Pierre Clergue was a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

in the village of

Montaillou Montaillou (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Ariège (department), Ariège Departments of France, department in the south of France. Its original, medieval location was abandoned and the current village is a short distance away. H ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in the late thirteenth and early fourteenth century. He is the central figure in

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 1975 book ''

'', a pioneering work of

microhistory Microhistory is a genre of history that focuses on small units of research, such as an event, community, individual or a settlement. In its ambition, however, microhistory can be distinguished from a simple case study insofar as microhistory aspi ...

. Since then he has appeared in a number of other histories, and as the villain in the fictional work ''The Good Men'' by .

Family

Pierre was the son of

Pons The pons (from Latin , "bridge") is part of the brainstem that in humans and other mammals, lies inferior to the midbrain, superior to the medulla oblongata and anterior to the cerebellum. The pons is also called the pons Varolii ("bridge of ...

and Mengarde Clergue. The Clergues were a family of wealthy

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasan ...

s, by far the wealthiest in Montaillou and their power extended throughout the region. Pierre, the head of the family after the death of his father, became the priest of the village. His brother Bernard Clergue became the local bayle, the enforcer of laws and collector of taxes. The Clergue brothers thus had a central role in being the representatives of both religious and secular power in the town. As one of the few educated men in town Pierre Clergue also served as a

notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is distin ...

and performed other such tasks.

Catharism

Despite being a priest in a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church Pierre Clergue was a staunch

Albigensian 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 ...

having been converted by the

parfait Parfait ( , , ; meaning "perfect") is either of two types of dessert. In France, where the dish originated, parfait is made by boiling cream, egg, sugar and syrup to create a custard-like or meringue-like puree which is then frozen. The Amer ...

Guillaume Authié Guillaume may refer to: People * Guillaume (given name), the French equivalent of William * Guillaume (surname), the French equivalent of Williams Places * Guillaume (crater), Moon, Earth-Moon System, Solar System * Guillaumes, Vence, Nice, Alpes ...

. For many years he played an important role by convincing 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 ...

to ignore Montaillou, despite its being filled with heretics. This changed in about 1300, when Pierre Clergue began to inform on some members of his parish. In 1308 he played a central role in the inquisition's move to arrest the entire adult population of the town. Pierre decided which villagers would be freed and which punished. He used this power to satisfy personal grievances. During this time he and his brother continued to provide shelter and aid to certain Cathars.

Affairs with women

Pierre Clergue is notable for his sexual appetite—celibacy among priests was not strictly enforced in the Pyrenees at this time—having many mistresses over his long career as priest and virtual ruler of the town. The most important of these was Béatrice de Planisoles who as

châtelain Châtelain was originally the French title for the keeper of a castle.Abraham Rees Ebers, "CASTELLAIN", in: The Cyclopædia, or Universal Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Literature' (London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme & Brown, 1819), vol. 6. H ...

e was the nominal ruler of the village. Le Roy Ladurie lists nine women of Montaillou with whom he conducted affairs: Alazaïs Fauré, Raymonde Fauré, Béatrice de Planisoles, Grazide Lizier, Alazaïs Azéma, Gaillarde Benet, Alissende Roussel, Mengarde Buscailh, Na Maragda, Jacotte den Tort,

Raymonde Guilhou Raymonde Vital was a woman who lived in the Comté de Foix in the early fourteenth century, she was made notable when Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie wrote about her in his 1975 book ''Montaillou''. Working as a servant in the home of the Belots, one of ...

, and Esclarmonde Clergue, his sister in law. Pierre Clergue justified his philandering in several ways. Cathar doctrine taught that all sex was sinful, though more so within the confines of marriage, as the couple did not believe that they were erring. Since he expected to be absolved from all his sins upon his deathbed in the ''

consolamentum ''Consolamentum'' (called heretication by its Catholic opponents) was the unique sacrament of the Cathars. Cathars believed in original sin, and – like Gnostics – believed temporal pleasure to be sinful or unwise. The process of living thus ...

'' he also felt he could sin without having to suffer for it. In 1320 Pierre Clergue was arrested by the inquisition under the orders of Bishop

Jacques Fournier Pope Benedict XII (, , ; 1285 – 25 April 1342), born Jacques Fournier, was a cardinal and inquisitor, and later, head of the Catholic Church from 30 December 1334 to his death, in April 1342. He was the third Avignon pope and reformed monasti ...

. Despite a concerted campaign of

bribery Bribery is the corrupt solicitation, payment, or Offer and acceptance, acceptance of a private favor (a bribe) in exchange for official action. The purpose of a bribe is to influence the actions of the recipient, a person in charge of an official ...

and calling in favours by his brother Bernard, Pierre remained in prison and eventually died there. There is no record of his testifying before the Inquisition.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clergue, Pierre 13th-century French Roman Catholic priests 14th-century French Roman Catholic priests People from Montaillou Victims of the Inquisition Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown

Literature

* Le Roy Ladurie, Emmanuel. Montaillou: The Promised Land of Error. Translated by Barbara Bray. New York: Braziller, 1978.