Albigensian Crusade
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The Albigensian Crusade or the Cathar Crusade (; 1209–1229) was a military and ideological campaign initiated 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 ...
to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted primarily by the French crown and promptly took on a political aspect. It resulted in the significant reduction of practicing Cathars and a realignment of the County of Toulouse with the French crown. The distinct regional culture of Languedoc was also diminished. The Cathars originated from an anti-materialist reform movement within the Bogomil churches of the
Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
calling for what they saw as a return to the Christian message of perfection, poverty and preaching, combined with a rejection of the physical to the point of starvation. The reforms were a reaction against the often perceived scandalous and dissolute lifestyles of the Catholic clergy in southern France. Their theology, neo-Gnostic in many ways, was basically dualist. Several of their practices, especially their belief in the inherent evil of the physical world, conflicted with the doctrines of the Incarnation of Christ and
Catholic sacraments There are seven sacraments of the Catholic Church, which according to Catholic theology were instituted by Jesus and entrusted to the Church. Sacraments are visible rites seen as signs and efficacious channels of the grace of God to all those ...
. This led to accusations of
Gnosticism Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized pe ...
and attracted the ire of the Catholic establishment. They became known as the Albigensians because there were many adherents in the city of
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, albigé ...
and the surrounding area in the 12th and 13th centuries. Between 1022 and 1163, the Cathars were condemned by eight local church councils, the last of which, held at
Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metro ...
, declared that all Albigenses should be put into prison and have their property confiscated. The Third Lateran Council of 1179 repeated the condemnation. Innocent III's diplomatic attempts to roll back Catharism were met with little success. After the murder of his legate
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 ...
in 1208, and suspecting that
Raymond VI, Count of Toulouse Raymond VI ( oc, Ramon; October 27, 1156 – August 2, 1222) was Count of Toulouse and Marquis of Provence from 1194 to 1222. He was also Count of Melgueil (as Raymond IV) from 1173 to 1190. Early life Raymond was born at Saint-Gilles, Gard, ...
was responsible, Innocent III declared a crusade against the Cathars. He offered the lands of the Cathar heretics to any French nobleman willing to take up arms. From 1209 to 1215, the Crusaders experienced great success, capturing Cathar lands and systematically crushing the movement. From 1215 to 1225, a series of revolts caused many of the lands to be regained by the Cathars. A renewed crusade resulted in the recapturing of the territory and effectively drove Catharism underground by 1244. The Albigensian Crusade had a role in the creation and institutionalization of both 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 ...
and the Medieval Inquisition. The Dominicans promulgated the message of the Church and spread it by preaching the Church's teachings in towns and villages to stop the spread of alleged heresies, while the Inquisition investigated people who were accused of teaching heresies. Because of these efforts, all discernible traces of the Cathar movement were eradicated by the middle of the 14th century. Many historians consider the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars an act of
genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the ...
.


Cathar beliefs and practices

The word "Cathar" is derived from the Greek word ''katharos,'' meaning "clean" or "pure." Partially derived from earlier forms of
Gnosticism Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized pe ...
, the theology of the Cathars was dualistic, a belief in two equal and comparable transcendental principles: God, the force of good, and the
demiurge In the Platonic, Neopythagorean, Middle Platonic, and Neoplatonic schools of philosophy, the demiurge () is an artisan-like figure responsible for fashioning and maintaining the physical universe. The Gnostics adopted the term ''demiurge'' ...
, the force of evil. Cathars held that the physical world was evil and created by this demiurge, which they called ''Rex Mundi'' (Latin, "King of the World"). ''Rex Mundi'' encompassed all that was corporeal, chaotic and powerful. The Cathar understanding of God was entirely disincarnate: they viewed God as a being or principle of pure spirit completely unsullied by the taint of matter. He was the God of love, order, and peace. Jesus was an angel with only a phantom body, and the accounts of him in the
New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...
were to be understood allegorically. According to Cathar teaching, humans originally had no souls. They taught that the evil God, or Satan in another version, either gave new souls to people or used the souls of fallen angels. Alternatively, God took pity on men and gave them souls. Some Cathars believed in the transmigration of souls, in which the soul went from one body to another. Whether they did so or not, sexual intercourse under all circumstances was a grave sin, because it either brought a new soul into the evil world or perpetuated the cycle of souls being trapped in evil bodies. Civil authority had no claim on a Cathar, since this was the rule of the physical world. Accordingly, the Cathars refused to take oaths of allegiance or volunteer for military service. Cathar doctrine opposed killing animals and consuming meat. Cathars rejected the Catholic priesthood, labelling its members, including the pope, unworthy and corrupted. Disagreeing on the Catholic concept of the unique role of the priesthood, they taught that anyone, not just the priest, could consecrate the Eucharistic host or hear a confession. There were, however, men selected amongst the Cathars to serve as bishops and deacons. Cathars rejected the dogma of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist and Catholic teaching on the existence of
Purgatory Purgatory (, borrowed into English via Anglo-Norman and Old French) is, according to the belief of some Christian denominations (mostly Catholic), an intermediate state after physical death for expiatory purification. The process of purgatory ...
. Cathar meetings were fairly simple. In a typical gathering, those present would make one or more recitations of the
Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...
, make a general confession of sins, ask for forgiveness, and conclude with a common meal. There were however some special rituals. Catharism developed its own unique form of "sacrament" known as 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 ...
'', to replace the Catholic rite of baptism. Instead of receiving baptism through water, one received the ''consolamentum'' by the laying on of hands. Cathars regarded water as unclean because it had been corrupted by the earth, and therefore refused to use it in their ceremonies. Cathar bishops were selected from among the perfect. The act was typically received just before death, as Cathars believed that this increased one's chances for salvation by wiping away all previous sins. After receiving ''consolamentum'', the recipient became known as ''
perfectus Saint Perfectus (Santo Perfecto) (died 18 April 850) was one of the Martyrs of Córdoba whose martyrdom was recorded by Saint Eulogius in the '' Memoriale sanctorum''. He was born in Córdoba when the area was under the control of the Moors (t ...
''. Having become "perfect," the soul, upon the death of the body, could escape the perpetual cycle of death and rebirth and achieve salvation. Prior to becoming a perfect, believing Cathars were encouraged but not always required to follow Cathar teaching on abstaining from sex and meat, and most chose not to do so. Once an individual received the ''consolamentum'', these rules became binding. Cathar perfects often went through a ritual fast called the ''endura''. After receiving the ''consolamentum'', a believer would sometimes take no food and rely only on cold water, a practice eventually resulting in death. The procedure was typically performed only by those close to death already. Some members of the Church claimed that if a Cathar upon receiving the ''consolamentum'' showed signs of recovery, the person would be smothered to death to ensure entry into Heaven. This did sometimes happen but there is little evidence that it was common practice. If a person receiving the ''consolamentum'' ever committed a grievous sin, the procedure had to be reapplied. If the bishop who dispensed it committed a serious sin, all of the people to whom he had given the procedure would need to undergo it again.


Background


Political and cultural background

Cathar theology found its greatest success in the
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 ...
, a name eventually given to a region later incorporated into the French nation. An alternative name for the region is "Occitania." In the Languedoc, political control and land ownership was divided among many local lords and heirs. Before the crusade, there was little fighting in the area. Regions to the north were divided into separate polities, but all of them generally recognized themselves as part of the
Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. ...
. They spoke different dialects, but these could broadly be classified under the French language. By contrast, Languedoc regions did not consider themselves French. Their language, Occitan, was not mutually intelligible with French. Instead, it was closer to
Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...
. The County of Toulouse, the dominant political entity in the region, was a
fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...
to the Angevin Empire, which controlled the
Duchy of Aquitaine The Duchy of Aquitaine ( oc, Ducat d'Aquitània, ; french: Duché d'Aquitaine, ) was a historical fiefdom in western, central, and southern areas of present-day France to the south of the river Loire, although its extent, as well as its name, flu ...
in the west. In many areas south and east of Toulouse, the
Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of ...
and the Principality of Catalonia were both more influential than the French kingdom or even northern Languedoc. By the early 13th century, the power of towns in the Languedoc was growing rapidly. The city of
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 fr ...
was the main urban center in the region. By 1209, it had a population of 30,000–35,000 people, and enjoyed greater size, wealth, and influence than anywhere else in the Languedoc. It also enjoyed a high level of political autonomy. The Count of Toulouse resided in the Château Narbonnais inside of the city but had little real control over it. Small towns were built with defense in mind, generally with thick walls and on high mountains, often next to cliffs. Hence, a municipality was called a '' castrum'', meaning "fortified place." The urbanized character of the Languedoc distinguished it from the more rural north, and more readily allowed for the mixing of different groups of people. This fostered an atmosphere of comparative religious tolerance. Jews in the Languedoc experienced little discrimination, as was the case with the religious dissidents appearing in the area in the 12th century.
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
s were not bequeathed the same level of tolerance, but Islamic literature and scholarship were respected. Historian
Joseph Strayer Joseph Reese Strayer (1904–1987) was an American medievalist historian. He was a student of and mentored by Charles Homer Haskins, America's first prominent medievalist historian. Life Strayer taught at Princeton University for many decades, st ...
summarizes the cultural differences between the North and South as follows:


Growth of Catharism

The Cathars were part of a widespread spiritual reform movement in medieval Europe which began about 653 when
Constantine-Silvanus Constantine-Silvanus (died 684) was the founder of the Paulicians, a Christian movement in 7th century Armenia, who sought to return to the purity of the church in the time of Paul the Apostle. They were considered heretical by the Byzantine Chu ...
brought a copy of the Gospels to Armenia. In the following centuries a number of dissenting groups arose, gathered around charismatic preachers, who rejected the authority of the Catholic Church. These groups based their beliefs and practices on the
Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...
s rather than on Church
dogma Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Islam ...
and sought a return to the early church and the faith of the Apostles. They claimed that their teaching was rooted in Scripture and part of Apostolic tradition. Sects such as the Paulicians in Armenia,
Bogomils Bogomilism ( Bulgarian and Macedonian: ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", bogumilstvo, богумилство) was a Christian neo-Gnostic or dualist sect founded in the First Bulgarian Empire by the priest Bogomil during the reign of Tsar P ...
from
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
and the
Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
, Arnoldists in northern Italy,
Petrobrusian Peter of Bruys (also known as Pierre De Bruys or Peter de Bruis; ''fl.'' 1117 – c.1131) was a medieval French religious teacher. He was called a heresiarch (leader of a heretical movement) by the Roman Catholic Church because he opposed i ...
s in southern France,
Henricans Henry of Lausanne (variously known as of Bruys, of Cluny, of Toulouse, of Le Mans and as the Deacon, sometimes referred to as Henry the Monk or Henry the Petrobrusian) was a French heresiarch of the first half of the 12th century. His preaching beg ...
in Switzerland and France, and Waldensians of the
Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
area on the border of France and Italy, were violently persecuted and repressed. The Paulicians were ordered to be
burned to death Death by burning (also known as immolation) is an execution and murder method involving combustion or exposure to extreme heat. It has a long history as a form of public capital punishment, and many societies have employed it as a punishment f ...
as heretics; the Bogomils were expelled from Serbia and later subjected to the Inquisition and the Bosnian Crusade;
Peter of Bruys Peter of Bruys (also known as Pierre De Bruys or Peter de Bruis; ''fl.'' 1117 – c.1131) was a medieval French religious teacher. He was called a heresiarch (leader of a heretical movement) by the Roman Catholic Church because he opposed ...
, leader of the Petrobrusians, was pushed into a bonfire by an angry mob in 1131. A number of prominent 12th century preachers insisted on it being the responsibility of the individual to develop a relationship with God, independent of an established clergy. Henry of Lausanne criticized the priesthood and called for lay reform of the Church. He gained a large following. Henry's preaching focused on condemning clerical corruption and clerical hierarchy, and there is no evidence that he subscribed to Cathar teachings on dualism. He was arrested around 1146 and never heard from again.
Arnold of Brescia Arnold of Brescia ( 1090 – June 1155), also known as Arnaldus ( it, Arnaldo da Brescia), an Italian canon regular from Lombardy, called on the Church to renounce property-ownership and participated in the failed Commune of Rome of 1144– ...
, leader of the Arnoldists, was hanged in 1155 and his body burnt and thrown into the Tiber River, "for fear", one chronicler says, "lest the people might collect them and honour them as the ashes of a martyr". The Waldensians, followers of Peter Waldo, experienced burnings and massacres. Although these dissenting groups shared some common features with the Cathars, such as anti-clericalism and rejection of the sacraments, they did not, except the Paulicians and Bogomils, subscribe to Cathar dualist beliefs. They did not specifically invoke dualism as a tenet. The Cathars may have originated directly from the Bogomils, as some scholars believe in a continuous Manichaean tradition which encompassed both groups. That view is not universally shared. Following the
First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic ...
, Latin settlers established a dualist community in
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
. It is theorized that this group provided Westerners with Latin translations of Greek Bogomil texts, which included the ''consolamentum'' ritual, thus helping to generate the first organized dualist movement in Western Europe. By the 12th century, organized groups of dissidents, such as the Waldensians and Cathars, were beginning to appear in the towns and cities of newly urbanized areas. In western Mediterranean France, one of the most urbanized areas of Europe at the time, the Cathars grew to represent a popular mass movement, and the belief was spreading to other areas. One such area was Lombardy, which by the 1170s was sustaining a community of Cathars. The Cathar movement was seen by some as a reaction against the corrupt and earthly lifestyles of the clergy. It has also been viewed as a manifestation of dissatisfaction with papal power. The Cathar movement occasionally mingled with Waldensianism. However, it was distinct from it, for while Waldensians agreed with the Cathars in their opposition to the Catholic hierarchy and emphasis on poverty and simplicity, they generally accepted most Catholic teachings. Both movements eventually came under violent persecution, but the main energies of the Church were directed against Catharism, which was both the more radical and the more numerous of the two sects. In
Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
in 1163, four Cathar men and a girl who had traveled to the city from
Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...
were burned after refusing to repent. Burnings for heresy had been very uncommon, and in the past had sometimes taken place at the behest of noblemen for political rather than religious reasons over the objections of leading Catholic clergy. After this event however, they grew more frequent. Contact was maintained between the older dualist communities in the
Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
in the east and the new ones in Western Europe. Emissaries from the former strengthened the dualist beliefs of the latter. Catharism continued to spread, but it had its greatest success in the Languedoc. Cathars established virtually no presence in England, and communities in the Kingdom of France and Germany generally did not last long. It was in the Languedoc that they were the most durable. The Cathars were known as Albigensians because of their association with the city of
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, albigé ...
, and because the 1176 Church Council which declared the Cathar doctrine heretical was held near Albi. The condemnation was repeated through the Third Lateran Council of 1179. Various reasons have been proposed for the Cathar movement's success in the Languedoc relative to other places. A traditional explanation has been the reputed corruption and poor quality of the clergy, which, according to many accounts, manifested itself through love of money and sexual escapades. Many priests in the Languedoc, especially those in rural parishes, were often poorly educated and functionally illiterate. Many were appointed to their posts by laymen. However, the theory that the inadequacy of the clergy was the primary factor has been challenged on the grounds of similar stories about clergy appearing elsewhere in areas of Europe that did not have large numbers of religious deviants. However, there is evidence of greater corruption among bishops in the Languedoc than in other areas in Europe.
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 ...
wrote a letter in which he accused the
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 Catalon ...
of never having visited his diocese during his 10 years as bishop and of demanding money from someone as payment for consecrating him as a bishop. Innocent eventually suspended four bishops in the Languedoc-the Archbishop of Narbonne, and the bishops of
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 fr ...
, Béziers, and Viviers-from their duties. The poor quality of bishops in the Languedoc was due to a mix of the lack of political centralization in the region as well as the papacy placing higher importance on appointments in more politically sensitive areas. The chaotic situation in the episcopacy contributed to the inability of the Church to stamp out the heresy. Among the people, the Cathars were a minority, but they won acceptance from many Catholics in the region. Those who became Cathars were often accepted by their families. Several Cathars were chosen as members of the governing council of the city of Toulouse. The Languedoc region participated less in popular religious movements than other areas of Europe. The First Crusade stirred up some support in the area, as Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse was one of its principal leaders. Nevertheless, the popularity of Crusading was not as durable in the Languedoc as it was in France. Strayer speculates that a general climate of laxity prevailed in the region which allowed nonconformist religious movements to grow without being seriously challenged.


Prelude to crusade

On assuming the papacy in 1198, Pope Innocent III resolved to deal with the Cathars and sent a delegation of friars to the province of Languedoc to assess the situation. The Cathars of Languedoc were seen as not showing proper respect for the authority of the French king or the local Catholic Church, and their leaders were being protected by powerful nobles, who had a clear interest in independence from the king. At least in part for this reason, many powerful noblemen embraced Catharism despite making little attempt to follow its strict lifestyle restrictions. In desperation, Innocent turned to Philip II of France, urging him to either force
Raymond VI, Count of Toulouse Raymond VI ( oc, Ramon; October 27, 1156 – August 2, 1222) was Count of Toulouse and Marquis of Provence from 1194 to 1222. He was also Count of Melgueil (as Raymond IV) from 1173 to 1190. Early life Raymond was born at Saint-Gilles, Gard, ...
to deal with the heresy or depose him militarily. By 1204, he offered to bless those willing to go on a military campaign against the Cathars with the same indulgence given to crusaders travelling to the Holy Land (the Fourth Crusade, in its late stages at the time, had not shown any signs of going in that direction). However, Philip was engaged in conflict with King John of England, and was unwilling to get involved in a separate conflict in the Languedoc. Hence, the plan stalled. One of the most powerful noblemen, Raymond VI, did not openly embrace Cathar beliefs, but was sympathetic to Catharism and hostile to the French king. He refused to assist the delegation. He was
excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...
in May 1207 and an interdict was placed on his lands. Innocent tried to deal with the situation diplomatically by sending a number of preachers, many of them monks of the Cistercian order, to convert the Cathars. They were under the direction of the senior papal legate,
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 ...
. The preachers managed to bring some people back into the Catholic faith, but for the most part, were renounced. Pierre himself was extremely unpopular, and once had to flee the region for fear that he would be assassinated. On 13 January 1208, Raymond met Pierre in the hope of gaining absolution. The discussion did not go well. Raymond expelled him and threatened his safety. The following morning, Pierre was killed, allegedly by one of Raymond's knights. Innocent III claimed that Raymond ordered his execution;
William of Tudela William of Tudela (in Occitan, Guilhem de Tudela; in French, Guillaume de Tudèle; fl. 1199-1214) was the author of the first part of the '' Canso de la Crozada'' or ''Song of the Albigensian Crusade'', an epic poem in Old Occitan giving a contempo ...
blames the murder entirely on "an evil-hearted
squire In the Middle Ages, a squire was the shield- or armour-bearer of a knight. Use of the term evolved over time. Initially, a squire served as a knight's apprentice. Later, a village leader or a lord of the manor might come to be known as ...
hoping to win the Count's approval". Pope Innocent declared Raymond anathematized and released all of his subjects from their oaths of obedience to him. However, Raymond soon attempted to reconcile with the Church by sending legates to Rome. They exchanged gifts, reconciled, and the excommunication was lifted. At the Council of Avignon in 1209, Raymond was again excommunicated for not fulfilling the conditions of ecclesiastical reconciliation. After this, Innocent III called for a crusade against the Albigensians, with the view that a Europe free of heresy could better defend its borders against invading Muslims. The time period of the Crusade coincided with the Fifth and Sixth Crusades in the Holy Land.


Military campaigns


Initial success 1209 to 1215


Assembling of the initial army

By mid-1209, around 10,000 Crusaders had gathered in
Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...
before marching south. Many Crusaders stayed on for no more than 40 days before being replaced. A large number came from Northern France, while some had volunteered from England. There would also be volunteers from
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. The question of who would lead the crusade was unclear. In early 1209, Philip II had learned of an anti-French alliance between King John and Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV, both of whom were overlords of different parts of the Languedoc. This motivated him to stay out of the crusade. He refused to campaign in person but promised to send a contingent of troops, insuring that he would have a say in any political settlements that would result from the conflict. Papal legate
Arnaud Amalric Arnaud Amalric ( la, Arnoldus Amalricus; died 1225) was a Cistercian abbot who played a prominent role in the Albigensian Crusade. It is reported that prior to the massacre of Béziers, Amalric, when asked how to distinguish Cathars from Cathol ...
, Abbott of the Cistercian monastery Cîteaux Abbey, assumed command of the enterprise. As the Crusaders assembled, Raymond attempted to reach an agreement with his nephew and vassal, Raymond Roger Trencavel, the
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 cour ...
and viscount of Béziers and
Carcassonne Carcassonne (, also , , ; ; la, Carcaso) is a French fortified city in the department of Aude, in the region of Occitanie. It is the prefecture of the department. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Carcassonne is located in the plain of the Aud ...
, for a united defense, but Raymond Roger refused him. Raymond decided to make an accommodation with the Crusaders. He was fiercely opposed by Amalric, but at Raymond's request, Innocent appointed a new legate, Milo, whom he secretly ordered to obey Amalric. On 18 June 1209, Raymond pronounced himself repentant. He was scourged by Milo and declared restored to full Communion with the Church. The following day, he took the Cross, affirming his loyalty to the crusade and promising to aid it. With Raymond restored to unity with the Church, his lands could not be attacked. The Crusaders therefore turned their attention to the lands of Raymond Roger, aiming for the Cathar communities around Albi and Carcassonne. They marched out of Lyon on 24 June and arrived at the Catholic town of Montpellier on 20 July. Raymond Roger was not formally a Cathar but tolerated the sect's existence. There were many Cathars in his domain, and his own sister had become one of the perfect. Nevertheless, Raymond Roger attempted to negotiate with the Crusaders. He declared himself a loyal member of the Church, and disclaimed responsibility for the spread of heresy in his land on account of his youth. He was 24 at that time. The Crusaders' rejected his request for peace. They marched first for Béziers, a city with a strong Cathar community. Raymond Roger initially promised to defend it, but after hearing of the coming of the Crusader army, he abandoned it and hurried back to Carcassonne to prepare his defences. At around the same time, another Crusader army commanded by the Archbishop of Bordeaux took
Casseneuil Casseneuil (; oc, Cassanuèlh) is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne department in south-western France. Sieges of 1209 and 1214 during the Albigensian Crusade In July 1214 Robert de Courçon, the papal legate, awarded the territories of Rodez ...
and burned several accused heretics at the stake.


Massacre at Béziers

The Crusaders captured the small village of Servian and then headed for Béziers, arriving on 21 July 1209. Under the command of Amalric, they started to besiege the city, calling on the Catholics within to come out, and demanding that the Cathars surrender. Neither group did as commanded. The city fell the following day when an abortive sortie was pursued back through the open gates. The entire population was slaughtered and the city burned to the ground. It was reported that Amalric, when asked how to distinguish Cathars from Catholics, responded, "Kill them all! God will know his own." Strayer doubts that Amalric actually said this, but maintains that the statement captures the "spirit" of the Crusaders, who killed nearly every man, woman, and child in the town. Amalric and Milo wrote in a letter to the Pope, claimed that the Crusaders "put to the sword almost 20,000 people". Strayer says that this estimate is too high, but noted that in his letter "the legate expressed no regret about the massacre, not even a word of condolence for the clergy of the cathedral who were killed in front of their own altar". News of the disaster quickly spread and afterwards many settlements, with Narbonne being a prominent example, surrendered without a fight. Others were evacuated. The Crusaders encountered no opposition as they marched toward Carcassonne.


Fall of Carcassonne

After the Massacre at Béziers, the next major target was Carcassonne, a city with many well known Cathars. Carcassonne was well fortified but vulnerable, and overflowing with refugees. The Crusaders traversed the 45 miles between Béziers and Carcassonne in six days, arriving in the city on 1 August 1209. The siege did not last long. By 7 August, they had cut the city's water supply. Raymond Roger sought negotiations but was taken prisoner while under truce, and Carcassonne surrendered on 15 August. The people were not killed but were forced to leave the town. They were naked according to Peter of Vaux-de-Cernay, a monk and eyewitness to many events of the crusade, but "in their shifts and breeches", according to Guillaume de Puylaurens, a contemporary. Raymond Roger died several months later. Although his death supposedly resulted from
dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...
, some suspected that he was assassinated. Simon de Montfort, a prominent French nobleman, was then appointed leader of the Crusader army, and was granted control of the area encompassing Carcassonne, Albi, and Béziers. After the fall of Carcassonne, other towns surrendered without a fight. Albi, Castelnaudary, Castres,
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 Orde ...
, Limoux,
Lombers Lombers is a commune in the Tarn department in southern France. History Lombers was the significant centre of Catharism in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. It was the location of a Catholic-Cathar debate, perhaps in the 1180s, between G ...
and
Montréal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-p ...
all fell quickly during the autumn.


Lastours and the castle of Cabaret

The next battle centred around
Lastours Lastours ( oc, Las Tors) is a commune in the Aude department in southern France. Lastours is located outside Carcassonne, in the valley of the Orbiel. There are four small castles each built on a large 300 m high rocky ridge. The castles w ...
and the adjacent castle of Cabaret. Attacked in December 1209,
Pierre Roger de Cabaret Pierre Roger de Cabaret (French) or Pèire Rogièr de Cabaret (Occitan) (fl. 13th century) was a military leader of the Occitan forces in the Albigensian Crusade. He inherited three hilltop castles near modern-day Lastours from his father. He w ...
repulsed the assault. Fighting largely halted over the winter. Due to harsh weather conditions and a small number of soldiers, Simon ceased major offensives and concentrated on holding the territory that he had already won. However, fresh Crusaders eventually arrived. In March 1210, Bram was captured after a short siege. In June, the well-fortified city of Minerve was besieged. The city was not of major strategic importance. Simon's decision to attack it was probably influenced by the large number of perfects who had gathered there. Unable to take the town by storm because of the surrounding geography, Simon launched a heavy bombardment against the town, and in late June the main well was destroyed and on 22 July, the city, short on water, surrendered. Simon wished to treat the occupants leniently, but was pressured by Arnaud Amalric to punish the Cathars. The Crusaders allowed the soldiers defending the town as well as the Catholics inside of it to go free, along with the non-perfect Cathars. The Cathar perfects were given the opportunity to return to Catholicism. Simon and many of his soldiers made strong efforts to convert the Cathar perfects, but were highly unsuccessful. Ultimately, only three women recanted. The 140 who refused were burned at the stake. Some entered the flames voluntarily, not awaiting their executioners. In August, the Crusade proceeded to the stronghold of Termes. Despite sallies from Pierre-Roger de Cabaret, the siege was solid. The occupants of Termes suffered from a shortage of water, and Ramon (Raymond) de Termes agreed to a temporary truce. However, the Cathars were briefly relieved by an intense rainstorm, and so Raymond refused to surrender. Ultimately, the defenders were not able to break the siege, and on 22 November the Cathars managed to abandon the city and escape. By the time operations resumed in 1211, the actions of Arnaud-Amaury and Simon de Montfort had alienated several important lords, including Raymond de Toulouse, who had been excommunicated again. The Crusaders returned in force to Lastours in March and Pierre-Roger de Cabaret soon agreed to surrender. In April, 1211, de Montfort laid siege to Lavaur. As the siege continued, fresh troops, arriving from all over Europe, were sent to Lavaur. On the way, while passing the crossroads of Auvezines, in the village of
Montgey Montgey (; oc, Montjuèi) is a commune in the Tarn department in southern France. See also *Communes of the Tarn department The following is a list of the 314 communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which ...
, they were ambushed by troops sent out from Toulouse and led by Raymond-Roger, Count of Foix and his son Roger-Bernard. Many citizens, Catholic and Cathar, and the local peasantry had joined them for the battle. All but one of the six thousand crusaders were killed in the battle. In May the castle of Aimery de Montréal was retaken; he and his senior knights were hanged, and several hundred Cathars were burned. Cassès fell easily in early June. Afterwards, Simon marched towards Montferrand, where Raymond of Toulouse had placed his brother, Baldwin, in command. After a short siege, Baldwin signed an agreement to abandon the fort in return for swearing an oath to go free and to not fight again against the Crusaders. Baldwin briefly returned to Raymond, but afterward defected to the Crusaders and remained loyal to them thereafter. After taking Montferrand, the Crusaders headed for Toulouse. The town was besieged, but for once the attackers were short of supplies and men, and Simon de Montfort withdrew before the end of the month. Emboldened, Raymond de Toulouse led a force to attack Montfort at Castelnaudary in September. A force of Crusaders arrived to relieve Montfort, and just barely beat back a counterattack by Occitan forces under Raymond-Roger. Montfort broke free from the siege, and Raymond was forced to withdraw. Throughout the first part of 1212, Simon worked on encircling Toulouse. He was successful through a combination of rapid military movements and his policy of quickly getting towns to surrender in exchange for not being sacked. The encirclement of Toulouse restricted Raymond's communication with his allies in Aquitaine and the Pyrenees. He faced a shortage of income and increasingly disloyal vassals.


Toulouse

To repel the Crusaders, the Cathars turned to Peter II of Aragon for assistance. Peter II had been crowned King of Aragon by Innocent III in 1204. He fought 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 distinc ...
in Spain, and served in the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa. However, his sister, Eleanor, had married Raymond VI, securing an alliance. Peter was able to use the prestige from his victories in the south against the Moors, along with the persuasion of a delegation sent to Rome, to lead Innocent III to order a halt to the crusade. Innocent trusted Peter and was hoping to bring an end to the Albigensian Crusade to launch a new crusade in the Middle East and to maintain pressure on the Moors. As the Cathars had suffered many defeats, and as those bishops he felt had been too lenient with heresy had been removed, he believed that the time had come to bring peace to the Languedoc. On 15 January 1213, Innocent wrote to Arnaud Amaury, papal legate and newly appointed Bishop of Narbonne, as well as to Montfort. He rebuked Simon for his alleged attacks on Christians and ordered him to restore the lands that he had taken. In addition, Innocent removed most of the crusading indulgences and demanded that Simon and his legates hold a council, listen to Peter, and report their feelings to him. Peter petitioned the clergy at the Council of Lavaur to restore Raymond's lands, arguing that he was ready to repent. If this was unacceptable, the lands could be placed under the protection of his son while he went on crusade. The council rejected his recommendations, refusing to absolve Raymond and insisting that the lands Peter believed should be returned were still influenced by heresy. Peter rejected the council's verdict. Concerned that Simon had grown too powerful, he decided to come to the aid of Toulouse. The Crown of Aragon, under Peter II, allied with the County of Toulouse and various other entities to oppose Simon. These actions alarmed Innocent, who after hearing from Simon's delegation denounced Peter and ordered a renewal of the crusade. On 21 May, he sent Peter a letter severely castigating him for allegedly providing false information, and warning him not to oppose the Crusaders. He was threatened with excommunication. The crusade was not restored to its initial status. In April 1213, Innocent issued the papal bull ''
Quia maior ''Quia maior'' is a papal bull issued by Pope Innocent III in April 1213 calling for the Fifth Crusade. It was sent to nearly all the ecclesiastical provinces in Europe.Penny J. Cole, 'Purgatory and Crusade in St Gregory's Trental', ''The Interna ...
,'' which called for the Fifth Crusade. It limited indulgences for those participating in the Albigensian Crusade exclusively to Crusaders from the Languedoc. Peter's coalition force engaged Simon's troops on 12 September in the Battle of Muret. The Crusaders were heavily outnumbered. Peter and Simon both organized their troops into three lines. The first of the Crusader lines was beaten back, but Simon managed to outflank the coalition cavalry. Peter II was struck down and killed. The coalition forces, hearing of his death, retreated in confusion. This allowed Simon's troops to occupy the northern part of Toulouse. It was a serious blow to the resistance, and in 1214 the situation became worse. As the Crusaders continued their advance, Raymond and his son Raymond VII of Toulouse were forced to flee to England. King John of England was wary of the crusade due to Simon's loyalty to the French crown. He visited the Languedoc, and though direct confrontation between English troops and Crusaders was usually avoided, a contingent of King John's soldiers did help defend Marmande against the Crusaders in 1214. In 1214, Philip won a major victory against the English-German alliance at the
Battle of Bouvines The Battle of Bouvines was fought on 27 July 1214 near the town of Bouvines in the County of Flanders. It was the concluding battle of the Anglo-French War of 1213–1214. Although estimates on the number of troops vary considerably among mod ...
, helping to solidify the success of the Albigensian Crusade. In November, Simon de Montfort entered Périgord and easily captured the castles of Domme and Montfort; he also occupied Castlenaud and destroyed the fortifications of
Beynac Beynac (; oc, Beinac) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in central-western France. Inhabitants are known as ''Beynacois'' in French. See also *Communes of the Haute-Vienne department The following ...
. In 1215, Castelnaud was recaptured by Montfort, and the Crusaders entered Toulouse. The town paid an indemnity of 30,000 marks. Toulouse was gifted to Montfort. The Fourth Council of the Lateran in 1215 solidified Crusader control over the area by officially proclaiming Simon the Count of Toulouse. It proclaimed that all of the lands previously Raymond VI that had been conquered by the crusade would be placed under the control of Simon IV de Montfort, and that the lands which had not yet been conquered would be placed under the protection of the Church until Raymond VII was old enough to govern them. The Council also once again called for a new crusade in the Middle East, which dried up recruits for the Albigensian Crusade, forcing Simon to rely increasingly heavily on mercenaries.


Revolts and reverses 1216 to 1225

Raymond VI, together with Raymond VII, returned to the region in April 1216 and soon raised a substantial force from disaffected towns. Beaucaire was besieged in May. After three months, the occupants were running low on supplies, and reached an agreement with Raymond to surrender the castle in exchange for being allowed to leave with their arms. The efforts of Montfort to relieve the town were repulsed. Innocent III died suddenly in July 1216 and the crusade was left in temporary disarray. The command passed to the more cautious Philip II of France, who was reluctant to vigorously prosecute the crusade. At the time, he was still heavily involved in conflict with King John of England. Montfort then had to put down an uprising in Toulouse before heading west to capture
Bigorre Bigorre ({{IPA-fr, biɡɔʁ; Gascon: ''Bigòrra'') is a region in southwest France, historically an independent county and later a French province, located in the upper watershed of the Adour, on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees, part of th ...
, but he was repulsed at Lourdes in December 1216. On 12 September 1217, Raymond retook Toulouse without a fight while Montfort was occupied in the Foix region. Montfort hurried back, but his forces were insufficient to retake the town before campaigning halted. Responding to a call from
Pope Honorius III Pope Honorius III (c. 1150 – 18 March 1227), born Cencio Savelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 18 July 1216 to his death. A canon at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, he came to hold a number of import ...
to renew the crusade, Montfort resumed the siege in the spring of 1218. On 25 June or 29, while attempting to fend off a sally by the defenders, Montfort was struck and killed by a stone hurled from defensive siege equipment. Toulouse was held, and the Crusaders driven back. Popular accounts state that the city's artillery was operated by the women and girls of Toulouse. In August, reacting to the crusade's recent failures, Honorius restored full crusading indulgences to those fighting against the Cathars. The crusade continued with renewed vigour. Philip refused to command in person, but agreed to appoint his son, the also reluctant Prince Louis, to lead an expedition. His army marched south beginning in May 1219, passing through Poitou. In June, an army under Amaury de Montfort, son of the late Simon, joined by Louis, besieged Marmande. The town fell in June 1219. Its occupants, excluding only the commander and his knights, were massacred. After capturing Marmande, Louis attempted to retake Toulouse. Following a siege of six weeks, the army abandoned the mission and went home. Honorius III called the endeavour a "miserable setback". Without Louis's troops, Amaury was unable to hold on to the lands that he had taken, and the Cathars were able to retake much of their land. Castelnaudary was retaken by troops under Raymond VII. Amaury again besieged the town from July 1220 to March 1221, but it withstood an eight-month assault. In 1221, the success of Raymond and his son continued: Montréal and Fanjeaux were retaken and many Catholics were forced to flee. By 1222, Raymond VII had reclaimed all the lands that had been lost. That same year, Raymond VI died and was succeeded by Raymond VII. On 14 July 1223, Philip II died, and Louis VIII succeeded him as king. In 1224, Amaury de Montfort abandoned Carcassonne. Raymond VII returned from exile to reclaim the area. That same year, Amaury ceded his remaining lands to Louis VIII.


French royal intervention

In November 1225, the
Council of Bourges The Council of Bourges was a Catholic council convened in November 1225 in Bourges, France; it was the second largest church assembly held in the West up to that time, exceeded in the numbers of prelates that attended only by the Fourth Lateran Cou ...
convened to deal with the Cathar heresy. At the council, Raymond VII, like his father, was excommunicated. The council gathered a thousand churchmen to authorize a tax on their annual incomes, the "Albigensian tenth", to support the Crusade, though permanent reforms intended to fund the papacy in perpetuity foundered. Louis VIII headed the new crusade. He took the cross in January 1226. His army assembled at Bourges in May. While the exact number of troops present is unknown, it was certainly the largest force ever sent against the Cathars. Louis set out with his army in June. The Crusaders captured once more the towns of Béziers, Carcassonne, Beaucaire, and Marseille, this time with no resistance. However, Avignon, nominally under the rule of the German emperor, did resist, refusing to open its gates to the French troops. Not wanting to storm the well-fortified walls of the town, Louis settled in for a siege. A frontal assault that August was fiercely beaten back. Finally, in early September, the town surrendered, agreeing to pay 6,000 marks and destroy its walls. The town was occupied on 9 September. No killing or looting took place. Louis VIII died in November and was succeeded by the child king
Louis IX 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 House of Capet, Direct Capetians. He was Coronation of the French monarch, c ...
. But Queen-regent Blanche of Castile allowed the crusade to continue under
Humbert V de Beaujeu Humbert V de Beaujeu (1198 – mid 1250) was Constable of France (1240) under King Louis IX. He was maternal grandson of Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut and nephew of Isabelle of Hainaut, queen consort of king Philip II of France. He married Marguer ...
. Labécède fell in 1227 and Vareilles in 1228. At that time, the Crusaders once again besieged Toulouse. While doing so, they systematically laid waste to the surrounding landscape: uprooting vineyards, burning fields and farms, and slaughtering livestock. Eventually, the city was retaken. Raymond did not have the manpower to intervene. Eventually, Queen Blanche offered Raymond VII a treaty recognizing him as ruler of Toulouse in exchange for his fighting the Cathars, returning all church property, turning over his castles and destroying the defences of Toulouse. Moreover, Raymond had to marry his daughter
Joan Joan may refer to: People and fictional characters * Joan (given name), including a list of women, men and fictional characters *: Joan of Arc, a French military heroine *Joan (surname) Weather events *Tropical Storm Joan (disambiguation), multip ...
to Louis' brother
Alphonse of Poitiers Alphonse or Alfonso (11 November 122021 August 1271) was the count of Poitou from 1225 and count of Toulouse (as such called Alphonse II) from 1249. As count of Toulouse, he also governed the Marquisate of Provence. Birth and early life Born at P ...
, with the couple and their heirs obtaining Toulouse after Raymond's death, and the inheritance reverting to the king. Raymond agreed and signed the Treaty of Paris at Meaux on 12 April 1229. Historian Daniel Power notes that the fact that Peter of Vaux-de-Cernay's ''Historia Albigensis'', which many historians of the crusade rely heavily upon, was published only in 1218 leaves a shortage of primary source material for events after that year. As such, there is more difficulty in discerning the nature of various events during the subsequent time period.


Inquisition

With the military phase of the campaign against the Cathars now primarily at an end, the
Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...
was established under
Pope Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX ( la, Gregorius IX; born Ugolino di Conti; c. 1145 or before 1170 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decre ...
in 1234 to uproot heretical movements, including the remaining Cathars. Operating in the south at Toulouse, Albi, Carcassonne and other towns during the whole of the 13th century, and a great part of the 14th, it succeeded in crushing Catharism as a popular movement and driving its remaining adherents underground. Punishments for Cathars varied greatly. Most frequently, they were made to wear yellow crosses atop their garments as a sign of outward penance. Others made obligatory pilgrimages, which often included fighting against
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
s. Visiting a local church naked once each month to be scourged was also a common punishment, including for returned pilgrims. Cathars who were slow to repent suffered imprisonment and, often, the loss of property. Others who altogether refused to repent were burned.
Friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ...
s 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 ...
, named after their founder, Saint Dominic, would travel to towns and villages preaching in favor of the teachings of the Church and against heresy. In some cases, they took part in prosecuting Cathars. From May 1243 to March 1244, the Cathar fortress of
Montségur Montségur (; Languedocien: ''Montsegur'') is a commune in the Ariège department in southwestern France. It is famous for its fortification, the Château de Montségur, that was built on the "pog" (mountain) on the ruins of one of the last ...
was besieged by the troops of the seneschal of Carcassonne and Pierre Amiel, the Archbishop of Narbonne. On 16 March 1244, a large massacre took place, in which over 200 Cathar perfects were burnt in an enormous pyre at the ''prat dels cremats'' ("field of the burned") near the foot of the castle. After this, Catharism did not completely vanish, but was practiced by its remaining adherents in secret. The Inquisition continued to search for and attempt to prosecute Cathars. While few prominent men joined the Cathars, a small group of ordinary followers remained and were generally successful at concealing themselves. The Inquisitors sometimes used torture as a method to find Cathars, but still were able to catch only a relatively small number. In 1242, Raymond VII launched an unsuccessful rebellion against France. He died in 1249, and when Alphonse died in 1271, the County of Toulouse was annexed by the Kingdom of France. The Inquisition received funding from the French monarchy. In the 1290s, King Philip IV, who was in conflict with Pope Boniface VIII, limited its funding and severely restricted its activities. However, after visiting southern France in 1303, he became alarmed by the anti-monarchical sentiments of the people in the region, especially in Carcassonne, and decided to remove the restrictions placed on the Inquisition. Pope Clement V introduced new rules designed to protect the rights of the accused. The Dominican Bernard Gui, Inquisitor of Toulouse from 1308 to 1323, wrote a manual discussing the customs of non-Catholic sects and the methods to be employed by the Inquisitors in combating heresy. A large portion of the manual describes the reputed customs of the Cathars, while contrasting them with those of Catholics. Gui also describes methods to be used for interrogating accused Cathars. He ruled that any person found to have died without confessing his known heresy would have his remains exhumed and burned, while any person known to have been a heretic but not known whether to have confessed or not would have his body unearthed but not burned. Under Gui, a final push against Catharism began. By 1350, all known remnants of the movement had been extinguished.


Legacy


Influence

According to Edward Peters, the violence of the Albigensian Crusade was not in line with the reforms and plans of Innocent, who stressed confession, reform of the clergy and laity, and pastoral teachings to oppose heresy. Peters maintains that the violence was due to the crusade being under the control of mobs, petty rulers, and local bishops who did not uphold Innocent's ideas. The uncontainable, prejudicial passion of local mobs and heresy hunters, the violence of secular courts, and the bloodshed of the Albigensian Crusade sparked a desire within the papacy to implement greater control over the prosecution of heresy. This desire led to the development of organized legal procedures for dealing with heretics. As a result of the Albigensian Crusade, there were only a small number of French recruits for the Fifth and Sixth crusades. Strayer argues that the Albigensian Crusade increased the power of the French monarchy and made the papacy more dependent on it. This would eventually lead to the Avignon Papacy. Numerous songs concerning the Albigensian Crusade survive from the
troubadour A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a '' trobair ...
poet-composers, particularly those who were also knights. For instance, the troubadour Raimon de Miraval wrote a song pleading with Peter II to recapture his castle which had been captured by Simon, while a co-written song by the troubadours
Tomier and Palaizi Tomier and Palaizi (or Palazi) were two knights and troubadours from Tarascon, possibly brothers, and frequent comrades and co-composers ( fl. 1199–1226). Palaizi and Tomier were involved in the Albigensian Crusade. In the '' sirventes'' '' ...
condemns the treatment of Raymond VI and urges him to fight back. The epic poem '' Canso de la Crozada'' () was written in the early 13th century and narrates the Albigensian Crusade. The crusade and its immediate aftermath inaugurated the eventual decline of the troubadour tradition. Many Occitan courts had been patrons of the troubadours, and their destruction resulted in the gradual deterioration of the practice and the immigration of most troubadours from Southern France to royal courts in Italy, Spain and Hungary.


Genocide

Raphael Lemkin, who coined the word "
genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the ...
" in the 20th century, referred to the Albigensian Crusade as "one of the most conclusive cases of genocide in religious history". Mark Gregory Pegg wrote, "The Albigensian Crusade ushered genocide into the West by linking divine salvation to mass murder, by making slaughter as loving an act as His sacrifice on the cross."
Robert E. Lerner Robert E. Lerner (born 1940 in New York) is an American medieval historian and professor of history emeritus at Northwestern University. Lerner gained his B.A. at the University of Chicago and his Ph.D. at Princeton in 1964, where he studied wi ...
argued that Pegg's classification of the Albigensian Crusade as a genocide was inappropriate on the grounds that it "was proclaimed against unbelievers ... not against a 'genus' or people; those who joined the crusade had no intention of annihilating the population of southern France ... If Pegg wishes to connect the Albigensian Crusade to modern ethnic slaughter, well—words fail me (as they do him)." Laurence Marvin is not as dismissive as Lerner regarding Pegg's contention that the Albigensian Crusade was a genocide, but he takes issue with Pegg's argument that the Albigensian Crusade formed an important historical precedent for later genocides, including the
Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...
. Kurt Jonassohn and Karin Solveig Björnson describe the Albigensian Crusade as "the first ideological genocide". Kurt Jonassohn and Frank Chalk (who together founded the
Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies The Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (MIGS) is a research institute based at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was founded in 1986 and promotes human rights awareness, in the field of genocide and mass at ...
) include a detailed case study of the Albigensian Crusade in their genocide studies textbook ''The History and Sociology of Genocide: Analyses and Case Studies'', authored by Strayer and Malise Ruthven.


References


Bibliography


Secondary sources

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Primary sources

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Further reading

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External links


Albigensian CrusadeThe paths of Cathars
by the philosopher Yves Maris.
The English website of the castle of Termes, besieged in 1210
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20150810053756/http://bogomilism.eu/Studies/Bugger%20case.html "Traces of the Bogomil Movement in English", Georgi Vassilev. ACADEMIE BULGARE DES SCIENCES. Institut d'etudes balkaniques. Etudes balkaniques, 1994, No 3] {{Authority control Albigensian Crusade, Crusades 13th century in Europe 13th century in France 13th-century crusades Catharism Forced religious conversion History of Catholicism in France Massacres in France Wars involving the Crown of Aragon Genocides in Europe Louis VIII of France Philip II of France eo:Albigensismo#1200