Château de Montségur Midi-Pyrenees France

The Treaty of Paris-Meaux had concluded the Albigensian Crusade in 1229, but local resistance has continued.

The Cathar Church is still able to operate and oppose the terror of the Inquisition that pervades the Languedoc.

The Cathar Bishop Guilhabert de Castres had in 1233 asked Raymond de Pereille for permission to make Montségur "the seat and head" (domicilium et caput) of the Cathar Church.

As a safe haven for Cathars, Montségur has gained symbolic and strategic importance in the resistance fight against the Catholic Church and the French forces in subsequent years.

Raymond VII makes a token attempt in 1241 to capture Montségur, primarily to impress the King and the Catholic Church of his allegiance.

At this time, Montségur houses about five hundred persons.

Two representatives of the Inquisition, William Arnald and Stephen de Saint-Thibéry, as well as their companions and retinue, are murdered by about fifty men from Montségur and dispossessed local lords at Avignonet on May 28, 1242, in the context of Occitan resistance and possibly linked to Raymond’s efforts to free himself from the chains of the Paris Treaty.

This event leads to the decision to send a royal military expedition to eliminate the stronghold.

The seneschal Hugues des Arcis in May 1243 leads the military command of about ten thousand royal troops against the castle of Montsegur, which is held by about one hundred fighters and is home to perfecti (who as pacifists do not participate in combat) and civilian refugees.

Many of these refugees are Cathar credentes who live in huts and caves outside the castle on the mountain.

The initial strategy is to besiege the castle in expectation that water and supplies would run out, a strategy that has worked well for the crusaders before.

However, the defenders are well supplied and able to keep their support lines open, being supported by many of the local population; some reinforcements even arrive.

Thus, eventually, it is decided to attack the place directly, a difficult task due to its well protected location high on a massive limestone rock.

Basque mercenaries, after many failures against the Cathar fortress of Montségur, are able to secure a location on the eastern side of the summit across a depression, which allows the construction of a catapult.

This forces refugees that are living outside the walls of the castle to move inside, making living conditions difficult.

Apparently by treachery, a passage is found to get access to the barbican, which is conquered in March 1244.

The catapult is moved closer and the living situation inside deteriorates under the day-and-night bombardment.

When an attempt by the garrison fails to dislodge the invaders from the barbican, the defenders signal that they have decided to negotiate for surrender.

Surrender conditions are quickly decided on: All the people in the castle are allowed to leave except those who will not renounce their Cathar faith, primarily the perfecti.

A two-week truce is declared.

The last two weeks are spent praying and fasting.

A number of defenders decide to join about 190 perfecti and receive their consolamentum, bringing the total number of Cathar believers destined to burn to between 210 and 215.

On March 16, led by Bishop Bertrand, the group leaves the castle and goes down to the place where the wood for the pyre has been erected.

No stakes are needed: they mount the pyre and perish voluntarily in the flames.

The remainder of the defenders, including those who had participated in the murder of the inquisitors, are allowed to leave, among them Raymond de Pereille, who will later, like others, be subjected to the Inquisition.

It has been claimed that three or four perfecti survived, leaving he castle by a secret route to recover a treasure of the Cathars that had been buried in a nearby forest in the weeks prior to the surrender.

The treasure not only contains material valuables but also documents and possibly relics.

Nothing about its whereabouts is known.

The taking of Montségur in 1244 makes it possible for the Languedoc province to be incorporated into the French kingdom.