The Cathar Crusade: Part VI-The Hounds of God

The Cathar Crusade, a crusade against non-violent followers of a different form of Christianity, lasted from 1209 to 1229, and resulted in the conquest of the Toulouse region by the French king, the establishment of papal domination over the Christian church in Europe and the creation of the Papal Inquisition, basically the first secret police. Part VI examines Amaury de Montfort's failure to hold on to his father's territories, the transfer of his claim to King Louis of France, who used the crusade as an excuse to extend Capetian rule into the Languedoc, the extermination of the Cathars as an organized faith and the creation of the Papal Inquisition to prevent the spread of ideas from outside Europe.

 

Cast of Characters:

Raymond VI-Count of Toulouse

Raymond VII-Count Raymond's heir

Raymond-Roger-Count of Foix

Amaury de Montfort-Simon de Montfort's heir, Viscount of Trencavel

Fulk-Bishop of Toulouse, member of the Cistercian Order

Louis VIII-heir to King Philip II of France, failed claimant to the English throne and king of France

Blanche of Castile-Louis's wife and regent for their son Louis IX following his death

Honorius III-Pope

Gregory IX-Pope, Honorius' successor

Betrand-cardinal of St. Paul and St. John, papal legate

Romano-cardinal and papal legate

 

Sources:

Kill Them All: Cathars and Carnage in the Albigensian Crusade-Sean McGlynn

Pope Innocent III and His Times-Joseph Clayton

The Popes: A History-John Julius Norwich

The Occitan War: A Military and Political History of the Albigensian Crusade, 1209-1218-Laurence W. Marvin

A Most Holy War: The Albigensian Crusade and the Battle for Christendom-Mark Gregory Pegg

The Perfect Heresy: The Life and Death of the Cathars-Stephen O'Shea

The Albigensian Crusade-Jonathan Sumption

The Medieval World: Europe 1100-1350-Friedrich Heer, translated by Janet Sondheimer

Louis: The French Prince Who Invaded England-Catherine Hanley

 

Image Credit:

Pope Innocent III excommunicating the Albigensians (left). Massacre against the Albigensians by the Crusaders (right).

By Chroniques de Saint-Denis - http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/ILLUMIN.ASP?Size=mid&IllID=43733, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13305991