Heresy and Aristocracy in Thirteenth-Century Languedoc
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Heresy and Aristocracy in Thirteenth-Century Languedoc Rachael Mary Hardstaff PhD University of York History June 2019 2 Abstract This thesis responds to the historiographical emphasis which has traditionally been placed on aristocratic support for Catharism in thirteenth-century Languedoc. It advocates a shift away from reliance on outdated ideas and assumptions about the aristocracy, its coherency as a group, and the bonds which both held it together and linked it to the rest of society. Instead, it looks to construct a more nuanced understanding of aristocratic support, opening up a dialogue with new work that has been done in the field of the southern French aristocracy in order to refine our understanding of social bonds as mechanisms which produced opportunities for Cathar activity and for the transmission of Cathar ideas. It also responds to the idea that the appearance of predominantly aristocratic support suggested by the inquisition records may be more a result of inquisitorial interest in elite groups than an objective reflection of reality. It does this by pushing beyond the immediate quantitative evidence and shedding light on the different modes of support that were provided to the Cathars by the aristocracy and by other social groups. Introducing other social groups as comparisons or controls helps to build a more nuanced and relative picture of aristocratic support for the Cathars, and the extent to which it can or should be considered socially distinctive. 3 Contents Abstract 2 Contents 3 Tables and illustrations 4 Acknowledgements 7 Abbreviations 8 Declaration 10 A note on the names of people and places 11 Introduction 14 Part 1: Chapters 37 1 Catharism and the aristocratic family 38 2 Catharism and co-lordship 69 3 Catharism and dependent relationships 111 4 Faiditi 162 5 Cathar patronage 189 Part 2: Case study families 223 Introduction 224 The Mazerolles 226 The Roquevilles 241 The Mirepoix-Péreilles 263 Conclusion 291 Bibliography 295 4 Tables and illustrations Map 1: Departments and cities 12 Map 2: Castra 13 Table 1.1: Order of names in the deposition of Gallard Ros 42 Table 1.2: Cathar gatherings hosted by Estult of Roqueville 58 and his wife, Geralda Table 2.1: 19 May 1207, thirty-five men, ‘omnes domini et 74 milites castri hujus’ (all the lords and knights of this castrum), signed a document granting certain customs to the inhabitants of the town of Mirepoix Table 2.2: 27 March 1223, twelve men and women of 76 Mirepoix, ‘domini hujus castri Mirapiscis’ (the lords of this castrum of Mirepoix) swore an oath of allegiance to the Count of Foix Table 2.3: Testimonies recording dispute between Raymond 86 of Peréille and Peter Roger of Mirepoix Table 2.4: Testimonies recording dispute between the co- 87 lords of Montségur and the men of Laroque d’Olmes Table 2.5: The role played by Peter Roger of Mirepoix in the 96 attack on Avignonet Table 2.6: Co-lordship in Doat 22-24 and MS 609 105 Table 3.1: Dependents as deponents in the inquisition 113 records Table 3.2: Locations of encounters of female household 117 dependents with the Cathars Table 3.3: The dates of encounters of female household 119 dependents with the Cathars Table 3.4: Types of participation of female household 120 dependents in Catharism Table 3.5: Types of participation of baiuli in Catharism 131 Table 3.6: Locations of encounters of baiuli with the Cathars 132 Table 3.7: The dates of encounters of baiuli with the Cathars 134 5 Table 3.8: Locations of encounters of aristocratic dependents 140 with the Cathars Table 3.9: The dates of different types of participation of the 141 domicelli in Catharism Table 3.10: The dates of encounters in different locations of 142 the scutiferi with the Cathars Table 3.11: The dates of different types of participation of 142 the scutiferi in Catharism Table 3.12: Scutiferi of Montségur 143 Table 3.13: Servientes of Montségur 143 Table 3.14: The actions of dependents against the Cathars 152 Table 3.15: Lords and ladies who denounced their 158 dependents to the inquisitors Table 4.1: The social backgrounds of faiditi in the 166 inquisition records Table 4.2: Overlap in use of the terms faiditus, fugitivus, and 168 condemnatus in the inquisition records Table 4.3: Use of the terms faiditus, fugitivus, and 169 condemnatus in different sets of inquisitorial registers Table 4.4: The social backgrounds of condemnati and 170 fugitivi in the inquisition records Table 4.5: The types of support given to faiditi, fugitivi, or 172 condemnati from different social backgrounds Table 4.6: Use of the terms faiditus, fugitivus, and 183 condemnatus to describe individuals belonging to different social backgrounds in the different inquisition registers Table 4.7: The types of support given to faiditi from 184 different social backgrounds from before 1230 until after 1270 Table 5.1: Aristocratic and non-aristocratic deathbed 202 bequests made to the Cathars Table 5.2: Cathar houses used as locations for large 208 gatherings of supporters 6 Table 5.3: Hosts of large gatherings of Cathars and their 209 believers – more than ten individuals Table 5.4: The social backgrounds of hosts of large 215 gatherings of Cathars according to group size Table 5.5: The social backgrounds of hosts of large 217 gatherings of Cathars and their believers according to date Table 5.6: Heretics that were burned from inside the 218 different castra according to the chronicles Family tree 1: The Mazerolles 227 Family tree 2: The Roquevilles 242 Family tree 3: The Mirepoix-Péreilles 264 7 Acknowledgements Firstly, I would like to thank WRoCAH and the AHRC for funding my studentship, without which this thesis would not have been possible. I am immensely grateful for the extraordinary generosity that my supervisors, Lucy Sackville and Pete Biller, have shown me with their time and knowledge. Thanks are also owed to Shelagh Sneddon for her kind assistance with translations and to Craig Taylor for his diligent work on my advisory panel. I am indebted to Kate Cushing and Ian Forrest who inspired and encouraged me early on in my academic career. Thank you to Mum, Dad, and Sally, for listening and for your kindness and generosity, and for being just generally all-round amazing and hilarious. Lastly, to Dominique, who I met along the way and will be a part of my life forever: you have always been there for me, always believed in me, and always and without complaint done far more than your fair share of dishes. Thank you, always. 8 Abbreviations 22, 23, 24 Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Collection Doat, MSS 22-24; accessed in the University of York Doat Project. 25, 26 Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Collection Doat, MSS 25-26; see Inquisitors and Heretics in Thirteenth-Century Languedoc: Edition and Translation of Toulouse Inquisition Depositions, 1273-1282, ed. and trans. P. Biller, C. Bruschi and S. Sneddon (Leiden, 2011). 609 Toulouse, Bibliothèque Municipale, MS 609; accessed using J. Duvernoy, Le manuscript 609 de la bibliothèque municipal de Toulouse: Lauragais 1245-1246, 1253 – Copie Jean Duvernoy (PDF format, 3 parts), http://jean.duvernoy.free.fr/text/listetexte.htm (accessed 29 May 2019). There is a scanned copy of the register at the BVMM (Bibliothèque virtuelle des manuscrits médiévaux) website, under ‘Toulouse, Bibliothèque municipale, 609’: https://bvmm.irht.cnrs.fr. A&B J. Arnold and P. Biller, ed., Heresy and Inquisition in France, 1200-1300 (Manchester, 2017). Chanson Guilhem of Tudela et al., La chanson de la Croisade albigeoise, ed. E. Martin-Chabot, 3 vols (Paris, 1960-72). Crises Y. Dossat, Les crises de l'inquisition toulousaine au xiiie siècle (1233-1273) (Bordeaux, 1959). HGL de Vic, C. and J. Vaissète, ed., Histoire générale de Languedoc, avec des notes et les pièces justificatives, 3rd edn, ed. A Molinier et al., 16 vols (Toulouse, 1872-1905). Mansi Sacrorum conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio, ed. G. D. Mansi, 53 vols (Florence, 1759–1927, repr. Graz 1961). PVC, Hystoria Petri Vallium Sarnaii monachi hystoria albigensis, ed. P. Guébin and E. Lyon, 3 vols (Paris, 1926-39). 9 PVC, History Peter of les Vaux-de-Cernay, The History of the Albigensian Crusade, ed. and trans. W. A. Sibly and M. D. Sibly (Woodbridge, 1998). Saisimentum Saisimentum Comitatus Tholosani, ed. Y. Dossat (Paris, 1966). Song The Song of the Cathar Wars, trans. J. Shirley (Aldershot, 1996). WP, Chronicle The Chronicle of William of Puylaurens: the Albigensian Crusade and its aftermath, ed. and trans. W. A. Sibly and M. D. Sibly (Woodbridge, 2003). WP, Chronica Chronica magistri Guillelmi de Podio Laurentii, 1145-1275, ed. J. Duvernoy (Toulouse, 1996). 10 Declaration I declare that this thesis is a presentation of original work and I am the sole author. This work has not previously been presented for an award at this, or any other, University. All sources are acknowledged as References. 11 A note on the names of people and places I have anglicized the first names of deponents as they appear in the inquisition records where possible, in the interest of connecting my work to that of the wider anglophone literature on heresy. Where no suitable translation is apparent – as is more often the case with womens’ names, which were drawn from a much wider pool – I have maintained the original Latin.1 I have converted place names (which appear in Latin) into modern French.2 Maps 1 and 2 illustrate the modern departments where many of the places that are more frequently referred to in my thesis are located. Cases I have been unable to identify are left in italics.