August 1209 A.D. – Carcassonne – New Recruit

In the early thirteenth century, the Languedoc was one of the richest regions in France, and therefore in the whole of medieval Europe. The region stretched from Orleans in the north down to the Pyrenees in the south. The name of the region literally meant the language of Oc. Many people in the area, particularly amongst the peasants, used the language.

Nobles maintained a strong rule over the cities and the land. The great city of Toulouse, ruled by Count Raymond, had forty thousand inhabitants and competed for reputation with the likes of London and Paris. No less impressive was the massive walled fortress at Carcassonne, the ancestral home of the Trencavels.

In the early morning of late summer, the pale sunlight bathed the city’s walls. The round roofs of the turrets could be seen for miles. It was within the safety of this bastion that Raoul had taught for the first six months of 1204.

Raoul had spent many years travelling the length of the country, preaching. Blessing the believers and trying to convey his message to those who had yet to become converts. In many regions of France he needed to be extremely careful. The Catholic Church was notoriously hostile to different interpretations of Christianity. And they would most certainly regard Raoul as a dangerous heretic.

But the Languedoc was different. There were many more believers and a more laissez-faire, relaxed attitude to different belief systems.

Raoul particularly enjoyed his times in Carcassonne. He returned often, especially after an arduous trip. The heavily fortified town was the seat of power of the Viscount, Raymond Roger. He was the son-in-law of the powerful Count of Toulouse. Raymond Roger wasn’t a Cathar himself, but many Cathars lived in the town, enjoying his protection.

Raoul had spent all of the summer of 1204, so far, in Carcassonne. He spent a week at a time with several of the more prominent members of the community of believers. He was given board and lodgings in return for his blessings.

It was an interesting period theologically. Pope Innocent III had started to pay more attention to the Cathar movement. Rightly, he recognised it as a real threat to the Church of Rome. He had replaced his three legates in the Languedoc, whom he thought were too tolerant of Cathars. The new representatives were the Abbot of Citeaux, Arnold Amaury and two monks, Peter and Robert from the monastery at Fontfroide.

These were important men within the local church. They had managed to persuade the local nobles, including the Viscount of Carcassonne and the Count of Toulouse, to swear allegiance to the Catholic Church. But they had failed to get them to enact legislation that would allow persecution of heretics. The noblemen had too many friends and allies within the movement. And as rich men, the nobles had nothing to gain by disturbing the status quo in the region.

None of this impacted on Raoul’s life. He remained a loyal follower of the movement, spending his daily life in praying and teaching. But earlier that summer he had seen a hint of the political processes that were fomenting in the Languedoc.

The papal legates had decided that if they could not convince the nobles of their cause, then they would take their case to the public. In the early July of 1204, in the fortress of Carcassonne, they had arranged for a public debate to take place. They organised sets of thirteen Cathar and thirteen Catholic priests to state their respective cases. Count Raymond of Toulouse’s brother-in-law, Peter II of Aragon, was the adjudicator.

Raoul had joined the crowd who spent the day listening to the arguments. Both sides spoke with great eloquence. To Raoul, it seemed as though the Catholics has no reply to the accusations of idolatry and corruption. But to those in the crowd loyal to Rome, the Cathar’s repudiation of the saints and the cross were equally inexplicable.

The day ended with neither side clearly winning the argument. However, to Raoul and many of the other Cathars the very fact the debate had taken place seemed a validation of their beliefs.

As the long summer wore on, Raoul was delighted to find that the crowds who were prepared to listen to him had grown in number. Even better, there were many children and young adults in the audience. Young people loved listening to his soft, words of certainty. Loved hearing the stirring words of Christ being related by the dedicated Perfecti.

As he had been taught, so he had continued to teach. He preached that the world was a battleground between good and evil, and that the battle was continued inside everyone. He believed in all of the teachings from Jesus handed down through the centuries. There was nothing there to upset the most fervent member of the Catholic Church. But he went on to argue that the world was a battle between two gods. This would be dualist heresy, in the eyes of Rome.

He taught that the true God inherited the spiritual world, and that the creator God of the Christians and the Jews was actually evil. That explained all the miseries and suffering of the material world. It gave a reason for all the cruelty, wars, pestilence and hunger.

And more than that, Raoul preached that Christ was a spirit from the true God who had appeared in human form. Mary had provided the channel for the spirit to appear. Jesus was not the Son of God, and if the body in which the spirit lived had been crucified there was no resurrection. Because it was not an actual body, rather a vessel divinely conceived.

Christ had come to the material world, to show mankind the way to salvation. Not through him, but by discovering the true spirit inside of themselves. The way to salvation, Raoul taught, was through living a pure life. Otherwise, the future held the prospect of reincarnation. To be born again, in a different body, to resume the quest for a perfect existence. Even Cathar believers, who were not Perfecti, would find themselves returning to the world, for another chance at seeking enlightenment.

The austere life of the Cathar priests was in marked contrast to the people’s observations of the Catholic priesthood’s behaviour. Raoul could see in many people’s eyes the respect he gained from his lifestyle. Not dissimilar to the respect given to some of the Benedictine monks. The general population however, held many Catholic priests in open contempt. There were churches within the Languedoc where the mass had not been heard for years.

Raoul had taught many believers in his time, fathers, mothers, sons and daughters. The Cathar church was not particularly patriarchal, certainly not by the standards of medieval Europe. And Raoul had converted as many women as men to the cause. In the summer of 1204, though, one boy stood out from the others in his congregation.

He was a tall youth, perhaps twelve or thirteen years of age. He always stood quietly on the outskirts of the group, close to his mother’s side. Raoul knew her as a lady of Raymond Roger’s court. He also knew that no father had ever recognised the young man as his son. If he was honest, the boy reminded Raoul of himself.

The youth always came up to him after the lesson. He was always full of curiosity. Asking intelligent, searching questions that had Raoul forever thinking. Perhaps, thought Raoul this was a prospective Perfecti in the making.

Raoul talked to the boy’s mother and arranged for private lessons. He felt a sense of responsibility to ensure that this boy was correctly schooled in the ways of the Cathar community. His mother had been a follower for many years. In the court at Carcassonne, she had no need to hide her religious beliefs. She was only too pleased for Raoul to give her beloved son instruction.

The older priest looked forward to the regular discussions. He watched with interest as the young boy turned into a young man. Over the next five years, the youth developed a strong understanding of the true meaning of Christ’s words.

However, after each lesson, the young student regaled Raoul with the exploits of his training at court. He was adept at riding, jousting and swordsmanship. It became clear to Raoul that the closeted life of a Perfecti, would not be for the young man. Talk around the court suggested he would become a famous knight of the future. His proficiency in combat was plain for all to see.

Then, in the summer of 1209, Raoul heard that the word had been sent out from the Order of the Templars that a new recruit was required, for a special task. They needed a trained fighting man. But they had made clear they wanted someone who was a firm believer in the Cathar faith and tradition. Everything seemed to fit neatly into place. Raoul knew immediately what had to be done. He sent word to the warrior monks with the name of the young man, Allard.