In the twelfth century, Languedoc in southern France was a hotbed of heresy. The Cathar faith (a version of Christianity based around the gospel of St John) had not only taken root in the region, but was flourishing. In 1208, Pope Innocent III launched a crusade against the heretics, starting a series of wars which would continue for the next two decades. The Catholic Church would ultimately fail to wipe out the heresy by its crusade (which is also known as the Albigensian Crusade). Following the crusade, the Church came up with a new approach - to eliminate the Cathars by means of inquisition.
Episodes 109-167 are a chronological examination of the crusade against the Cathars, while episodes 168-188 follow the inquisition against the Cathars.
So, join me for a romp through medieval France, with the occasional excursion over the Pyrenees into the Kingdom of Aragon for the battles, sieges and personality clashes which define this fascinating era.
Here is a map of southern France at the time of the crusades against the Cathars together with the main Roman roads in the region. This map was created for the podcast by The Map Guy.
Episode on King Peter of Cyprus & the Last Crusade available to purchase
The surrender of Cabaret and the siege of Lavaur
The siege of Hautpol and the siege of St-Antonin
