The Song of the Cathar Wars is the first translation into English of the Old Provençal Canso recounting the events of the years 1204-1218 in Southern France. In an effort to extirpate the Cathar heresy, Pope Innocent III launched what is now known as the Albigensian Crusade, but it was fiercely resisted by the lords and people of the Languedoc, if in the end in vain. This ’song’ was written in two parts, the first by William of Tudela, a supporter of the crusade; the second by an anonymous continuer, wholeheartedly in sympathy with the southerners, although not with the heretics themselves. It stands as a historical source of great importance, not least because it depicts the side that lost. The poem is also a skilful, dramatic and often impassioned composition, evoking the brilliant world of landed knights and the glories and bloody realities of battle. Janet Shirley is an award-winning translator of works on the French Middle Ages. Other publications by her include the Song of Roland and, in this Crusade Texts in Translation series, Crusader Syria in the 13th Century and, with Peter Edbury, Guillaume de Machaut: The Conquest of Alexandria.

First English translation of important contemporary source for the history of the Cathar heresy and the Albigensian crusade.

Interprets thirteenth-century crusades in terms of the development of Europe, especially France

The Cathars and the Albigensian Crusade brings together a rich and diverse range of medieval sources to examine key aspects of the growth of heresy and dissent in southern France in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and the Church’s response to that threat through the subsequent authorisation of the Albigensian crusade. Aimed at students and scholars alike, the documents it discusses – papal letters, troubadour songs, contemporary chronicles in Latin and the vernacular, and inquisitorial documents – reflect a deeper perception of medieval heresy and the social, political and religious implications of crusading than has hitherto been possible. The reader is introduced to themes which are crucial to our understanding of the medieval world: ideologies of crusading and holy war, the complex nature of Catharism, the Church’s implementation of diverse strategies to counter heresy, the growth of papal inquisition, southern French counter-strategies of resistance and rebellion, and the uses of Latin and the vernacular to express regional and cultural identity. This timely and highly original collection not only brings together previously unexplored and in some cases unedited material, but provides a nuanced and multi-layered view of the religious, social and political dimensions of one of the most infamous conflicts of the High Middle Ages. This book is a valuable resource for all students, teachers and researchers of medieval history and the crusades.

The Albigensian Crusade in Occitania (1208-1229), which targeted the Cathar heretics as well as their orthodox compatriots, impelled an otherwise disparate set of Occitan noblemen to unite in opposition to the invasion. This newfound cohesion gave birth to an Occitan political community whose members were united by common fears, goals, and virtues. Through my analysis of the second portion of the chanson de geste, The Song of the Cathar Wars, authored by an anonymous poet sympathetic to the Occitans, I suggest the emergence of this Occitan community based upon (1) the portrayal of the French crusaders as well as the Occitan resistance fighters, (2) the way the anonymous poet framed the conflict in terms of conquest rather than crusade and (3) the characteristics and ideals attributed each side, most notably paratge. The question of whether an Occitan 'nation' or community existed during the Albigensian Crusade retains its relevance today in light of recent Occitan movements whose goals range from inspiring an Occitan cultural renaissance to attempting to create a modern Occitan nation separate from France.

In twelfth century Languedoc a subversive heresy of Eastern origin flourished to an extraordinary degree. The Albingenses believed that the world was created by an evil spirit, and that all worldly things - including the Church - were by nature sinful. Jonathan Sumption's acclaimed history examines the roots of the heresy, the uniquely rich culture of the region which nurtured it, and the crusade launched against it by the Church which resulted in one of the most savage of all medieval wars. '[Sumption] never fails to keep his narrative lively with the particular and the pertinent. He is excellent on the tactics and spirit of medieval warfare.' Frederic Raphael, Sunday Times