Kabbalists, Cathars and Ismailis: Forms of Gnosis in the 11th–13th Century
Kabbalists, Cathars and Ismailis: Forms of Gnosis in the 11th–13th Century

Summary/Abstract: Detailing on the one hand the relation between Gnosis in Kabbalah, Catharism and Ismailism – three mystical doctrines questioning 11th–13th century Christianity, Judaism and Islam – and on the other hand the relation between these forms of Gnosis and the Gnostic doctrines of late Antiquity, the paper attempts to formulate the pre-requisites for a comparative study. Rather than bridge a gap and trace a filiation of Medieval dualistic learnings leading back to their ultimate source in Antiquity, the study aims at building a framework for the comparison of the alternative cosmogonies which make the three mentioned learnings deviate from the official dogmas of the three religions of the Book. Thereupon, by text analysis of three cosmogonic fragments of relevance, the investigation puts forward two key concepts, dualism and emanation, advancing them as contact points between the conceptual areas of Zoharic Kabbalah, Catharism and Ismailism and concluding that the period discussed is one of intense Gnostic challenge to the religions of the Book.

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