The Roman Catholic Council of Albi was held in 1254 by

Louis IX of France Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), also known as Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death in 1270. He is widely recognized as the most distinguished of the Direct Capetians. Following the death of his father, Louis VI ...

on his return from the

Seventh Crusade The Seventh Crusade (1248–1254) was the first of the two Crusades led by Louis IX of France. Also known as the Crusade of Louis IX to the Holy Land, it aimed to reclaim the Holy Land by attacking Egypt, the main seat of Muslim power in the Nea ...

, under the presidency of Zoen,

Bishop of Avignon The Archdiocese of Avignon (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Avenionensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse d'Avignon'') is a Latin archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. The diocese exercises jurisdiction over the territory embraced by the department ...

and Papal Legate for the final repression of the

Albigenses 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 her ...

, the reformation of clergy and people and the Catholic church's relation to the Jewish people. Along with the Councils of Narbonne in 1227 and 1243, the Council of Toulouse, the Councils of Béziers in 1232 and 1246, the 1242

Council of Tarragona The Councils of Tarragona were several provincial Councils of the Roman Catholic Church held in the city of Tarragona, in Catalonia, Spain. * The First Council of Tarragona was held by Archbishop John of Tarragona, on 6 November 516. This counci ...

, and the 1248 Council of Valence, this council established a body of legislative precedent for 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 ...

Rulings

Rulings enacted by the Council of Albi included the following: * a decree banning monks from wearing deep brown or mulberry robes, and requiring

canons regular The Canons Regular of St. Augustine are Catholic priests who live in community under a rule ( and κανών, ''kanon'', in Greek) and are generally organised into Religious order (Catholic), religious orders, differing from both Secular clergy, ...

to wear plain black or white * a decree ordering the seizure of the property of all those the Inquisition condemned to prison for heresy * a ban on Jews selling meat in public marketplaces * a requirement for officials to take an oath of support for the Inquisition every three years * a requirement for duplicates of inquisitorial records to be archived * a ban on Jewish people wearing wide cloaks, considered too similar to priestly garments * a fine for failing to attend Mass on Sundays or leaving early, with exemptions for illness, distance, or other serious cause * a ban on lawyers representing defendants at trials for heresy The council's restrictions on

usury Usury () is the practice of making loans that are seen as unfairly enriching the lender. The term may be used in a moral sense—condemning taking advantage of others' misfortunes—or in a legal sense, where an interest rate is charged in e ...

, stricter than those established in previous canon law, ordered that: * neither secular nor ecclesiastical judges should compel debtors to pay usury * Jews should be required to swear on the

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

when testifying about whether a loan included usury * restrictions on usury should be applied to all loans, including those between Jews

References

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Albi Albi (; ) is a commune in France, commune in southern France. It is the prefecture of the Tarn (department), Tarn Departments of France, department, on the river Tarn (river), Tarn, 85 km northeast of Toulouse. Its inhabitants are called ...