Specialties
We offer tours centred on the Cathars of the Languedoc, all conducted in English, on location in the Pays Cathare, "Cathar Country".
The Cathar movement and the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars were two of the most important events in European history - with many, often surprising, world-wide resonances even today, eight centuries later. Our organized tours are led by an English speaking expert on Catharism who lives locally, just south of Carcassonne in the heart of Cathar Country. He has written a number of books and is the author of the leading English Language website on the Cathars (www.cathar.info). You will not need to speak any French on our escorted tours.
Tours include guided visits to Cathar Castles, informal illustrated lectures and talks on Catharism, Cathar beliefs and practices, the concept of heresy, Medieval warfare and the Albigensian Crusade, along with the history of the "Pays Cathare" - Cathar Country. Talks also cover the ancient culture of the area including the role of the medieval Counts of Toulouse and the medieval Inquisition. You can also learn about the local language, Occitan, the first post-classical literary language of Europe, spoken throughout Occitania.
Information provided includes historical and cultural background, illustrations, maps and timelines - even an introduction to the esoteric world of Gnostic Dualism. You will learn how to spot medieval Cathars and how to besiege a Cathar Castle.
History
Established in 2010.
The business arose as a result of requests from people already interested in the Cathars asking James to show them some of the sites with Cathar histories and explain the associated historical events, such as the Albigensian Crusade and the creation of the Medieval Inquisition, on location in southern France.
Meet the Business Owner: James M.
James McDonald is a historian and a writer. He holds an MA from Oxford University and an MSc from Sussex University in the UK, and is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in London.
He has travelled extensively in Central Asia and Southern Asia researching exotic religions. He writes extensively on a range of topics including Gnostic Dualism, the Cathars of the Languedoc, the Counts of Toulouse, Occitania, Medieval warfare and the Medieval Inquisition. His work is characterised by combining serious scholarship with an entertaining style.
He is the châtelain of a late Medieval castle in the South of France, listed as a Monument Historique by the French Government.
