Arnaud Baille/Sicre was a

cobbler Cobbler(s) may refer to: *A person who repairs shoes * Cobbler (food), a type of pie Places * The Cobbler, a mountain located near the head of Loch Long in Scotland * Mount Cobbler, Australia Art, entertainment and media * ''The Cobbler' ...

in the

Comté de Foix The County of Foix (, ; , ; , ) was a medieval fief in southern France, and later a province of France, whose territory corresponded roughly the eastern part of the modern ''département'' of Ariège (the western part of Ariège being Couseran ...

in the late thirteenth and early fourteenth century. A number of details about his life are known to us through the

Fournier Register The Fournier Register is a set of records from the inquisition into heresy run by Jacques Fournier, Bishop of Pamiers between 1318 and 1325. Fournier was later to become Pope Benedict XII. Interrogation Fournier interrogated hundreds of indivi ...

, and

Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie Emmanuel Bernard Le Roy Ladurie (, 19 July 1929 – 22 November 2023) was a French historian whose work was mainly focused upon Languedoc in the ''Ancien Régime'', particularly the history of the peasantry. One of the leading historians of Franc ...

's analysis of those records. Raised in

Ax-les-Thermes Ax-les-Thermes (; or ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Ariège (department), Ariège Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of southwestern France. The commune ha ...

he was the son of Arnaud Sicre, a notary, and Sybille Baille. His father was a Catholic and worked as a writer for the Church. His mother, however, was a firm

Cathar Catharism ( ; from the , "the pure ones") was a Christian quasi- dualist and pseudo-Gnostic movement which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France, between the 12th and 14th centuries. Denounced as a he ...

. The marriage did not last, and Sybille forced her husband out of the house. Sybille readopted her maiden name, while Arnaud Jr. and his brother Bernard, would alternate between surnames, sometimes using both. At the age of seven Arnaud was sent to live with his father in

Tarascon-sur-Ariège Tarascon-sur-Ariège (, literally ''Tarascon on Ariège''; Languedocien: ''Tarascon d’Arièja'') is a commune in the Ariège department in southwestern France. Tarascon-sur-Ariège station has rail connections to Toulouse, Foix and Lato ...

so that he could be educated. His mother's heresy was uncovered by the

Inquisition The Inquisition was a Catholic Inquisitorial system#History, judicial procedure where the Ecclesiastical court, ecclesiastical judges could initiate, investigate and try cases in their jurisdiction. Popularly it became the name for various med ...

. Sybille was arrested, and was eventually

burned at the stake Death by burning is an list of execution methods, execution, murder, or suicide method involving combustion or exposure to extreme heat. It has a long history as a form of public capital punishment, and many societies have employed it as a puni ...

after relapsing into Catharism. The family's property was confiscated. This left Arnaud embittered, as his mother's heresy had cost him his inheritance. He became an itinerant

. In an attempt to win back the family home, Arnaud decided on becoming an informer for the Inquisition. He was sent to

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

where a number of Cathar exiles were in hiding. Arnaud joined this group and eventually convinced a number of them to return to the Comté to attend his sister's wedding. Forces of the Inquisition were waiting and a number of the heretics were captured, including their leader

Guillaume Bélibaste Guillaume Bélibaste ( occitan: Guilhèm Belibasta) is said to have been the last Cathar parfait in Languedoc. He was burned at the stake in 1321, as a result of the Inquisition at Pamiers led by Jacques Fournier (afterwards Pope Benedict XII ...

and the shepherd Pierre Maury.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baille Sicre, Arnaud 14th-century French people People from Montaillou Shoemakers French artisans Year of birth missing