The Château Narbonnais was a castle of the

Counts of Toulouse The count of Toulouse ( oc, comte de Tolosa, french: comte de Toulouse) was the ruler of Toulouse during the 8th to 13th centuries. Originating as vassals of the Frankish kings, the hereditary counts ruled the city of Toulouse and its surroundin ...

on the west side of the city

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...

. The castle featured prominently in the

Cathar 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 ...

wars.

History

In May 1215 the City of Toulouse surrendered to

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 ...

but in September or October 1216 a

popular uprising Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

in the City against the occupying forces, forced Simon to leave. On 12 September 1217 Raymond VI of Toulouse re-entered the City, trapping Simon de Montfort's

wife A wife (plural, : wives) is a female in a marital relationship. A woman who has separated from her partner continues to be a wife until the marriage is legally Dissolution (law), dissolved with a divorce judgement. On the death of her partner, ...

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

in the

Château A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Now ...

. From 13 September 1217 to 22 July 1218, Simon de Montfort besieges the castle again, without success and on 25 June 1218, he was hit on the head by a stone from a trebuchet, and died. The castle was dismantled in 1549.

Description

The castle was dismantled, but depiction of it remains on th
Municipal Seal
of Toulouse which shows a crenellated castle with three towersKaren Ralls, Medieval Mysteries: A Guide to History, Lore, Places and Symbolism (Nicolas-Hays, Inc., 15 Jan. 2014)
p91

References

Châteaux in Haute-Garonne {{France-castle-stub