Page:Historyoffranc00yong.djvu/57

 tv.] EXTENSION TO THE SOUTH. 33 the Manichaean and Pauiician heresies, and had spread in the lands hing north of the Easrem Empire. Some Paulicians, when driven from the East, had found a refiige in the PjTenees, where their creei smouldered till the general activity of mind in the twelfth century brougnt it forward. Those who held it were commonly called Albigetises^ from the cit' of Alby, and seem, to have held very mischievous and wild doctrines. Their -^ perfect ones ^ tortured their bodies like Hindoo fakeers, but the general mass of the people were utterly licentious, despising marriage, and setting the moral law at nought, ilean- whUe they abused the Catholic clergy- and system in terms that have led some to think them of the same opinions as Protestants, whereas they had nothing in common with them but hatred to Rome. The whole country was in a conrupt state, and the clergy had fallen into vicious habits, which the .Albigenses were not slow to hold up to scorn and mocker-. Raymond, Ccunt of Toulouse, was a bold, high-spirited, clever man, free-thinkrng and loose in morals, with a strong contempt for the clergy and impatient of their claims. Without professing the Albigensian doctiine, he did not withdraw his fivourfiDm. such as did so, and it spread throughout his county and that of Provence. Missions oi Cistercian monks were sent by Innocent III. to preach the faith, bat in vain ; and P^Ur of Cast^liiau, one of these monks was. after rebuking the Count of Toulouse, murdered by some of his followers in a wood in 1 207. z. The Crusade against the Albig^enses, rioS. — Innocent III. in great wrath declared Raymond and his subjects foes to the faith, and in 120S proclaimed a war again it them as a crusade, eajually meritorious with fighting in the Holy Land. There was no lack of willing crusaders, chough Philip declared that he had enough on his hands with watching King John and the Emperor Otto. The leader was Sfmon, Count of ilontfort, in France, a devout, ambitious, and merciless wamor who claimed also the earldom of Leicester in England. On his approach Raymond quailed, and as the price of pardon, yielded seven of his best castles, was scourged by the legate at the door of the church of St. Giles. and took the Cross to fight against his own people. His x&'^h&vi. Raymond RogiT, I'hwunt of B<^:ii^.nwQulc. not brook such submission nor giA."e up the he^cs in his citj-, which was besieged in 1209. He was not within the