HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Arnaud Amalric ( la, Arnoldus Amalricus; died 1225) was a Cistercian
abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fe ...
who played a prominent role in the
Albigensian Crusade The Albigensian Crusade or the Cathar Crusade (; 1209–1229) was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted primarily by the French crown ...
. It is reported that prior to the massacre of Béziers, Amalric, when asked how to distinguish Cathars from Catholics, responded, "Kill them ll for God knows which are His own."


Early life

He was abbot of
Poblet Poblet Abbey, otherwise the Royal Abbey of Santa Maria de Poblet ( ca, Reial Monestir de Santa Maria de Poblet), is a Cistercian monastery, founded in 1151, located at the foot of the Prades Mountains, in the comarca of Conca de Barberà, in ...
in Catalonia from 1196 to 1198, then of Grandselve from 1198 to 1202.Tugwell, Simon. ''Early Dominicans''. Paulist Press. . 1982. p 114-115. He then became the seventeenth
abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fe ...
of Cîteaux (until 1212).


Albigensian Crusade

In 1204, he was named a
papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholi ...
and
inquisitor An inquisitor was an official (usually with judicial or investigative functions) in an inquisition – an organization or program intended to eliminate heresy and other things contrary to the doctrine or teachings of the Catholic faith. Literall ...
and was sent by
Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III ( la, Innocentius III; 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216), born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 to his death in 16 ...
with Peter of Castelnau and Arnoul to attempt the conversion of the
Albigensians Catharism (; from the grc, καθαροί, katharoi, "the pure ones") was a Christian dualist or Gnostic movement between the 12th and 14th centuries which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France. Follo ...
. Failing, he distinguished himself by the zeal with which he incited men by his preaching to the crusade against them. He was in charge of the crusader army that sacked Béziers in 1209. There, according to the Cistercian writer Caesarius of Heisterbach, Arnaud responded when asked by a Crusader how to distinguish the
Cathars Catharism (; from the grc, καθαροί, katharoi, "the pure ones") was a Christian dualist or Gnostic movement between the 12th and 14th centuries which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France. Follo ...
from the
Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
:
''Caedite eos. Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius'' (Kill them. For the Lord knows who are His.).
That is the origin of the modern phrase: " Kill them all and let God sort them out." Caesarius did not hear that statement first hand but merely wrote that Arnaud was reported to have said it (''dixisse fertur'' in the original text). This famous response is widely considered apocryphal. “The notorious phrase, ‘kill them all, God will know his own’… is usually (although not invariably) discounted by serious historians. However, the quotation is frequently used by those wishing to promote the idea of northern brutality, intent upon crushing southern civilisation… It is noticeable that most commentators insert “all” for the sake of emphasis and omit fertur dixisse by which Caesarius makes clear that this is hearsay.” Arnaud himself, in a letter to the Pope in August 1209 (col.139), wrote:
...''dum tractatetur cum baronibus de liberatione illorum qui in civitate ipsa catholici censebantur, ribaldi et alii viles et inermes personæ, non exspectato mandato principum, in civitatem fecerunt insultum, et mirantibus nostris, cum clamaretur :'' Ad arma, ad arma'', quasi sub duarum vel trium horarum spatio, transcensis fossatis ac muro, capta est civitas Biterrensis, nostrique non parcentes ordini, sexui, vel ætati, fere viginti millia hominum in ore gladii peremerunt; factaque hostium strage permaxima, spoliata est tota civitas et succensa''...
...while discussions were still going on with the barons about the release of those in the city who were deemed to be Catholics, the servants and other persons of low rank and unarmed attacked the city without waiting for orders from their leaders. To our amazement, crying "to arms, to arms!", within the space of two or three hours they crossed the ditches and the walls and Béziers was taken. Our men spared no one, irrespective of rank, sex or age, and put to the sword almost 20,000 people. After this great slaughter the whole city was despoiled and burnt...
Amalric's account of the death of 20,000 was likely exaggerated, just like Peter of Vaux de Cernay's report that 7,000 were slain in the Church of St Magdalene. The town's population at the time is estimated at 10,000–14,500, and an unknown number may have escaped the massacre.
Christopher Tyerman Christopher Tyerman (born 22 May 1953) is an academic historian focusing on the Crusades. In 2015, he was appointed Professor of History of the Crusades at the University of Oxford. Life and career He graduated from New College, Oxford, with a f ...
says that " e true figure was almost certainly far less." Historian Laurence W. Marvin calls Amalric's exhortation "apocryphal", adding that the "speed and spontaneity of the attack indicates that the legate may not have actually known what was going on until it was over". Marvin claims that "clearly most of Beziers' population and buildings survived" and that the city "continued to function as a major population center." After helping the Crusaders capture
Carcassonne Carcassonne (, also , , ; ; la, Carcaso) is a French defensive wall, fortified city in the Departments of France, department of Aude, in the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie. It is the prefectures in F ...
, Amalric was replaced as commander of the army by
Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester {{Infobox noble , name = Simon de Montfort , title = 5th Earl of Leicester , image = File:Simon4demontfort.gif , caption = Seal of Simon de Montfort, depicting him riding a horse and blowing a h ...
. However, he continued to accompany the men and to exercise significant authority. On July 22, the Siege of Minerve concluded when the town's defenders agreed to surrender. Simon and the commander of the defenders, Guilhem de Minerve agreed to terms of surrender. However, Amalric, who had been absent at the time, returned to camp. He insisted that no agreements could be considered binding without the assent of himself as papal legate. Simon wished to treat the occupants leniently, but Amalric wanted them put to death. Eventually, the two worked out a solution. The Crusaders allowed the soldiers defending the town, as well as the Catholics inside of it, to leave. The Cathars who had not yet reached the status of perfect were also allowed to go free. The Cathar perfects were given the choice to return to Catholicism or face death. This solution angered many of the soldiers, who had wanted to participate in a massacre. Amalric calmed them by insisting that the majority of perfects would not recant. His prediction was correct. Only three women recanted. The remaining 140 were burned at the stake.


Later life

According to
Louis Moréri Louis Moréri (25 March 1643 – 10 July 1680) was a French priest and encyclopedist. Life Moréri was born in 1643 in Bargemon, a village in the ancient province of Provence. His great-grandfather, Joseph Chatranet, a native of Dijon, had set ...
, Amalric was named
archbishop of Narbonne The former Catholic diocese of Narbonne existed from early Christian times until the French Revolution. It was an archdiocese, with its see at Narbonne, from the year 445, and its influence ran over much of south-western France and into Catalo ...
about 1212, after his return from an expedition into Spain to encourage the Christians against the
Moors The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or ...
. He left an account of this expedition. His stirring spirit embroiled him with his sovereign,
Simon de Montfort Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester ( – 4 August 1265), later sometimes referred to as Simon V de Montfort to distinguish him from his namesake relatives, was a nobleman of French origin and a member of the English peerage, who led the ...
. In 1224, he presided in the council of
Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the department of Hérault. In 2018, 290,053 people l ...
, assembled to consider the complaints of the Albigensians. Very little is known about Amalric's life after 1222. History justified the absence by noting that contrary to expectations, he took no part in the ongoing quarrels between the sons of Montfort and Raymond. On 29 September 1225, Amalric died in Fontfroide, France.Gracias, Luke, "The Devil's Prayer, Australian eBook Publishers 2016,


References


Bibliography


Secondary sources

* * * *


Primary sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Amalric, Arnaud Albigensian Crusade 12th-century births 1225 deaths French abbots Cistercian abbots general History of Dijon Aude French Cistercians Archbishops of Narbonne 13th-century French Roman Catholic bishops People of the Albigensian Crusade Christian anti-Gnosticism Armed priests