Delancey F.
William Of Tudela’s “Song Of The Cathar Wars” Is A Poetic Account Of The Crusades Against Heresy Between 1204 And 1218. The Poem Is Begun By William Of Tudela And Then Finished Anonymously. Despite It Being A Poem Intended To Be Read As A Performance, The Document Has Been Approved As Being Accurate.
The Poem Tells, Of The Way In Which The Heretics Refused To Repent And Thus Had To Die. The Poem Begins With The Inciting Of The Crusade. Peter Of Castelenau, The Papal Legate For The Area, Excommunicated Count Raymond VI Of Toulouse For Being In Collaboration With The Albigensians. Soon Afterward Peter Was Murdered By One Of Raymond’s Retainers And Thus Incited A New Level Of The Crusade Against The Cathar Heresy By Innocent III. The Main Players Being: Simon De Montefort, The Appointed Leader Of The Crusade, The Future King Louis VIII And French Nobles, Who Constituted The Majority Of The Crusading Force. The Opposition Then Was Count Raymond On The Albigensian Side.
The Strategies That The Church Applied In The War Against The Cathars, Was The Idea That The Cathar Beliefs Were Akin To A Plague. According To The Poem, The Heretics Are Repeatedly Referred To As Fools, And Because Of This The Church Was Able To Explain The Crusade By Saying That If This Belief Is Not Cleansed, It Will Spread And Thus Infect The Righteous. An Example Of This Is The Recording Of The Pope’s Instructions Within The Poem, “ Go To Carcassonne, Brother, And To Great Toulouse On The Garonne And Lead The Armies Against The Ungodly. Cleanse The Troops From Their Sins In The Name Of Christ, And In My Name Preach O Them And Exhort Them To Drive The Heretics Out From Amongst The Virtuous”…
The Pope Called For The Military Campaign After The Murder Of One Of His Legates, Peter Of Castelenau. This Facilitated The Call Of His Council And Thus The Beginning Of The Crusade. It Is The Idea Of The “Bearing Of The Cross”, Also Known As, Living Unto The Church’s Rule. Unlike A Normal Kingship, Within Which, If Such A Thing Happened It Would Be Deemed Tyrannical, This Instead Since Through The Church, Was Godly, And Under God And Therefore Just And Right And So Justified By The Church. An Example Of Submission To This Rule Is The Way In Which The Document Tells Of How Raymond Was To Give Seven Of His Strongest Castles And Fortresses Over To The Pope As A Sign Of His Allegiance And Future Obedience. This Shows How The Poem Depicts The Ways In Which The Crusades Were Fought And Won Politically, But Instead Of Being In The Name Of A State, Were Fought In The Name Of God. Furthermore This Is Continually Illustrated Throughout The Poem When It Speaks Of Rebellion Against The Church And Says, “I Doubt As Many As Fifty Men Escaped Death”. It Is Not Sad, Escaped Persecution, But Instead Death, As Though It Was A Supernatural Occurance Acted Out By Those Following God, Instead Of The Bloody War It Was Created By The Hunger For Ultimate Power By The Church. Thus In Conclusion This Document Depicts, Through Its Language And Records, The Ways In Which The Cathar Wars Were Political Persecutions Made In The Name Of God.
William Of Tudela’s “Song Of The Cathar Wars” Is A Poetic Account Of The Crusades Against Heresy Between 1204 And 1218. The Poem Is Begun By William Of Tudela And Then Finished Anonymously. Despite It Being A Poem Intended To Be Read As A Performance, The Document Has Been Approved As Being Accurate.
The Poem Tells, Of The Way In Which The Heretics Refused To Repent And Thus Had To Die. The Poem Begins With The Inciting Of The Crusade. Peter Of Castelenau, The Papal Legate For The Area, Excommunicated Count Raymond VI Of Toulouse For Being In Collaboration With The Albigensians. Soon Afterward Peter Was Murdered By One Of Raymond’s Retainers And Thus Incited A New Level Of The Crusade Against The Cathar Heresy By Innocent III. The Main Players Being: Simon De Montefort, The Appointed Leader Of The Crusade, The Future King Louis VIII And French Nobles, Who Constituted The Majority Of The Crusading Force. The Opposition Then Was Count Raymond On The Albigensian Side.
The Strategies That The Church Applied In The War Against The Cathars, Was The Idea That The Cathar Beliefs Were Akin To A Plague. According To The Poem, The Heretics Are Repeatedly Referred To As Fools, And Because Of This The Church Was Able To Explain The Crusade By Saying That If This Belief Is Not Cleansed, It Will Spread And Thus Infect The Righteous. An Example Of This Is The Recording Of The Pope’s Instructions Within The Poem, “ Go To Carcassonne, Brother, And To Great Toulouse On The Garonne And Lead The Armies Against The Ungodly. Cleanse The Troops From Their Sins In The Name Of Christ, And In My Name Preach O Them And Exhort Them To Drive The Heretics Out From Amongst The Virtuous”…
The Pope Called For The Military Campaign After The Murder Of One Of His Legates, Peter Of Castelenau. This Facilitated The Call Of His Council And Thus The Beginning Of The Crusade. It Is The Idea Of The “Bearing Of The Cross”, Also Known As, Living Unto The Church’s Rule. Unlike A Normal Kingship, Within Which, If Such A Thing Happened It Would Be Deemed Tyrannical, This Instead Since Through The Church, Was Godly, And Under God And Therefore Just And Right And So Justified By The Church. An Example Of Submission To This Rule Is The Way In Which The Document Tells Of How Raymond Was To Give Seven Of His Strongest Castles And Fortresses Over To The Pope As A Sign Of His Allegiance And Future Obedience. This Shows How The Poem Depicts The Ways In Which The Crusades Were Fought And Won Politically, But Instead Of Being In The Name Of A State, Were Fought In The Name Of God. Furthermore This Is Continually Illustrated Throughout The Poem When It Speaks Of Rebellion Against The Church And Says, “I Doubt As Many As Fifty Men Escaped Death”. It Is Not Sad, Escaped Persecution, But Instead Death, As Though It Was A Supernatural Occurance Acted Out By Those Following God, Instead Of The Bloody War It Was Created By The Hunger For Ultimate Power By The Church. Thus In Conclusion This Document Depicts, Through Its Language And Records, The Ways In Which The Cathar Wars Were Political Persecutions Made In The Name Of God.