Morten St George Theory

[Morten St. George]

I have studied the Cathers' for quite some time, and i am curious as to when you think they crossed the Atlantic?

Despite the Cathar heresy being predominant mainly amongst the peasantry after the Albigensian crusade, they were well known for their interest in advanced navigation, food storage systems and boat building.

You seem to be insinuating that maybe the Cathars built their own ship for crossing the Atlantic. I never gave much consideration to such a possbility. Montségur was their last stronghold and by then Inquisition spies were probably everywhere. Maybe in southern Portugal when it was under the control Alfonso the Wise they could have had enough cover to build their own boat.

With knowledge of the crossing attempt apparently never reaching the Inquisition of the 13th century, it makes a lot of sense that the Cathars would have acquired a boat (or perhaps could have built a boat) with help from either the Jewish or Islamic communities of Spain.

It's known that the Cathars taught trade skills such as parchment making and sewing to their converts. I never saw boat building mentioned in that context but it is easy to imagine that people with those skills could have joined their ranks.

Cathar capabilities in the fields of food storage and long-term survival on minimal amounts of food and water were put into evidence in the prolonged siege of Montségur. Such abilities surely add confidence for a transatlantic attempt. Having had contact with Arabic sciences via the Toledo translators, the Cathars would have known that the world is round and that there was hope of reaching the other side of the ocean.