Computing unity and diversity in the accounts of the Cathar
initiation ritual

k 2025

Computing unity and diversity in the accounts of the Cathar initiation ritual

SUBA, Katalin; David ZBÍRAL and Tomáš HAMPEJS

Basic information

Original name

Computing unity and diversity in the accounts of the Cathar initiation ritual

Authors

SUBA, Katalin; David ZBÍRAL and Tomáš HAMPEJS

Edition

XXIII International Association for the History of Religions World Congress, 2025

Other information

Language

English

Type of outcome

Presentations at conferences

Field of Study

60304 Religious studies

Country of publisher

Poland

Confidentiality degree

is not subject to a state or trade secret

References:

conference program

Organization unit

Faculty of Arts

Keywords (in Czech)

consolamentum; kataři; iniciační rituál;

Keywords in English

consolament; Cathars; initiation ritual;

Abstract

In the original language

Our understanding of the consolament, the initiation ritual of the dissident religious group known as the Cathars, comes from various types of sources. Among the most significant are texts from service books that originate within Cathar communities: the Ritual of Florence and the Ritual of Lyon. Additionally, we have descriptions of the ritual from Catholic authors, as well as accounts from testimonies preserved in inquisitorial records, in which the deponents recount their memories of these ceremonies. Most descriptions come from Languedoc, with two from Italy, dating to the 13th and early 14th centuries. These texts differ significantly in their level of detail and complexity, making it challenging to identify common elements of the ritual and to identify similarities and differences. In the literature on the Cathar initiation ritual, the aforementioned service books are typically prioritized for understandable reasons, as other sources can appear incomplete or problematic in terms of their origins. In this paper, we aim to examine the entire body of available sources, focusing on the fundamental structural components of the ritual rather than the details. With the help of sequence analysis, which was firstly used by biologists to analyse DNA sequences and was later adopted by various fields including social sciences, we seek to uncover patterns in the structure of the ritual and to formally express both consistency and variation.

Links

101000442, interní kód MU

Name: Networks of Dissent: Computational Modelling of Dissident and Inquisitorial Cultures in Medieval Europe (Acronym: DISSINET)

Investor: European Union, ERC (Excellent Science)

Cite

SUBA, Katalin; David ZBÍRAL and Tomáš HAMPEJS. Computing unity and diversity in the accounts of the Cathar initiation ritual. In XXIII International Association for the History of Religions World Congress. 2025.

@proceedings{2507683,
   author = {Suba, Katalin and Zbíral, David and Hampejs, Tomáš},
   booktitle = {XXIII International Association for the History of Religions World Congress},
   keywords = {consolament; Cathars; initiation ritual;},
   language = {eng},
   title = {Computing unity and diversity in the accounts of the Cathar initiation ritual},
   url = {https://iahr2025.org/program/},
   year = {2025}
}

TY  - CONF
ID  - 2507683
AU  - Suba, Katalin - Zbíral, David - Hampejs, Tomáš
PY  - 2025
TI  - Computing unity and diversity in the accounts of the Cathar initiation ritual
KW  - consolament
KW  - Cathars
KW  - initiation ritual;
UR  - https://iahr2025.org/program/
N2  - Our understanding of the consolament, the initiation ritual of the dissident religious group known as the Cathars, comes from various types of sources. Among the most significant are texts from service books that originate within Cathar communities: the Ritual of Florence and the Ritual of Lyon. Additionally, we have descriptions of the ritual from Catholic authors, as well as accounts from testimonies preserved in inquisitorial records, in which the deponents recount their memories of these ceremonies. Most descriptions come from Languedoc, with two from Italy, dating to the 13th and early 14th centuries. These texts differ significantly in their level of detail and complexity, making it challenging to identify common elements of the ritual and to identify similarities and differences. In the literature on the Cathar initiation ritual, the aforementioned service books are typically prioritized for understandable reasons, as other sources can appear incomplete or problematic in terms of their origins. In this paper, we aim to examine the entire body of available sources, focusing on the fundamental structural components of the ritual rather than the details. With the help of sequence analysis, which was firstly used by biologists to analyse DNA sequences and was later adopted by various fields including social sciences, we seek to uncover patterns in the structure of the ritual and to formally express both consistency and variation.
ER  -

SUBA, Katalin; David ZBÍRAL and Tomáš HAMPEJS. Computing unity and diversity in the accounts of the Cathar initiation ritual. In \textit{XXIII International Association for the History of Religions World Congress}. 2025.

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