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Albigensian Crusade

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Pre 1900 Military;
Religious disputes

                                     Crusades
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   The Albigensian Crusade or Cathar Crusade ( 1209 - 1229) was a 20-year
   military campaign initiated by the Roman Catholic Church to eliminate
   the religion practiced by the Cathars of Languedoc, which the Roman
   Catholic hierarchy considered apostasy. It is historically significant
   for a number of reasons: the violence inflicted was extreme even by
   medieval standards; the church offered legally sanctioned dominion over
   conquered lands to northern French nobles and the King of France,
   acting as essentially Catholic mercenaries, who then acquired regions
   for France which at the time had closer cultural and language ties to
   Catalonia (see Occitan); finally, the Albigensian Crusade had a role in
   the creation and institutionalization of both the Dominican Order and
   the Medieval Inquisition.

Origin

   The Catholic Church had always dealt vigorously with strands of
   Christianity that it considered heretical, but prior to the 12th
   century these groups were organized in small numbers such as wayward
   street preachers or small localized sects. The Cathars of the Languedoc
   represented an alternative and popular mass movement, a phenomenon that
   the Roman Church had not seen for almost 900 years since Arianism and
   Marcionism in the early days of Christianity. In the twelfth century
   much of what is now Southern France was converting to Catharism, and
   the belief was spreading to other areas. Catharism, along with other
   religious movements of the period such as the Waldensians, appeared in
   cities and towns of newly urbanized areas. Although Cathar ideas had
   not originated in the Languedoc, one of the most urbanized and
   populated areas of Europe at the time, it was there that their theology
   found spectacular success.

   The Cathars were especially numerous in what is now western
   Mediterranean France, then part of the Catalan-Aragonese Confederation
   or the Kingdom of Aragon. They were also called Albigensians, after the
   city of Albi; there are at least two plausible explanations of this
   fact - first, simply because of the movement's presence in and around
   the city, and second, that the name stems from a Church Council held
   near the city in 1176 which, after considering the Cathar doctrine,
   declared it to be a heresy. Political control in Languedoc was divided
   amongst many local lords and town councils. Before the crusade, there
   was little oppression in the area and a fairly advanced cultural level.

   When he came to power in 1198, Pope Innocent III was determined to
   suppress the Cathars. At first he tried peaceful conversion; however
   priests sent in to convert the Albigensians met with little success.
   The Cathars were protected by local nobles, and also by bishops who
   resented papal authority. In 1204 the pope suspended the authority of
   the bishops in the south of France, appointing papal legates. In 1206
   the Pope sought support for action from the nobles of Languedoc.
   Noblemen who protected the Cathars were excommunicated.

   The powerful count Raymond VI of Toulouse refused to assist and was
   excommunicated in May, 1207. The Pope called upon the French king,
   Philippe II, to act against those nobles who permitted Catharism, but
   Philippe declined to act. Count Raymond met with the papal legate,
   Pierre de Castelnau, in January 1208, and after an angry meeting,
   Pierre de Castelnau was killed the following day. The Pope reacted to
   the killing by issuing a bull declaring a crusade against Languedoc —
   offering the land of the heretics to any who would fight. This offer of
   land drew much of the nobility of the north of France into the
   conflict, against the nobility of the south.

Crusades

   The military campaigns of the Crusade can be divided into a number of
   periods: the first from 1209 to 1215 was a series of great successes
   for the crusaders in Languedoc. The captured lands, however, were
   largely lost between 1215 and 1225 in a series of revolts and reverses.
   The situation turned again following the intervention of the French
   king, Louis VIII in 1226. He died in November of that year, but the
   efforts continued under Louis IX. The area was reconquered by 1229, and
   the main protagonists made peace. From 1233 the efforts of the
   Inquisition were crucial in crushing Catharism. Resistance and revolts
   continued until the military action finally ended in 1255, but
   Catharism's days were now numbered.
   Cathars being expelled from Carcassone in 1209.
   Cathars being expelled from Carcassone in 1209.

Initial success 1209 to 1215

   By mid 1209 around 10,000 crusaders had gathered in Lyon and began to
   march south. In June Raymond of Toulouse, recognizing the potential
   disaster at hand, promised to act against the Cathars, and his
   excommunication was lifted. The crusaders headed towards Montpellier
   and the lands of Raymond-Roger de Trencavel, aiming for the Cathar
   communities around Albi and Carcassonne. Like Raymond of Toulouse,
   Raymond-Roger sought an accommodation with the crusaders, but he was
   refused a meeting and raced back to Carcassonne to prepare his
   defences.

   In July the crusaders captured the small village of Servian and headed
   for Béziers, arriving on July 21. They surrounded the town and demanded
   that the Cathars be handed over; the demand was refused. The town fell
   the following day when an abortive sortie was pursued back into the
   town. Although Béziers is believed to have held no more than 500
   Cathars, the whole population was slaughtered. According to the
   Cistercian writer Caesar of Heisterbach, one of the leaders of the
   Crusader army, the Papal legate Arnaud-Amaury, was asked by a Crusader
   how they might distinguish the Cathars, their enemies, from other
   citizens. He answered: Caedite eos! Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius" —
   "Kill them [all]! Surely the Lord discerns which [ones] are his."
   Contemporary sources give estimates of the number of dead that range
   between seven and nearly twenty thousand; this latter figure appears in
   Arnaud-Amaury's report to the Pope. The news of the horror at Béziers
   quickly spread and many settlements were cowed.

   The next major target for the crusade was Carcassonne. The town was
   well fortified, but vulnerable and over-populated with refugees. The
   crusaders arrived outside the town on August 1, 1209. The siege did not
   last long: by August 7 the crusaders had cut the town's access to
   water. Raymond-Roger sought negotiations but was taken prisoner while
   under truce, and the town surrendered on August 15. The inhabitants
   were not massacred, but all were forced to leave the town — naked
   according to Peter of les Vaux-de-Cernay; "in their shifts and
   breeches" according to another source. Simon de Montfort, who now took
   charge of the Crusader army, was granted control of the area
   encompassing Carcassonne, Albi, and Béziers. After Carcassonne most
   towns surrendered without a struggle. Albi, Castelnaudary, Castres,
   Fanjeaux, Limoux, Lombers and Montréal all fell quickly during the
   autumn. However some of the towns quickly taken later revolted.
   The yellow cross worn by Cathar repentants.
   Enlarge
   The yellow cross worn by Cathar repentants.

   The next struggle centred around Lastours and the adjacent castle of
   Cabaret. Attacked in December 1209, Pierre-Roger de Cabaret repulsed
   the attackers. Fighting largely halted over the winter, but many new
   crusaders arrived. In March 1210, Bram was captured after a short
   siege. In June the well fortified town of Minerve was invested; it
   withstood a heavy bombardment, but in late June the town's main well
   was destroyed, and on July 22, the inhabitants surrendered. The Cathar
   residents were given a chance to convert, and the 140 who refused were
   burned. In August the crusade proceeded to Termes, and despite attacks
   from Pierre-Roger de Cabaret, the siege was solid, and in December the
   town fell. It was the last action of the year.

   When operations resumed in 1211 the actions of Arnaud-Amaury and Simon
   de Montfort had alienated several lords over the winter, including
   Raymond of 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 May the castle of Aimery de Montréal was
   retaken; he and his senior knights were hanged, and several hundred
   Cathars were burned. Cassès and Montferrand both fell easily in early
   June, and the crusaders headed for Toulouse. The town was besieged, but
   for once the attackers were short of supplies and men, and so Simon de
   Montfort withdrew before the end of the month. Emboldened, Raymond of
   Toulouse led a force to attack de Monfort at Castelnaudary in
   September. De Montfort broke free from the siege but Castelnaudary fell
   and the forces of Raymond went on to liberate over thirty towns before
   grinding to a halt at Lastours in the autumn. The following year much
   of the province of Toulouse was re-captured.

   In 1213, forces led by King Peter II of Aragon, I of Catalonia, came to
   the aid of Toulouse. The force besieged Muret, but in September a
   sortie from the castle led to the death of King Peter, and his army
   fled. It was a serious blow for the resistance, and in 1214 the
   situation became worse: Raymond was forced to flee to England, and his
   lands were given by the Pope to the victorious Philippe II, a ploy
   which succeeded in interesting the king in the conflict. In November
   the ever active Simon de Montfort entered Périgord and easily captured
   the castles of Domme and Montfort; he also occupied Castlenaud and
   destroyed the fortifications of Beynac. In 1215, Castelnaud was lost
   and swiftly recaptured by de Montfort, and the crusaders entered
   Toulouse. Toulouse was gifted to de Montfort, and in April 1216 he
   ceded his lands to Philippe.

Revolts and reverses 1216 to 1225

   However, Raymond, together with his son, returned to the region in
   April, 1216, and soon raised a substantial force from disaffected
   towns. Beaucaire was besieged in May and fell after a three month
   siege; the efforts of de Montfort to relieve the town were repulsed. De
   Montfort had then to put down an uprising in Toulouse before heading
   west to captured Bigorre, but he was repulsed at Lourdes in December
   1216. In 1217, while de Montfort was occupied in the Foix region,
   Raymond took Toulouse in September. De Montfort hurried back, but his
   forces were insufficient to take the town before campaigning halted. De
   Montfort renewed the siege in the spring of 1218; he was killed in June
   while fighting in a sortie.

   The crusade was left in temporary disarray. The command passed to the
   more cautious Philippe II, who was concerned with Toulouse rather than
   heresy. Innocent III had also died in July 1216. The conflict fell into
   something a lull until 1219, although the crusaders had taken Belcaire
   and besieged Marmande in late 1218 under Amaury de Montfort. Marmande
   fell on June 3, 1219 but attempts to retake Toulouse faltered, and a
   number of de Montfort holds fell. In 1220, Castelnaudary was taken from
   de Montfort, and while Amaury de Montfort attacked the town from July
   1220, the town withstood an eight month siege. In 1221, the success of
   Raymond and his son continued: Montréal and Fanjeaux were captured, and
   many Catholics fled. In 1222, Raymond died and was succeeded by his
   son, also called Raymond. In 1223, Philippe II died and was succeeded
   by Louis VIII. In 1224, Amaury de Montfort abandoned Carcassonne and
   fled. The son of Raymond-Roger de Trencaval returned from exile to
   reclaim the area. Amaury de Montfort offered his claim to the lands of
   Languedoc to Louis VIII, who accepted.

French King intervenes

   In November 1225 Raymond, like his father, was excommunicated. Louis
   VIII headed the new crusade into the area in June 1226, towns and
   castles surrendering without resistance. Avignon, nominally under the
   rule of the German emperor, did resist, and it took a three month siege
   to finally subdue the town into surrendering in September. Louis VIII
   died in November and was succeeded by the child king Louis IX. But
   Queen Blanche of Castile allowed the crusade to continue under Humbert
   de Beaujeu. Labécède fell in 1227 and Vareilles and Toulouse in 1228.
   However, Queen Blanche offered Raymond a treaty, recognizing him as
   ruler of Toulouse in exchange for his fighting Cathars, returning all
   Church property, turning over his castles and destroying the defences
   of Toulouse. Raymond agreed and signed a treaty at Meaux in April 1229.
   He was then seized, whipped and briefly imprisoned.

Inquisition

   Languedoc now was firmly under the control of the King of France. The
   Inquisition was established in Toulouse in November 1229, and the
   process of ridding the area of heresy and investing the remaining
   Cathar strongholds began. Under Pope Gregory IX the Inquistion was
   given almost unlimited power to suppress the heretics. A ruthless
   campaign started in 1233, burning Cathars wherever they were found,
   even exhuming bodies for burning. Naturally, many resisted, taking
   refuge in a few fortresses in Fenouillèdes and Montségur or inciting
   uprisings. In 1235, the Inquisition was forced out of Albi, Narbonne,
   and Toulouse. Raymond-Roger de Trencavel led a military effort in 1240,
   in which he was defeated at Carcassonne in October and then besieged at
   Montréal. There, he soon surrendered and was allowed passage to exile
   in Aragon. In 1242, Raymond of Toulouse attempted a revolt to coincide
   with an English invasion, but the English were quickly repulsed and his
   support collapsed. He was pardoned by the king.

   The Cathar strongholds gradually fell. Montségur withstood a nine month
   siege before being captured in March 1244. The final holdout, a small,
   isolated fort at Quéribus, had been overlooked until August 1255 when
   it quickly fell. The last known Cathar burning by the Inquisition in
   the Languedoc occurred in 1321.
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