Siege of Minerve

Last updated
Siege of Minerve
Part of Albigensian Crusade
Pont Minerve 34.JPG
The bridge at Minerve
DateEarly June – 22 July 1210
Location
Minerve, Hérault
Result Crusader victory
Belligerents
Crusaders Cathars
Commanders and leaders
Simon de Montfort
Arnaud Amalric 		Guilhem de Minerve
Casualties and losses
Unknown Unknown amount killed during siege
140 Cathars burned to death

The siege of Minerve was a military engagement which took place in June and July 1210 during the Albigensian Crusade in the town of Minerve in southern France. It was undertaken by the Catholic Crusaders against the Cathars in southern France, who were regarded as a heretical sect. The Crusaders, led by French nobleman Simon de Montfort, besieged and captured the town. The Crusaders allowed the soldiers defending the town, Catholics, and any Cathars who had not yet reached the status of perfect to go free. Three Cathar perfects who repented were pardoned, but 140 others who refused to do so were burnt at the stake.

Contents

Background

The Albigensian Crusade was initiated in the Kingdom of France at the behest of Pope Innocent III. Its purpose was to squash the growing Cathar movement, which flourished mainly in the Languedoc region of what later became Southern France. [1] The immediate cause was the killing of the papal legate, Pierre de Castelnau. [2] The Crusaders set out in the summer of 1209. [3] After several military victories, they were able to capture many towns without a fight. [4] After the fall of Carcassonne, papal legate Arnaud Amalric, who had led troops during the Massacre at Béziers, was replaced as commander of the Crusader force by Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester, although Amalric continued to accompany the army. [5]

Minerve was a well-fortified city. [6] It is located at the confluence of the Cesse and Brian rivers, which has cut deep ravines in the nearby area. [7] It was also one of the largest towns in the Languedoc, [8] situated near the Mediterranean coast. [9] Minerve was a small castra deep in the mountains, and thus not of major strategic importance to the military. However, it had become an important place of refuge for Cathar perfectus and taking it would thus increase the authority of both Simon as count and the Catholic Church in the area, which seems to have influenced Simon's decision to attack the city. [10]

In the winter of 1209-1210, large offensives ceased on account of the weather and small size of the Crusader army. In March and April, the Crusaders conducted successful raids against food sources near Minerve, capturing many important areas nearby and effectively isolating the city. [11]

Siege

In early June, [12] the Crusader army besieged Minerve. [6] The town was commanded by Lord Guilhem de Minerve. [13] Unable to feed his army exclusively from the agricultural area around the town, Simon imported supplies from areas many miles away, such as Carcassonne. [14]

The steep gorges surrounding the town made it virtually impossible to storm. However, the gorges were also very narrow, making a bombardment more practical. Simon realized this and decided to use his artillery to capture Minerve. The Crusaders relied effectively upon siege equipment. [15] Simon made his headquarters east of the town, [14] where a crew lobbed heavy objects into the walls of the town. On the west, a rock thrower called a petraria (trebuchet) was used, in one of its earliest appearances in Europe. [16] This machine, named mala vazina ("Bad Neighbor"), bombarded the town very heavily, partially destroying Guilhelm's home, [13] and towards the end of June destroying the main wall of the city. The defenders held on for several more weeks, [17] but the occupants began to run low on water. [18] On 22 July the city surrendered. [17] Laurence Marvin calls Simon's techniques an example of "a skillful use of siege warfare to take castles in geographically hostile conditions." [14]

Simon and Guilhem de Minerve agreed to terms of surrender. However, Amalric, who had been absent at the time, returned to camp. He insisted that no agreements could be considered binding without the assent of himself as papal legate. [18] Simon wished to treat the occupants leniently, but Amalric wanted them put to death. Eventually, the two worked out a solution. The Crusaders allowed the soldiers defending the town, as well as the Catholics inside of it, to leave. The Cathars who had not yet reached the status of perfect were also allowed to go free. The Cathar perfects were given the choice to return to Catholicism or face death. This solution angered many of the soldiers, who had wanted to participate in a massacre. Amalric calmed them by insisting that the majority of perfects would not recant. His prediction was correct. [19]

The soldiers entered the town singing Te Deum, while the Cathars, segregated male and female, knelt in prayer. The abbot Guy of Vaux-de-Cernay began to preach the Catholic faith to the men. He was interrupted and told, "We will have none of your faith. We have renounced the Church of Rome: your labor is in vain; for neither death nor life will make us renounce the opinions that we have embraced." The abbot then went to the women, who even more stubbornly refused to convert. Simon also urged both groups to abandon their Cathar faith. "Be converted to the Catholic faith," Simon said. Gesturing to the collection of dry wood that had been assembled, he continued, "Or ascend this pile." [20] Ultimately, only three women repented. The 140 people who refused were burned at the stake. [21] Some Cathars chose to jump freely into the flames rather than wait for their executioners. [19]

Cistercian monk Peter of Vaux-de-Cernay records two miracles which allegedly took place during the siege of Minerve. In one instance, a spring from which very little water flowed began to gush water shortly after the Crusaders arrived for the siege. Afterwards, it was reduced once again to a trickle. In the other, as the Crusaders were leaving, they set fire to all the huts which they had made out of branches and dry leaves. One hut, in which a priest had said Mass, while in close proximity to the others, was somehow spared from the flames. [22]

Aftermath

After the Cathars had been burnt, their bodies were buried in shallow mud graves. [23] The Crusaders continued their campaign against the Cathars, capturing many more towns. [24] The siege of Termes came directly after. [19]

Related Research Articles

Catharism was a Christian quasi-dualist or pseudo-Gnostic movement which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France, between the 12th and 14th centuries. Denounced as a heretical sect by the Catholic Church, its followers were attacked first by the Albigensian Crusade and later by the Medieval Inquisition, which eradicated the sect by 1350. Many thousands were slaughtered, hanged, or burnt at the stake, sometimes without regard for "age or sex."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1215</span> Calendar year

Year 1215 (MCCXV) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albigensian Crusade</span> 13th-century crusade against Catharism in southern France

The Albigensian Crusade or Cathar Crusade (1209–1229) was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, what is now southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted primarily by the French crown and promptly took on a political aspect. It resulted in the significant reduction of practicing Cathars and a realignment of the County of Toulouse with the French crown. The distinct regional culture of Languedoc was also diminished.

Athleta Christi was a class of Early Christian soldier martyrs or military saints, of whom the most familiar example is probably Saint Sebastian. It also could be used to refer to Christians with exemplary martial prowess, especially when fighting against non-Christians or heretics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester</span> French nobleman and leader of the Albigensian Crusade

Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester, known as Simon IVde Montfort and as Simon de Montfort the Elder, was a French nobleman and knight of the early 13th century. He is widely regarded as one of the great military commanders of the Middle Ages. He took part in the Fourth Crusade and was one of the prominent figures of the Albigensian Crusade. Montfort is mostly noted for his campaigns in the latter, notably for his triumph at Muret. He died at the Siege of Toulouse in 1218. He was Seigneur of Montfort from 1188 to his death and Earl of Leicester in England from 1204. He was also Viscount of Albi, Béziers and Carcassonne from 1213, as well as Count of Toulouse from 1215.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raymond VI, Count of Toulouse</span> Count of Toulouse

Raymond VI was Count of Toulouse and Marquis of Provence from 1194 to 1222. He was also Count of Melgueil from 1173 to 1190.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Folquet de Marselha</span> Trobadour and anti-Cathar bishop of Toulouse

Folquet de Marselha came from a Genoese merchant family who lived in Marseille. He is known as a troubadour, and then as a fiercely anti-Cathar bishop of Toulouse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Muret</span> Part of the Albigensian Crusade

The Battle of Muret, fought on 12 September 1213 near Muret, 25 km south of Toulouse, was the last major battle of the Albigensian Crusade and one of the most notable pitched battles of the Middle Ages. Although estimates of the sizes of the respective armies vary considerably even among distinguished modern historians, it is most well known for a small force of French knights and crusaders commanded by Simon de Montfort the Elder defeating a much larger allied army led by King Peter II of Aragon and Count Raymond VI of Toulouse.

<i>Song of the Albigensian Crusade</i> 1213 epic poem by William of Tudela

The Song of the Albigensian Crusade is an Old Occitan epic poem narrating events of the Albigensian Crusade from March 1208 to June 1219. Modelled on the Old French chanson de geste, it was composed in two distinct parts: William of Tudela wrote the first towards 1213, and an anonymous continuator finished the account. However, recent studies have proposed the troubadour Gui de Cavalhon as the author of the second part. It is one of three major contemporary narratives of the Albigensian Crusade, the Historia Albigensis of Pierre des Vaux-de-Cernay and the Chronica of William of Puylaurens being the others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lavelanet</span> Commune in Occitanie, France

Lavelanet is a commune in the Ariège department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arnaud Amalric</span> Cistercian abbot (d. 1225)

Arnaud Amalric was a Cistercian abbot who played a prominent role in the Albigensian Crusade. It is reported that prior to the massacre of Béziers, Amalric, when asked how to distinguish Cathars from Catholics, responded, "Kill them [all], for God knows which are His own."

Guy de Montfort was the Count of Bigorre from 6 November 1216 to 1220 in right of his wife, Petronilla. He was a son of Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester and Alice of Montmorency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raymond II Trencavel</span>

Raymond II Trencavel was the last ruler of the branch of the Trencavel viscounts of Béziers. His entire life was occupied by efforts to reverse the downfall the Trencavel had experienced during the Albigensian Crusade, but he ultimately failed.

Peter of Vaux de Cernay was a Cistercian monk of Vaux-de-Cernay Abbey, in what is now Yvelines, northern France, and a chronicler of the Albigensian Crusade. His Historia Albigensis is one of the primary sources for the events of that crusade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vaux-de-Cernay Abbey</span> Former Cistercian monastery in northern France

Vaux-de-Cernay Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery in northern France (Île-de-France), situated in Cernay-la-Ville, in the Diocese of Versailles, Yvelines. The abbey was abandoned during the French Revolution and fell into partial ruin. Most of the buildings, except for the church, were restored in the late 19th century by Charlotte de Rothschild, and the property is now a hotel.

The Militia or Order of the (Holy) Faith of Jesus Christ was an ephemeral military order founded in Languedoc in or shortly before 1221. It owed its origins probably to Folquet de Marselha, the Bishop of Toulouse; Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester, leader of the Albigensian Crusade; and possibly to Dominic of Caleruega, the founder of the Friars Preachers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massacre at Béziers</span> 1209 killing of Cathars during the Albigensian Crusade

The Massacre at Béziers occurred on 22 July 1209 during the sack of Béziers by crusaders. It was the first major military action of the Albigensian Crusade.

"Caedite eos. Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius." is a phrase reportedly spoken by the commander of the Albigensian Crusade, prior to the massacre at Béziers on 22 July 1209. A direct translation of the Medieval Latin phrase is "Kill them. The Lord knows those that are his own". Papal legate and Cistercian abbot Arnaud Amalric was the military commander of the Crusade in its initial phase and leader of this first major military action of the Crusade, the assault on Béziers, and was reported by Caesarius of Heisterbach to have uttered the order.

William was Count of Jülich from 1207 to 1219. He was a nephew of the previous Count, William II. He married Mathilde, daughter of Waleran III, Duke of Limburg. He died in 1219 during the Fifth Crusade in Egypt, and was succeeded by his son William IV.

Guy was the sixth Cistercian abbot of Vaux-de-Cernay from 1181 until 1210 and then the bishop of Carcassonne from 1212 until his death. The crusades dominated his life. He was a preacher, organizer and spiritual leader of the Fourth Crusade, which he abandoned after it turned against fellow Catholics, and also of the Albigensian Crusade against heretics.

References

  1. ↑ Falk 2010, p. 169.
  2. ↑ "Catholic Encyclopedia: Albigenses". New Advent. 1910. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  3. ↑ Peter of les Vaux de Cernay 1998, p. 84.
  4. ↑ Peter of les Vaux de Cernay 1998, pp. 108–113.
  5. ↑ Peter of les Vaux de Cernay 1998, pp. 101.
  6. 1 2 Peter of les Vaux de Cernay 1998, p. 151.
  7. ↑ Barber 2014, p. 41.
  8. ↑ Oldenbourg 1961, p. 140.
  9. ↑ William of Tudela & Anonymous 2004, p. 32.
  10. ↑ Marvin 2008, p. 76.
  11. ↑ Marvin 2008, p. 74.
  12. ↑ Graham-Leigh 2005, p. 44.
  13. 1 2 Marvin 2008, p. 78.
  14. 1 2 3 Marvin 2008, p. 77.
  15. ↑ Marvin 2008, pp. 77–78.
  16. ↑ O'Callaghan 1998, p. 190.
  17. 1 2 Peter of les Vaux de Cernay 1998, p. 154.
  18. 1 2 J.C.L. Simonde de Sismondi 1973, p. 63.
  19. 1 2 3 Strayer 1971, p. 71.
  20. ↑ J.C.L. Simonde de Sismondi 1973, pp. 64–65.
  21. ↑ Peter of les Vaux de Cernay 1998, p. 156.
  22. ↑ Peter of les Vaux de Cernay 1998, p. 158.
  23. ↑ William of Tudela & Anonymous 2004, p. 33.
  24. ↑ Costen 1997, p. 132.

Bibliography

Secondary sources

Primary sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.