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The Château de Montségur (English: Castle of Montsegur;
Languedocien Languedocien (French name, ), Languedocian, or Lengadocian () is an Occitan language, Occitan dialect spoken in rural parts of southern France such as Languedoc, Rouergue, Quercy, Agenais and southern Périgord. It is sometimes also called Lang ...
: ) is a former
fortress A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from L ...
near Montségur, a commune in the Ariège department in southern
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. Its ruins are the site of a razed stronghold of the
Cathar Catharism ( ; from the , "the pure ones") was a Christian quasi- dualist and pseudo-Gnostic movement which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France, between the 12th and 14th centuries. Denounced as a he ...
s. The present fortress on the site, though described as one of the " Cathar castles," is actually of a later period. It has been listed as a by the
French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture () is the ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of France in charge of List of museums in France, national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and pro ...
since 1862.


Geography

The ruins of Montségur are perched at a precarious altitude in the south of France near the
Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...
. Located in the heart of France's
Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (, , ; ) 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 . History ...
- Occitanie regions, southwest of
Carcassonne Carcassonne is a French defensive wall, fortified city in the Departments of France, department of Aude, Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. It is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the department. ...
, Montségur dominates a rock formation known as a ''pog'' — a term derived from the
Languedocien dialect Languedocien (French name, ), Languedocian, or Lengadocian () is an Occitan dialect spoken in rural parts of southern France such as Languedoc, Rouergue, Quercy, Agenais and southern Périgord. It is sometimes also called Languedocien-Guye ...
of
Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language, spoken in parts o ...
''puòg'' or ''puèg'', meaning "peak, hill, mountain." The top of the ruin is reached by a path and is 170 m above the road.


History

The earliest signs of human settlement in the area date back to the Stone Age. Evidence of Roman occupation such as
Roman currency Roman currency for most of Roman history consisted of gold, silver, bronze, orichalcum#Numismatics, orichalcum and copper coinage. From its introduction during the Roman Republic, Republic, in the third century BC, through Roman Empire, Imperial ...
and tools have also been found in and around the site. The name comes from
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
, which evolved into in
Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language, spoken in parts o ...
, which means "safe hill". In the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
the Montsegur region was ruled by the
Counts of Toulouse The count of Toulouse (, ) was the ruler of county of Toulouse, Toulouse during the 8th to 13th centuries. Originating as vassals of the kingdom of the Franks, Frankish kings, the hereditary counts ruled the city of Toulouse and its surrounding ...
, the Viscounts of
Carcassonne Carcassonne is a French defensive wall, fortified city in the Departments of France, department of Aude, Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. It is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the department. ...
and finally the
Counts of Foix The Count of Foix ruled the 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 to Pau, Pyré ...
. Little is known about the fortification until the time of the
Albigensian Crusade The Albigensian Crusade (), also known as the Cathar Crusade (1209–1229), was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, what is now southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted pri ...
.


Cathar castle

In about 1204,
Raymond de Péreille Raymond de Péreille (Catalan: Ramon de Perella, Occitan: Raimon de Perelha) was an Occitans, Occitan nobleman who was the lord of the Château de Montségur. Born about 1186, he rebuilt the destroyed castle after 1204. He married in 1222 and res ...
, one of the two lords of Montségur, the other being his cousin Pierre-Roger de Mirepoix, decided to rebuild the castle that had been in ruins for 40 years or more. Refortified, the castle became a center of Cathar activities, and home to Guilhabert de Castres, a Cathar theologian and bishop. In 1233 the site became "the seat and head" () of the Cathar church. It has been estimated that the fortified site housed about 500 people when in 1241, Raymond VII besieged Montsegur without success. The murder of representatives of the inquisition by about fifty men from Montsegur and faidits at
Avignonet Avignonet () is a commune in the Isère department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-eastern France. Geography Avignonet is located some 25 km south of Grenoble and 8 km north of Monestier-de-Clermont. Access to the commu ...
on May 28, 1242, was the trigger for the final military expedition to conquer the castle, the siege of Montségur. In 1242 Hugues de Arcis led the military command of about 10,000 royal troops against the castle that was held by about 100 fighters and was home to 211 Perfects (who were
pacifist Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ''a ...
s and did not fight) and civilian refugees. The siege lasted nine months, until in March 1244, the castle finally surrendered. Approximately 220 Cathars were burned en masse in a bonfire at the foot of the pog when they refused to renounce their faith. Some 25 actually took the ultimate Cathar vow of in the two weeks before the final surrender. Those who renounced the Cathar faith were allowed to leave and the castle itself was destroyed. In the days prior to the fall of the fortress, several Cathars allegedly slipped through the besiegers' lines. This led to legends that they escaped with a secret treasure or esoteric knowledge. In 1906, esoteric French writer Joséphin Péladan proposed that the treasure was really the
Holy Grail The Holy Grail (, , , ) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miraculous healing powers, sometimes providing eternal youth or sustenanc ...
, arguing that Montségur was the Munsalväsche (or Montsalvat) of
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. Ther ...
's 13th-century Grail romance ''
Parzival ''Parzival'' () is a medieval chivalric romance by the poet and knight Wolfram von Eschenbach in Middle High German. The poem, commonly dated to the first quarter of the 13th century, centers on the Arthurian hero Parzival (Percival in English) ...
''. This idea was followed and expanded upon by various later writers, especially in France, and has inspired legends, conspiracy theories, and fictional works associating the Cathars and Montségur with the Holy Grail.


The later fortress

The present fortress ruin at Montségur is not from the Cathar era. The original Cathar fortress of Montségur was entirely pulled down by the victorious royal forces after its capture in 1244. It was gradually rebuilt and upgraded over the next three centuries by royal forces. The current ruin so dramatically occupying the site, and featured in illustrations, is referred to by French archeologists as "Montsegur III" and is typical of post-medieval royal French defensive architecture of the 17th century. It is not "Montsegur II," the structure in which the Cathars lived and were besieged, of which few traces remain today. Montségur's solar alignment characteristics, visible on the morning of the summer solstice in particular, are part of what set this castle apart as an architectural wonder. This often mentioned solar phenomenon, occurring in an alignment of two windows in the fortress wall, has been observed by hundreds of students, astronomers, spiritual pilgrims and locals alike who come to the chateau specifically to view it every year and has been recorded and included in the documentary "The Otherworld," (by Richard Stanley) in 2013. The Groupe de Recherches Archéologiques de Montségur et Environs (GRAME) (Archeological Research Group of Montsegur and Vicinity), which conducted a 13-year archeological excavation of Montségur with minimal funds and the technology available at the time in 1964–76, concluded in its final report, which was not widely published, is not viewed as solid archeological research, and is hotly disputed by many, that:
There remains no trace within the present-day ruins, neither of the first fortress which was abandoned before the 13th century (Montsegur I), nor of the one which was built by Raymond de Péreille around 1210 (Montsegur II)..." (''Il ne reste aucune trace dans les ruines actuelles ni du premier château qui était à l'abandon au début du XIIIe siècle (Montségur I), ni de celui que construisit Raimon de Pereilles vers 1210 (Montségur II)...'')
This small quote is all that can be found of this study, and no other study has been done. Despite its questionable veracity and ethics, it has been repeated and quoted in virtually every document to be found on the subject. The small ruins of the terraced dwellings, immediately outside the perimeter of the current fortress walls on the north-eastern flank are, however, confirmed to be traces of authentic former Cathar habitations.


Gallery

image:Kasteel van Montségur.jpg image:Het Kasteel van Montségur.jpg image:Kasteel van Montségur (vermoedelijk kapel).jpg image:Kasteel van Montségur frankrijk.jpg image:Uitzicht vanop Kasteel van Montségur.jpg image:Uitzicht vanop Kasteel van Montségur 1.jpg image:Uitzicht vanop Kasteel van Montségur 2.jpg image:Uitzicht vanop Kasteel van Montségur 3.jpg


Media

*
Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...
published a song titled "Montségur", about the Catholics' stakes of Cathars, on their 2003 album ''
Dance of Death The ''Danse Macabre'' (; ), also called the Dance of Death, is an artistic genre of allegory from the Late Middle Ages on the universality of death. The ''Danse Macabre'' consists of the dead, or a personification of death, summoning represen ...
''. * German thrash metal band Paradox's album ''
Heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Heresy in Christian ...
'' deals with the persecution of the Cathars. * Belgian symphonic black metal band,
Lemuria Lemuria (), or Limuria, was a continent proposed in 1864 by zoologist Philip Sclater, theorized to have sunk beneath the Indian Ocean, later appropriated by occultists in supposed accounts of human origins. The theory was discredited with the dis ...
, also released a 2010 album, Chanson de la Croisade, dealing with Cathars persecution in the
Albigensian Crusade The Albigensian Crusade (), also known as the Cathar Crusade (1209–1229), was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, what is now southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted pri ...
s. * The
Era An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...
albums allude to the history of the Cathars, and the first album mentions Montségur on its cover. * In Peter Berling's pentalogy ''The Children of the Grail'' and in Julia Navarro's ''La sangre de los inocentes'', the siege of Montségur is described. * Maurice Magre's novels «The Blood of Toulouse» and «The Treasure of the Albigensians» center around the history of Catharism and the siege of Montségur. * The (1849–1856) series of historical novels by
Eugène Sue Marie-Joseph "Eugène" Sue (; 26 January 18043 August 1857) was a French novelist. He was one of several authors who popularized the genre of the serial novel in France with his very popular and widely imitated '' The Mysteries of Paris'', whi ...
, features a historical novel about the persecution of the Cathars at Montségur. This story was later translated into English as ''The Iron Pincers''. * In Dan McNeil's novel ''The Judas Apocalypse'', set just after the landings at Normandy during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, a German archaeologist and a group of American soldiers go looking for the Cathar treasure that was removed from Montségur. * Sylvie Miller & Philippe Ward's novel ''The Song of Montségur'' (, 2001) pits the
Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
against an ancient secret society of
Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
looking for the
Holy Grail The Holy Grail (, , , ) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miraculous healing powers, sometimes providing eternal youth or sustenanc ...
in Montségur. * Kathleen McGowan's novel "The Expected One" incorporates the story of the Siege of Montsegur in the telling of
Cathar Catharism ( ; from the , "the pure ones") was a Christian quasi- dualist and pseudo-Gnostic movement which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France, between the 12th and 14th centuries. Denounced as a he ...
history. *
Robert Shea Robert Joseph Shea (February 14, 1933 – March 10, 1994) was an American novelist and former journalist best known as co-author with Robert Anton Wilson of the science fantasy trilogy '' Illuminatus!'' It became a cult success and was later turn ...
's 1986 novel, '' All Things Are Lights'' features the siege of Montségur as part of its narrative. * Sophy Burnham's novel, ''The Treasure of Montségur'' (2003) focuses on the siege of the castle. *
Kate Mosse Katherine Louise Mosse (born 1961) is a British novelist, non-fiction and short story writer and broadcaster. She is best known for her 2005 novel ''Labyrinth'', which has been translated into more than 37 languages. She co-founded in 1996 th ...
's novel, ''
Labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth () is an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the h ...
'' (2005) also describes the besieging of the Cathars at Montségur and explains some aspects of the connection between the Cathars and the Grail legend. * E. D. deBirmingham's novel, Siege Perilous, revolves around the Siege of Montsegur in a somewhat alternate/magical history. * Richard Stanley's documentaries, '' The Secret Glory'' (2001) and ''The Otherworld'' (2013) detail the neo-Cathar revival of the nineteen twenties and thirties, its ramifications in the present day and the mythic connections between Montségur and the Grail. * ''The Casket of Maria Medici'', 1980, Detective film based on Cathar treasures legend.


See also

*
Albigensian Crusade The Albigensian Crusade (), also known as the Cathar Crusade (1209–1229), was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, what is now southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted pri ...
* Cathar castles *
Cathars Catharism ( ; from the , "the pure ones") was a Christian quasi- dualist and pseudo-Gnostic movement which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France, between the 12th and 14th centuries. Denounced as a he ...
*
Otto Rahn Otto Wilhelm Rahn (18 February 1904 – 13 March 1939) was a German medievalist, Ariosophist, and SS officer who researched Holy Grail myths. Early life and work Rahn was born on 18 February 1904 to Karl and Clara (née Hamburger) in M ...
*
List of castles in France This is a list of castles in France, arranged by Regions of France, region and Departments of France, department. ;Notes: # The French word ''château'' has a wider meaning than the English ''castle'': it includes architectural entities that are p ...
*
List of medieval bridges in France A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, bu ...
*
Communes of the Ariège department The following is a list of the 325 communes of the Ariège department of France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French ...


References


External links

*
Photos of Montsegur



The paths of Cathars
by the philosopher Yves Maris.
''The Trail of Gnosis'' by Judith Mann
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montsegur, Chateau de Castles in Ariège Monuments historiques of Ariège (department) Catharism Massacres in France