Verfeil (; ) is a commune in the

Haute-Garonne Haute-Garonne (; , ; ''Upper Garonne'') is a department in the southwestern French region of Occitanie. Named after the river Garonne, which flows through the department. Its prefecture and main city is Toulouse, the country's fourth-largest. ...

department in southwestern

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 ...

History

It was an important centre of

Catharism 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 ...

from about 1140 to the mid 13th century.

Bernard of Clairvaux Bernard of Clairvaux, Cistercians, O.Cist. (; 109020 August 1153), venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, Mysticism, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templar, and a major leader in the reform of the Benedictines through the nascent Cistercia ...

preached against heresy at Verfeil in 1145. Sent away without a proper hearing by the seigneurs, he is said to have cursed the town with the words ''Viridefolium, desiccet te Deus!'' ("Verfeil, may God dry you up!") Izarn Neblat, one of those seigneurs, was said by Guillaume de Puylaurens to have lived in his old age in poverty at

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

as a result of this curse; the town's recovery was dated by the faithful to the period 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 ...

, when

Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester ( – 25 June 1218), known as Simon IV (or V) de Montfort and as Simon de Montfort the Elder, was a French nobleman and knight of the early 13th century. He is widely regarded as one of the great militar ...

gave it to bishop Foulques de Toulouse. An important Catholic-Cathar debate was held at Verfeil in 1206. The Catholic side was led by

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

bishop of Osma The Diocese of Osma-Soria () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in northern Spain. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Burgos. Its cathedral ...

, supported by the future

Saint Dominic Saint Dominic, (; 8 August 1170 – 6 August 1221), also known as Dominic de Guzmán (), was a Castilians, Castilian Catholic priest and the founder of the Dominican Order. He is the patron saint of astronomers and natural scientists, and he a ...

; among the Cathars were Pons Jourda and Arnaud Arrufat. In the following 800 years, the history of this rural village was notable in the French Revolution of 1789 and in the Second World War, in 1940-1945.

Population

Monuments

Verfeil (Haute-Garonne) - La mairie.jpg, The town hall Verfeil (Haute-Garonne) - Le château.jpg, The castle Verfeil (Haute-Garonne) - La porte Vaureze.jpg, The Vaureze's Gate Verfeil (Haute-Garonne) - L’église Saint-Blaise.jpg, The church "Saint Blaise" Verfeil (Haute-Garonne) - église Saint-Sernin-des-Rais- vue aérienne.jpg, The church "Saint-Sernin-of-Rais" Verfeil (Haute-Garonne) - Monument aux morts.jpg, War Memorial

References

Communes of Haute-Garonne {{Toulouse-geo-stub

History

Population

Monuments

See also

References