INGRID SPARBIER - GUIDE du PAYS CATHARE C'est encore mieux avec une guide Guide Conférencier National Conférencière à Carcassonne Accompagnatrice en Montagne

Lectures and Slide Shows

- The Cathars in the South of France

Lecture with a few slides - 1h30

History and religion of the Cathars . crusade against the Albigensians, Inquisition, the end of this religion, the priests and the believers.

- Women of the Middle Ages

Lecture with slide show and music – duration 1h.30

This lecture could be used as an introduction to this vast and passionate subject and as such I have concentrated on the period between 1000 and 1300 in the South of France. Various subjects are included such as daily life, sexuality, women troubadours, famous women, women and religion etc...

I present the different aspects of a woman’s life which affect her particularly and eventually determine her life, her place in society as virgin, married woman and mother, widow. The presentation is accompanied by a slide show with music composed by women from the 12th and 13th century.

- 1001 Aspects of the Aude – the Cathar Trail

Slide show – Discussion: duration 45 mins. - 1.30h

Presentation of various aspects of this region departing from Carcassonne, including the Black Mountain, Minervois, Mediterranean coast, Corbières, the upper valley of the Aude, the Pyrénées, Mirepoix and Montségur (back in the Ariège).

A chance to discover on foot all the major historic sites as well as some lesser known ones.

- Introduction to the Pyrenean flora.

Lecture with slide show – duration 1h.30

Discovering the natural riches of the Mediterranean up to Andorra.

The forest covers 30% of the terrain and is always increasing in size. It is the trees and their trail of plants that act as our guide: cork trees, green oaks, beech and pine trees. Other specific landmarks are highlights such as marshland, mountain vegetation as well as cultivated land.

The discussion also includes invading plants as well as orchids which can be found throughout the area.

The History of the Languedoc as seen through it’s military, religious and civil architecture.

Duration – 1h.00 – 3hrs.00 (Possibility to split into 3 x 1hr.oo talks)

This slide show gives a good insight into the very rich territory situated between Toulouse and Perpignan. 2,500 years of history are illustrated by photos taken throughout the region. We begin by looking at ancient times and the Romans. From the Middle Ages we follow society split into three and talk about military, religious and civil architecture.