The fate of the Cathars is one of the most tragic in European history – up against stiff competition, I know. The adherents of this austere religion came to prominence in the 12th and 13th centuries, first in Northern Europe, then in Southern France and Northern Italy. But Cathari roots are found in the earliest form of Christianity that emerged in the Middle East and travelled across Europe picking up followers along the way.
Cathars claimed their faith was closer to original Christianity, and the name itself means ‘pure ones’. They viewed the Catholic Church as corrupt, hypocritical and immoral. They followed a doctrine that rejected possessions and wealth, but which also viewed men and women as equals. Despite the severity of the religion it became remarkably popular amongst ordinary people, and soon spread to the nobility.
It was a major challenge to the authority of the Catholic Church and was only ever going to have one result: Cathars were heretics and heretics had to be destroyed. After failed attempts to convert the Languedoc Cathars, in 1209 Pope Innocent III ordered a crusade to destroy them. The Albigensian Crusade would last 20 years, but the persecution of the Cathars continued until the capture of their last stronghold at Montsegur in 1244.
The fall of Montsegur Castle resulted in over 200 of the Cathari faithful being burned alive. In other places. like Béziers, tens of thousands were put to death, and perhaps half a million Cathars and their supporters were killed throughout this period. The few who survived were driven underground. Today, all that’s left of their existence are imposing, heart-wrenchingly poignant castle ruins on remote hilltops across the region.
We were on the way to Carcassonne, also once a major Cathar centre, but the route takes you through the wild, beautiful hill country between the coast and Carcassonne. Dotted throughout the region are numerous Cathar Castles. We had a day to explore the area and visit three castles: the Château de Peyrepertuse, Château de Quéribus, and Château de Puilaurens. They are magnificent.
The castles seem to blend seamlessly with the mountains, and are built in such a way that they incorporate the bare rock into the fortifications. It makes spotting them from afar tricky. We approached the Château de Quéribus along a flat valley floor, vineyards stretching to the base of the jagged hills to the east. The shape of the castle was barely perceptible, but we could just make out the contours of its highest tower.
It was a windy day and the climb up to reach the castle was literally breathtaking. The views are spectacular. From the top of the tower you get a real sense of how isolated these fortresses were, even though you can see the nearby village of Cucugnan far below in the valley floor. Quéribus is quite small, the Château de Peyrepertuse where we went next is altogether more impressive.
Built in two parts on a dramatic jagged ridge, from a distance it seems to grow out of the rock. Exploring the castle is a bit of an adventure, taking you up and down steep stairways and though ruined buildings. The violently steep drop off either side of the cliff is terrifying. The smaller Château de Puilaurens was our next stop, with its gravity defying position on a spur of rock above the Boulzare Valley.
The repeated clambering up steep hills was taking its toll by this point, but the lightly visited Puilaurens has a story to discover. One of its towers is known as the Dame Blanche, or White Lady Tower. It’s said that the ghost of Blanche of Bourbon still roams the tower after she was allegedly murdered by her husband and King of Castile, Peter the Cruel. The clue is in the name I suppose.
Perhaps the most pressing question our visit to these otherworldly hilltop fortresses raised, is why the fate of the Cathars isn’t better known. I don’t wish to point any fingers in the direction of the nearest Roman Catholic church, but it’s hardly a surprise they tried to wash the Cathars from history – just imagine a Europe where the dominant religion gave men and women equal status. Luckily for us, the Cathar Castles remain a piece of living history.
Their story is well known and documented, my wife is from the area and we have traveled extensively. IT just a matter of conflicting religions as our world today. Cheers
This is a very tragic story that I knew nothing about. Thank you for enlightening me and the pictures are very atmospheric.
It’s not a story I was aware of either, quite extraordinary that it isn’t more widely known.