History of the Crusades

the Crusades Episode 164, the Crusade against the Cathars post-mortem.

Hello again.

Last week we saw the death of the leader of the crusade, Simon de Monfort, at the Siege of Toulouse.

Simon's 18-year-old son, armory, was appointed as Simon's 18-year-old son, Armory, was appointed as Simon's replacement.

But the siege was lifted a few weeks later, and the Crusaders withdrew back to Carcasson,

leaving the Toulousins in full control of their city.

Now, what the Crusaders want to know, what the rebels want to know, and what we want to know is, is this the end of the crusade?

The answer is no.

Although the death of Simon de Monfor pretty much did signal the beginning of the end of the crusade.

Simon's death and the failure of the crusaders to retake the city of Toulouse from the rebels was a watershed moment for both sides of the conflict and the resulting seismic shift in the crusade against the Cathars was massive.

A parallel generational shift also seems to happen at this time.

Obviously, the mantle of the leader of the crusade is taken up by Simon's 18-year-old son

Armory, while the now 21-year-old young Raymond steps into the limelight,

assuming the role once held by his father Raymond the 6th, who now, no doubt with a huge sigh of relief, takes a back seat in the war.

Likewise, the sons of the Counts of Vois and Camage step forward and also take a much more active role. Just to

complete the generational shift Prince Louis will represent the kingdom of France

for the remainder of the conflict.

So let's start by taking a look at the state of play in the crusader camp following the death of Simon de Monfort.

For all intents and purposes the crusade against the Cathars was all about one man, Simon de Monfort.

Simon had single-handedly led the conflict for so long

that he was the face of the crusade, the driver of the

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