If God is good, why is there evil in the world? The orthodox Church answer was evil existed due to original sin. This was not a persuasive answer to many, including the Cathars. They held a dualist view of god. One was an evil force responsible for creating material things, those items that centered on life on this earth. The other was the God of the New Testament who was the force for good. To be good therefore meant turning one's back on material things and living an aesthetic life, so as to connect with God the Good. Said a 12th century Cathar, 'God is perfect, nothing in the world is perfect, therefore nothing in the world was made by God' (Sumption 48)

Cathars rejected the Old Testament of the Bible and focussed on the New Testament. They saw the Jehovah of the Old Testament as a mean spirited god more associated with Satan than God the Good. They also rejected many of the sacraments, including infant baptism, and the authority of the clergy. They perceived that the clergy was corrupt in terms of lifestyle and exploitation their congregations. Cathars did not believe that there needed to be a priestly intermediary between themselves and God. Threads of Cathar belief questioned the material existence of Jesus, hence his death and resurrection, since these were material manifestations. They also rejected the idea of hell and purgatory.

Cathars developed their own hierarchy and became a significant threat to the power and authority of the Church in Languedoc. There were efforts on the part of the Church to send preachers to rally the faithful and confront the heretics. Dominic, founder of the Dominicans, was one of these. Other orthodox agents continued to try to suppress the heresy, but the sense increasingly grew that it was going to have to be by force rather than intellectual persuasion.

Raymond V, count of Toulouse, saw forceful repression as a useful political tool in his struggle with recalcitrant vassals. He saw that many of his political enemies were also supporters of Cathar heretics, and sought to bring the influence of the church to bear on his behalf. He called for a crusade against the Cathars, a position not embraced by his subjects nor any of his successors (Raymonds VI - VII). Here is a map of Languedoc at the end of the 12th century (Roux-Perino 83).

Raymond V was succeeded by his son Raymond VI who was more sympathetic to the Cathars and antagonistic to the Roman Church. He was excommunicated a number of times during his reign. The key trigger to the Albigensian Crusade happened on his watch when on January 14, 1208 papal legate Peter de Castelnau was assassinated by a member of Raymond's court. In response, Innocent III called for a crusade against Raymond VI and the Cathar heresy. Arnaud Amaury became the papal legate scourge of Languedoc. Amaury formally declared the crusade September 14, 1208 (Sumption 79).

The crusade was essentially an alliance between the Church looking to suppress a heresy and northern French nobles looking to seize new lands for themselves and to enjoy the benefits of crusade indulgences without having to leave France. Initially the French Crown was not involved but ultimately it did become involved and ended up bringing Languedoc under royal control and rule. First round crusaders included several with coinage.

Raymond VI joined the crusaders and the crusade was turned against Raymond-Roger Trencavel, his nephew with whom he was feuding.

The crusade started off very successly from the crusaders point of view. Raymond-Roger Trencavel had not anticipated he would be a crusade target and he had not prepared his cities for siege. The crusaders first turned their attention to Bezier. When the crusaders arrived on July 22, the city refused to surrender. Unexpectedly, they were attacked by the crusaders before the crusader camp was even set up and the crusaders captured the undefended walls. They quickly seized Bezier and slaughtered every one they encountered, including a cathedral full of priests, women and children. They then razed the city and marched on Carcassonne.

The siege of Carcassone started August 1 and was concluded August 15, with the fall of the city. The crusaders made several unsuccessful attacks but were initially repulsed. Finally, Raymond-Roger was given a safe conduct to discuss the surrender of the city but was seized in violation of the agreement. The crusaders realized Carcassonne would better serve them as a fortress rather than as a ruin so kept it intact. The crusaders then chose Simon de Montfort as viscount of Carcassonne, after several more distinguished nobles turned it down. Today Carcassone is a very attractively preserved medieval city, worth a visit.

This was initially the site of three interrelated castles above the village of Lastours. They were controlled by Pierre-Roger, lord of Cabaret. They were besieged in 1209 by Simon de Montfort but successfully resisted. However, they were ultimately destroyed after 1229 and subsequently rebuilt, with a fourth, royal tower added to the site. The site is configured like this:

**

When subsequently pressed some time later, he released Bouchard de Marly. Cabaret became a seat for a Cathar bishop. As a Cathar stronghold Lastours was besieged again in 1227 and negotiated a surrender in 1229. The original castles were destroyed and subsequently rebuilt, with a fourth citadel added by royal command.

Minerve is another site with remarkable geography and a very strong defensive position. The first image on the left gives an over view of the site. This map is from Sumption. Minerve is on a promontory with cliffs on three sides and is connected to the rest of the mesa by a narrow isthmus. This narrow connecting land was fortified. The town is built at the confluence of the Cesse and le Brian. Today the town has a similar layout to what it was in 1210. On the map to the right, #4 marks what is today called the rue de Martyrs, where after the fall of the town the non repentant Cathars walked to their death.

*

When the defenders, led by viscount William of Minerve, asked for terms on July 22, the question was what to do with them, since tradition said a surrendering garrison should be spared but the reason for the siege was to root out heretics. The decision was made that if a person renounced heresy they would be spared. 130 Cathars did not, and were marched out of the city and burned in a massive pyre. This had the ignominious distinction of the first collective burning of the crusade. As near as I can tell in was at the base of the town, in the center foreground of the last picture above.

Termes is SW of Carcassonne in rough country. In the early 12th C Termes was held by Raymond de Termes. He is described in the Historia Albigensis like this: "The lord of this place was a knight named Raymond who as an old man had become given over to a reprobate mind; a manifest heretic who (to describe his evil nature in a few words) feared not God neither regarded man."  Naturally, this was written from the crusaders perspective. Sumption, more neutrally, describes him as "an aged, hardened man cut in the mold of Pierre-Roger de Cabaret, and in his time he had fought both the counts of Toulouse and the Trencavels. He had no intention of making his peace with Simon de Montfort."  Raymond anticipated the siege and laid in supplies and troops. He was in a strong position. His chateau was on top of a peak in a very defensible position, as is evident from these two pictures. The sketch shows the layout of the ruins today.

**

Simon started the siege in the middle of August with a modest force but this was augmented as new crusaders came into the area. Several of them had coinage.

Billon denier, 19mm, .93gr. Obv: WILELM COIES, central PONTIV in field in two lines. Rev: +ABBATIS VILLE, central cross, two besants. Mint is Abbeyville. R 3931v; Boud 1928+v (he says CONS, besants align differently); PdA 6703v. This type is modeled on the denier parisis. This particular coin is not specifically identified in any of these sources. It reads COIES rather than CONS and similar. On the reverse the besants are aligned in different opposing quadrants from the sources.  It is interesting to note that William's coat of arms is the same as Eudes III of Burgundy. He married into the family and apparently adopted their arms.

Beauvais, Evêché, AR denier, Droit : [+ PHI]LIPPVS EPC Croix cantonnée de deux globules. Revers : + BE[LVACEN]SIS Monogramme carolin. Ref.: B., -; P.A., -. 0,92g. Très Rare.

As more crusader troops arrived, the siege looked increasingly like it would be successful. The crusaders had siege engines, with which they bombarded the castle, but in this case, so also did the defenders have siege engines, so there was back and forth bombardment. This was a fairly uncommon event. There is avery good contemporary description of the siege in a translation of the Historia Albigensis, found on the chateau-termes.com web site. I made a copy, this link, to preserve it in case the initial link disappears. While Raymond was defending his chateau, he received aid from Pierre-Roger of Cabaret who preyed on small groups of crusaders. From His.Al.  "Meanwhile the mere of Cabaret, the chief and most cruel enemies of the Christian religion at that time, patrolled the public roads near Termes night and day and whenever they came across any of our men either condemned them to a shameful death or, to show their contempt for God and our side, most cruelly put out their eyes and cut off their noses and other members, and sent them back to the army."

The defenders, meanwhile, were running out of water, a common problem for high besieged fortifications. Raymond sought to negotiate a temporary surrender (he'd reclaim it in the spring). This almost came to pass, but a deluge caused Raymond to be able to replenish his water supply and reconsider his surrender offer. At this point, towards the end of the fighting season, Dreux and Ponthieu withdrew, as did other northerners. However, by November, fresh troops from Lorraine and Germany arrived to continue the siege. In the face of the walls imminently being broached by sappers, on November 22 the garrison tried to escape. Most managed to get away, but Raymond was captured and ended his days in a dungeon in Carcassone.

William Tudela, author of Songs of the Cathar Wars offers another explanation for Termes' fall. He links it to the rain that forestalled the initial surrender: "....there was a heavy downpour of rain which caused a great flood, and this led to their defeat. They put quantities of this rainwater into butts and barrels and used it to knead and cook with. So violent a dysentery seized them that the sufferers could not tell where they were. They all agreed to flee away rather than die like this, unconfessed." This document is also taken from the chateau-termes.com web site, and offers another interesting account of the siege.

Termes became one of the cinq fils of Carcassone in the defense against Spain in the later 13th C.

Simon de Montfort took possession of Arques after the siege and fall of Termes. Arques was a territorial possession of Raymond of Termes. Montfort destroyed the chateau and village. The territory subsequently passed to Louis IX and then, from him to Pierre de Voisons, a crusader with Simon de Montfort . This donjon was built by one of Pierre's descendants, Gilles I de Voisons, and started about 1280. Arques is south of Carcassone. This is a very nice example of a 13th C donjon.

Nov. 1210: Siege and Fall of Chateau de Puivert.

This small fortification was held by Bernard de Congost, a Cathar sympathizer. It was besieged by Simon de Montfort and a force of 6000 men. It fell after a three day siege but the defending force and people taking refuge in the chateau were able to escape via a subterranean tunnel that allowed them to reach the nearby forest. Bernard de Congost died at Montsegur in 1232. His daughter, who became a Cathar 'Perfect' in 1240, died at Montsegur March 16, 1244, one of the 200 Cathars burned that day. The plan of the chateau shows the cistern within the walls but this is not as defensible a site as Termes or Minerve. The donjon is nicely restored. Before all the Albigensian unpleasantness Eleanor of Aquitaine had stayed here in 1199 and there was a troubadour contest in her honor.

**

1211: Simon's crusading efforts were often sporadic. He had to rely on crusaders who committed for just 40 days, and then left the field and Languedoc. This meant he often lost troops at critical points in a siege. For example, Tibald, count of Bar joined Montfort and wanted to besiege Toulouse. However, a brief two week siege ending June 29 was unsuccessful and lost Simon the sympathy of the Catholics in Toulouse. The count of Bar returned north after his 40 days of service. In 1211 Peter de Courtenay also was crusading with Montfort. Simon did not have it all his way. Later in the year Gaston de Bearn joined Raymond VI in a counter attack on Simon's holdings, after the departure of his northern allies.

Simon arrived at Moissac August 14 and it fell to him September 8 after a brief siege. Moissac was strategically important in that it covered one of the northern approaches to Toulouse. After Simon's death it was retaken by Toulouse. As a result of Raymond VII's capitulation to Louis IX in 1229 he owed reparations to the abbot of St. Pierre for damage done in the reconquest. History has not been kind to the Abbey of St. Pierre (pictured below). In the 19th century a rail line was cut thought the abbey grounds, fortunately sparing the church and cloister, but destroying many of the other buildings. The cloister dates from the 11th and 12th centuries.

**

AR denero, .95gr. 18mm. Obv: PE TR RE X, central cross with four besants. Rev: BARCIHONA, central cross. Crusafont (1992) 300, Crus (1982) 144,  Burgos 852, C&C (1992) 1731.

In 1212 Peter had been successful in Spain at the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa where he defeated a Moorish army. This won him accolades from the Church. However, this changed the following year. In 1213 he crossed the Pyrenees as an ally of Raymond VI because Simon was attacking lands of the count of Foix and others who were Peter's vassals. Peter and Raymond planned to meet the crusader army south of Toulouse, at Muret.

Muret is on the Garonne, a two hour horse ride from Toulouse. The battle field was just west of Muret, between the Garonne and the small Saudrune river. The Toulouse militia had established a siege of Muret and were just outside the town. Peter had established his position NW of Muret, between the Saudrune and the Garonne. These two maps show the action. The first is from Sumption (168) and shows the disposition of the forces. The second from Roux-Perino (p181) shows the course of the action.

At Muret Raymond and Peter could not agree on a common strategy. Raymond wanted to take a defensive posture and Peter an aggressive one. Their camps were not together. While Raymond was acting defensively, Peter decided to attack and joined his calvary in the front line, a risky strategy since if he fell, his troops would collapse without leadership. Peter arranged his force in three groups, the first led by the count of Foix while he led the second himself. He was well protected between the Saudrune and a marsh.

At this point there is discrepancy in the accounts of the battle. Roux-Perino gives the first action to Peter's troops, who moved in a disorganized attack on the crusaders. The crusaders feigned a withdrawal and the count of Foix pressed the attack. The crusaders turned and were shocked by the impact of the Spanish charge. Montfort sent his second corps into battle and Peter also joined the fight. Peter, who was not wearing his own armor, was attacked and shouted he was the king - do not kill him, but it was too late. He fell to a lance and was killed. Sumption gives first action to the crusaders who charged the disorganized Aragonese line and pushed it back onto the second corps, at which point Peter became engaged, and killed. When word of his death spread, his army fled and it turned into a rout. This phase of the battle lasted about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, the Toulousain forces were besieging the town and weren't aware of the outcome of the battle. The crusaders turned on them and caught them in a pincer, between the mounted forces of Montfort and the defenders of the town. The crusaders routed them, forcing Raymond to flee to Toulouse.

Casualties ran to the thousands on the side of Toulouse and were minimal on the side of the crusaders. From Peter's perspective, his great fault was placing himself in a combat position and not in the reserve, where he could direct the battle. Wearing another's armor also would have made it difficult for his close guard to rally to and protect him, since he wasn't clearly identified. Likewise, in that armor he was not a ransom target but a knight to be killed. Montfort tended to place himself in reserve, where he could rally troops and direct the action when necessary.

Today the battlefield is an industrial area between an autoroute and commercial activity. There is no sense of what it was like in the 13th century. There is, however, a monument - actually two monuments, to the battle on a traffic circle just north of Muret. When I visited I had a coin of Peter II in my hand, making for a nice instance of physio-temporal asynchroneity.

**

1214: To this stage of the conflict, Philip II had taken  a fairly hands off approach. He was primarily concerned with threats from John of England and his continental allies, including Otto IV. He gave limited permission for his vassals to join the crusade but didn't show much royal interest in the venture. This changed after the battle of Bouvines where Philip Augustus defeated Otto IV HRE which relieved pressure on France and allowed the king to take a greater interest in the fighting in Languedoc. Later in the decade the royals became more involved in the fighting.

1215: The Council of Rome recognized Simon's conquests in Languedoc, essentially refuting Raymond VI as count of Toulouse and sent him to exile and recognized his son, Raymond VII as the legitimate count of Toulouse.

Najac is located to the NE of Toulouse, in the hills of the Aveyron. It was an old fortified site and played a role in the various Angevin conflicts with France. For example, before he was king, Richard came to Najac in 1185 and signed a treaty of alliance with Alphonse of Aragon against Toulouse. The fortress fell to Simon but I don't find much of a description of a siege or other fighting. Najac is built on a ridge, with the fortress at one end. The fortification today is larger than in 1216, since the curtain wall was subsequently raised. Najac and the Aveyron are very nice areas to visit.

**

1216: Recapture of Beaucaire

There was a fairly continuous exchange of territory during this time. New leadership emerged for Toulouse. Raymond VI's son, called Raymond the Younger, brought troops into the field. One of his early successes in the counter attack was the siege and capture of Beaucaire after a four month siege. Here is the castle as it looks today. It is on the Rhone and a major access point to Languedoc.

In the same year Simon seized Toulouse and aroused the ire of its citizens. The capture and holding of Toulouse, the capital of Languedoc, was seen as key to the long run control of the province. Simon's control, however, was short lived.

Foix is located in a somewhat remote narrow valley in the Pyrenees. The castle overlooks the town and has been built on over the ages which gives it an unusual profile, with three towers of different styles. In 1217 Simon seized Foix, even though the pope had declared Raymond-Roger, the count of Foix, orthodox and the count was trying to avoid antagonizing Simon. This was something of a tactical success but strategic failure for Simon. The seizure of his capital turned the count, an effective military leader into an active ally of Raymond and against Simon. This was to be about the last of Simon's successes.

This was a newer fortification and first mentioned in 1217 and was allied with Simon de Montfort. Pierre Catala was the first chatelain. Pierre was a witness to a document allying Guillaume de Peyrepertuse to Montfort. where Peyrepertuse promised Simon "... de le servir fidelement sur cette frontiere, en presence et sous caution d'Aymeri, viscomte de Narbonne, dont il etait l'homme lige..." However, this changed and in 1226 Guillaume de Peyrepertuse, who then commanded Puilaurens, was excommunicated by the bishop of Narbonne for siding with the Cathars. Several Cathars took refuge at the chateau through the 1240s. It passed into royal hands about 1250, date uncertain. The transfer appears to have been peaceful and not as the result of siege and capture. It became a border fortification against Spain. The border was established by the Treaty of Corbeil in 1258. Puilaurens is in the Pyrenees, south of Quillan, east of Foix. The ruin is accessible by a 15 - 20 minute climb from parking.

**

1217-18: Siege of Toulouse and Death of Simon de Montfort.

On September 13 Raymond VI invaded Languedoc and surreptitiously moved to and seized Toulouse from the unprepared forces of Simon. Raymond was accompanied by Roger-Bernard, the count of Foix's son, the count of Comminges and other vassals. He entered the city through the neighborhood of St. Sernin. One of his first acts was to repair the walls and refortify the city, which had been damaged in Simon's recent invasion. He was reinforced by the arrival of the count of Foix. In June 1218 Raymond the Younger arrived with more troops. One of the most attractive buildings in Toulouse today dates from the 11th and 12th centuries. It is the Romanesque basilica of Saint Sernin. Here is an exterior view, and a view of the nave.

*

Simon's death effectively ended the siege, and signaled the unraveling of his nascent kingdom. Simon's son Amaury inherited his lands but not his leadership skills or drive. The major player in the conflict would now become the French crown. To try to retrieve the situation, Pope Honorius III called a new crusade. Leadership was offered to Thibault IV count of  Champagne.

Philip II  became concerned Thibaut would become too powerful and ordered his son, the future Louis VIII to lead the crusade, finally involving the crown in the southern war. In 1219 Louis arrived and besieged Toulouse but after 45 days abandoned the siege and returned north. He was a reluctant crusader to begin with and the cost of the siege were growing.

1222: Raymond VI died. He was succeeded by his son who ruled as Raymond VII.

Cordes was founded by Raymond VII of Toulouse in 1222 for the defense of his diminished lands. At the time of its founding, the site was unoccupied and the access difficult. The difficulty of access offered strong defensive capabilities. The city was walled, with a newer city spread out at its base. The original city is most evident in the first picture. It is still accessed via a series of medieval gates.

1223: Philip Augustus died and was succeeded by his son who ruled as Louis VIII.

1224: Simon de Montfort's death was matched by a resurgence of successful southern military activity. Carcassone surrendered to Toulouse by treaty with Amaury, as did Minerve and other cities. The southerners regained what they had previously lost.

1226: Raymond VII continued to have problems with the Church and was excommunicated again. Amaury de Montfort, not having effective control over the lands his father conquered, signed over his rights to Louis VII and Louis decided to invade the south and seize these lands for the crown. This is less a crusade than a royal invasion, although the invaders got crusader dispensations. The counts of Brittany (Pierre Mauclerc) and Champagne (Thibaut IV) were part of this land seizure but their role was minimal, arriving late and leaving early. (Sumption 216). Louis besieged Avignon and it surrendered September 9. Other cities in the south committed to Louis and abandoned Raymond VII. Louis died November 8 and was succeeded by his son, 12 year old Louis IX.

1229: Raymond VII was unable to militarily resist royal pressure. He finally submitted to an onerous set of terms, effectively ending the military phase of the Albigensian crusade. The Treaty of Paris and Meaux was signed April 12, 1229 and resulted in the complete defeat of Raymond VII. Blanche of Castile, Louis IX's regent, was the principle driver in coming to an agreement. Of the 32 provisions in the treaty, 31 required actions on Raymond's part. Raymond had to fight heresy, give up many of his lands (although he kept Toulouse), identify his daughter as his sole heir and marry her to one of the king's brothers, with the intention that on her death the inheritance would pass to the crown. He had to found a university in Toulouse to fight heresy and was supposed to go on crusade in the holy lands. The treaty was widely criticized in the south as too unfair. Both the Church and crown were targets of this criticism. Roux-Perino (233) quotes troubadour Guilhem Figueira: "Rome, your felony is so great/About God and his saints no one cares/Your reign is damned/ Rome is false and perjured/It's through you melts/sickens and merges/All join down here. With what outrageousness/Do you overwhelm Raymond!"

1229: Church authorities wasted no time in attacking Cathar heretics. The Convent of the Jacobins in Toulouse was founded as the home for the Dominican Inquisition, the movement to root out heresy in Languedoc. The Inquisition was ultimately successful and Catharism was to die in Languedoc.

**

 1240: Peyrepertuse

Peyrepertuse had been an occupied site going back to Roman times. The first mention of a fortification is in the 11th C. The dramatically sited Peyrepertuse never fell to siege during the Albigensian crusade. This fortress in the Pyrenees is built on a narrow mountain top and is actually several distinct defensive positions. In the first picture you can see an upper keep close to the summit, with the bas-chateau laid out below. The next picture is a view of the lower chateau from San Jordi (the upper keep). To the right is the escalier de St. Louis, the staircase Louis IX had built to get easier access to San Jordi. The last picture is from below, looking up at the chateau.

**

Aguilar is mentioned in the 11th century in the will of Bernard Taillefer as being on the frontier of the counts of Narbonne and Roussillon. At the time it owed its allegiance ultimately to Aragon. By the early 13th century it belonged to Termes and when Termes fell it passed to Simon de Montfort, who gave it to Alain de Roucy. After Simon's death and the reconquest of Languedoc it was held by Oliver de Termes (who we will see in 1255 besieged Queribus on behalf of the king). In 1241 it passed to the king as part of the royal conquest of Languedoc. Louis IX returned it to Oliver de Termes based on his performance in the Holy Lands, but it once again returned to the king to settle Termes' debts. It became one of the five sons of Carcassonne to defend the French-Spanish border established by the Treaty of Corbeil in 1258. Aguilar is not as dramatically situated as other fortifications. It is on a hill today surrounded by vines. It seems to have changed ownership as a result of agreement rather than as a result of being besieged.

**

*

1243: Montsegur

This very isolated chateau was refortified at Cathar request in 1204 as an anticipated refuge for Cathars. It is perched on a 'pog,' a high, bare mountain top with commanding views of the surrounding territory, as is evident in these images.

*

The fortification that is there today was reconstructed in the 13th C, after the siege. There is a tower at one end with, today, a large open interior space. At the time of the siege this space was built up with houses and storage areas. The picture on the lower left has a person near the entry gate, to give a sense of the scale of the walls.

*

Finally on March 16, 1244 Montsegur fell. 200 Cathars were burnt at the stake and the citadel leveled. It was rebuilt at the end of the 13th C.

The bishop of Albi joined the siege. While this coin catalogues as counts or viscounts of Albi, Poey d'Avant notes "les monnaies frappes par suite de l'association de l'eveque d"Albi, du comte de Toulouse et de Sicard, son ministre. Il faut donc les placer dans la premier motie du XIII siecle." Therefore, this is likely joint coinage.

AR denier, 19mm, .925gr. Obv: IWVIVWC, retrograde C, central cross. Rev: AM-M-CI, central monogram. Mint is Albi. R4253; Boud 774v; PdA 3898; Dup 1180.

1249: When Raymond VII died, his surviving lands passed to his daughter Joan and her husband Alphonse, brother of Louis IX.

Alphonse of France (1249-1271)

Both Alphonse and his wife Joan died in 1271. On their deaths, Languedoc passed Louis IX.

AR gros tournois, 25mm, 4.03gr. Obv: +LUDOVICVS REX, inner circle. SIT NOMEN etc. outer circle, central cross. Rev: +TVRONVS CIVIS, central chattel tournois. Mint is Tours. Dy 190; C 181.

On May 15, 1252 Pope Innocent IV promulgated this bull that permitted the use of torture to extort confessions from heretics. It was finally repealed in 1816. Sometimes this is spelled 'extirpanda.' From wikipedia: "The following parameters were placed on the use of torture (in this bull):

    * that it did not cause loss of life or limb (citra membri diminutionem et mortis periculum)
    * that it was used only once
    * that the Inquisitor deemed the evidence against the accused to be virtually certain.

The requirement that torture only be used once was effectively meaningless in practice as it was interpreted as authorizing torture with each new piece of evidence that was produced and by considering most practices to be a continuation (rather than repetition) of the torture session (non ad modum iterationis sed continuationis)"

In 1258 Queribus became one of the five sons of Carcassone when the French-Spanish border was temporarily settled by the Treaty of Corbeil. It was rebuilt at the end of the 13th and into the 14th century.

The Chateau de Villerouge Termenes dates from the 12th C and passed back and forth between secular and religious hands, particularly the bishop of Narbonne. The chateau was seized at one point by by Simon de Montfort and given to one of his vassals, Alain de Roucy. Its major Cathar link dates from 1321, when Guillaume Belibaste, last of the Perfects of the Cathars, was burned at a stake here.

In conclusion, it is interesting to note that while this event in history is called the Albigensian crusade, the city of Albi itself was always a center of orthodoxy. In 1145 when Bernard was in Languedoc preaching against the heresy, his reception in Toulouse was very cold, but he was welcomed in Albi. However, Sumption (57) notes "In the southern half of the diocese of Albi dualists were sufficiently numerous for crusaders to apply the name 'Albigensians' indiscriminately to all heretics in the south." At the end of the 13th century (actually 1282) the bishop of Albi started construction on a massive cathedral that looks as much like a fortress as a church. It was to be a symbol of church power and meant to be a bulwark against heresy. The cathedral of Ste Cecile is a rosy brick that has grown on my over the years.

Principles sources

Cowper, M., Cathar Castles, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2006

Roux-Perino, J., The Cathars, MSM, Vic-en-Bigorre, France, 2006

Sumption, J. The Albigensian Crusade, Faber and Faber, London, 1978

Most images are from postcards or my pictures.

Secondary Sources

Barbut, F., Cordes sur Ciel, Editions Ouest-France, 2001

Baro, G, Le Chateau d'Aguilar: Guide du Visiteur, Archeologie de Midi Medieval, 2008

Bayrou, L., Le Chateau de d'Arques: Guide du Visiteur, Archeologie de Midi Medieval, 1988

Bayrou, L., Le Chateau de Termes: Guide du Visiteur, Archeologie de Midi Medieval, 1988

Bayrou, L., Le Chateau de Villerouge Termenes: Guide du Visiteur, Archeologie de Midi Medieval, 1988

Burjade, M et F and Bayrou, L., Le Chateau de Peyrepertuse: Guide du Visiteur, Archeologie de Midi Medieval, 2005/6

Durliat, M., L'Abbey de Caunes: Guide du Visiteur, Archeologie de Midi Medieval, 1987

Gardel, M-E., Les Chateaux de Lastours: Guide du Visiteur, Archeologie de Midi Medieval, 2005/6

Gau, M et J-B., Le Chateau de Queribus: Guide du Visiteur, Archeologie de Midi Medieval, 2004

Maurau, F., The Fortress of Najac, Association Les Defenseurs de la Fortress de Najac, Najac, 2007

Peyrou, J. and Henry-Claude, M., Montsegur: Last Refuge, Last Rampart of the Catharist Church, Fragile, undated

Tisseyre, J., Le Chateau de Puivert: Guide des Ruines, Archeologie de Midi Medieval, 1982

Various other pamphlet site guides