North Bennington Museum blog

The Catharist heresy was what is known as a ‘dualist’ belief — often called Man¬ichaean during the Middle Ages, after the teachings of a Persian named Mani. Dualism is an attempt to explain the existence of evil: the material world is believed to be the creation of the De¬miurge, an evil spirit who has created Man in his own image, while God, who ha’s given Man the knowledge of good and the opportunity to save himself, is not omnipotent. So, to be saved, Man must remove himself from all material things: he must give up his bodily needs, including marriage and procreation, deny all temporal power, and, in the end, face the knowledge that there is no other course open for him than his own death.

In the eighth century the dualist heresy reached Europe, and in the loth a humble Bulgarian priest named Bo¬gomil established an influential church. Its members avoided procreation by practising homosexuality, and the fact that they came from Bulgaria led soon to their being known as ‘buggers’. By way of northern Italy dualism penetrated most of western Europe in the 12th century: its followers were divided into believers and initiates and some of the initiates took the word Cathar, from the Greek for ‘purified’, to describe them¬selves. The creed attracted many ad¬herents because it stressed the Christian
values of humility and charity at a time when Churchmen were infamous for their venality.

The Church soon recognised the danger in the dualist heresy, and took strong measures to stamp it out. But in the Languedoc, where it enjoyed some measure of protection from the counts of Toulouse,
Catharism persisted into the 13th century. In 1208 Pope Innocent III proclaimed a crusade against the Albig¬ensians, and an army of some 40,000 ¬which included Simon de Montfort the Elder — set out from Lyon in July 1209. For 20 years the campaigns flowed back and forth across the Languedoc, until in 1229 the French throne secured the final humiliation of the Count of Toulouse and took over his lands.

Now the heresy had to be rooted out by the officers of the Inquisition. Gradu¬ally they drove the Cathars further into the wilderness until their only refuge was the fortress of Montsegur, on an almost sheer rock rising some 500 feet from the surrounding plain. In 1243, several thousand royal troops laid siege to the fortress, and on 2 March 1244 the Cathars finally surrendered. Two months earlier, steps had been taken to guard the Cathar treasures — ‘gold, silver, and a great quantity of money’ ¬and on the night before the surrender three or four heretics were secretly lo¬wered down the rock face to organise its disposal. Nothing more was heard of them or of the treasure. . . .

ON November 27, Engelbach was occupied with official duties, and around noon the local Antiquities Inspector came in his stead. By then all traces of entry on the night be­fore had been obliterated.

Word of the discovery spread al­most instantly throughout Egypt. Rumours began to crop up, includ­ing one that three planes had landed in the Valley and made of with loads of treasure. To quell these re­ports, Carnarvon and Carter staged an official opening of the tomb on November 29, without asking the Antiquities Service for permission.

They compounded this blunder by inviting only one member of the Press, Arthur Merton, head of The Times bureau in Egypt and a friend of Carter’s. No member of the Egyptian Press or anyone represent­ing Europe or America was allowed in on the discovery. Thus, in a mon­umental example of insensitivity, Carnarvon and Carter alienated the very people whom they would need as friends in the future.

From the moment the first news­paper stories appeared, telegrams and messages inundated the excavators. Congratulations came first, followed by offers of help, re­quests for souvenirs, green bean coffee, contracts for film rights. An unruly throng of visitors arrived at all hours with all sorts of demands. As the hordes grew, any visitor Carter did not personally approve he snubbed. He was to pay a heavy price for this.

Carter soon came to realize that years of the most delicate work lay before him. To repair just one royal robe embellished with hundreds of gold sequins would take two months. There were countless things to be accomplished before he could remove even the smallest ob­ject from the Antechamber. Pre­servatives and packing materials had to be obtained, experts in con­servation enlisted.

He dismissed the idea of calling upon members of the Antiquities Service. Their competence was questionable, and their point of view incompatible with his. He never considered seeking help from the British Museum. The obvious choice was the Metropolitan Mus­eum of Art in New York. The Metropolitan had an exceptional Egyptological staff—among them Winlock, who had supplied Carter with the invaluable clue to the presence of the tomb.

But, this factor aside, Carter and Carnarvon had for years been in­volved in a special financial relation­ship with the Metropolitan, which until today has been one of the in­stitution’s best-kept secrets. Indeed, one of the finest collections of Egyptian artefacts in the Museum’s possession—stolen items that had eluded the investigations of the An­tiquities Service—was clandestinely purchased by the Museum directly through Carter, who bought it from an Egyptian dealer with funds deli­berately supplied by Carnarvon so that Carter could profit from the sale. These transactions had started in 1917 and were concluded in 1922. The Museum eventually paid the unheard-of sum of 256,305 dollars (equivalent to more than one and a quarter million pounds today). With his profit and commission, Carter received nearly £2o,000.

Moreover, both Carnarvon and Carter knew that Winlock and Al­bert Lythgoe, the Metropolitan’s curator of the Egyptian Depart­ment, had been doing everything in their power to thwart Lacau’s at­tempt to upset the standard 50-50 split of treasures, a matter of deep concern to them both.

Carter now sent a telegram to Lythgoe, who was in London. Lyth­goe’s reply gave Carter virtual carte blanche to use every member of the Metropolitan’s Egyptological staff “in any way he saw fit.”

Everyone who has described this arrangement seems to have praised it as selfless and co-operative. On one level it was, but it was also a pact of mutual self-interest, coldly calculated by both sides to achieve the greatest financial and artistic gain. In secret, Carnarvon confided to Lythgoe, “I shall have to give something to the British Museum, but I intend to see that the Metro­politan is well taken care of.”

While the team was being assem­bled, Carter closed the tomb. A de­tachment of Egyptian soldiers was placed on round-the-clock guard duty. To look after them, Carter hired his own guardians. Carnarvon and Lady Evelyn left for England for the Christmas holidays, and Car­ter went to Cairo to purchase equip­ment. Callender remained, most of the time guarding the tomb.

Jocelyn Hurndall – Campaigner

Jocelyn Hurndall opens an education project in her son’s name in Gaza, through which teachers will train children with disabilities to help each other. In April 2003, Tom Hurndall, a 22-year-old amateur photographer and student from London, was shot by an Israeli sniper in the Gaza Strip as he tried to shield innocent Palestinian children. He fell into a coma and died nine months later. From that moment in April his mother, Jocelyn, began a relentless campaign to bring his killer, and those above him, to justice – not an easy task when dealing with the Israeli army. In August, Sergeant Taysir Hayb was sentenced for eight years for Tom’s manslaughter, largely due to the family’s campaign. “Tom would have wanted something positive to come out of his death,” she says. “So many mothers there, Israeli and Palestinian, are suffering immensely because their sons were also murdered unnecessarily.”

JUDE KELLY – Artistic director at the South Bank

Jude Kelly is formidably brilliant. The foremost female in British arts, this impeccably left-wing Liverpudlian gets things done. Her phone calls take place the moment she thinks of them: “You can’t wait for calls,” she insists. Now she has an enormous job as artistic director of the South Bank, with a huge staff to oversee and a vast site with which she hopes to make “a 21st-century statement” in time for the Olympics (she was the cultural brain behind the bid). Her plan is to blend the spaces to make a fluid indoor and outdoor area, and a Seine-style beach for next summer. Recognised as an innovative director and highly praised administrator, her motto is “‘unless it’s personal, people lose faith. It’s easy for me to open a door, and then energy will push it through.” Her two kids throw things into perspective: her daughter’s a published poet, her son a ballet dancer. And her private passion? Windsurfing.

LOUISE GALVIN – Hairdresser

Anyone who questions the rationale behind choosing a career in hairdressing and working with agadir argan oil will think again after reading Louise Galvin’s CV. This English literature and sociology graduate is one of the world’s leading colourists, working between London, in her father Daniel’s chic salon, and New York, at John Barrett’s. She’s too discreet to namedrop, but some seriously famous blondes (Kylie, Sophie Dahl, Rosamund Pike and Patsy Kensit) have sat in her chair. As well as launching her own hair-care range, Sacred Locks (named after Pope’s The Rape of the Lock), Louise has recently gained carbon-neutral status for her business – the first beauty brand to do so – sold her car and is investing in carbon-reducing businesses and charities. Not for nothing has she been nominated for Nat West’s Everywoman award this year.

ALISON GOLDFRAPP – Musician

Alison Goldfrapp’s reputation precedes her. Never mincing her words, and unafraid to disagree with the zeitgeist, the thirtys omething is regarded by the music industry with a mixture of terror and awe. One of the handful of strong women in music, her outspoken opinions – such as a recent dressing-down of James Blunt – and glam-rock style provide a welcome alternative in a sea of manufactured pop. While the latest pop tart dons a bikini for extra sex appeal, Alison wears a horse’s tail and antlers, all in the name of her music’s “image”. Her partnership with Will Gregory has recently resulted in Goldfrapp’s third, disco-dusted Supernature album, which went gold after three weeks; the sultry single “Ooh La La’ debuted at number four in the charts.  ”We’ve always been about doing our own thing,” she says, “pleasing ourselves.”

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Hiking is one of my favorite hobbies and this is why I’ve been to many places all over the world. To tell you the truth one of the best places I’ve been is Wienerwald. The experience was one in a lifetime plus there are many options for routes no matter how experienced you are. I’ll share you all I know and what I did. The first thing you should know is the apartments and accommodation. I was wondering whether to choose to rent a hotel room or an apartment but after a short research I’ve decided that it would be better to take an apartment. It was cheaper, more spacious and comfortable plus I was able to choose my location. Before deciding that I will go Vienna I was wondering whether to go in Poznan or Gdansk. Once I saw the prices of Vienna apartment compared to apartment Poznan and apartment Gdansk I was sure that I want to go to Austria.

Anyway after I found my accommodation it was time to find a decent route for my hiking experience. I used one website but unfortunately I don’t remember its name now. I tried to find some other place that has the routes drawn but unfortunately unsuccessfully. As far as I remember the site I used had the maps drawn on hand but it was pretty good. I’m sure if you search carefully you will be able to find the best route you are looking for.
When I told my friends that I’m going hiking in Vienna in Wienerwald most of them warned me about tick bites around central Europe. Luckily this didn’t happened, plus when I was already there I spoke to a local man who has been living in this area for more than 25 years and he told me that nothing like this happened to him for this time.

By the way there is one other area suitable for hiking and it is called Lainzer Tiergarten. It is easily accessible via the U4 underground. Take it up to west of Huttledorf and then you will find it easily. It is a really nice trip that can be made for one day, plus you will save some money because the expenses aren’t big.

By the way don’t forget to bring water and food always with you because you know, everything happens and it is better to be prepared. Plus find out the easiest way to reach your destination from your Vienna apartment. If you can use the public transport because it is cheap and really frequent. I think if you plan everything one or two weeks before your arrival you won’t have any problems because Vienna is a big city and has a lot to offer to tourists. This is why you can always do some sightseeing or hiking in the regions situated near Austria’s capital. Just remember to find a good accommodation because it is important to get a good sleep after being exhausted from the all day hiking.

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