The Cathars: not the largest heretical movement of the Middle Ages, but a modern invention? Richly illustrated and supplemented by the translations of central sources, the book introduces into their complex history the idea that these famous heretics were constructed as an enemy image in the High Middle Ages and then became a myth in modern times. The Cathars are considered the largest heretical movement of the Middle Ages, a kind of counter-church, ultimately destroyed by crusaders and inquisitors. This traditional image of the famous heretics has been fundamentally questioned by international research over the past quarter of a century. Instead of a historical mass phenomenon, the Cathars seem to be a modern myth, essentially based on an enemy image created in the High Middle Ages for the struggle for heresy, developed by historians in the 19th century and now closely linked to the regional identity of today's southern France, which is also marketed as "Cathar country" for tourism. Richly illustrated and supplemented by the translations of central sources, the volume introduces the complex history of this "invention" for the first time. Language of text: German