The Origins and History of the Bogomils

In this episode Dr. Florin Curta takes into a fascinating and controversial topic and that is the origins and history of the Bogomils and Bogomilism that originated and spread rapidly in the Medieval Balkans. Before starting off Dr. Curta takes us into an introduction to Gnosticism and different Gnostic Sects and beliefs such as the Paulicianism, Manichaeism, Marcionism and etc, to set the foundation for this episode and different responses to these sects and those that came after. We explore the persecution of the Paulicians under the Byzantine Empire and how their forced resettlement in places like the Balkans and the rushed Christianization of Bulgarian society could have actually created the groundwork for the rise of the Bogomils. We discuss what their enemies thought of them including “The Treatise Against the Bogomils“ and correspondence between the royal family and the church. We talk about what they actually believed such as that God had two sons... Satan and Jesus. That Satan created all matter including human flesh in which contained trapped souls which is one of the reasons Bogomils didn’t believe in engaging in sexuality or eating meat. Lastly, we discuss... what happened to them? Are Stećci Medieval tombstones a testament to who they were? And are the Bogomils and the famous Cathars connected and if so.. then how? Support Dr. Florin Curta at the links below! Previous talk on the Origins and History of the Slavs. His latest book titled “The Long Sixth Century in Eastern Europe.“ Another important work by him titled “Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages (500-1300) (2 vols.)“ Purchase his other books : Academia : Faculty Profile : Lecture : An Uneasy Relation: Byzantium and the Nomads