Things to See in the Languedoc:   Historic Cities:   Carcassonne  (  Carcassona):   
The Crusader Wars against the Cathars

For over a century, between 1082 and 1209 the city of Carcassonne enjoyed tremendous influence under the Trencavels , a family closely related to the family of St-Gilles, Counts of Toulouse.  The Trencavels were Counts of Albi, Carcassonne, the Razés, Béziers and Nîmes, but they ceded their possessions for political reasons to the King of Aragon and recieved them back as Viscounts.

The medieval period also saw the rise of the Cathar religion. Raymond-Roger Trencavel, Viscount of Carcassonne was sympathetic to this religion and offered Cathars refuge on his lands.   The young Count was not wise enough to enter into the alliance offered by his uncle, Raymond VI of Toulouse, nor to distrust the duplicity of the Catholic Crusaders.   Consequently, he ended up dying a miserable death in his own prison at the age of 24, a scandal at the time which is not forgotten even now.  

Carcassonne continued as a fortress city under the French invaders.   In 1247, the City, along with other possessions of the Viscounts of Carcassonne were formally confiscated by the French crown. 

Click here formore about the role of Carcassonne in the Cathar Wars .