History of the Crusades

the Crusades Episode 163, the Crusade against the Cathars Lulup-S-Mott.

Hello again. Last week we saw Simon de Monfort retake the suburb of St.

Cyprian following about of inclement weather. He also held the Narnurnais castle and the camp outside the castle walls.

The Toulousins however remained securely inside their city and so the Siege of Toulouse continued.

By June 1218 the Siege had been underway for eight months making it by far the most lengthy military operation in the crusade against

the Cathars to date.

And the conflict wasn't getting any less brutal in its intensity.

The anonymous Troubadour reported that at this stage of the conflict any crusaders captured by the rebels were subjected to a cruel merciless death.

They were first tortured by having their tongues cut out or their eyes gouged, before then being executed either by hanging, by being dragged behind a horse or by being burned alive.

The Siege of Toulouse was being fought by men on both sides for whom

victory was a desperate all-consuming necessity.

At the beginning of June the rebels received reinforcements in the form of a large group of

Rutie, perhaps as many as 500 men from the northern reaches of the Arginay region.

The arrival of these men was greeted with so much noise by the Toulousins that Simon crossed the river to St Cyprian hoping that the sound signified

that one of the tower bridges had fallen to the Crusaders.

He must have been sorely disappointed to discover that the noise was actually the sound of

raucous celebrations and a joyous welcome for the rebels from the north. More celebrations were held a few days later

when young Raymond arrived in Toulouse with his forces from the Rhone Valley.

All this of course was not good news for Simon.

Clearly the rebels had no trouble at all reinforcing themselves with supplies and men and in this way the siege will continue indefinitely unless he found a way to break it. He took some of his crusaders on a slash and burn mission through the countryside surrounding the rebel city,

burning crops and destroying any sources of food they came across, but clearly more action than this was

...