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 I examines the initial struggle between the papacy, which wanted a hierarchical organization centered on Rome, and a loosely connected movement of charismatic, poor preachers that drove many heretics to move to the more tolerant atmosphere of the Toulouse region.
Cast of Characters:
Bernard of Clairvaux-Cistercian abbot
Alexander III-Pope
Raymond V-Count of Toulouse
Louis VII-king of France, Eleanor's ex-husband, Henry's nominal overlord for Normandy, Aquitaine and Anjou
Henry II-King of England, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, Count of Anjou
Eleanor of Aquitaine-Duchess of Aquitaine and Henry's wife
Henry the Younger-the heir of Henry II, King of England
Sources:
Kill Them All: Cathars and Carnage in the Albigensian Crusade-Sean McGlynn
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 War on Heresy: Faith and Power in Medieval Europe-R. I. Moore
The Popes: A History-John Julius Norwich
Henry II-W.L. Warren
The Medieval World: Europe 1100-1350-Friedrich Heer, translated by Janet Sondheimer
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/illuminat..., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
The Cathar Crusade: Part I-The papacy versus the preachers