The Châteaux de Lastours (in

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language Occitan (; ...

''Lastors'') are four so-called

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 ...

castles A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

in the French '' commune'' of

Lastours Lastours ( oc, Las Tors) is a commune in the Aude department in southern France. Lastours is located outside Carcassonne, in the valley of the Orbiel. There are four small castles each built on a large 300 m high rocky ridge. The castles we ...

in the ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety- ...

'' of l'

Aude Aude (; ) is a department in Southern France, located in the Occitanie region and named after the river Aude. The departmental council also calls it " Cathar Country" (French: ''Pays cathare'') after a group of religious dissidents active i ...

. The four castles are on a rocky spur above the village of Lastours, isolated by the deep valleys of the Orbeil and Grésilhou rivers. They were built at an altitude of 300 m along a rock wall just long by wide. Cabaret, Surdespine and la Tour Régine stand in line, while Quertinheux is built on a separate pinnacle close by. The site has been classified '' monument historique'' (historic monument) by the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture (french: Ministère de la Culture) is the ministry of the Government of France in charge of national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and protection of the arts (visual ...

since 1905 and archaeological digs are still in progress. These four castles constitute a single entity, even though they are not a single structure. The natural layout of the site permitted the economy of a fortress of great height. Plans were adapted to the rocks on which they were built. The construction of each is different reflecting the range of alterations made to the castles.

History

In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, the site belonged to the lords of Cabaret, mentioned for the first time in 1067. Their wealth came mainly from the exploitation of

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in ...

mines. Probably only three castles were built in the 11th century and their sites evolved over the years following demolition and successive rebuilding. During this period, there were at least 22 lords of Cabaret. The castles existed through the

Albigensian Crusade The Albigensian Crusade or the Cathar Crusade (; 1209–1229) was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted primarily by the French crow ...

. The lords of Cabaret were closely linked to the followers of

Catharism 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. Foll ...

and the villages surrounding the castles welcomed many Cathars. The fortress at this time belonged to Pierre-Roger de Cabaret follower of Raymond Roger Trencavel, who fought at his side during the defence of

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 ...

. In 1209, the site resisted the attacks of

Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester {{Infobox noble , name = Simon de Montfort , title = 5th Earl of Leicester , image = File:Simon4demontfort.gif , caption = Seal of Simon de Montfort, depicting him riding a horse and blowing a h ...

. But the crusader Bouchard de Marly, then lord of the

Château de Saissac The Château de Saissac is a ruined castle, one of the so-called Cathar castles, in the southernmost tip of the '' commune'' of Saissac in the Aude ''département'' in the north-west of Carcassonne, France. It was once the residence of the power ...

, was taken prisoner by Pierre-Roger. His freedom was negotiated against the surrender of Cabaret in 1211. In 1223, the lords of Cabaret repossessed their lands and Cabaret became the seat of the Cathar bishop of Carcassès. Pierre-Roger resisted Simon de Montfort's attacks for many years, but in 1227, the castles were again besieged by

Humbert de Beaujeu Humbert, Umbert or Humberto (Latinized ''Humbertus'') is a Germanic given name, from ''hun'' "warrior" and ''beraht'' "bright". It also came into use as a surname. Given name ;Royalty and Middle Ages * Emebert (died 710) * Humbert of Maroilles ...

. In 1229, Cabaret capitulated. The villages and the castles were plundered and then rebuilt to become royal fortresses. The ''Tour Régine'' was built by order of the king to affirm his supremacy. They became the administrative and military centre of six communities forming the ''châtellerie'' of Cabardès. In the 16th century, the castles were occupied by

Protestants Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

. They were dislodged by maréchal de Joyeuse in 1591.

Organisation in the 11th century

Before the Crusade against the Albigensians, there were only three castles and they were not arranged on the crest. The surrounding villages were similar: houses, forges and cisterns around a high, narrow

keep A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in ...

. Traces of the villages can be found on the west flank of the hill arranged in a semicircle following the contours around the manor house. In the 13th century, the king decided on the destruction of the three towers and their houses so as to eliminate all refuges for the Cathars. The castles, however, were rebuilt on the crest so as to make them less accessible to enemy fire.

Catharism at Cabaret

The castles at Latours were a centre of Cathar religious activity during the 13th century. The castle village sheltered numerous ' Perfects' homes and the Cathar bishops went to stay in Cabaret:

Arnaud Hot Arnaud may refer to: People * Arnaud (given name) or Arnauld (formerly Arnoul), the French form of the German given name Arnold * Arnaud (surname) or Arnauld (formerly Arnoul), the French form of the name Arnold * Arnauld family, a noble French f ...

Pierre Isarn Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

and

Guiraud Abith Guiraud (1070–1123) was a bishop of Béziers of the twelfth century He is said to have been the second prior of the Canon Regular community at Cassan Abbey. He served as bishop from 1121 to November 5, 1123. He is a Catholic saint.http://page ...

. In 1229, the fortress launched the Cathar resistance 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 approximatel ...

. This period was called the ''Guerre de Cabaret'' (War of Cabaret). The Lastours castles held out as a centre of opposition to the conquests of Simon de Montfort, who determined to wipe them out. In this, he was bound to fail, having to launch simultaneous attacks on three castles protected by sheer rockfaces and defended by a nobleman who, though not a Cathar, was aware of the importance of the campaign de Montfort was waging against his

suzerain Suzerainty () is the rights and obligations of a person, state or other polity who controls the foreign policy and relations of a tributary state, while allowing the tributary state to have internal autonomy. While the subordinate party is ca ...

, the viscount of Carcassonne. De Montfort decided against attacking the castles and instead resorted to a cruel ploy that typifies the barbarity of this war. He brought prisoners from the village of Bram and had their eyes gouged out and their ears, noses and lips cut off. One prisoner, left with a single good eye, led them to Lastours as a warning. The ploy failed; the castles put up more resistance and held out until the supposedly impregnable fortress at

Termes Termes may refer to: People * Dick Termes, American artist * Josep Termes (1936–2011), Spanish historian * Rafael Termes (1918–2005), Spanish banker Places Belgium * Termes, Wallonia, a district of the municipality of Chiny France * Terme ...

fell in November 1210. The lord of Cabaret then surrendered.

Present description

The four castles are on the top of a crest on a north–south axis: Cabaret, Tour Régine, Surdespine and Querthineux. They controlled the principal access routes into the Cabardès and the Montagne Noire regions. Cabaret :Cabaret castle is the main

citadel A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. In ...

with a

barbican A barbican (from fro, barbacane) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes. Europe In the Middle ...

defence system. It consists of a north tower, a polygonal keep in the south and a group of residential buildings in the centre. The whole is surrounded by ramparts with a round walk. The

crenellated A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interv ...

wall is built with irregular material, with large stones forming the corners and openings. Tour Régine :The ''Tour Régine'', closest to Cabaret, (Régine Tower) is the most recent fortress and the smallest. It consists of a round tower, surrounded by a small curtain wall which has collapsed. Below ground, the tower contains the largest cistern of the four castles. The tower has three storeys and is flanked by a spiral staircase. The white limestone used is identical to that at Cabaret. It is thought that this tower was built after the

: the name (''Régine'' = Royal) suggests as much and there is no written evidence of its existence prior to 1260. Surdespine :Also called ''Fleur-Espine'' (Thornflower), this castle is the least preserved of the four. On the highest part of the site, it consists of a square tower, a house and a cistern. A rectangular curtain wall gives protection. It is noted for the rarity of its

murder holes A murder hole or meurtrière is a hole in the ceiling of a gateway or passageway in a fortification through which the defenders could shoot, throw or pour harmful substances or objects such as rocks, arrows, scalding water, hot sand, quicklime, ...

and its four semicircular arched windows. Quertinheux :The Quertinheux castle is furthest south along the crest on an isolated rocky outcrop. It consists of a circular tower and a polygonal curtain wall. A chicane defends the entrance. It overlooks the remains of a destroyed Romanesque church.

References

External links