Albigensian Crusade

The Albigensian Crusade (1209-1229) was a brutal 20-year military campaign initiated by the Roman Catholic Church to eliminate the religion practiced by the Cathars of Languedoc, which the Roman Catholic hierarchy considered heretical. It is historically significant for a number of reasons: the violence inflicted was extreme even by medieval standards; the church offered legally sanctioned dominion over conquered lands to northern French nobles and the King of France, acting as essentially Catholic mercenaries, who then nearly doubled the size of France, acquiring regions which at the time had closer cultural and language ties to Catalonia (see Occitan). Finally, the Albigensian Crusade had a role in the creation and institutionalization of the Medieval Inquisition.

Related Topics:
1209 - 1229 - Roman Catholic - Cathars - Languedoc - Heretical - Occitan - Medieval Inquisition

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