Esclarmonde of Foix (French: ''Esclarmonde de Foix''; Occitan: ''Esclarmonda de Fois''), was a prominent figure associated with

Catharism 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. Follow ...

in thirteenth century

Occitania Occitania ( oc, Occitània , , or ) is the historical region in Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe where the Occitan language, Occitan language was historically spoken and where it is sometimes still used as a second language. This ...

(in the south of modern-day

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

). Her biography is difficult to establish since several noblewomen in the same area at the same time had the same rare first name. The name ''Esclarmonde'' means "clarity of the world" in the

Occitan language Occitan (; oc, occitan, link=no ), also known as ''lenga d'òc'' (; french: langue d'oc) by its native speakers, and sometimes also referred to as ''Provençal'', is a Romance languages, Romance language spoken in Southern France, Monaco, Ital ...

Family

Esclarmonde of Foix was the daughter of Roger Bernard I,

Count of Foix The Count of Foix ruled the independent County of Foix, in what is now Southern France, during the Middle Ages. The House of Foix eventually extended its power across the Pyrenees mountain range, joining the House of Bearn and moving their court ...

, and Cécile

Trencavel The Trencavel was an important noble family in Languedoc between the 10th and 13th centuries. The name "Trencavel" began as a nickname and later became the family's surname. The name may derive from the Occitan words for "Nutcracker" (''trenca ...

, daughter of

Raymond I Trencavel Raymond I Trencavel (also Raimond) (died 1167) was the Viscount of Agde and Béziers from 1130 and Viscount of Albi, Carcassonne, and Razès from 1150. He was a member of the Trencavel family, ruling the lands of the elder branch. He was the ...

. Raymond-Roger of Foix, Count of Foix was her brother. In 1175, she married Jourdain III, lord of L'Isle-Jourdain. They had: * Bernard-Jourdain de l'Isle-Jourdain, the eldest and heir * Escaronia * Obica * Jordan * Othon-Bernard * Philippa

Spiritual life

Esclarmonde was widowed in October 1200 and turned to

sometime thereafter. Catharism was a form of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

which had developed in southern France at that time, and which was seen as

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

by the Catholic church. She received the Cathar sacrament, the

consolamentum ''Consolamentum'' (called heretication by its Catholic opponents) was the unique sacrament of the Cathars. Cathars believed in original sin, and – like Gnostics – believed temporal pleasure to be sinful or unwise. The process of living thus i ...

, for becoming a

Cathar Perfect Perfect (also known as a in French or in Latin) was the name given by Bernard of Clairvaux to the leaders of the mediaeval Christian religious movement in southern France and northern Italy commonly referred to as the Cathars. The were not cle ...

from the Cathar bishop

Guilhabert de Castres Guilhabert de Castres (about 1165 – 1240) was a prominent Cathar theologian. Born in Castres, he became a Cathar Perfect and, between 1223 and 1226, Bishop of Toulouse in the Cathar Church. In the theological debates in the early 13th century betw ...

in 1204 in

Fanjeaux Fanjeaux (; oc, Fanjaus) is a commune in the Aude department in southern France. Fanjeaux is located west of Carcassonne. Between 1206 and 1215, Fanjeaux was the home of Saint Dominic, the founder of the Roman Catholic Church's Dominican Or ...

along with three other women of high rank,

Aude de Fanjeaux Aude (; ) is a department in Southern France, located in the Occitanie region and named after the river Aude. The departmental council also calls it "Cathar Country" ( French: ''Pays cathare'') after a group of religious dissidents active in t ...

Fays de Durfort Fays may refer to: *places in France: ** Fays, Haute-Marne, a commune in the Haute-Marne department **Fays, Vosges, a commune in the Vosges department ** Fays-la-Chapelle, a commune in the Aube department ** Les Deux-Fays, a commune in the Jura d ...

, and

Raymonde of Saint-Germain Raymonde is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Raymonde Allain (1912–2008), French model and actress *Raymonde April, OC (born 1953), Canadian contemporary artist, photographer and academic *Raymonde Arsen née Vital, servant i ...

. The ceremony was conducted in the presence of her brother, Raymond-Roger of Foix. She settled in

Pamiers Pamiers (; oc, Pàmias ) is a commune and largest city in the Ariège department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. It is the most populous commune in the Ariège department, although it ...

and was probably involved in an initiative to rebuild the fortress of the

Château de Montségur The Château de Montségur (English: Castle of Montsegur; Languedocien dialect, Languedocien: ) is a former fortress near Montségur, a Commune in France, commune in the Ariège (department), Ariège Departments of France, department in southern ...

. She participated in the

Conference of Pamiers A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main pu ...

of 1207, which followed the

Conference of Montreal The Conference of Montreal is an annual economic event organized by the International Economic Forum of the Americas (IEFA) since 1995. Mission The Conference of Montreal is a not-for-profit organization engaged to heightening knowledge and a ...

of the previous year. It was the last debate between the Cathars and the

Roman Catholic Church 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 ...

, represented by

Dominic Guzman Saint Dominic ( es, Santo Domingo; 8 August 1170 – 6 August 1221), also known as Dominic de Guzmán (), was a Castilian Catholic priest, mystic, the founder of the Dominican Order and is the patron saint of astronomers and natural scienti ...

, founder of the

Dominican order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...

and later known as Saint Dominic, and

Diego de Acebo Diego de Acebo (also known as ''Diaz de Osma'', ''Alphonsus Didacus'', ''Didacus Acebes'') was bishop of Osma (Castile, Spain) from 1201 to 1207. Life Diego de Acebo was prior of the cathedral chapter of the ''Catedral de Santa María de la Asunc ...

, the

bishop of Osma The Roman Catholic Diocese of Osma-Soria ( la, Oxomen(sis)–Sorian(a)) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in northern Spain. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolita ...

. The following year, in 1208,

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 J ...

launched 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 ...

against the Cathars after the murder of his delegate

Pierre de Castelnau Pierre de Castelnau (? - died 15 January 1208), French ecclesiastic, made papal legate in 1199 to address the Cathar heresy, he was subsequently murdered in 1208. Following his death Pope Innocent III beatified him by papal order, excommunicated ...

Legacy

Esclarmonde of Foix is remembered differently by different groups in France. For the Catholics, she spread heresy in the country and forced people to adopt the rules of the Cathars. For others, she was remembered for the creation of schools and hospitals in the region, earning the nickname ''"la Grande Esclarmonde"'' – "The Great Esclarmonde". The significance of her name's meaning, i.e. "clarity of the world", is explored in several medieval epic poems including one referred to as "Esclaramonde", by

Bertran de Born Bertran de Born (; 1140s – by 1215) was a baron from the Limousin in France, and one of the major Occitan troubadours of the 12th-13th century. He composed love songs (cansos) but was better known for his political songs (sirventes). He wa ...

, and in "

Parzival ''Parzival'' is a medieval romance (heroic literature), romance by the knight-poet Wolfram von Eschenbach in Middle High German. The poem, commonly dated to the first quarter of the 13th century, centers on the Arthurian hero Percival, Parziva ...

" by

Wolfram von Eschenbach Wolfram von Eschenbach (; – ) was a German knight, poet and composer, regarded as one of the greatest epic poets of medieval German literature. As a Minnesinger, he also wrote lyric poetry. Life Little is known of Wolfram's life. There are ...

. In her memory, in 1978, the

University of Winnipeg The University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg, UW) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, that offers undergraduate faculties of art, business and economics, education, science and kinesiology and applied health as well as gr ...

Family

Spiritual life

Legacy

Notes

References

Sources

Further reading