The Cathars - New Edition, New Subtitle?

I'm mulling over the possibility of changing the subtitle of The Cathars for its first UK paperback edition, due in March 2014. I've never liked 'The Most Successful Heresy of the Middle Ages' - it's some odd form of success to get wiped out in a crusade.

So I'm wondering if 'The Rise and Fall of the Great Heresy of the Middle Ages' or something like that would be better?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

"It's..."

Well, having seen a few reunions that I'd never thought would happen - the Velvet Undergound and the Doors, to name but two - I never thought this would happen. It's bound to be very silly and I hope I can get a ticket.

The German Indiana Jones, Himmler and the Cathar Grail

I am appearing in a Channel 5 documentary tomorrow night, 20 November, at 2100. The Nazi Quest for the Holy Grail details the various attempts the Nazis made to find the Aryan master race, Atlantis, etc, and also the Holy Grail, which is where I come in, discussing Otto Rahn and the Cathars.

Memories of Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground

I once had the dream, or daydream - I forget which - that I saw the Velvet Underground. Quite extraordinarily, many years later (1993 to be exact), I did see them play live, at Wembley in London. This is a deeply unattractive venue, about as charming and character-less as your average disused aircraft hanger. And yet, it remains one of the greatest gigs I have ever been to; a strong contender, in fact, for Best Gig Ever (classical aside).

They came on and opened with We're Gonna Have a Real Good Time Together. Not a terribly auspicious beginning; it's one of their lesser songs. But then Lou Reed said, "We only do this next one every 25 years", and they launched into Venus in Furs. The place went nuts, instantly and very loudly. It got worse: the next song was All Tomorrow's Parties, sung by John Cale, and I was in tears in seconds. It stayed that way for much of the next two hours. Heroin and Pale Blue Eyes were, well, what every gig-goer dreams of witnessing: something you never, ever imagined would happen. They even did a new song, Coyote.

At the end, the ghastly concrete hangar of Wembley seemed like a small club. The applause was unbelievable. I honestly think the Velvets were taken aback by this; it was the nearest I've ever come to witnessing something like Beatlemania. Lou said, after what seemed like minutes of applause, screaming and hysteria, "You have no idea what it means to be thanked like this." That's one of the most heartfelt things I've ever heard a performer say.

Now 20 years on, and it remains for me one of the best concerts I ever attended. It does not get better than the Velvet Underground on a good night. And 20 years on, it's thank you, Lou, and good night, sir. (And thank you too, Sterling.)

To paraphrase the song the Velvets played at their last ever performance in 1996,
"last night, I said goodbye to my friends."

Illustrated Edition of The Cathars Finally Out in English

The illustrated edition of The Cathars, which has been available from Taschen Evergreen since 2009 in French, German and Spanish is to be finally published in English next month. The book is being done by Shelter Harbor Press. I don't have any more information at the present time, but hopefully this will be exactly the same as the Taschen edition, which was very nice.


In other Cathar-related news, I did an interview in London on Monday for a forthcoming Channel 5 documentary on Nazi science. What does this have to do with the Good Christians, I hear you ask? Well, my contribution is about the Cathars, the Holy Grail, and the German writer/explorer Otto Rahn, who visited the Languedoc in the early 1930s looking for the Grail, and various other Biblical/mythical artefacts. All very Indiana Jones - and some people see him as the inspiration for the Harrison Ford character.

Finally, there is to be a UK paperback of the book, due out next March. I'm not sure at the moment whether this will be an updated edition or not. There haven't been any major updates or discoveries in the world of Cathar studies of late - said grail still proving somewhat elusive. Anyway, I'll post more news about this new edition when I have some.

Seamus is gone.

Lightenings I

Shifting brilliancies. Then winter light

In a doorway, and on the stone doorstep

A beggar shivering in silhouette.

So the particular judgement might be set:

Bare wallstead and a cold hearth rained into--

Bright puddle where the soul-free cloud-life roams.

And after the commanded journey, what?

Nothing magnificent, nothing unknown.

A gazing out from far away, alone.

And it is not particular at all,

Just old truth dawning: there is no next-time-round. 

Unroofed scope. Knowledge-freshening wind.

from Seeing Things (1991)