[The Black Crusade], first published as a serial novel in

in 1864,

is one of Marie-Louise Gagneur’s overtly anticlerical thesis novels, written to inform her readers about the nefarious intrigues of monastic orders. In the preface to the 1872 edition of the novel (5th ed. published by Armand le Chevalier), the author defends both the veracity of the crimes she attributes to the religious communities and the necessity of exposing the truth in order to combat the influence of monasteries and convents in France, as well as to regenerate society through progressive, cooperative practices. She claims that the object of her criticism is not the Church as a whole nor the “secular clergy” (6) who often serve their communities selflessly with dedication, but…

1931 words

Citation: Beach, Cecilia. "La Croisade noire". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 22 July 2017 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=35748, accessed 22 November 2024.]