to enter its darkest hour and emerge forever changed.
Set against a richly detailed backdrop of religious persecution and political rivalries during the infamous Albigensian Crusade, this is a fictionalized interpretation of the life of Esclarmonde de Foix, one of the most remarkable women in history. As a leader of a heretical sect of pacifist mystics called Cathars, or 'Pure Ones,' she ignites the enmity of Pope Innocent III by challenging the Church's venality and corruption. When Esclarmonde's fame grows after public disputations between the Cathars and the legates of Rome, the Pope retaliates with a brutal forty-year war in Occitania that culminates with the nine-month siege of Montsegur, the Cathar Masada.
Threaded with skillfully intertwined plot lines that bring to life the fascinating characters of this bloody era, The Fire and the Light weaves an unforgettable tapestry of poignant love stories, monastic corruption, Templar intrigue, troubadour espionage, mysteries of the Holy Grail and the Tarot, and epic siege battles that reshaped the kingdom of France and paved the path to the Reformation.
This timely novel about the Cathar Joan of Arc offers a cautionary tale for those who insist that militant theocracy and terror in the name of God could never take root in the modern West. It also challenges traditional beliefs about the origins of Christianity and the controversial role of women in the priesthood.
Genre: Inspirational
Set against a richly detailed backdrop of religious persecution and political rivalries during the infamous Albigensian Crusade, this is a fictionalized interpretation of the life of Esclarmonde de Foix, one of the most remarkable women in history. As a leader of a heretical sect of pacifist mystics called Cathars, or 'Pure Ones,' she ignites the enmity of Pope Innocent III by challenging the Church's venality and corruption. When Esclarmonde's fame grows after public disputations between the Cathars and the legates of Rome, the Pope retaliates with a brutal forty-year war in Occitania that culminates with the nine-month siege of Montsegur, the Cathar Masada.
Threaded with skillfully intertwined plot lines that bring to life the fascinating characters of this bloody era, The Fire and the Light weaves an unforgettable tapestry of poignant love stories, monastic corruption, Templar intrigue, troubadour espionage, mysteries of the Holy Grail and the Tarot, and epic siege battles that reshaped the kingdom of France and paved the path to the Reformation.
This timely novel about the Cathar Joan of Arc offers a cautionary tale for those who insist that militant theocracy and terror in the name of God could never take root in the modern West. It also challenges traditional beliefs about the origins of Christianity and the controversial role of women in the priesthood.
Genre: Inspirational
Used availability for Glen Craney's The Fire and the Light