''Cronica'' (in standard Latin, ''Chronica''; in English, "Chronicle") is the short title of a history of

Catharism 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 ...

and 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 ...

by the 13th century Toulousain author Guillaume de Puylaurens. The most important manuscript of the ''Chronica'' (Paris Bibl. Nat. Latin 5212) dates from the early 14th century. It was probably written in or near Toulouse and perhaps belonged to a Dominican foundation such as

Prouille The Monastery of Our Lady of Prouille or Prouilhe (from Occitan: Prolha), is the "cradle of the Dominicans", where the first Dominican house, a monastery of nuns, was founded in late 1206 or early 1207. It is located in a hamlet in Languedoc, Fr ...

. Two further manuscripts are later copies of this one. A fourth (Paris Bibl. Nat. Latin 5213) is of the 16th century but based on an early manuscript now lost. The 1623 edition by Guillaume Catel (see below) was based on other manuscripts now lost. The oldest manuscript provides two possible longer titles for the work. The

incipit The incipit ( ) of a text is the first few words of the text, employed as an identifying label. In a musical composition, an incipit is an initial sequence of Musical note, notes, having the same purpose. The word ''incipit'' comes from Latin an ...

is ''Incipit chronica a magistro Guillelmo de Podio Laurenti compilata'', "here begins the chronicle compiled by Master William of Puylaurens". The prologue is headed ''Incipit prologus super hystoria negocii a Francis Albiensis vulgariter appellati'', "here begins the prologue of the history of what the French call the Albigensian affair". The chronicle opens with the preaching of

Bernard of Clairvaux Bernard of Clairvaux, Cistercians, O.Cist. (; 109020 August 1153), venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, Mysticism, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templar, and a major leader in the reform of the Benedictines through the nascent Cistercia ...

against the heretics of Verfeil, Haute-Garonne in 1145 and closes with the restitution, on 15 March 1275, of the confiscated lands of

Roger-Bernard III of Foix Roger-Bernard III (1243 – 3 March 1302) was the Count of Foix from 1265 to his death. He was the son of Roger IV of Foix and Brunissende of Cardona. He entered into conflicts with both Philip III of France and Peter III of Aragon, who hel ...

. Work on the chronicle was completed before 25 July 1276, date of the death of

James I of Aragon James I the Conqueror ( Catalan/Valencian: ''Jaume I or Jaume el Conqueridor''; Aragonese: ''Chaime I'' ''o Conqueridor''; ; 2 February 1208 – 27 July 1276) was King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1 ...

, who is spoken of in the final sentence as still alive. In the 14th century the ''Chronica'' was used by the Dominican historian

Bernard Gui Bernard Gui (), also known as Bernardo Gui or Bernardus Guidonis (c. 1261/62 – 30 December 1331), was a Limousin Dominican friar, Bishop of Lodève, and a papal inquisitor during the later stages of the Medieval Inquisition. Biography ...

, who included long excerpts from it in his '' Flores chronicorum''. An anonymous abbreviation of this latter work was made in the late 15th century under the title '' Praeclara Francorum facinora''; as a popular history this appeared in several undated editions during the first few decades after the spread of printing.

Editions and translations

* Guillaume Catel, ''Histoire des comtes de Toulouse''. Toulouse, 1623. Text. *{{Citation , editor-last= Duvernoy , editor-first=Jean , editor-link=Jean Duvernoy , work=Guillaume de Puylaurens, Chronique 1145-1275 , title= Chronica magistri Guillelmi de Podio Laurentii , publisher=CNRS and Le Pérégrinateur , location=Paris and Toulouse , orig-year=1976 , quote=Latin text and French translation , year=1996 , isbn=2-910352-06-4 1275 books Chronicles about the Crusades in Latin 13th-century books in Latin

See also

Editions and translations