The following thesis focusses on the emergence, development and disintegration of the Bogomil heresy movement in Medieval Bulgaria and the Byzantine Empire, as well as questions the organizational structure and the actual extent of the social influence that the movement exerted upon the local populace. Because of often lacking and incongruous sources, a tendency to fill in the blanks developed in historiography, which led to dubious interpretations of this ascetic-monastic dualist heresy which has only been put under question in the second half of the twentieth century. These interpretations foremost pinned a wide socio-subversive aspect onto the heresy, as well as credited it as one of the central nation-building blocks of the Bulgarian nation, while, after considering its characteristics, it seems more realistic to ascribe to it a minor, more trivial role. As will be shown, the inconsistencies of the sources were a result of either misinformation or the negative predisposition of their creators – most of whom were Orthodox clergymen – against the Bogomils. Additionally, early historiography dealing with the heresy perceived it as a static phenomenon, whereas it has later been proven that it was in fact a very pliable movement, changing its face throughout the centuries, which ultimately brought about its downfall. The sources must therefore be read in their historical and spatial context.
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