Olivier de Termes (1200 – 12 August 1274) was a knight from the southern French region of

Termes, Aude Termes (; Languedocien: ''Tèrme'') is a commune in the Aude department in southern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overse ...

. He was raised as a

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. Follow ...

but eventually converted to

Catholicism 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 ...

in a move that would help restore peace to his homeland following the ravages of 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 ...

Early life

Olivier was the son of Raymond de Termes, count of the Termes region of the Carcassonne district, then lying on the border between

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...

and

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

. The region was overwhelmingly

in religion, and Oliver's father was besieged by

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 his castle at Chateau de Termes in 1210. Having survived the fall of the castle, Oliver made his way south with other refugees from the crusade to the court of Aragon, where he befriended the future King James I of Aragon. He was also companions in youth with

Raymond II Trencavel Raymond II Trencavel (also spelled Raimond; 1207 – 1263/1267) was the last ruler of the branch of the Trencavel viscounts of Béziers. His entire life was occupied by efforts to reverse the downfall the Trencavel had experienced during the A ...

Albi Albi (; oc, Albi ) is a commune in southern France. It is the prefecture of the Tarn department, on the river Tarn, 85 km northeast of Toulouse. Its inhabitants are called ''Albigensians'' (french: Albigeois, Albigeoise(s), oc, albig� ...

, and

Raymond VII of Toulouse Raymond VII (July 1197 – 27 September 1249) was Count of Toulouse, Duke of Narbonne and Marquis of Provence from 1222 until his death. Family and marriages Raymond was born at the Château de Beaucaire, the son of Raymond VI of Toulouse ...

Military career

Oliver fought first against the knights who had conquered his country during the crusade against the Cathars, then in about 1245 he made peace with

Louis IX of France Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the Direct Capetians. He was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the ...

, agreeing to go on crusade. He spent much of the remainder of his life assisting in military operations in the Holy Land (participating in both the Seventh Crusade and

Eighth Crusade The Eighth Crusade was the second Crusade launched by Louis IX of France, this one against the Hafsid dynasty in Tunisia in 1270. It is also known as the Crusade of Louis IX against Tunis or the Second Crusade of Louis. The Crusade did not see ...

), advising the king, and helping pacify Languedoc.

External links

Broken english Website on Oliver de Termes - part of the Langlois Cathar websiteOfficial english website of the castle of Termes

References

*Langlois (Gauthier). – Olivier de Termes, le cathare et le croisé (vers 1200-1274), Toulouse *Graham-Leigh, Elaine. ''The Southern French Nobility and the Albigensian Crusade''. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2005. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Termes, Oliver de 1200 births 1274 deaths Converts to Roman Catholicism People from Aude 13th-century French people Christians of the Seventh Crusade Christians of the Eighth Crusade

Early life

Military career

See also

External links

References