Harris provides evidence that Cathar beliefs were still around in Europe until at least the beginning of the sixteenth century.  Further to this, Bosch’s family it seems had fled the region of Cologne around the middle of the thirteenth century, the same time the infamous inquisitor Conrad of Marburg showed up.  It is her contention that Bosch was a secret Cathar and has left us with a visual record of the dualistic beliefs of the Cathar heresy, that the world we live in is Hell and the Catholic church (of that time) is the church of Satan.  All of this was thinly disguised as being in line with Catholic doctrine, a disguise so thin in places that it seems amazing he ever got away with it!

Harris goes into an incredible level of detail interpreting the symbolism in many of Bosch’s paintings, which allows the reader to appreciate his work in an entirely new depth.  The book is potentially experiential in that offers the opportunity to slip inside the mind of a Cathar heretic.  This can be hard going as Bosch is like a man having a prolonged ‘bad trip’ and seeing demons everywhere!  It’s not just that sex is bad and ensnares souls into the world, even something as seemingly innocent as water is in Bosch’s mind, pure evil.  So perhaps it’s wrong to describe the book as enjoyable but can be a hell of a trip.

Richard Corlett 12.10.09