The Occitan War : a military and political history of the Albigensian Crusade, 1209-1218 / Laurence W. Marvin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Marvin, Laurence Wade, 1961-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Albigenses--History.

Albigenses.

History.

France--Church history--987-1515.

France.

Church history.

Christian heresies--France--Languedoc--History--Middle Ages, 600-1500.

Christian heresies.

France--Languedoc.

Languedoc (France)--History, Military--Religious aspects.

Languedoc (France).

Crusades.

Physical Description:

xv, 328 pages : maps ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2008.

Summary:

In 1209 Simon of Montfort led a war against the Cathars of Languedoc after Pope Innocent III preached a crusade condemning them as heretics. The suppression of heresy became a pretext for a vicious war that remains largely unstudied as a military conflict. Laurence Marvin here examines the Albigensian Crusade as military and political history rather than religious history, and traces these dimensions of the conflict through to Montfort's death in 1218. He shows how Montfort experienced military success in spite of a hostile populace, impossible military targets, armies that dissolved every forty days, and a pope who often failed to support the crusade morally or financially. He also discusses the supposed brutality of the war, why the inhabitants were for so long unsuccessful at defending themselves against it, and its impact on Occitania. This original account will appeal to scholars of medieval France, the Crusades, and medieval military history.

Contents:

Introduction

The campaign of 1209

Simon of Montfort and the campaign of 1210

The campaign of 1211

Drawing the noose: the campaign year of 1212

The athlete of Christ triumphs: late 1212 through Muret 1213

From Muret to Casseneuil: September 1213 to December 1214

The two councils and Prince Louis's crusade, January-December 1215

The southern counter-attack begins: February 1216 to fall 1217

The second siege of Toulouse and the end of the chief crusader: 1217-1218

Aftermath and epilogue.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780521872409

0521872405

OCLC:

166357704