Albigensian Crusade

The Albigensian Crusade was a long military campaign in the 13th century.

It took place in a region called Languedoc in southern France. This area was known as Occitania and had its own language. The people there had a culture that was different from northern France. They lived in many busy towns and cities. Some of these towns were built on high mountains with thick walls.

These places were called castra, which means fortified places. This crusade changed the history of this land forever.

The crusade was fought against a group called the Cathars.

The word Cathar comes from a Greek word meaning "clean" or "pure." They had very different religious ideas than the Catholic Church. Cathars believed in dualism, which is the idea of two equal forces. They believed God was a force of pure spirit and goodness. However, they thought the physical world was created by an evil force. Because they saw the physical world as bad, they avoided many things. They did not eat meat or use water in their religious ceremonies.

Instead of water baptism, Cathars used a ritual called the consolamentum.

This ritual involved the laying on of hands. People who received this ritual were called perfectus. These leaders often lived very simple and strict lives. They did not take oaths to kings or join armies. They also rejected the Catholic priesthood and its way of life. This made the leaders of the Catholic Church very unhappy. The Church saw these ideas as a threat to their teachings.

The crusade began because of a conflict between leaders.

In 1208, a Church official named Pierre de Castelnau was killed. Pope Innocent III believed Raymond VI, the Count of Toulouse, was responsible. The Pope then declared a crusade against the Cathars. He offered the lands of the Cathars to any French nobleman who would fight. The fighting lasted from 1209 until 1229. At first, the Crusaders were very successful at taking land. Later, there were many revolts by the people in the region.

This period of history had a huge impact on the world. The crusade helped the French crown gain control over Languedoc. It also helped create the Dominican Order to spread Church teachings. The Church also started the Inquisition to investigate people with different beliefs. By the middle of the 14th century, the Cathar movement had disappeared. Some historians say the crusade was a very harsh act against the people. It changed the culture and the politics of southern France for a long time.