Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 10.djvu/597

 MONTGOLFIER

541

MONTGOLFIER

Leicester and large estates in England, for on the death of the fourth Earl of Leicester in that year, his honour of Leicester devolved on his sister Alicia, Simon's mother; and as her husband, Simon (III), and her eldest son were already dead, the earldom devolved on Simon himself. But though he was recog- nized by King ,Tohn as Earl of Leicester, he was never formally invested with the earldom, and in February, 1207, the king seized all his English estates on pretext of a debt due from him. Shortly afterwards they were restored, only to be confiscated again before the end of the year. Simon, content with the Norman estates he had inherited from the de Montforts and the de Beau- monts, remained in France, where in 1208 he was made captain-general of the French forces in the Cru- sade against the Albigenses. At first he declined this honour, but the pope's legate, Arnold, Abbot of Citeaux, ordered him in the pope's name to accept it, and he obeyed.

Simon thus received control over the territory con- quered from Raymond (VI) of Toulouse and by his

Storming of

Stone bas-relief in the cathedral of Carcas-sonne

military skill, fierce courage, and ruthlessness he swept the country. His success won for him the admiration of the English barons, and in 1210 King John received information that they were plotting to elect Simon King of England in his stead. Simon, however, con- centrated his fierce energies on his task in Toulouse, and in 1213 he defeated Peter of Aragon at the battle of Muret. The Albigenses were now crushed, but Simon carried on the campaign as a war of conquest, being appointed by the Council of Montpellier lord over all the newly-acquired territory, as Count of Toulouse and Duke of Narbonne (1215). The pope confirmed this appointment, understanding that it would effectually complete the suppression of the heresy. It is ever to be deplored that Simon stained his many great qualities by treachery, harshness, and bad faith. His severity became cruelty, and he de- livered over many towns to fire and pillage, thus in- volving many innocent people in the common ruin. This is the more to be regretted, as his intrepid zeal for the Catholic faith, the severe virtue of his private life, and his courage and skill in warfare marked him out as a great man.

Meanwhile the pope had been making efforts to secure for him the restitution of his English estates. The surrender of his lands by John was one of the conditions for reconciliation laid down by the pope in 121.3; but it was not till July, 1215, that John reluct- antly yiclflod the lionour of Leicester into the hands of Simon's ncplicw, Ralph, Earl of Chester, "for the benefit of the .suiu Simon". Simon's interest in Eng-

land was shown by his efforts to dissuade Louis of France from invading England in July, 1216, in which matter he was seconded, though fruitlessly, by the legate Gualo. Having at this time raised more troops in Paris, Simon returned to the south of France, where he occupied him.self in waging war at Nlmes, until in 1217 a rebellion broke out in Provence, where Count Raymond's son re-entered Toulouse. Simon hastened to besiege the city, but washampered by lack of troops. On 25 June, 1218, while he was at Mass he learned that the besieged had made a sortie. Refusing to leave the church before Mass was over, he arrived late at the scene of action only to be wounded mortally. He expired, commending his soul to God, and was buried in the Monastery of Haute-Bruyere. He left three sons, of whom Almeric the eldest ultimately in- herited his French estates; the youngest was Simon de Montfort, who succeeded him as Earl of Leicester, and who was to play so great a part in English history.

Canet. Simon de Montfort et la croisade contre les Albigeoia (Lille, 1891) ; Douais, Soumission de la Vicomte de Carcassonne par Simon de Montfort (Paris, 1884); L'Hermite, Vie de Simon, Comte de Montfort (g. I. a.): Molinier, Catalogue des actes de Simon et d'Amauri de Montfort in Biblioth. de I'ecole des Chartea (/srS), XXXIV (Paria, 1874); Norqate in Diet. Nat. Biog.. a. v. Simon (V) de Montfort.

Edwin Burton.

Montgolfier, Joseph-Michel, inventor; b. at Vi- dalon-lez-Annonay, Department of Ardeche, France, 26 August, 1740; d. at Balaruc-les-Bains, Depart- ment of Herault, France, 26 June, 1810. His father was a prosperous paper-manufacturer, who brought ui) nine children, presenting to them an example of high virtue, honesty, economy, and piety. Joseph was educated at the local college in a very unsatis- factory manner. When he returned home he found in the manufacture of paper subjects of study more to his liking. He set up an independent establish- ment with his brother Augustine in order to exercise the inventive faculties that were held in check by his economical father. His numerous ideas and pro- jects and his simplicity of character exposed him to financial losses, and eventually brought upon him an unjust temporary imprisonment.

He improved the manufacture of paper, invented a method of stereotyping, and constructed an air-pump for rarefying the air in the moulds. Numerous ob- jects of everyday life occupied his inventive genius. His most important work, however, was in connexion with hydraulics and aeronautics. He interested his brother Etienne in these so-called chimerical projects. They invented the hydraulic ram, which uses the energy from a copious flow of water under a small head in order to force a small portion of that water to a considerable height. Observations on the be- haviour of a sheet hung over a fire led them to attempt a number of experiments with balloons made of taffetas and filled with heated air. On 5 June, 1783, a successful exhibition took place before the Estates of Vivarais, assembled at Annonay. A globe, 110 feet in circumference and weighing about 500 pounds, was filled with air half as heavy as the atmosphere. This balloon rose to a height of 6600 feet and came down very gently at a distance of a mile and a half. This attempt naturally excited enormous interest throughout the civilized world. Joseph left to his brother the honour and duty of reporting to the Academy of Sciences at Paris and of repeating ex- periments at the expense of the Government. Bal- loons were constructed that carried with them a, fur- nace for the purpose of keeping the air ht^ated and therefore light, and two courageous physicists, Biot and ( lay-Lu.ssac made a successful ascent. At Lyons, Joseph and six others went up in a balloon 126 feet high and 102 feet in diameter. On 20 August, 1783, the lircilhiTs were placed4)y acclamation on the. list of correspondents of the Academy, "as scientists to