Scheduled Week Tours.
This is a tour aimed at English-speaking adults with an interest in the
Cathars. No prior knowledge is assumed, though in practice most people
who attend these tours will have read one or more popular books on the
Cathars and the Albigensian Crusade.
June 2024:
9 am, Saturday 15 June — 5 PM, Friday 21 June.
September 2024:
9 am, Saturday 14 September — 5 PM, Friday 20 September.
June 2025:
9 am, Saturday 21 June — 5 PM, Friday 27 June.
September 2025:
9 am, Saturday 20 September — 5 PM, Friday 26 September.
June 2026:
9 am, Saturday 13 June — 5 PM, Friday 19 June.
September 2026:
9 am, Saturday 12 September — 5 PM, Friday 18 September.
Group Size.
Groups sizes are variable but seven is typical.
Topics Covered
Who Were the Cathars?
Cathar Beliefs
Gnosticism and Early Christianity
Historical Context - The High Middle Ages
Sources
Where did Catharism come from?
Medieval warfare & siege techniques
The Albigensian Crusade
What are "Cathar Castles"?
The Inquisition and the end of Catharism
Some Interesting Questions
Consequences, Vestiges and Ramifications
Included is information on related topics such as techniques of medieval warfare, castle architecture, heraldry, feudalism, the role of the Catholic Church, the Count of Toulouse, Occitan culture, medieval politics, and source documents.
Places Visited, Outline Itinerary.
Schedule over 7 days, 6 nights:
We start at 9am on Saturday, so recommend that participants arrive earlier and stay overnight in Carcassonne. (We are happy to recommend hotels near the start point when you book)
Day 1 — Saturday — Lastours and Minerve In the morning we will visit the four castles at Lastours, where we will talk about the role of these castles in the wars against the Cathars - the Albigensian Crusade. We will also discuss the basics of Cathar belief. After lunch we will visit the picturesque town of Minerve and discuss the significance of events here in 1210.
Day 2 — Sunday — Fontfroide. Fontfroide is a beautifully restored Cistercian abbey which played an important role in many of the events associated with the Albigensian Crusade. We will discuss distinctive features of twelfth century Cistercians. Lunch is at the abbey restaurant, after which we visit the abbey gardens and discuss the role of monasticism, including military monasticism, specifically militias, Cistercian justifications for killing and warfare, Cistercians & crusading, fighting monks, and the Cistercian role in the foundation of the Knights Templar.
Day 3 — Monday — Fanjeaux and Saissac. In the morning we will visit the village of Fanjeaux, once a centre of Cathar belief. We will visit sites here and discuss the role of Saint Dominic (once the parish priest here). In the afternoon we will visit another importance centre of Cathar belief at Saissac.
Day 4 — Tuesday — Free day / Carcassonne. A free day is provided. You can enjoy a day enjoying local markets, food or wine, or catching up with postcards. Or visit Carcassonne, a World Heritage Site, and the largest surviving medieval walled city in Europe. You can visit the city walls, the site of several sieges, and also the Basilica, where Saint Dominic preached and Simon de Montfort was originally buried, see where the Inquisition had their headquarters, and do a self-guided tour of the Château Comtal, the Viscounts' castle within the Cité of Carcassonne.
Day 5 — Wednesday — Termes and Arques. We head through the Corbiéres to visit the castle at Termes, which was besieged for several months during the Albigensian Crusade and is one of the best attested sieges of the middle ages. Lunch is at a local restaurant. In the afternoon we will visit the castle at Arques, a spectacular donjon of the fourteenth century, built by the family of one of the crusade leaders and discuss the theory and practice of medieval crusading.
Day 6 — Thursday — Montségur & Puivert. In the morning we drive into the Ariege and climb to the iconic Castle of Montségur where over 200 Cathars were burned alive in 1244 after a ten month siege. We also visit the museum (time permitting) and have lunch in the village of Montsegur. The afternoon is spent at the Château at Puivert, known for its troubadour history, where a famous canso was composed, possibly for Eleanor of Aquitaine. We will also discuss the Occitan language, the origin of Romance and Romantic Love, and the origin of the troubadour tradition.
Day 7 — Friday — Foix. In the morning we visit the spectacular castle of Foix, the capital of the medieval Counts of Foix, who were major players in the Cathar Wars, and the most able and accomplished commanders on the side of the Occitan forces. Along with Carcassonne this is the best surviving castle from the medieval period with strong Cathar connections. We will discuss the Counts of Foix, their role in the Cathar crusades, and the speech made by one of them at the Fourth Lateran Council, where he powerfully defended his actions before Pope Innocent III, at the greatest Church Council of the High Middle Ages. After lunch in Foix we drive to Toulouse where we visit the site where Simon de Montfort was killed, before the tour ends, and we return to Carcassonne.
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On the tour we stay at two hotels (in Carcassonne and Quillan), the price of which is included in the cost of the tour for the nights of days 1,2,3,4,5 and 6.
For ease of travel the tour starts and finishes in Carcassonne, which has good railway and autoroute links, and an airport (Blagnac).
The tour starts on 9am on day 1 and ends in Carcassonne at 5pm on on Day 7, so you might want to stay at an hotel in Carcassonne on the nights of day 0 (before the tour) or day 7 (after the tour), or both. For hotels in Carcassonne, we recommend ones within easy walking distance of the Porte Narbonnaise
Cost (one-week tour)
The current cost (per person) is 2,900 Euros
INCLUDED: tour transport & lunches on tour days (1,2,3,5,6), hotels for tour nights other than the last day (ie, days 1-6), all entry fees.
EXCLUDED: Travel to and from the Languedoc, Lunch on day 4, breakfasts and suppers, Hotel accomodation before the start of the tour and after the end of the tour.
Please note: there is a 300 Euro supplement for those requiring their own bedroom
Other
There are no age or health restrictions, but you should be aware that there is some uphill walking. The most demanding is Montsegur - about 40 minute uphill walk, but we go slowly and take several stops. A few people chose to skip this.
Of the total cost you may pay the total on booking, or if you prefer 40% on booking and 60% 60 days before the start of the tour (ie currently 1,160 + 1,740 = 2,900 Euros)
Prices are revised each year. If you book and pay a deposit this year, the price is fixed at that rate for the following year.
We aim to be as flexible as possible. Just let us know if you have any special requirements and we will try to accommodate them.
