History of the Crusades

the Crusades Episode 158, the crusade against the Cathars, the Siege of Bocare.

Hello again.

Last week we saw young Raymond travel to the small region of territory allocated to him by Pope Innocent

and make the momentous decision to take on Simon de Monfort by besieging a castle under Simon's control.

While his father, Raymond the sixth, travelled to Aragon to seek support from the court of young King James, and

while the Counts of Vois and Comage are in their counties keeping their heads down, 19-year-old Young Raymond decides to take the

banner of rebel resistance and run with it.

Now from the outset it's clear that young Raymond is facing some challenges.

He has no military experience to speak of so he will be forced to rely heavily on his army which unfortunately for

Aymond is made up predominantly of men from his new domain men he doesn't really know and men whose strengths and weaknesses are a mystery to him.

He does however have some factors working in his favour. The first is the castle itself.

Boker has been a favoured residence of the Counts of Toulouse for generations, and many Raymonds before him

have graced its halls.

It's not too far from Saint-Gil, the ancestral base of the Counts of Toulouse, and young Raymond himself was born in the castle.

As such, he is familiar with the building. This is a big advantage. Every castle has its own

quirks, its own defensive wick points and structural characteristics and knowing these factors can be a huge advantage.

The other advantage in his favour is local support. The region he is now lord of a relatively small

territory to the east of the Rhone River is devoid of heretics, has never come under attack by Simon and is technically part of the Holy Roman Empire.

As soon as he crosses the river to Bokerre Castle, however, the situation is markedly different.

The region around Bokere has been ruled by the Counts of Toulouse as far back as anyone can remember.

And Raymond's ancestral ties with this area and its people are strong.

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