La Cité de Carcassonne

It is located in a region of Southern France called Languedoc- Roussillion and is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea, Spain, and the Pyrenees Mountains. Carcassonne is a city in France. Carcassonne is composed of two cities. The actual Cité inside of the fortress and the Ville Basse on the opposite shore of the Aude River. They are connected by a bridge. Location

Carcassonne is one of the most complete and best restored medieval walled cities in Europe. It has a rich history that goes back thousands of years. It has fifty-two towers and two walls that add up to a total of three kilometers of ramparts. The Medieval City is small - only two kilometres around between the two fortified walls.

Ancient and Roman Times The Romans renamed the city Carcaso and it became an important frontier city in the Empire. The city was abandoned for unknown reasons in the Sixth Century B.C. and moved to its present location. Carcassonne was first established in the Eighth Century B.C. It was located a few miles away from its present site. During the Iron Age it was known as Carsac.

The Visigoths and the Dame of Carcas After the fall of the Roman Empire Carcaso was taken over by the barbarian Visigoths and its name was changed again to Carcasona. Carcasona was captured by the Arabs in the eighth century A.D. It was once again invaded in 759 by the Francs. An interesting legend arose from this siege which is not really based on fact.

The culture of the troubadours originated in Languedoc and much of their songs are written in Occitan. The Chateau Comtal was constructed during this time as well as the suburbs of Saint-Michael and Saint-Vincent. The Trencavels were the feudal lords of Carcassonne and the surrounding area during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The region was autonomous of the Capetian Dynasty in France. Languedoc was known to be very tolerant towards religious minorities and it was very prosperous. The Trencavel Dynasty

Woman were allowed to become Perfect. The Perfect wandered the country and preached their faith. Very few of those who were attracted by catharism became one of the Perfect, unless it were on their deathbed, when extreme asceticism no longer posed any problem. Believers could enjoy the society of the perfect without being perfect themselves. The Perfect The “Perfect” were those who had renounced the material world and vowed to live an ascetic life. They gave up: Property Meat, eggs, or any other product of animal intercourse Taking oaths Main Beliefs The material world was evil and was created by Satan. God sent Jesus in the form of a spirit to tell man that they could be saved. The teachings of Jesus were misinterpreted and falsified and the Orthodox Church was built on these errors. The only Hell was the material world that man lived in. Catharism first appeared in the East, it was strongly established in the Balkan Peninsula by the year It migrated north through Italy to France. Catharism-the Great Heresy

Simon de Montfort –Leader of the Papal forces during the Crusade. –He was granted the Trencavel land after his victories. –He was reviled by the populace and constantly had to invade and defend his territory. Raymond-RogerTrencavel –Viscount of Beziers, Albi and Carcassonne. –Was not a Cathar, but sympathized with their cause and sheltered the Perfect in his cities. Raymond VI –Count of Toulouse and nominal overlord of much of Langudoc. –Was sympathetic to the Cathars and sheltered them, although he tried to play both sides. King Louis IX –King of France who eventually gained ownership of Carcassonne and established a seneshalsy. –Rebuilt the city and created the Bastide. –He was eventually cannonized. Pope Innocent III –Pope from –At first he tried to convert the heretics using public debates. –Repeatedly ordered Raymond of Toulouse to rout out the Cathars. After many promises but no results, Innocent III called for a crusade. Raymond Trencavel II –Son of Raymond Roger, he attempted to retake the city and led a siege against the city with the help of the people of the suburbs. This destroyed much of the city. The Main Characters of the Albigensian Crusade

As a result, every man, woman, and child was massacred in the city. Beziers –Beziers is a city close to Carcassonne. –It was the site of the first major battle of the Albigensian Crusades. –During the siege, the papal forces gave the residents the opportunity to safely leave. They refused. "Show mercy neither to order, nor to age, nor to sex....Cathar or Catholic, Kill them all... God will know his own....“ ~Arnold Aimery

The Siege Of Carcassonne Raymond Roger retreated from Beziers to the more heavily fortified Carcassonne. The city held out for two weeks until its water supply became strained due to an influx of refugees from the two suburbs. Simon de Montfort offered the Count parley and he accepted. –The Count agreed to be arrested for treason in exchange for the enemy agreeing not to massacre his city. –He died in his own dungeons a few months later under mysterious circumstances.

Simon de Montfort was granted the lands that he conquered. He spent his lifetime defending his land from her original owners and continuing the Crusade against the Cathars. –His son was a weak ruler and the land was eventually ceded to the Frankish crown. King Louis IX began a massive rebuilding project. – He also destroyed the two suburbs to prevent future uprisings. – He created a new suburb in 1248 called the “Saint- Louis Bastide” in its place. – Two of his successors, Philippe le Hardi and Philippe le Bel continued the restoration and expansion of the Cité. The Siege of 1240 Raymond Roger’s son, Raymond II, launched a siege against the city with the support of the people of Saint Michel and Saint Vincent. He failed but left the city’s defenses in ruins. Aftermath

Fate of the Cathars The Crusades did not succeed in wiping out Catharism. Pope Innocent III established the very first Papal Inquisition as a response to the Cathars. –The Inquisition was given almost unlimited power to supress the heretics. –The Cathars were not well organized and did not believe in violence. They were thus easy prey and were wiped out by the end of the thirteenth century. –The Inquisition would go on to crush out any form of heresy it encountered in the ensuing centuries.

The Saint-Louis Bastide The Bastide is known as the Ville Basse (Lower Town). It was founded in –Two churches were built called Saint-Michel and Saint-Vincent to commemorate the suburbs that were destroyed following the crusade. The Bastide became very prosperous and a center for the drapery industry in Languedoc. Its fortune quickly changed during the fourteenth century when a combination of the Black Plague, famine, and the Hundred Years War devestated the city. –It was rebuilt and some defenses were added as well a bridge that connected it to the Cité. Since then it has rebounded in fortune and until recent times it outstripped the Cité in economic prosperity.

The Decline of the Cité The economy of the inner city began to decline as the years passed. Napolean I downgraded the importance of the fortress and the seat of the Church to the Bastide. The population dwindled to several hundred and they were wretchedly poor. –The Bastide was as prosperous as the Cité was decrepit. –A fierce rivalry developed between the two faces of Carcassonne. –The Cité slowly fell into ruin.

Restoration A push was made in the 19 th century to renovate the ruined city. The architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc devoted his career to rebuilding the ramparts, towers, and important buildings. –He was lauded for his work, however there was heated controversy over some of his designs.

Carcassonne Today The Cité was named an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997 –Carcassonne is now the second most popular tourist draw in France outside of Paris. Many directors have used the cité as a backdrop or inspiration for their films. There is an annual medieval festival that draws thousands of visitors throughout the world. The people have benefitted from the economic boost of the tourism.