A silhouette of a Zeppelin caught in searchlights over the City of London
On October 1 1916, Kapitanleutnant HeinrichMathy’s L31 Zeppelin burst into flames after an attack by the Royal Flying Corp. Near Potters Bar he decided to jump out. He was found by farmers still alive and lying face up but died soon after. All 19 Crew died.
Mathy was one of the most experienced Zeppelin Captains. He began his attacks on London on the night of September 8th 1915. Mathy piloted Zeppelin L 13 across Central London, dropping bombs as they went, from University College London to Liverpool Street Station. See my post here.
The early raids were almost immune from attack. The height the Zeppelins could reach was often beyond the height the defenses could reach. Also RFC’s weapons were mostly unable to badly damage the Zeppelins. The problem was that machine gun fire could not puncture enough holes to shot down the Zeppelins or to set the hydrogen alight. Also Bombs proved ineffective.
But this was to change in the summer of 1916. In June 1915 the RFC tried out John Pomeroy’s explosive bullets. They did not, immediately, convince the authorities they were the answer. Then Flight Lieutenant Brock (from the fireworks family) designed a .303 explosive bullet. Pomeroy continued develping his bullets and in May of 1916, the RFC ordered batches of both bullets. Then followed the development of phosphorous incendiary bullets. And the ‘Sparkler’ a new tracer bullet developed by the Sparkler Soda Siphon Company. Successes against Zeppelins increased. Zeppelin SL.11 was shot down by William Leefe Robinson on 2/3 September 1916. The Zeppelin came to earth at Cuffley. Thousands of London came to see the wreckage on ‘Zepp Sunday’. Robinson won the Victoria Cross.
Later in September other Zeppelins were forced down, and on 1st October, L31 was shot down. Mathy came in via the Suffolk coast, Chelmsford, Harlow and Enfield Lock in North London. The Anti-Aircraft shelling alerted the RFC Fighters. 4 fighters zoned in on Mathy’s Zeppelin. Lt Wulfstan Tempest, strafed the Zeppelin several times to no effect. Then approaching towards the tail of the Airship, he noticed it was glowing red from inside. Then she started to fall. She crashed in Hertfordshire in Potters Bar, not far from the previous downing at Cuffley.
Here, is a podcast originally written for a Zeppelin Walk for London Walks. It includes an eyewitness account by Hugh Turpin of the shooting down of the Zeppelin (SL.11). Please ignore the dates of walks, as this was a couple of years ago. But I am planning to repeat the virtual tour during the winter of 2025/6.
On September 15th 1940 Ray Holmes, World War 2 RAF Pilot, flying a Hurricane, took on three Luftwaffe Bombers over Central London. He shot one down, chased another off and engaged the third which seemed to be heading for Buckingham Palace.
Between the 8th and 13th of September 1940, the Palace had been hit 5 times. The London Blitz had only ‘begun’ on September 7th though the first raid on the City of London was on the 25th August on Fore Street.
Holmes, by now had ran out of bullets, but deliberately targeted the fin of the Dornier Bomber, and crashed into it causing the bomber to crash down into Victoria Station. Holmes’ Hurricane, spiralled down out of control, but he was able to bail out and landed in a dustbin, much to the bemusement of the locals. Holmes died aged 90 in 2005.
This post is heavily based on the story below, where it is told in full detail.
A silhouette of a Zeppelin caught in searchlights over the City of London
On the night of September 8th, 32 year old, Kapitanleutnant Heinrich Mathy piloted Zeppelin L 13 across Central London, dropping bombs as he went. This was the most damaging airship raid of the war.
Background to the War
Before World War One London was the centre of the largest Empire the world had ever known. It was the first great era of globalisation; international trade and finance was booming. London was full of the mega-rich, but poverty and substandard housing was extensive. Such extremes of rich and poor have only recently began to appear in our society.
Inner London was still the home of Industry, and home to large immigrant communities. Political dissent was widespread, with the Labour Party beginning to erode the Liberal Party’s power base. The issue of Female Suffrage was rocking society. Then, catastrophe struck as ‘the lights went out all over Europe’.
The Hague Convention in 1899 banned bombing from balloons or other aerial craft. But as the aircraft and air balloons developed, the threat moved from theoretical to actual. Zeppelins could undertake long flights at a speed of up to 47 mph. They could ascend and descend quicker than winged aircraft and achieve higher altitudes. The gas that held up the Zeppelins was held in over 200,000 bags of cattle intestines. The huge number needed in the war effort led to a shortage of sausages in Germany! But it also made them very difficult to be shot down with the technology available to Britain, France and Russia.
The Kaiser originally forbade bombing raids on London in deference to his relatives, the British Royal Family. But he progressively reduced restrictions until he allowed bombing of London itself. He first allowed bombing of the London docks on February 12th 1915, and on May 5th allowed London, East of the Tower of London to be bombed. The first Zeppelin raid on London took place on 31st May 1915. On July 20th, he allowed unrestricted bombing of London (albeit sparing historical and religious buildings).
On the 8th September, 1915 Mathy crossed the North Sea to the coast at King’s Lyne. He arrived at 8.45pm. The aircraft came South via Cambridge, Ware, circled to the North East of London and via Golders Green. Here he dropped 12 bombs at 10.40., and followed the Finchley Road to Primrose Hill, Regent’s Park. Over Euston he was at 8,500 ft, and slowed down to 37 mph.
The first incendiary bomb in Central London landed just north of Russell Square at Woburn Place. The next one landed in the garden in the middle of Russell Sq. He dropped his first Central London explosive bomb in the garden in the centre of Queen’s Square, near the Great Ormond St Hospital, where it is marked with a plaque. He was turning east along the Theobald’s Road where he dropped a number of bombs. One hitting the National Penny Bank killing a person standing outside. Another landed on the nearby Dolphin pub, blowing out the front of the pub and killing someone standing there. If you visit the Pub, on the wall you will see the clock that was stopped when the bomb exploded (10:40pm).
The next strike was on a cycle club, to the West of Gray’s inn. Then Gray’s Inn itself. At Portpool Lane his incendiary bombs killed three children and injured 25 others.
Maxim Gun
Near here are the workshops where Hiram Maxim developed the Maxim Gun that killed so many in the trenches in WW1. Unfortunately, the design was not kept as a state secret and in the War No Man’s Land was being strafed by British, French, German, Russian and later in American versions of the same gun. He had the idea for it when as a child his shoulder was broken by the recoil of a shotgun. He realised that the recoil could be used to load the next bullet. This created a machine gun that was far superior to the Gatling Gun.
A Bomb called the Love Gift
Hatton Garden and Farringdon were also hit, and the Zeppelin continued to Smithfield. The Zeppelin had one 660 lb bomb on board. Mathy’s ‘Love Gift’ fell on St Bartholomew’s Close. It shattered all the building fronts and killed 2 men running for cover when they emerged from a pub.
The Zeppelin kept north of St Paul’s and next bombed City workshops and warehouses in Wood St, Addle St, Basinghall St and Aldermanbury – just missing the historic Guildhall. He also failed to bomb the Bank of England which was a mere 300 yards south,
Searchlights were now scouring the sky and anti-aircraft guns were firing, but they were ;all firing too low’. An American reporter, William Shepherd wrote:
‘Among the autumn stars floats a long gaunt Zeppelin. It is dull yellow – the colour of the Harvest Moon. The long fingers of searchlights, reaching up from the roofs of the city are touching all sides of the death messenger with their white tips. Great, booming sounds shake the city. They are Zeppelin bombs falling- killing – burning. Lesser noises – of shooting – are nearer at hand, the noise of aerial guns sending shrapnel into the sky.’
The final bombs were released over Liverpool Street. Just by the station, an explosive bomb hit a No 35a bus, wounding the driver and killing the conductor and some of the passengers. Another bomb landed by a No 8 bus, killing the driver and 8 passengers.
Mathy turned north towards Edmonton and climbed to over 11,000 ft as an anti-aircraft gun on Parliament Hill put a shell uncomfortably close to the Zeppelin. He returned safely to Germany where he reported to the Kaiser. The raid killed 17 people, injured 78 and caused half a million pounds worth of damage. It was the most effective raid of the war.
The authorities in Britain were faced with a stark reality which was that a single German Airship could fly through the heart of Britain, into its Capital and bomb its people without any defensive measures capable of resisting attack. Although when we consider the horrors of civilian deaths in the 20th and 21st Centuries, the shock of random attacks on civilians should not be underestimated.
I will conclude Kapitanleutnant Heinrich Mathy’s story on October 1st, and add more images to this page.
Thanks to Ian Castle and his book ‘London 1914-17 ‘The Zeppelin Menace.
North Atlantic chart of weather for June 6th 1944. D Day. Showing occupied Europe with observations obtained from the enigma machine
In 2014 or thereabouts I went to a play by David Haig which was based on the true story of a weather forecaster’s role in D Day. James Stagg’s advice was that the weather on June 5th, the intended day, was too volatile. He suggested the 6th June 1944 instead.
The play was called Pressure and was great because it really conveyed the enormity of the decision that Ike, Churchill and others had to make. To go ahead in bad weather risked enormous casualties and the failure of the Landings. To postpone, might mean Hitler discovered the location of the invasions and might lead to disaster.
Major characters portrayed in the play included Ike and his driver, Kay Summersby with whom he was very close. Also depicted was an American forecaster who disagreed with the British meteorologist James Stagg. How much of the play was for dramatic effect and how much is true, I’m not entirely sure but it is a fascinating D Day story.
The maps were hand drawn and partially based on intercepted data decoded by the enigma machine. Stagg recommended postponing the landings one day from the 5th to the 6th of June, when it was hoped the ideal combination of calm seas, low water at first light and a full moon would occur.
On April 30th, 870AD, St. Walpurga remains were ‘translated’ to Eichstätt. St Willibald had set up the town as the Diocesan centre of this part of Bavaria. So, in Germany today is known as Walpurgis Nacht. I wrote more on my page on St. Walpurga. Walpurga and her two brothers, Willibald and Winibald were Anglo-Saxon Saints who helped convert Germany to Christianity in the 8th Century.
The evening of April 30th is also the beginning of Beltane. Beltane is one of the principal Celtic Festivals, dedicated to the God Belinus. It is a Celtic Fire Ceremony, 6 months before Halloween, and the traditional beginning of Summer. (see my post of Halloween here.) Walpurgis Nacht is also halfway between the Spring equinox and the Summer solstice. So, a very important day in the Celtic Calendar. (see my post on May Day).
The Celtic Day began at Dusk, so May Day begins on 30th April. The Christian Church took over many local traditions and adapted them to the calendar of the Church. So a Saint’s Day, is preceded by an Eve. For example, All Hallows’ Day and Halloween, and May Day and May Eve.
In Sweden it is known as Valborg and as Čarodejnice in the Czech Republic.
A day of Uncanny Weirdness?
As May Day was an uncanny period dedicated to Pagan Deities, Walpurgis Nacht became a time when all the weird things are alive in the world. In response, the Christian Church associated a saint to the day to be a focus for defeating witchcraft. So, it is a popular tradition for this Night to see the burning of an effigy of a witch on a bonfire.
Tomb of St Erconwald, destroyed by the Great Fire of London. By Wenceslaus Hollar – Artwork from University of Toronto Wenceslaus Hollar Digital CollectionScanned by University of TorontoHigh-resolution version extracted using custom tool by User:Dcoetzee, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6235771
It is also the Feast Day of St Erconwald. He was a Royal Prince who became one of the most famous Bishops of London (675 and 693). He set up Chertsey Abbey and Barking Abbey which his sister, St Ethelburga, became Abbess of. Not only that, but he was known as the light of London and was responsible for rebuilding St Pauls Cathedral. And helping completing the conversion of the Kingdom of Essex.
You might enjoy reading this alliterative poem of the 14th Century about his life. He is one of the patron saints of London, associated with early pilgrimage and many miracles.
The Famous Spaghetti Tree April Fool’s Joke (from facebook)
April Fools Day and Spaghetti Growing on Trees
I nearly always forget to honour April Fool’s Day (or April Fish Day as the French call it). But in Britain, somewhere in our newspaper or TV station there is a April Fools Joke slipped in. The most remembered is the BBC piece showing film of Italian Farmers picking spaghetti from trees.
First Reference to April Fools Day
The first unambiguous British reference to April Fools Day is by diarist John Aubrey’s “Fooles holy day” in 1686 – although he might have been referring to Germany.
‘We observe it on ye first of April… And so it is kept in Germany everywhere.’
But there is a possible earlier reference in Chaucer in the Nun’s Priest’s Tale. This I find quite compelling but most Chaucer scholars don’t. This is the text:
When that the monthe in which the world bigan That highte March, whan God first maked man, Was complet, and passed were also Syn March bigan thritty dayes and two
So, if you have been keeping up with me, you will know that the first lines are referring to March 25th, (when the world began see my post here) when God made Adam and Eve, and when the Church started the New Year and the year number moved one on. This was a major Church festival, usually followed by a week of holiness. The Roman New Year, January 1st, ended with a light-hearted festival called Saturnalia, and it is suggested that April 1st was, similarly, a day of release after the festival of the official Church ceremony of the New Year.
Chaucer’s last line says ‘Since March began thirty-two days have passed.’ A foolish person would not realise this is a reference to April 1st. Hence, this suggests a Fool’s Day already existed. Some scholars think that Chaucer was referring to May 2nd, counting the 32 days not from the beginning of March but from the end of March. I think they look at the second and third lines which read ‘That high March…. was complete’ and so add the 32 days to the end of March. Foolish in my opinion and not reading what actually Chaucer wrote which is ‘Since March began….
April Fools Day in Recent Years
I have had a quick look at the Guardian for their 2025 April Fools Day Story and I think it is this one:
Guardian April Fools Day Joke article or the world gone mad?
£4,440 for a Coffee cup shaped handbag?
In 2023, Harry and Megan proved irresistible and the Guardian reported that:
‘The Sun published a piece announcing the launch of Prince Harry and Meghan’s new video game “Megxit: Call of Duke-y” in which the royal couple try to reach California while dodging obstacles, including rival royals and the media, along the way.‘
‘Meghan Markle was criticised after it was revealed that when you put her lifestyle brand name – American Riviera Orchard – into the What3words location service, it points to a statue of Oliver Cromwell, who famously had a King Charles executed‘
Hunting the Gowk
Generally, in Britain, we play a prank and say ‘April Fool’ with great delight. But we are not allowed to continue beyond midday. The Scots used to call it ‘Hunting the Gowk’ and the main prank was to give someone a letter to deliver, and the person who opened the letter would read:
“Dinna laugh, dinna smile. Hunt the gowk another mile” and send the fool onto another leg of his or her’s fool’s errand. In Ireland the letter would read ‘send the fool further’.
First published March 25th 4004 BC and republished yearly on every April Fool’s Day.
Section on the meaning of April moved to my post April on April 7th
The store cupboards are getting denuded of the fruits, nuts, preserves, pickles, salted and dried foods saved from the summer and autumnal abundance. Of course, this is alleviated by the reduced consumption of the Lenten fast. (I’m continuing my lenten practice of giving up, giving up things for Lent). But nettles are budding. I take a regular cup of nettle tea. Normally, provided by the excellent Cowan’s tea emporium in the Covered Market in Oxford. But I’m running out and not due to visit Oxford for a month or so. So Charles Kightley in his Perpetual Almanac tells me that young stinging nettles are appearing. So, I will watch this YouTube video and collect my own young, juicy nettles.
YouTube Video on making Nettle Tea
Nettle Beer
Or better still, change up the tea for a nettle beer:
Take a gallon measure of freshly gathered young nettles washed well dried and well packed down. Boil them in a gallon of water for at least a quarter of an hour. Then strain them, press them and put the juice in an earthenware pot with a pound of brown sugar and the juice and grated skin of a lemon. Stir well, and before it grows cool put in an ounce of yeast dissolved in some of the liquid. Cover with a cloth and leave in a warm place for four or five days and strain again and bottle it, stopping the bottles well. It’ll be ready after a week, but better if left longer.
Nettle: Detecting Virgins and Flagellation
A more sinister use is provided by William Coles who gives a method of detecting virginity.
‘Nettle tops are usually boiled in pottage in the Springtime, to consume the Phlegmatic superfluities in the body of man, that the coldness and moistness of the winter have left behind. And it is said that if the juice of the roots of nettles be mixed with ale and beer, and given to one that suspected to have lost her maidenhood, if it remain with her, she is a maid, But if she’s spews forth, she is not.‘
William Cole’s Adam in Eden 1657.
William Camden reported that Roman soldiers used nettles to heat up their legs in the cold of a British winter. (from Mrs Greaves’ ‘A Modern Herbal). Perhaps, I should have sent that idea to PM Keir Starmer? He might have suggested the method to Senior Citizens to alleviate the loss of their Winter Fuel Allowance?
In the early modern period nettles were added to horse feed to make their coats shine. It was used as a hair tonic for humans. Nettle Beer was brewed for old people against ‘gouty and rheumatic pains’. Flogging with nettles was a cure for rheumatism and the loss of muscle power!
Nettle Fabrics
The 18th century poet Thomas Campbell is quoted on the virtues of nettles:
“I have slept in nettle sheets, and I have dined off a nettle tablecloth. The young and tender nettle is an excellent potherb. The stalks of the old nettle are as good as flax for making cloth. I have heard my mother say that she thought nettle cloth more durable than any other linen.”
In 2012, a Danish Bronze Age Burial was found to be dressed in a shroud made of Nettle. Strangely, the nettle was not local, perhaps being made in Austria where other objects in the rich burial came from. However, the person was thought to be Scandinavian. For more have a look at this article on www.nbcnews.com.
In the Irong Age, also in Denmakr, Huldremose Woman was found buried in a bog. She had a severed arm and was buried in elaborate sheep and goat skin clothes, but underneath:
‘she wore a white inner garment made from plant fibres that reached from the shoulders to below the knees. The type of plant fiber is unclear but other evidence from the time period suggests that it could have been made of nettle.’
Greaves tells us that the German and Austrians had a shortage of cotton during the blockade of World War 1. They turned to nettles to replace cotton production believing it to be the only effective substitute. It was also substituted for sugar, starch, protein, paper and ethyl alcohol.
YouTube Video on making fabric from nettles
Nettle Pudding
Pepys ate Nettle Pudding in February 1661 and pronounced it ‘very good’. Here is more on Nettles in history AND a recipe for Nettle Pudding! I can see I’m going to have to get out there and carefully pick myself some nettles! ( For Folklore of Nettles look here).
Ash Wednesday this year is late and on 5th March. It is the First Day of Lent, the solemn time which runs up to Easter, and is symbolic of Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness.
In Anglo Saxon the name for the season of Spring was ‘lencthen’. It is thought to derive from the idea of the lengthening days. Lighting up time has just increased to 6pm here in London. So strictly, Lent means Spring. The Romance languages use the term used for Lent which derives from the Latin ‘Quadragesima’ which means the 40 days of Fast. Spanish (Cuaresma), French (Carême), and Italian Quaresima). For Germans it is the fasting time: fastenzeit. In England, Lent became a specialised word for the fast period. And Spring took over as the name of the season.
A time of fasting? Maybe once upon a time. But when I was young, it was 40 days when you were supposed to give something up. Smoking, or drinking, or chocolate. An idea taken up by a new generation, as, for example, Dry January? A time of reflection? No, never did that.
Ash Wednesday is named after the ashes smeared on the heads of worshippers to remind us that we are dust. I’ve never seen this done either. However, my footballing Vicar friend Andrew missed our Wednesday Game so that he could mark foreheads with ash crosses. The ashes were traditionally made from palms used for Palm Sunday decorations, which is indeed what Andrew did. Look here to see my post on Palm Sunday.
On the subject of dust here are lyrics by Joni Mitchell.
We are stardust We are golden And we’ve got to get ourselves Back to the garden
Woodstock by Joni Mitchell
!970’s Live performance by Joni Mitchell of Woodstock
40 Days
We all know that there are 40 days in Lent, except there are not. Its 46 this year. This is pointed out by Tim Harford who presents a BBC radio programme called ‘More or Less’. It is a programe about statistics, or more widely about Fact Checking statistics in the news. This week’s episode was about the 40 days and claims about the US had spent much more than Europe on the defence of the Ukrainians. (No, that was Fake News, Europe and America spent about the same amount.) Anyway, back to Lent. Take away the Sundays was one answer proposed but, my mathmatics tells me this still leaves 42. The answer Tim Harford came up with is that 40 days just means a long time.
So it is the length of time of Lent, but also:
The duration of the Great Flood The time Moses was on Mt Sinai The time the Israelites spy on Canaan Goliath trails Saul Elijah Walks Jesus in the Desert The time from Resurrection to Ascension
In other words, a long time to be doing any one thing. As Hartford says, it’s like our word ‘umpteenth’. For example, ‘Kevin this is the umpteenth time I’ve told you to tidy your bedroom’. So my mother said to me as she threw my clothes out of the window.
Today is the Feast day of two significant Saints. St Walpurga and St Ethelbert.
St Walpurga
St Walpurgis was a nun at Wimborne in Dorset. She, and her brothers St Willibald and St Winebald, accompanied their uncle, St Boniface of Crediton (in Devon) on his mission to convert the Germans to Christianity. They all became leading figures in the new German Church. Willibald set up the Monastery at Heidenheim, which was a duel monastery housing both Monks and Nuns. His sister, St Walpurga, became Abbess of the Monastery in 761. She died on 25 February 777 or 779 (the records are unclear),
In 870, St. Walpurga remains were ‘translated’ to Eichstätt, which St Willibald had set up as the Diocesan centre of this part of Bavaria. The date of the transfer was the night of April 30th/May 1st. This used to be her feast day, but it was moved to February 25th, to commemorate her death. However, May Eve is now ‘notorious’ as Walpurgis Night. This is the night of May Eve when witches are abroad up to all sorts of mischief, May Day being one of the main pagan festival days. Her body was placed in a rock-cut niche and her bones started exuding an oil called Walpurgis Oil which was said to have medical properties. She was also involved in a miracle of a boat saved in a storm-tossed sea.
For these reasons, Walpurgis is the Saint for battling pest, rabies, whooping cough, storms (and sailors) and witchcraft. Her remains were moved again in 1035 when she was enshrined at the Benedictine Abbey of St. Walburga which was named after her.
Walpurgis Nacht
Terrible things happen on Walpurgis Night in Dracula by Bram Stoker and the night has now become a trope for Heavy Metal Bands, doyens of horror stories and the Satanic. For more on this read my piece on Walpurgis Nacht.
Coincidently, I was reading about the fuss made about a Heavy Metal Band, called a Plague of Angels, playing in the glorious York Minster. A member of the band was saying people should just chill out. But other group members used to be in a band called ‘The Cradle of Filth’. Among their claims for Heavy Metal Fame is that they wore the most controversial t-shirt in heavy metal history. This has a visual of a nun in a compromising position and a slogan saying ‘Jesus is a ……..’ (add your favourite swear word here). All very silly. But it struck a cord with me, as I have a scene in my novel (unpublished) which is based on extreme forms of Heavy Metal Bands. I thought I might have gone over the top, but this story reassures me that extreme Metal can be quite offensive!
Ethelbert is responsible for welcoming the Augustinian Mission to the Angles sent by the Pope, St Gregory. This re-established Christianity in Eastern Britain, and set up the Anglican Church or the Church of England as it became known.
Holocaust Memorial Day photo fo The Kindertransport statue, Liverpool Street Station, London 2006 Statue by Frank Meisler and Arie Oviada Photo by K Flude
Statue for Holocaust Memorial Day
The statue commemorates the arrival of Jewish children by train at Liverpool St Station, In London. This was 1938/9 in the Kindertransport. They were sent by parents desperate to save their children from fascist genocide in Germany and Austria. The children were unaccompanied and, as depicted in the statue, stand proud as they arrive in a strange country. They are tagged. And the train track represents both the trains to the death camps, and the train to safety. There are some great photos and more information on the statue in: talkingbeautifulstuff.com
Montaillou by Emmanual Le Roy Ladurie
Holocaust Memorial Day and Montaillou
On the subject of prejudice, genocide and abuse of power. I was reminded of one of the formative reads of my life. I met the great Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie at dinner at my father-in-law’s house in the 1980s. I was awestruck. Because Montaillou was one of the early histories ‘from below’. The focus was not on kings, queens nor on the flux of states and empires. No, the focus was on the lives (and deaths) of ordinary people. Something that has continued as a focus of my historical interest.
Nor, before Ladurie, had I imagined that medieval lives could be so minutely brought to life. The book was a sensation, selling over a quarter of a million copies. Professor Ladurie became a media star, and, it remains one of the great historical reads. (Of course, the book and the historiography now attracts some criticism, but do read it!)
The context of the story is appalling. In 1208, the Pope decided to launch a crusade against heretics in the South of France. This is about the genocide of the Cathars. The lives of the persecuted are revealed under interrogation by the Cathodic Inquisition. Cathars had many unorthodox and ‘heretical’ ideas. They believed in a Good God and an Evil God. We, humans, are all angels trapped in this terrible world by the Evil God. Women and men were equal and could be reincarnated into each other’s bodies. Our lives were spent awaiting the time we became ‘perfect’ and released to our spiritual form for eternity.
Cathar Massacre at Béziers
From the 21st Century, these ideas seem nor more nor less irrational than mainstream religions. But these opinions ‘justified’ a Crusade and Inquisition that followed which were truly savage, with many thousand slaughtered. For example, on 22 July 1209, the Catholic forces were led by Arnaud-Amaury. He was not only the Commander of the army but also a Cistercian abbot. Many of the citizens of Béziers were seeking refuge in St Mary Magdalene. The abbot ordered the doors to be battered down to get at the refugees inside. When asked how the soldiers could separate the Catholics from the Cathars. He replied “Caedite eos. Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius“—”Kill them all, the Lord will recognise His own”.
All 7,000 men, women and children seeking sanctuary were killed. Thousands more in the town were mutilated, blinded, dragged behind horses, used for target practice and massacred. Arnaud-Amaury wrote to Pope Innocent III
“Today your Holiness, twenty thousand heretics were put to the sword, regardless of rank, age, or sex.”
But, despite this reading Montaillou is a pleasure. It brings those persecuted souls back to life in all their human glory. Also a reminder that it is by intolerance and ‘othering’ of normal homo sapiens which allows the conditions for evil to flourish. We have to treat all human life as sacred. And bring to bear our human empathy and capacity for mercy. Anything less allows the slaughter of the innocent.
