the monks of Citeaux, as being more particularly the seats of heresy, were the states of Raymond VI, count of Toulouse, and those of his nephew Raymond Roger viscount of Alby, Beziers, Carcassonne, and Limoux in Rasez. Although Raymond of Toulouse had been a soldier of some distinction, he was mild, feeble, and timid, desirous of saving his subjects from confiscations and punishments, but still more desirous of saving himself from persecution. His nephew, on the contrary, was generous, lofty, and impetuous; he was twenty-four years of age; he had succeeded his father fourteen years before, and during his minority his states had been governed by guardians inclined to the new doctrines. These two princes, having learned that Arnold, abbot of Citeaux, leader of the crusade, had been nominated, by the pope, his legate in those provinces from which he designed to eradicate heresy, and that he had assembled a council of the chiefs of the sacred war, at Aubenaz, in the Vivarais, went thither to avert the storm, if possible. They protested that they were strangers to heresy; that they were innocent of the death of Peter of Castelnau; and they demanded at least to be heard, before they were condemned. The legate received them with extreme haughtiness, declared that he could do nothing for them, and that, if they wished to obtain any mitigation of the measures adopted against them, they must address themselves to the pope. Raymond Roger perceived by this language, that nothing was to be expected from negotiation, and that there remained no alternative but to place garrisons in all their strong

towns, and to prepare valiantly for their defence. But Raymond VI, overwhelmed with terror, declared himself ready to submit to any thing; to be himself the executor of the violence of the ecclesiastics against his own subjects; and to make war against his family, rather than draw the crusaders into his states. The two relations, not being able to agree upon the conduct they were to pursue, separated, with reproaches and menaces. Raymond Roger retired into his states, and immediately put himself into a defensive condition; he even began hostilities against the count of Toulouse, whose attacks he apprehended; whilst Raymond VI, after having assembled his most faithful servants at Arles, engaged the archbishop of Auch, the abbot of Condom, the prior of the Hospitalers of Saint Gilles, and Bernard, lord of Rabasteens in Bigorre, to proceed to Rouen, in order to offer his submission to Innocent III, and receive his indulgence.*

Raymond VI at the same time applied for the protection of his cousin, Philip Augustus King of France, and that of Otho King of Germany. The former at first received him with fair words, but afterward took occasion from the solicitations of Raymond to his rival, Otho, to refuse him all assistance. The ambassadors of Raymond to the pope, were on the contrary, received with apparent indulgence. It was required of them that their master should make common cause with the

* Historia de las Armas, p. 4, 5, 6. Hist. de Languedoc, liv. xxi, ch. xlii, p. 157. Hist Albigens. Petri Vallis Cern. c. ix, , p.

+ Guillelmi de Podio Laurentii, cap. xiii, p. 674.

crusaders; that he should assist them in exterminating the heretics; and that he should surrender to them seven of his best castles, as a pledge of his intentions. Upon these conditions the pope not only gave Raymond the hope of absolution, but promised him his entire favour.* Innocent III was, however, far from having pardoned Raymond in the bottom of his heart. For, at this same epoch, he wrote to the bishops of Riez and Conserans, and to the abbot of Citeaux, 'We counsel you, with the apostle Paul, to employ guile with regard to this count, for in this case it ought to be called prudence. We must attack, separately, those who are separated from unity, leave for a time the count of Toulouse, employing towards him a wise dissimulation, that the other heretics may be the more easily defeated, and that afterwards we may crush him when he shall be left alone.'t We cannot but remark, that whenever ambitious and perfidious priests had any disgraceful orders to communicate, they never failed to pervert, for this purpose, some passages of the holy Scriptures; one would say that they had only studied the Bible to make sacrilegious applications of it.

All the fanatics whom the preachings of the monks of Citeaux had engaged to devote themselves to the sacred war, began to move in the spring of the year 1209. The indulgence of the crusade had been offered to them on the lowest

* Historia de los faicts d'armas, p. 6. gens. cap. xi. p. 567.

+ Innocentii III Epist. lib. xi. Ep. 232. doc, liv. xxi. p. 160.

Petri Cern. Hist. Albi

Hist. gén de Langue

terms; they were required to make a compaign of only forty days, (to which the greater part of the vassals were obliged by the service of their fiefs,) in exchange for eternal salvation. The shorter the service was, the better it suited the neighbouring provinces.

It was, in fact, principally amongst the near neighbours of the Albigenses, that the Bernardins found means to draw after them nearly the whole population. Some authors have spoken of three hundred, or even of five hundred thousand pilgrims or crusaders who precipitated themselves upon Languedoc; the abbot of Vaux Cernay reckons but fifty thousand in this first campaign, and the smallest number is the most probable, especially in that age when very numerous armies were so seldom seen. We must not, however, include in this calculation the ignorant and fanatical multitude which followed each preacher, armed with scythes and clubs, and promised to themselves that if they were not in condition to combat the knights of Languedoc, they might, at least, be able to murder the women and children of the heretics. Several places had been assigned for the assembling of the crusaders. Arnold Amalric, abbot of Citeaux, legate of the pope, and chief director of the crusade, collected at Lyons the greatest number of combatants, principally those who had taken arms in the kingdom of Arles, and who were vassals of Otho IV; the archbishop of Bourdeaux had assembled a second body in the Agenois; these were subjects of the King of England; the bishop of

Puy commanded a third body in the Velay, who were subjects of Philip Augustus.

*

When count Raymond VI learned that these terrible band of fanatics were about to move, and that they were all directed towards his states, he hastened to represent to the pope, that the legate Arnold who conducted them, was his personal enemy, and it would be unjust' said he 'to profit by my submission, to deliver me to the mercy of a man who would listen only to his resentment against me.' To take from the count of Toulouse, in appearance, this motive for complaint, Innocent III named a new legate, Milon his notary or secretary; but far from endeavouring, by this means, to restrain the hatred of the abbot of Citeaux, his only aim was to deceive Raymond; 'for the lord pope expressly said to this new legate, let the abbot of Citeaux do every thing, and be thou only his organ; for in fact the count of Toulouse has suspicions concerning him, whilst he does not suspect thee.' +

The nearer the crusaders approached, the more the count of Toulouse, who had given himself into their power, was struck with terror. On the one hand, he endeavored to gain the affections of his subjects, by granting new privileges to some, and pardoning the offences of others who had incurred his resentment; ‡ on the other hand, he

* Petri Vallis Cern. Hist. Albigens. cap. xvi, p. 571. Historia de los faicts d'armas, p. 8 et seq. Hist. gén de Languedoc, liv. xxi, ch. liii, p. 167, 168.

+ Hist. Albigens. Petri Vall. Cern. cap. x, p. 566.

Remissio Consulibus et habitatoribus Nemausi;-Preuves de Languedoc, p. 211.