albigeois

Al`bi*gen"ses, Al`bi`geois", n. pl. Etym: [From Albi and Albigeois, a town and its district in the south of France, in which the sect abounded.] (Eccl. Hist.) Defn: A sect of reformers opposed to the church of Rome in the 12th centuries. Note: The Albigenses were a branch of the Catharists (the pure). They were exterminated by crusades and the Inquisition. They were distinct from the Waldenses.

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