The Avignonet massacre occurred on the eve of 28 May 1242 when a small force, mainly consisting of

Cathars 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 ...

, massacred a group of inquisitors during the

Albigensian Crusade The Albigensian Crusade (), also known as the 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 pri ...

. Guillaume Arnaud and Etienne de Saint-Thibery, the chief inquisitors of the

County of Toulouse The County of Toulouse (, , ) was a territory in present-day southern France consisting of the city of Toulouse and its environs, ruled by the Count of Toulouse from the late 9th century until the late 13th century. After Pippin the Short conq ...

were visiting

Avignonet Avignonet () is a commune in the Isère department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-eastern France. Geography Avignonet is located some 25 km south of Grenoble and 8 km north of Monestier-de-Clermont. Access to the commu ...

. Arnaud and Saint-Thibery were lodged at the castle of

Raymond VII, Count of Toulouse Raymond VII (July 1197 – 27 September 1249) was Count of Toulouse, Duke of Narbonne and Marquis of Provence from 1222 until his death. Family and marriages Raymond was born at the Château de Beaucaire, the son of Raymond VI of Toulouse a ...

. The count's nephew, Raymond d'Alfaro sent a letter to Montsegur, where there were a number of prominent Cathars, including Pierre Roger. The letter informed Pierre Roger that the inquisitors were in Avignonet. Pierre Roger set out for Avignonet with about 15 knights and 40 horse riding sergeants, which was about half of his Montsegur garrison. Pierre Roger stopped at the town of Gaja-la-Selve, taking up a reserve position while the others continued. By nightfall, the raiders had arrived at Avignonet. A messenger continued to give them information about the activities of the inquisitors. Sympathetic locals opened the gates for the raiders and twelve knights and fifteen locals marched toward the castle. The raiders broke down the castle door and hacked the inquisitors to death. Eleven men died. The castle was then looted. The massacre was celebrated by Cathars in short vernacular songs (''

coblas esparsas A ''cobla esparsa'' ( literally meaning "scattered stanza") in Old Occitan is the name used for a single-stanza poem in troubadour poetry. They constitute about 15% of the troubadour output, and they are the dominant form among late (after 1220) a ...

'').. Eventually, the French government decided to crack down on the Cathars, resulting in the Siege of Montségur from 1243 to 1244.

Victims

The twelve victims at Avignonet were:, p. 766. * William Arnaud, a Dominican, the inquisitor *Stephen of Saint-Thibéry, a Franciscan, the assistant Inquisitor *Garcia d'Aure, a Dominican lay brother *Bernard de Roquefort, a Dominican *Raymond Carbonier, the representative of the bishop *Raymond Cortisan, an archdeacon *Pierre d'Arnaud, a lay notary *Fortanerius, a Franciscan *Ademar, a monk of Chiusa *two Benedictine monks *the prior of Avignonet They are recognized as martyrs by the Catholic Church and were

beatified Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the ...

on 6 September 1866 by Pope Pius IX.

Victims

References

Further reading