Cathar castles (in French ''Châteaux cathares'') are a group of medieval castles located in the
Languedoc
The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France.
Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...
region. Some had a
Cathar
Catharism (; from the grc, καθαροί, katharoi, "the pure ones") was a Christian dualist or Gnostic movement between the 12th and 14th centuries which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France. Follo ...
connection in that they offered refuge to dispossessed Cathars in the thirteenth century. Many of these sites were replaced by new castles built by the victorious French Crusaders and the term ''Cathar castle'' is also applied to these fortifications despite their having no connection with Cathars. The fate of many Cathar castles, at least for the early part of the Crusade, is outlined in the contemporary Occitan "''Chanson de la Croisade''", translated into English as the "Song of the Cathar Wars (the crusade)".
True "Cathar castles"
Cathar strong points were generally surrounded by a walled settlement - ranging from a small village to a sizable city - known as a ''
castrum
In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a po ...
''. In relatively flat areas such as the Lauragais Plain, castles and ''castra'' were often located on nearby hills, for example
Laurac,
Fanjeaux,
Mas-Saintes-Puelles
Mas-Saintes-Puelles (; oc, Mas Santas Puèlas) is a commune in the Aude department in southern France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of oversea ...
, and
Carcassonne
Carcassonne (, also , , ; ; la, Carcaso) is a French fortified city in the department of Aude, in the region of Occitanie. It is the prefecture of the department.
Inhabited since the Neolithic, Carcassonne is located in the plain of the Au ...
. In more rugged areas castles and ''castra'' were typically located on mountain tops as at
Lastours-Cabaret,
Montségur
Montségur (; Languedocien: ''Montsegur'') is a commune in the Ariège department in southwestern France.
It is famous for its fortification, the Château de Montségur, that was built on the "pog" (mountain) on the ruins of one of the las ...
,
Termes, and
Puilaurens.
When they were taken by the Catholic Crusaders they were generally offered to senior Crusade commanders who would replace the local lord as master of the castle and the surrounding area. The old lords, sometimes Cathar sympathisers, were dispossessed and often became refugees or guerrilla resistance fighters known as "faidits". The new French lords generally built themselves a new state-of-the-art castle, sometimes on the site of the old "Cathar castle", sometimes next to it, as at
Puivert
Puivert (; Languedocien: ''Puègverd'') is a commune in the Aude department in the Occitanie region in southern France.
History
In the 12th century a castle ( Château de Puivert) stood on this site which had strong links to both Cathars ...
. In some places, notably
Carcassonne
Carcassonne (, also , , ; ; la, Carcaso) is a French fortified city in the department of Aude, in the region of Occitanie. It is the prefecture of the department.
Inhabited since the Neolithic, Carcassonne is located in the plain of the Au ...
and
Foix
Foix (; oc, Fois ; ca, Foix ) is a commune, the former capital of the County of Foix. It is the capital of the department of Ariège as it is the seat of the Préfecture of that department. Foix is located in the Occitanie region of south ...
, substantial parts of the existing castles date from the Cathar period.
Royal citadels
Following the failure of the attempt to recapture
Carcassonne
Carcassonne (, also , , ; ; la, Carcaso) is a French fortified city in the department of Aude, in the region of Occitanie. It is the prefecture of the department.
Inhabited since the Neolithic, Carcassonne is located in the plain of the Au ...
by its Viscount, Raymond II
Trencaval, in 1240, the
Cité de Carcassonne
The Cité de Carcassonne ( ) is a medieval citadel located in the French city of Carcassonne, in the Aude department, Occitanie region. It is situated on a hill on the right bank of the River Aude, in the southeast part of the city proper. Th ...
was reinforced by the French king, new master of the viscountcy. Carcassonne was heavily garrisoned not only against Cathar sympathizer insurgents, but also the Catalans and Aragonese, as the
Trencavels had been vassals of the King of Aragon, who was the direct descendant of
Sunifred and
Bello of Carcassonne.
The King of France took as frontier fortresses Cathar castles near the border between the historic Trencavel territories and the
Roussillon, which still belonged to the King of Aragon. Five of these became Royal citadels, garrisoned by a small troop of French royal troops. These five Cathar Castles are known as the ''cinq fils de Carcassonne'', the Five Sons of Carcassonne:
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Château d'Aguilar
The Château d'Aguilar (Languedocien: ''Castèl d’Aguilar'') is a 12th-century castle, one of the so-called Cathar castles, located in the ''commune'' of Tuchan in the Aude ''département'' of France.
Architecture
The design of the castle ...
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Château de Peyrepertuse
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Château de Puilaurens
The Château de Puilaurens (Puilaurens Castle, also ''Puylaurens''; in Occitan: ''lo Castèl de Puèg-Laurenç'') is one of the so-called Cathar castles in the ''commune'' of Lapradelle-Puilaurens in the Aude ''département''. The castle is loca ...
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Château de Quéribus
The Château de Quéribus (in Occitan Castèl de Queribús) is a ruined castle in the ''commune'' of Cucugnan in the Aude ''département'' of France. It has been listed as a ''monument historique'' by the French Ministry of Culture since 1907.
...
*
Château de Termes
Abandonment of the Five Sons of Carcassonne
In 1659,
Louis XIV
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Ver ...
and the
Philip IV of Spain
Philip IV ( es, Felipe, pt, Filipe; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered ...
signed the
Treaty of the Pyrenees
The Treaty of the Pyrenees (french: Traité des Pyrénées; es, Tratado de los Pirineos; ca, Tractat dels Pirineus) was signed on 7 November 1659 on Pheasant Island, and ended the Franco-Spanish War that had begun in 1635.
Negotiations were ...
, sealing the marriage of the
Infanta
''Infante'' (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as Infant or translated as Prince, is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to th ...
Marie Therese to the French King. The treaty modified the frontiers, giving
Roussillon to France as part of the dowry, and moving the international frontier south to the crest of the Pyrenees, the present Franco-Spanish border. The Five Sons of Carcassonne thus lost their importance. Some maintained a garrison for a while, a few until the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...
, but they fell into decay, often becoming shelters for shepherds or bandits.
Other "Cathar castles"
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Château d’Arques
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Château de Durfort
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Châteaux de Lastours
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Château de Montségur
The Château de Montségur (English: Castle of Montsegur; Languedocien dialect, Languedocien: ) is a former fortress near Montségur, a Commune in France, commune in the Ariège (department), Ariège Departments of France, department in southern ...
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Château de Padern
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Château de Pieusse
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Château de Puivert
The Château de Puivert ( Languedocien: ''Castèl de Puègverd'') is a so-called Cathar castle situated in the '' commune'' of Puivert, in the Aude ''département'' of France. The castle has been classified as a ''monument historique'' by the Fre ...
*
Rennes-le-Château
Rennes-le-Château (; oc, Rènnas del Castèl) is a commune approximately 5 km (3 miles) south of Couiza, in the Aude department in the Occitanie region in Southern France. In 2018, it had a population of 91.
This hilltop village is k ...
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Château de Roquefixade
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Château de Saissac
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Château d'Usson
See also
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List of castles in France
This is a list of castles in France, arranged by Region and Department.
;Notes:
# The French word ''château'' has a wider meaning than the English ''castle'': it includes architectural entities that are properly called palaces, mansions or vine ...
*
Catharism
External links
Association des Sites du Pays Cathare historical and tourist information
Castle of Termesofficial website, in English.
The story of the Cathars in Languedoc, and a short guide to Cathar heritage
Cathar CountryCathars, Cathar Beliefs and Cathar Castles.
Cathar CastlesCathar Castles: History, Location and Photographs.
Map showing Cathar Castles in the Languedoc
References
Notes
Bibliography
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Further reading
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* {{cite book
, last =Cowper
, first =Marcus
, others = Peter Dennis (illustrator)
, title =Cathar Castles: Fortresses of the Albigensian Crusade 1209-1300
, publisher =Osprey Publishing
, year =2006
, location =Oxford
, isbn = 978-1846030666
Castles in Ariège
Castles in Aude
Catharism