The First Burnings of the Inquisition of Southern France

The First Burnings of the Inquisition of Southern France
(1242-1246)

English translation : Donna G. Dickerson


It is known that 225 men and women were burned at Montségur on March 16, 1244. In spite of the probable presence of the inquisitors Ferrier and Pierre Durand, who had already started to question the hostages delivered by the garrison fifteen days earlier, there were neither trials nor sentences. Thus the burning at Montségur was not, formally speaking, a burning of the Inquisition. It was a "burning of the Crusades", like those which Simon de Montfort had lit at Minerve in 1210, in Lavaur and Cassès in 1211.

Since its inception in 1234, the Inquisition nonetheless had tried a great number of cases and had pronounced sentences which, while handing over the condemned to the "secular arm", had inevitably commited them to the flames.

Several victims of these burnings can be identified thanks to the proceedings which were preserved to us, primarily (in the absence of the sentences themselves) the interrogations conducted from 1242 to 1246 by Ferrier and his colleagues (inquisitors for the diocese of Carcassonne, but in charge for the interim, of the diocese of Toulouse, for the inquisitors assassinated in Avignonet in May 1242), then by Bernard de Caux and Jean de Saint-Pierre, when the court of Toulouse was reconstituted.

Therefore here is a preliminary list (alphabetical) of 72 victims (39 male perfects and 33 female perfects) to inscribe in the martyrology of Occitan Catharism, which, curiously, has never been drawn up.


The references for sources are given in parentheses.

Here is the meaning of the abbreviations:
"22", "23", "24" = Paris, National Library, manuscripts of the Fonds Doat (Inquests of Ferrier, from October 5, 1242 to October 1, 1244. Copies from the 17th century). The number indicates the volume.
"609" = Toulouse, Public Library, Manuscript 609 (Inquests of Bernard de Caux and Jean de Saint-Pierre, from May 1, 1245 to March 24, 1246. Copy from1260).
The other sources are indicated in all letters.

• Arnaude X and his mother, captured in 1242 on a barthe where Raymonde Jougla had been conducted, dressed as a young man of Fanjeaux, "now held at the Narbonnais Castle". Burned in Toulouse, except for Raymonde, who, led before the fire, converts out of fear (609, 41a).
• Arnaude, of Lagarde, who visited Arnaude de Lamothe in the woods of Lanta in 1234 (23, 22a).
• AUTIER Raymonde, of Castelnaudary, reconciled by St. Dominic before 1215, then relapsed, arrested about 1240 with Beldone her sister, and two other perfect women, in the woods of Migrona between Verdun and Labécède, by the priest Guillaume Pons; burned in Castelnaudary (609, 251a and other references in 609, Doat 25 and 26, 14a.)
• AZILLE Guillaume (Guiraud, History of Enquiry II, p. 139, without reference) taken by Ferrier at Caunes, escaped, recaptured and burned.
• BACONE Vigouroux de la. Burned in Toulouse about 1232 (Very many references in Ms 609 and Doat 21 to 24)
• BANNIERES Raymonde de, grandmother of Arnaud Peyre, from Gaja, where she was captured, burned in Laurac. For having sheltered her three weeks, Arnaud Peyre was branded on the face with a red iron, and lost all his goods. Her daughter Algaia was imprisoned in Toulouse in 1245 (609,121b, 123a).
• BARTHE Azalmur, mother of the knight Raymond Barthe de Laurac. Arrested and burned in Toulouse. Her son avenged her by hanging the two sergeants of the prior who had her arrested (609, 73b, 74b, 7a; Doat 24, 1b, 2a).
• BENECH Arnaude, mother of Pierre Bénech de Laurac, arrested in Villeneuve-la-Comptal at the home of Pons Fabre, and burned. (609, 192b).
• BONMACIP Pierre, burned at Albi (Chronicle of the inquisitor Guillaume Pelhisson, published by Duvernoy p. 47 and 59)
• BORDES Raymonde, from the Mas-Saintes-Puelles (609, 29a).
• The mother-in-law of Peytavi BOURSIER (Pelhisson).
• CAIROL Guillelme de, (from Laurac?) Socia of Arnaude de Lamothe in 1241.(609, 73a)
• CAIROL "Guillelma Meta" de, [ Undoubtedly Guillemette, daughter of the foregoing ] (609, 73a).
• CAMBIAIRE Jean, and three other perfects arrested at Montsegur in 1241 (24, 46b).
• CAPELLE Pons, burned before November 1245 (at Montsegur?) (609, 122a).
• CELLAVINARIA Guillaume de (Guiraud p. 139, Enquêteurs) Burned at Carcassonne.
• CHARTRES : Chartres de Queille, burned before August 26, 1243 (23, 98a).
• CYBA Guillelme (from Villesiscle ?) arrested in Fanjeaux at the harvests of 1237. (609, 180b)
• ESTELO : Some Estelo, of Puylaurens, burned before May 12, 1244 (23, 112a).
• Two perfects (womens) arrested at Estelo's home about 1235-37 (23, 112a).
• FAURE Arnaud, of Auriac (609, 94a). A doctor originally from Cambiac. Taken and burned in 1245. Left a book to an inhabitant of Auriac.
• FAURE Pierre, (23, 285b.)
• FONTBONNE Maentia de, wife of Hugues de Fontbonne, from Hautpoul, arrested and burned between 1242 and September 1244 (23, 253b).
• GARRIGUE Arnaud de, (from Auriac or Caraman?) imprisoned at the Narbonnais castle, then burned before 1242 (609, 98a - 23, 336a).
• GARRIGUE Pierre de, of Maurens (609, 117a). Burned with Guillaume Ricard and his soci).
• GARSIAS Guillaume, burned before December 8, 1243 (22, 60a)
• GAVARET Bérengère de, mother of Sicard de Gavaret, knight of Montgiscard, in Toulouse (609, 67b).
• GIBEL : The wife of Isarn de Gibel, Saint-Martin-Lalande, in Toulouse (609, 33b).
• GIFFRE Arnaud (Pelhisson)
• GODALH Arnaud, of the Mas-Saintes-Puelles (609, 28b)
• GOMERVILLE Pons de, and his little son Bernard de Gomerville, captured in Montgaillard with Guillaume of Toulouse their host, and burned in Castelnaudary at Easter 1243 (609,47a)
• GOUZY Ermengarde, follower of Guillaume-Pierre de Lux, knight of Montesquieu (609, 101b).
• HUNAUD Guillaume-Bernard, arrested in Bousquet by the abbot of Saint-Papoul, burned at Toulouse about 1236-37.
• ISARN Pierre, Cathar bishop of Carcassès, arrested between 1233 and 1245 at the farmhouse of Cesseron near Auriac. (609, 87a,a, 95a, 236b - 23, 80b, 84b, 96b. See 24, 116a)
• LABECEDE Pagan de, (609,,118b, 121a, 124b, 127a, 232ab - 23, 110b - G. de Puylaurens, chap. 42.)
• LAMOTHE Géraud de (Chronicle of Guillaume de Puylaurens).
• LAVINIERE Raymond de la (Enquêteurs Royaux, and Guiraud p. 139). Burned at Carcassonne.
• MALINER Nassia de, and at least two socias, arrested at the home of Gariga, wife of En Miraval at Villesiscle, about 1230, and burned. (609, 182b) "About 1230".
• MAS Garsende du, mother of the co-lords of Mas-Saintes-Puelles.(609, 17a)
• MAS Gaillarde du, daughter of Garsende (609, 17a)
• MASSA Arnaude de (Caraman) burned between 1240 and 1244 (23, 317a).
• MASSALENC Pierre de, from Villeneuve(-lès-Lavaur), burned between 1241 and December 1245 (609, 117a)
• MAZELIER Arnaud, from Laurac, burned at Toulouse. (609, 75b, 79b)
• NA VIDALA Pierre de (Saint-Germier, Caragoudes ?) living in1243, burned before January 26, 1244 (609, 174a - 23, 318b)
• PECHPERDUT Pierre, burned at Albi Albi (Chronique of the inquisitor Guillaume Pelhisson, published by Duvernoy p. 47 and 59)
• RASEIRE Guillelme, from Auriac, arrested with his daughter around Christmas 1244, both burned.
• RIBEYRE Bernard, from Odars (609, 203b), burned between 1242 and June 1245.
• RIBEYRE Pons, brother of Bernard (609, 203b), burned between 1242 and June 1245.
• RICARD Guillaume (Lavaur ? Maurens ?) (609, 117a)
• The socius of Guillaume Ricard (609, 117a)
• ROBERT Bernarde, from Villeneuve-la-Comptal, (mother of Pétrone, wife of Guillaume Hinart) and her socia. Around 1230, at the home of Pons Fabre, Pétrone asked her to return to the Catholic faith and to believe in the Catholic Church, but she did not want to. Pétrone sent them off with a full bottle of wine and a loaf of bread, via Pierre Fabre. At the end of three days, they were captured and burned (609, 144a).
• ROQUEVILLE Raymonde and her socia. Marquésia AINARD, arrested at the home of Arnaud de Clarens at Cassès by the curate of Saint-Paul church in June 1245. Burned. (609, 216b, 222b, 223a, 224ab).
• ROUVILLE : the mother of Arnaud de Rouville (Rovilha) knight of Cabanial, burned at Cassès (in 1211 ?) (609, 94a)
• ROVERET Guillaume de, from Scaupont. Her widower Nomaïs testified December 17, 1245. (609, 246a).
• SABATTA Guillelme, socia of Guillelme Cyba (609, 180b).
• TOURNIER Vital (609, 117b).
• A daughter of Guillaume de Val, from the farmhouse of Laval, at Odars (609, 202a)
• Two "foreign" female perfects , conducted to Saint-Martin-Lalande the home of Pons Déjean by Guillaume Faure, bayle of St. Martin. Arnaud Déjean, son of Pons, was sick, and was looked after by a doctor named Jean. One of the perfects had a broken arm. The doctor did not want to care for her. The bayle set out again with them. The following day, they were arrested and burned. About 1237-1238. (609, 35a, 36b).
• Two female perfects, burned by P. Gairaud bayle of Laurac (609, 40a)
• Four male perfects, disguised as pilgrims seen at Castelsarrasin, burned at Toulouse before February 8, 1244 (22, 20a).
• Two male perfects, arrested in 1236 at the home of Arnaude Airouara in Bram, "were burned thereafter" (Pons Marcel, of Bram, 609, 189a).

In addition one Vaudoise arrested in Castres in 1239 was burned (609, 249b).

^® Michel Roquebert 2002.