Raymond Roger Trencavel
(also
Raimond
,
Occitan
:
Raimon Rogier
; 1185 – 10 November 1209) was a member of the noble
Trencavel
family. He was
viscount
of
Beziers
and
Albi
(and thus a
vassal
of the
count of Toulouse
), and viscount of
Carcassonne
and the
Razes
(and thus a vassal of the
count of Barcelona
, which was also ruling
Aragon
at this time).
Raymond-Roger was the son of
Roger II Trencavel
(d. 1194), and of
Azalais of Toulouse
(also known as the "Countess of
Burlats
"), daughter of
Raymond V of Toulouse
and sister of
Raymond VI
. Raymond-Roger was married to Agnes of Montpellier. His aunt, Beatrice of Beziers, was the second wife of
Raymond VI of Toulouse
.
Raymond-Roger lived in the
Chateau
Comtal in the fortified hill town of Carcassonne. The chateau was built by his ancestors in the 11th century. Raymond-Roger was not a
Cathar
, although many of his subjects were. He adopted a
laissez-faire
attitude to Catharism ? and to other cultures and religions. He relied strongly on
Jews
to run Beziers, his second seat of power.
By mid-1209, at the beginning of the
Albigensian Crusade
, around 10,000 crusaders had gathered in
Lyon
and began to march south. In June, Raymond of Toulouse, recognizing the potential disaster at hand, promised to act against the Cathars, and his
excommunication
was lifted. The crusaders headed towards
Montpellier
and the lands of Raymond-Roger de Trencavel, aiming for the Cathar communities around
Albi
and Carcassonne. Like
Raymond VI of Toulouse
, Raymond-Roger de Trencavel sought an accommodation with the crusaders, but Raymond-Roger was refused a meeting and raced back to
Carcassonne
to prepare his defences. The city of Beziers was sacked in July and its population massacred.
The town of Carcassonne was well fortified, but vulnerable and over-populated with refugees. The crusaders, led by a papal legate,
Arnaud Amaury
, Abbot of Citeaux, arrived outside the town on 1 August 1209. As vassal of King
Peter II of Aragon
, Raymond-Roger had hoped for protection, but Peter was powerless to oppose
Pope Innocent III
's army and could act only as a mediator.
The siege did not last long. By 7 August the crusaders had cut the town's access to water. Raymond-Roger accepted a safe-conduct to negotiate terms of surrender in the Crusader camp. At the conclusion of these negotiations he was taken prisoner while still under safe conduct, and imprisoned in his own
dungeon
, where he died, possibly of
dysentery
, though there were suspicions of
poisoning
.
The town of Carcassonne had surrendered on 15 August. The inhabitants were not massacred but were forced to leave the town.
Simon de Montfort
was granted control of the area encompassing Carcassonne, Albi, and Beziers. Raymond-Roger's dispossessed son,
Raymond II
(1204-1263), formally ceded his rights to
Louis IX of France
in 1247, after several failed attempts to recover his patrimony.
Sources
[
edit
]
- Graham-Leigh, Elaine.
The Southern French Nobility and the Albigensian Crusade
. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2005.
ISBN
1-84383-129-5
.