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The New Cambridge Medieval History . Vol. 7: c. 1415–c. 1500. Edited by Christopher Allmand. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998. xxii + 1,048 pp. n.p.

Where this salutary accommodation of variance and renunciation of dichotomies weakens, however, is in the author's analysis of gender and Catharism. There were important changes in gender relations occurring in this period and Lansing presents some tantalizing connections between Cathar ideas and changes in women's roles. But these connections are invested with greater weight and clarity than the evidence can bear. Throughout the chapter on bodies, Lansing alternates between strong statements concluding that Catharism challenged gender norms and admissions of weakness in her material or argument. A statement such as, "in sum, the practice of Cathar women in Orvieto and Florence did deny contemporary gender roles," is followed by the admission that Catholic women also "broke with gender expectations in similar ways" (119). Lansing asserts that "clusters of women were at the center of the [Cathar] faith" (118) and points to the number of women (17 of 31, 23 of 53) questioned as Cathars or having received the consolamentum. The implication here is that women were attracted to Catharism because of its views about bodies and sexual difference. But statistics for groups of "convinced" Catholics—witnesses in canonization proceedings, for example—also reveal the active participation of women. Even in these weaker sections on gender, however, Lansing has identified interesting connections that deserve further exploration. Indeed, Power and Purity is an extremely stimulating study precisely because of the author's ability to reorient perspectives on religious belief. This book makes a powerful contribution to scholarship on heresy and to our understanding of the relationship between religion, authority, and society.