perfect (that is, complete) heretics. But they were known by their followers as simply good Christians, or Bons Hommes and Bonnes Femmes.
Monument to the Cathars who were burnt at the stake below Montségur castle, 16 March 1244 (Section 9)
However, they had profound theological differences with the Catholic Church. In particular, they had a belief – dualism – that good and evil spring from different sources. Therefore the material world – which they saw as plainly evil – could not have been created by the God of the Bible. Such a belief was totally at odds with Catholic doctrine. The Cathars even saw the Catholic Church itself as the work of the devil. The broadcasting of such opinion was not a good strategy for surviving the heretic-burning years of medieval Europe.
The Cathar faith took root in Languedoc in the 11th century. The Bons Hommes and Bonnes Femmes who preached it were ascetic; they worked in the community as, for example, craftsmen; they preached in a language that everyone could understand; and they levied no taxes. Not surprisingly, their popularity spread rapidly among the independent-minded people of Languedoc. The region’s ‘nobility’ (its warlords) protected them; indeed, many members of ‘noble’ families in Languedoc were themselves Cathars.
From the outset, the Catholic Church saw the Cathars as a threat to its very existence. The French Crown, whose territory at that time was confined to the northern part of what is now France, became eager to take possession of Languedoc. These two irresistible forces, Church and Crown, together met head-on the immovable object of the Cathar faith. They launched against the Cathars a crusade just as cruel and bloody as those dispatched to ‘save’ the Holy Land. After a long struggle, the Cathar church was exterminated and the French Crown seized Languedoc.
After the crusade, the border of France moved south to Cathar country. It needed strong fortification against France’s Spanish neighbours, so the French rebuilt and strengthened several of the castles in which the Cathars had once taken refuge. In the 17th century the border moved south once again, after a war that ended in triumph for the French. That left many of the ‘Cathar castles’ a long way north of the new border. The castles thus lost their strategic importance; most were demolished or abandoned, and then fell into ruin.
And thus the ‘castles in the sky’, now symbols of the Cathar faith and its demise, were bequeathed to posterity. The sometimes romantic, sometimes forbidding castles such as Montségur, Quéribus, Puilaurens, Peyrepertuse and Lastours became the centrepieces of fantastic fables and, in our time, tourist attractions of international repute.
The citadels we see today would have mostly been unrecognisable to the Cathars; in the majority of cases, the remains are of structures that were built after the Cathar period. But no matter: what is beyond dispute is that the castles offer stunning sights and are fascinating places to visit. They are irresistible focal points for fine walks in a lovely part of the French countryside. They will also forever be linked to the thought-provoking story of the Cathars, which touches everyone who visits this region.
Walking and thinking go together. Cathar castle country offers profound opportunities for both.
Languedoc, the ‘Cathar castles’ and the Pays Cathare
In medieval times, Languedoc was a large region in what is today south-central France. Its name was derived from the language spoken by its inhabitants (the langue d’oc – see below). The region was not a single administrative unit; its unity was based principally upon its language. The main city was Toulouse, in the west. Languedoc extended north towards the Dordogne, east towards the Rhône valley and south towards the Pyrenees.
Languedoc was invaded and occupied successively by the Romans, the Visigoths, the Moors and the Franks. In the 10th century it was divided up into feudal principalities, the biggest of which was the domain of the Count of Toulouse. Those principalities were not part of the French kingdom.
The Cathars propagated their beliefs in Languedoc from around the 11th century. In the middle of the 13th century, following the crusade that was launched to crush them, Languedoc became part of the French kingdom.
Today, the name ‘Languedoc’ survives in the title of the administrative region known as Languedoc- Roussillon, covering the administrative departments of Aude, Gard, Hérault, Lozère and the Pyrénées-Orientales. But medieval Languedoc was much bigger than today’s Languedoc-Roussillon region.
The langue d’oc was a collection of Roman dialectics spoken in much of what is now southern France. It is in contrast to the langue d’oïl, the collection of Roman dialects which was spoken in the northern half of France and which formed the basis of the French language. The term langue d’oc is synonymous with ‘Occitan’. It was a major language of culture in the Middle Ages and is still spoken today. Occitan is also used as an adjective, meaning of or from the area where the Occitan language is spoken.
The so-called Cathar castles are the medieval fortifications (or, more often, just the remains) that are found in Languedoc and located in places where the Cathars lived, preached or sought refuge. Many were built on vertiginous cliffs, crags or steep-sided pinnacles. They are striking in appearance and are loaded with sombre history and mystery. Today, these castles attract pilgrims, tourists, historians, archaeologists, writers, painters, treasure-hunters and charlatans with one of the most powerful magnetic forces of its kind in Europe.
Many of the castles were substantially reconstructed after the time of the Cathars. Little is known about how most of them looked when the Cathars inhabited them. However, they are located on sites with strong historical connections with the Cathars. ‘Cathar castles’ is a therefore a perfectly acceptable title.
A little information about each of the castles is given in the walk descriptions. The emphasis here is on walking rather than monuments, so this book does not offer detailed accounts of history, archaeology and legends. Plenty of literature covers those topics, much of it in English; books, leaflets and other publications are offered for sale at many of the castles, and in shops and information centres round about (see Appendix 2).
An entrance fee is charged for access to most of the Cathar castles featured in this book. Subsequent chapters give general indications of the times of the year when these are open to the public. Detailed information about current opening times can be obtained from local tourist information offices (see walk descriptions and Appendix 1). If you plan to visit several castles and other monuments in the area it is worth buying a carte inter-sites, which gives a discounted entrance fee to 16 places.
Bear in mind that some castles merit a long visit; you could spend half a day exploring the nooks and crannies of the extensive remains of Peyrepertuse. At the other end of the spectrum, there is very little left of the castles at Montaillou and Minerve. However, the latter are worth seeing, as they provide a tangible link to poignant historical events.
Looking down on Foix from a viewpoint on the Foix walks (Section 4)
Anyone who visits the area will see Pays Cathare (‘Cathar country’) signs along the way. The French department of Aude, centred on Carcassonne, refers to itself as the Pays Cathare. However, this name is used by public and commercial organisations over a much wider area than that covered by Aude alone.
The Sentier Cathare long-distance footpath runs east–west across Cathar castle country, from Port-la-Nouvelle on the coast to Foix. It is a popular route, and sections of it are incorporated in some of the walks in this book. The Aude department’s Pays Cathare logo appears on signposts along much of the Sentier Cathare.
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