The Virgin Mary’s Image Usage in Albigensian Crusade Primary Sources

Abstract

The image of the Virgin Mary appears with increasing frequency in written sources from the 12th and 13th centuries compared to earlier periods. Three major works produced by four eyewitness authors of the Albigensian Crusade (Historia Albigensis, Chronica, and Canso de la Crozada) reflect on and respond to this popular theme. These sources focus on the Albigensian Crusade against heretical groups, particularly the Cathars, and employ the Virgin Mary motif for various purposes. The Virgin Mary is presented as a Catholic model for women drawn to Catharism (a movement in which female spiritual leadership was also present) as a divine protector of the just side in war and as a means of legitimizing the authors’ claims. While Mary appears sporadically in Peter of Vaux-de-Cernay’s Historia Albigensis, she is extensively invoked in the Canso by both William and his anonymous successor. In contrast, the image of the Virgin Mary is scarcely mentioned in Chronica, likely due to the narrative’s intended audience and objectives. This article aims to provide a comparative analysis of how the image of the Virgin Mary is utilized in these primary sources from the Albigensian Crusade and to offer a new perspective on the relationship between historical events and authors’ intentions, laying the groundwork for further research.

1. Introduction

The theme of the Virgin Mary and the miracles, praises, and prayers attributed to her were frequently used in medieval European sources from the 12–13th centuries. When examining Albigensian Crusade period sources, the image of the Virgin Mary is seen to have become an important part of the texts. The first decade of the Albigensian Crusade, which actually began with the gathering of the Crusader army in Lyon in 1209 and the march against the heretic Cathars in the Languedoc region and ended with the Treaty of Paris (Meaux) in 1229, were recorded by four different authors in three works. These sources are Peter of Vaux-de-Cernay’s (d. circa 1218) chronicle titled Historia Albigensis (or Historia Albigensium), William of Puylaurens’ (d. circa 1274) Chronica, and the poetic Occitan work Canso de la Crozada [Song of the Albigensian Crusade], which William of Tudela (d. circa 1214) began and an anonymous author finished.

The Cathar faith, which the Catholic Church describes as religious heresy despite viewing it as an extension of Manichaeism1 in its eyes, is based on Christianity. Examples such as belief in Jesus and Mary, a hierarchical structure, and ritual forms similar to the Catholic Church reveal Christian elements to be dominant in Catharism (Barber 1977, pp. 71–72). Thus, the Virgin Mary can be seen as a theme that was able to be used in the theological struggle with the Cathars. Additionally, members of the Cathar clergy can also be chosen from among women (O’Shea 2001, pp. 42–43). The Cathars’ inclusion of women in theological life may have created a need for another symbol to represent the place of Catholic women in religious life. When looked at from another perspective, the theme of the Virgin Mary, which was frequently used in the part of Canso de la Crozada written by the anonymous author, may have been used as a popular Christian symbol of the period and as proof of it being non-heretical.

Peter of Vaux-de-Cernay, the author of Historia Albigensium and one of the works in question, was a monk of Les Vaux-de-Cernay Abbey, from where he took his name. Peter, who received his education in said Abbey, studied oratory and religious literature as required by classical church education. His uncle, Guy des Vaux-de-Cernay (d. 1223), was abbot of this monastery and an important clergyman who had personally participated in both the initial part of the Fourth Crusade and the Albigensian Crusade. Peter, who followed his uncle to the Albigensian Crusade, recorded the first decade of the expedition in his work, concluding it shortly after the death of the expedition’s military leader, Count Simon de Montfort (d. 1175–1218; Peter of Vaux-de-Cernay 2000, pp. xxv–xxvi).

French translations of Historia Albigensium date back to the 15th century. However, these works contain numerous errors. In fact, François Guizot brought his translation into French which he titled Histoire de l’hérésie des Albigeois et de la Sainte Guerre Entreprise Contre Eux (de l’an 1203 à l’an 1218) [History of the Albigensian Heresy and the Holy War Waged Against Them (1203–1218 AD)] in 1824. Pascal Guébin and Henri Maissonneuve published Historie albigeoise in 1951 (William of Tudela 1989). The only example of an English translation is the work W. A. Sibly and M. D. Sibly completed in 1998 under the title The History of the Albigensian Crusade, which includes extensive notes, annotations, and supporting text fragments (Peter of Vaux-de-Cernay 1855, 1880, 2000).

William of Tudela and an anonymous author penned a troubadour2 song about the Albigensian Crusade that is 214 laisses [French stanzas] long and called Canso de la Crozada. William, who wrote his work in Occitan, claimed to have received priestly training in the city of Tudela in the Canso and to have worked as a man of the cloth and soothsayer by entering the service of Baldwin of Toulouse (1165–1214), brother of Count Raymond VI of Toulouse (1156–1222). William, whose work took on a new direction after 1214, is thought to have died around this time and his work to have been continued by an anonymous anti-Crusader troubadour (William of Tudela 2000, pp. 1–2).

Claude Fauriel made the first translation of the Canso into French in 1837 under the title of Historia de la croisade contre les hérétiques albigeois based on parallel Old Occitan and French texts. Paul Meyer published his own two-volume translation between 1875 and 1879 under the title La chanson de la croisade contre les albigeois. Eugéne Martin-Chabot published his own translation of the work in three volumes between 1973 and 1989 under the title La chanson de la croisade albigeoise and containing detailed comments and comparisons. Henri Gougaud also put his own reciprocal work to paper in 1984, translating with the same title into Old Occitan and French. In 1996, Janet Shirley published an English translation of Canto in prose under the title The Song of the Cathar Wars (William of Tudela 2000, pp. 8–10).

Although younger than the other two known authors, William of Puylaurens was educated under the supervision of Bishop Fulk of Toulouse (d. 1150–1231), also known as Folquet de Marselha, and served as court priest in the service of Count Raymond VII (1197–1249). William of Puylaurens (2003, pp. xx–xxiv), who also played an active role in the French Inquisition, wrote his work titled Chronica, which also covers the Albigensian Crusade. Histoire de la guerre des Albigeois, the first French translation of Chronica published in 1824, belongs to François Guizot. Published by Charles Lagarde in 1864, Chronique de Maitre Guillaume de Puylaurens sur la guerre des albigeois is based on a different copy of Chronica with controversial origins that Guillaume Catel had revealed in 1623 (William of Puylaurens 1864, p. xi). Jacques Beyssier’s translation in 1904, titled Guillaume de Puylaurens et sa chronique, was followed by Jean Duvernoy’s comparative French-Latin translation titled Guillaume de Puylaurens: Chronique/Chronica magistrii Guillelmi de Podio Laurentii. In 2003, W. A. Sibly and M. D. Sibly translated Chronica into English under the title The Chronicle of William of Puylaurens: The Albigensian Crusade and Its Aftermath, with detailed annotations and appendices (William of Puylaurens 1864, pp. xvii–xix).

2. Materials and Methods

The aim of this study is to examine the ways in and purposes for which three period sources written by eyewitnesses to the Albigensian Crusade used the image of the Virgin Mary and to interpret these from a new perspective. Different authors’ education, affiliations, and backgrounds can lead to the same historical event being interpreted and recorded in many ways. A study such as this can lead to new studies directed toward a different perspective regarding the evaluation of different historical texts, particularly on the basis of historiography.

The article uses primary sources and research works. The narrative is based on Peter of les Vaux-de-Cernay’s Historia Albigensis, eyewitnesses of the Albigensian Crusade, William of Tudela and his anonymous successor’s poetic song known as Canso de la Crozada, and William of Puylaurens chronicle named Chronica. References are made in the appropriate sections to period sources such as medieval Mariology studies, texts, and sermons on heretics, as well as to research works by such historians as Robert Ian Moore, Yuri Stoyanov, and Malcolm Barber who are specialized in the Cathar heresy and Albigensian Crusade.

While Latin, English, and French sources cover the majority of the references in this text, it also includes some studies conducted in Türkiye on these issues. The Introduction has proposed the eyewitness sources, as well as the purpose and scope of this study. The subheading Catholics and Cathars’ Perception of the Virgin Mary covers the views of Catholic and Cathar beliefs on the Virgin Mary, a general summary of the Mariology studies of the period, and the solutions the two beliefs offer regarding the relationship between the Virgin Mary and Original Sin. The ways in which the theme of the Virgin Mary was included in the examined sources are examined under the subheading of The Use of the Virgin Mary Phenomenon in Primary Sources, and the findings are evaluated in the Conclusion section. Instead of analyzing the period sources that have been taken as the subject in order, the texts are processed comparatively with a focus on the mentioned subheadings.

3. Results

In order to make the research more understandable, the main reasons for the theme of the Virgin Mary being used in the Albigensian Crusade are emphasized. The increased frequency of the Virgin Mary being mentioned in medieval Europe was a result of the discussions on Mariology by theologians such as St. Bernard of Clairvaux and St. Anselm in the 12th century. The nature of Mary was debated during this period, and various interpretations were made regarding Original Sin’s effect on Mary and Jesus. Meanwhile, the 12th century also marks when the activities of the Cathar heretics—who had settled in the Languedoc region, particularly in Albi and Toulouse—were identified. Catharism was a dualist-Gnostic form of belief that associated material possessions with evil. The Cathars claimed the Virgin Mary to be an archangel and thus had been born from a purely spiritual, and therefore sinless, being. The Cathar presence in the Languedoc region increased significantly in the early 13th century. One factor that contributed to this increase was that women in the Cathar faith were more active theologically and at higher levels than women in the Catholic faith.

The article has examined both on collectively and individually the periodical sources written by authors who had been present at the Albi Crusade. The points mentioned about the Virgin Mary in Peter of les Vaux-de-Cernay’s Historia Albigensium have been identified. These points were limited to miracles seen in a church that bore the name of the Virgin Mary, as well as certain references to the Holy Virgin’s support for the Crusaders. Peter was a member of the Cistercian order, in which Bernard of Clairvaux had strong influence, and began his work not to oppose heresy but to express the necessity and justification of the Albi Crusade, commemorating the Virgin Mary with this goal. William of Tudela, who authored the first part of Canso de la Crozada, described how the Crusaders frequently turned to the Virgin Mary in their oaths and prayers. Being a troubadour song, Canso aimed to reach a broad audience. Assuming that his audience included Cathars or Catholics leaning toward Catharism, William of Tudela can be said to have been trying to present the theme of the Virgin Mary as a Catholic alternative for women. William’s anonymous successor shifted the support of the Virgin Mary to the County of Toulouse and its vassals; this was due to his negative view toward the Crusaders. Mary being mentioned more frequently in the part by the anonymous author than in the part by William of Tudela is thought to be due to the anonymous author’s intention to clarify the difference between the Languedocians and Cathars. William of Puylaurens did not mention Mary in his Chronica. William of Puylaurens’ work should be noted to be an official chronicle and to have not been intended for the general reader.

In general, the theme of the Virgin Mary is observed to have been a symbol that was used to indicate the right side and for imposing authors’ own views on the target audience. The authors’ backgrounds and allegiances changed the way the Virgin Mary was used, but their purpose remained constant. Identifying how different authors who had recorded the same circumstance changed and used the same theme to suit themselves will help develop a new perspective in future studies.

4. Discussion

The twelfth and thirteenth centuries represents a critical juncture where the image of the Virgin Mary underwent a significant process of institutionalization within the Western European theological and artistic sphere. This transformation materialized through two primary vectors: liturgical practice and iconographic production. Her core identity as Theotokos (Mater Dei/Mother of God) was systematically entrenched as major feasts, such as the Assumption (Assumptio), were fully integrated into the liturgical calendar. Concurrently, the proliferation of Gothic cathedrals and their associated plastic programs decisively centralized the figure of Mary. Iconographically, she transcended the role of simply the Mother of Christ to embody multiple, exalted functions: the symbolic personification of the Church, the intercessor (Mediatrix), and the ‘Queen of Heaven’ (Regina Coeli). This comprehensive iconographic and theological intensification reflects the synergistic relationship between the deepening scholastic debates on Mariology and the ascendance of popular devotion, thus establishing the Virgin Mary as the pivotal focus for both the collective mnemonics of faith and the sustained continuity of ritual practice.

The image of the Virgin Mary was used more frequently in the Middle Ages, especially in texts written in the 12th and 13th centuries, compared to previous periods. St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153) is undoubtedly the most significant name behind the popularity of the Virgin Mary in Western Literature during this period. A pioneer of the Cistercian Order, an architect of the Second Crusade, and an influential preacher, St. Bernard made reference to the Virgin Mary whenever possible in his works and sermons. Bernard even placed Mary at the center of his narrative in some of his sermons, such as Sermones Laudibus Virginis Matris [Sermons in Praise of the Virgin Mother] (Waddell 2010, pp. xiii–xv).

Two main perspectives were identified regarding praising the Virgin Mary in the Middle Ages. Earlier theological writers such as St. Aurelius Ambrosius, Bishop of Milan (339–397), Severus, Patriarch of Antioch (d. 538), and Germanos I, Patriarch of Constantinople (circa 634–742) argued the Virgin Mary to have been free from Original Sin (Haffner 2010). After Ambrosius, this idea was reintroduced into Catholic theology in the 12th century through the biography of St. Anselm (1034–1109) written by his friend, the Monk Eadmer (circa 1060–1126). In his work De Conceptione Sanctae Mariae [On the Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary], Eadmer (Eadmer of Canterbury 1904, p. 13; Southern 2000, p. 435) claimed that the Virgin Mary had to have been free from Original Sin in order to give birth to Jesus, who was sinless and divine.3

St. Anselm was closest to Eadmer and the first to oppose his idea. In his work De Conceptu Virginali et de Originali Peccato [On the Virgin Conception and the Original Sin], Anselm stated that Mary being devoid of Original Sin contradicts Jesus’ resurrection (Southern 2000, pp. 108–9). Although Bernard of Clairvaux was greatly interested in the narrative of the Virgin Mary, his opinion was also in line with this. Although St. Bernard denied that Mary was free from Original Sin, he argued that the Virgin Mary should have a central intermediary position in theology because of her virtues and her inability to commit sin (Bernard of Clairvaux 1839; Salvador-González 2022, p. 1188; Pradier 2023, p. 471; Congar 1955, pp. 408–12). From this perspective, love and respect for Mary and her embodiment of humility and many virtues allows faith to be strengthened. Bernard explained Mary’s importance for Christianity, saying, “Mary’s existence illuminates the whole world, so much so that even our homeland in the sky shines brighter by being illuminated by the light of the Virgin’s lantern.”4

Bernard of Clairvaux was one of the first Catholic clerics to engage in an intellectual struggle with the Cathars. William of Puylaurens provided some information that St. Bernard had gone south for a while and preached in various settlements in the Languedoc region, particularly in Verfeil.5 In fact, the Cistercian Order, which had played a significant role in shaping St. Bernard, is closely associated with the Albigensian Crusade. Guy of Vaux-de-Cernay (d. 1223), abbot of the Cistercian Abbey of Les Vaux-de-Cernay, served as a minister during the Albigensian Crusade. Later, Guy became bishop of Carcassonne, which was conquered by the Crusaders. Bishop Guy was also the uncle of Friar Peter of Vaux-de-Cernay, one of the authors examined in this study (Longnon 1978, pp. 127–28). Therefore, the theme of the Virgin Mary can be thought to have not been foreign to the Cistercians.

On the other hand, the heretic Cathars, whom the Cistercians fought against intensely, clearly viewed the Virgin Mary as a supreme personality. Mary’s nature, however, is completely different for the Cathars. As a dualist heretic group, the Cathars believe that everything material, including the human body, is evil. According to the absolute dualist view6, the spiritual world had been created by the Good God and the material world by the Evil God, namely the God of the Old Testament. The human body had been created “by Satan, from clay, in Satan’s image” (Bozóky 2009, pp. 129–32). According to moderate dualists, Satan is the one who had created the material world from the materials left by God. Jesus, the son of God (or the Good God), is very much only spiritual. In order to reject Jesus’ inherently evil human nature, one must also discuss the nature of Mary, Jesus’ mother. Jesus, who could not be born from the evil human body, was born from Mary, an angel who had been sent previously to the world (Manselli 1968, pp. 139–40; Hamilton 2005, pp. 27–31).

In a dialogue included in the anonymous author’s anti-heretic text Disputatio inter Catholicum et Paterinum Hereticum (1717) (c. 1250) [Dispute Between a Catholic and a Heretic Pateren], the Cathar disputant expressed the Cathars’ general view of the Virgin Mary, saying, “If you believe Mary was a woman, can you tell me who her mother and father were? You will not find this anywhere in the Bible, because Mary was an archangel.”7 In support of this view, the anonymous book Interrogatio Iohannis/Cena Secreta [John’s Questions/Secret Dinner], thought to have been circulating among the Cathars, contains the following statement: “When my Father thought of sending me into this world, He sent His angel, Mary, my mother, to receive me from the Holy Spirit. And I entered through her ear and came to the world.”8 Dominican Inquisitor Raniero Sacconi (1200–1263; Sacconi 1939)9 also appears to have confirmed this point (Sacconi 1991, pp. 329–46). Moreover, the Cathars, who had a belief system that did not approve of sexual intercourse and childbirth, could not accept a mother giving birth or a person being born from a mother as a guide.10

In the eyes of the Cathars, a human being made of flesh and blood and therefore inherently evil could not possibly give birth to the Son of God. Nevertheless, there is a way for a woman to attain divine perfection. The role of the Perfects (male singular/plural: Perfectus/Perfecti), who are considered for Cathar priesthood, could also be filled by women (singular/plural: Perfecta/Perfectae). Perfectae performed almost the same11 tasks as Perfecti. Records exist of Perfectae educating female believers (singular/plural: credens/credentes) and spreading the Cathar doctrine in various houses in and around Toulouse. The popularity of Catharism, especially among women, can be viewed as the success of Perfectas and of giving women a greater role in religion.12

Along with Bernard of Clairvaux, the Church is known to have waged an intellectual struggle in the region, sending preachers to the Occitania region, particularly Toulouse. The theological struggle against the Cathars escalated into military action when the papal legate Pierre de Castelnau (d. 1208) was assassinated by unidentified assailants following an unfavorable meeting with Count Raymond VI of Toulouse (1156–1222) in Toulouse in 1208. Pope Innocent III (1160–1216) held Count Raymond VI responsible for the death of the legate Pierre, excommunicated Raymond VI, and declared a Crusade against his lands. Many Northern French nobles and clergy, in particular Count Simon de Montfort (1175–1218) and Cistercian Abbot Arnaud Amaury (d. 1225), attacked the southern lands and captured settlements such as Béziers, Carcassonne, Cabaret, and Toulouse. The Crusader advance, which continued until 1216, turned into a retreat through the rebellions and resistance of Toulouse. Having besieged Toulouse between 1217 and 1218 with the aim of recapturing it, the Crusaders withdrew after the death of Count Simon. Through the intervention of the French crown in later years, the expedition ended in favor of the Crusaders (and the French crown), and the French Inquisition13 took its place in the fight against heretics (Lambert 2002, pp. 143–47; Özer 2021, pp. 9–12).

The idea behind the Albigensian Crusade was to convert the Cathar heretics or destroy by force of arms those who were not convinced by preaching and peaceful means. Those supporting Toulouse claimed that this situation had taken a completely political form and that the main aim of the Crusaders (or the French, as the anonymous author of the Canso stated) had changed to acquiring property and possessions by force, using religion and committing massacres for this purpose. Criticizing the inscription written after Count Simon’s death, the anonymous author expressed his ideas about the Crusaders through the figure of Count Simon as follows:

“A man [Count Simon] who can conquer the kingdom of Jesus Christ by killing and shedding his blood/by making souls lose their way and consenting to murder/by following false advice and setting fires/by destroying nobles and degrading the paratge14/by stealing land and encouraging arrogance/by inflaming evil and extinguishing good/by killing women and tearing children apart/should wear a crown and shine in the sky.”15

As can be seen, the Crusaders’ acts of destruction (e.g., the massacre that took place after the Crusaders took Béziers in 1209; the events in Marmande in 1219) left a permanent mark on the memory of the Southerners (William of Tudela 2000, pp. 188–89).

The theme of the Virgin Mary is a phenomenon that has different meanings for both Catholics and Cathars. While ideas about the Virgin Mary (e.g., her nature) were initially a matter of debate for Catholics, the Virgin Mary, similar to most Catholic values, began to serve different purposes in the sources of the period with the establishment of such a so-called religious heresy as the Cathars in Western Europe. For these reasons, the use of the theme of the Virgin Mary was inevitable in period sources from the Albigensian Crusade.

Usage of the Phenomenon of the Virgin Mary in Primary Sources

Peter of Vaux-de-Cernay used the theme of the Virgin less than one might expect from one in the religious order of Bernard of Clairvaux and familiar with the praises of Mary. This can be found in the fact that, unlike Mary Magdalene16, no negative attributes had been attributed to the Virgin Mary in Cathar theology. Another reason is this text’s target audience. Peter, a Cistercian monk, would rather address other clergy and educated nobles than the public.17 In fact, the philosophical and theological quotations in the text are far from popular in nature. Proving and recording the legitimacy of the Crusade would have been a more advantageous approach for Peter. The Albigensian Crusade had occurred in Europe non-customarily and had the potential to generate opposition in secular and ecclesiastical circles much more easily than the campaigns against the Muslims. Although the Papacy had approved the Albigensian Crusade, high-ranking people were able to criticize it in the context of the Crusaders’ activities. When looked at from this direction, recording and disseminating the role Peter, his uncle Guy, and probably his greatest noble supporter, Count Simon de Montfort, had played during the campaign in certain circles (perhaps exaggeratedly) would be beneficial for Peter (Kurpiewski 2005, p. 27; Moore 2012, p. 250; Graham-Leigh 2005, pp. 19–22; Barber 2014, p. xiii).

Peter of Vaux-de-Cernay was inclined to prove that the Virgin Mary was on the side of the Crusaders. For Peter, the Crusaders’ capture of the settlement of Moissac in 1212 was an indication of the Virgin Mary being involved on behalf of the Crusaders in the campaign. The Siege of Moissac began on the day of the Assumption of Mary (15 August 1212) and successfully concluded on the day of the birth of the Virgin Mary (8 September 1212). The Crusader bishops simultaneously excommunicated Count Raymond VI of Toulouse, his son Raymond VII (1197–1249), Count Raymond-Roger of Foix (d. 1223), all their supporters, and even King Pere II of Aragon (1179–1213) during the communion in the name of the Virgin Mary on 11 September 1213, one day before the Battle of Muret.18

Peter of Vaux-de-Cernay’s narrative includes the miracle that took place in a church in Toulouse named after the Virgin Mary (known as Sancta Maria Dealbata, or Notre Dame de la Dalbade). For 15 days, numerous crosses of varying sizes and shapes appeared and disappeared over the white walls of the church each evening. While a priest who could not view the miracle was immersed in prayer, countless crosses, one of which was quite huge, appeared in the sky and floated toward the city gates. Here the priest witnessed a vision, the crosses moved to a noble figure outside the wall and gave him strength, helping him kill a giant figure that had come from the city. Peter brought forth many witnesses on this matter (Peter of Vaux-de-Cernay 2000, pp. 86–88). However, the way events developed more resembled the method of foresight (foreboding), which gives clues about what will happen through prophetic dreams and visions, as seen in such chanson de gestes19 as Chanson de Roland [Roland’s Song].20

When examining William of Puylaurens’ Chronica, almost no comments on or references to the Virgin Mary are seen. By its nature, Chronica is a record lacking literary concerns or any appeals to a wide audience that a chanson or canso would. Such a record naturally would not follow the popular literary trends of the period. However, William of Puylaurens’ lack of commentary cannot be explained by his narrative merely being a so-called official record. Because 1275 is the latest date William entered in Chronica, the work is estimated to have been completed in that year. The French Inquisition had been set up against the Cathars in 1233 after the official end of the Albigensian Crusade and was quite strong in the late 13th century. The last known Cathar holdouts had been seized and mass investigations carried out, and when King Louis IX’s (1214–1270) brother, Count Alphonse (1220–1271), died without an heir in 1271, the County of Toulouse was incorporated into the royal domain (demesne royal/domaine royal; Durgun 2017, pp. 176–77; Moore 2012, pp. 268–80; William of Puylaurens 1864, pp. 123–25). Catharism had at that time become a marginal heretical movement on the edge of destruction rather than a belief requiring an intellectual struggle and precautions against new participants.

For the reasons mentioned above, William of Puylaurens did not actively use the theme of the Virgin Mary in a text with limited readership. However, the Canso by William of Tudela and his anonymous successor is a song of a wandering bard (troubadour) that is aimed at a broader audience. Just as any literary work that aims to attract the audience’s attention, the work reflects the ideas popular in society. William of Tudela was also under the protection of Baldwin of Toulouse (1165–1214), brother of Count Raymond VI and a crusader. The first part that was written by William (laisses 1–131) frequently mentions the name of the Virgin Mary in prayers, responses, and battle cries. While preparing his army for the Siege of Carcassonne in 1209, William used the lines of the Crusader Guillaume de Contres (d. 1216): “If the victorious Christ and the Great Father [God]/and the Virgin Mary permit/he will immediately go to fight [the enemy].”21 The Virgin Mary is the one whose intercession is needed. Her name being frequently mentioned in Carcassonne, the region believed to have the largest concentration of Cathars, is no coincidence. Similarly, the Crusader army is seen in many examples to have commemorated the Virgin Mary in order to gain strength (William of Tudela 2000, pp. 156–57).

The Church’s attitude toward women, the new role the Cathars assigned to women, and the importance of the Virgin Mary come to the fore here. Bernard of Clairvaux argued that, despite his deep love for the Virgin Mary, “being with a woman constantly and not having sexual intercourse with her is more difficult than raising the dead” (O’Shea 2001, p. 42). The religious views of the Cistercian Order and therefore also of St. Bernard gradually became dominant in Papal circles from the mid-12th century onwards, and with the election of Pope Innocent III in January 1198, women had no scope for theological pursuits outside of a monastic life. Among the Cathar heretics, these same women had almost the same influence and right to speak on religion as a man. Although Abels and Harrison (1979) demonstrated the number of Perfectae to have decreased significantly compared to Perfecti after the Albigensian Crusade, the influence of female Cathars (both Perfectae and credentes) in Languedoc life is quite evident. At least around a third to a half of the Languedoc region is related to the Cathars. In 1207, Bishop Fulk complained to Knight Pons Adhémar de Roudeille about his slowness and reluctance to expel the Cathars from their lands, to which Pons Adhémar replied, “We cannot. We grew up with them. We have relatives among them and we can see their lives of perfection.”22 As might be expected for the period, assuming that these individuals were closely associated with their mothers and the women around them during their childhood, to ask anyone to dismiss their mother as an enemy would be a step too far (see: O’Shea 2001, p. 43).

For the reasons mentioned above, one of the likely reasons why the name of the Virgin Mary is mentioned in this part of the text is that Catharism was quite common among women and that the Virgin Mary was the highest character that a Christian woman could emulate. However, this possibility diminishes somewhat when examining the gap between theory and practice regarding the roles of the Cathar Perfectae. Firstly, while a Perfecta could theoretically hold the Consolamentum rite the same as a Perfectus, this only occurred in exceptional cases. Some Cathars claimed Consolamentum to be useless unless administered by a man. At the same time, Perfectae did not have the same opportunity to be itinerant preachers as their male counterparts. In general, Perfectae preferred to establish training and preaching houses for women from all segments of society and to train new credentes there. The credens women who underwent the theological indoctrination presented here were able to ensure that the children thy raised also lived according to the Cathar way (Snyder 2006; O’Shea 2001, pp. 43–45; Barber 1977, pp. 48–49).

Interestingly, feminist historiography asserts that in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries the image of the Virgin Mary not only reflected dominant ecclesiastical ideals of femininity but also served as a contested symbol against heterodox movements, notably Catharism. While the Catholic Church elevated Mary as the embodiment of exalted motherhood, absolute virginity, and obedient submission, thus codifying her as a normative and unattainable model for women (Warner 2013, pp. 48–49; Rubin 2009, pp. 149–57). Cathar dualism, with its inherent suspicion of the material body and procreative sexuality, fundamentally undermined the very Marian ideals through which the Church sought to regulate female experience. In this sense, the Marian cult functioned as a polemical counterpoint to Cathar teachings, sharply reinforcing ecclesiastical authority over both the female body and devotion. Yet, feminist approaches concurrently highlight that Mary’s representation was not solely an instrument of patriarchal control; her role as intercessor and protector also provided women with a means to negotiate their religious identities and claim spiritual authority within orthodox frameworks. Particularly in the visions of female mystics and the expansion of lay devotional practices, the Marian image offered a legitimizing channel for women to carve out spiritual domains, even as Cathar women simultaneously challenged Catholic gendered hierarchies through alternative religious roles (Bynum 1988, pp. 243–53). Thus, in the dialectic between orthodoxy and heresy, feminist historiography situates the Virgin Mary as a complex figure at once reinforcing patriarchal structures and enabling the indirect articulation of female agency. Nevertheless, given the authors’ divergent social statuses, biographical backgrounds and motives for the composition of the aforementioned texts such as Canso and Chronica, while may be meaningful in the wider sense, this assertion partly fails to sustain a generalized validity in this case.

William of Tudela may have used the image of the Virgin Mary in his text for the reasons stated above. However, the facts that William was a troubadour who wrote under the patronage of Baldwin of Toulouse and that Baldwin had sided with the Crusaders against his older brother need to be mentioned. Considering that one of the Canso’s most obvious purposes was to convey Baldwin’s works, the presence of the Virgin Mary alongside the Crusaders would also mean that Baldwin had received divine approval (William of Tudela 2000, pp. 4–11). However, unlike William, there is no evidence that the anonymous successor, who employed the Marian theme in a manner directly opposed to his predecessor, maintained any organic connection with Baldwin or the Crusaders.

As is known, the anonymous second author of the Canso was firmly on the anti-Crusader side, unlike his predecessor William of Tudela. The structure of the text also changed in accordance with the narrative of the anonymous author, with one consequence of this change being the increased frequency of use of the Virgin Mary theme. Similar to William’s narrative, oaths and prayers to Mary were shown on both sides, but now the Virgin Mary is positioned on the side of the Count of Toulouse and his people, against the Crusaders. For example, during the Siege of Toulouse in 1217 while the Toulouse troops defended against the Crusaders, the defenders are seen praying to the Virgin Mary and then repelling the Crusader army (William of Tudela 2000, pp. 132–45). At the end of the text, the anonymous author hopes that the Virgin Mary will protect the city and the people of Toulouse (William of Tudela 2000, pp. 550–51).

The anonymous author is aware of the popularity of the Virgin Mary theme. For popular themes of the period to be frequently used in a canso was not unusual. However, the part of the Canso, the Virgin Mary is included as proof that the cause of the Toulousain people was right in the sight of God. While the Crusaders and the Toulousain people both commemorate, swear by, and present the Virgin Mary as an example, the Virgin Mary and her son defend Toulouse against the Crusaders. The anonymous author stated that the son of the Virgin would be on the side of justice and attributed the Crusaders’ failures to their evil intentions and arrogance. The reason why Jesus and the Virgin Mary brought the Crusaders face to face with difficult situations was to show them who is right.23

The theme of the Virgin Mary also emerged as a prominent element in contemporary Eastern Crusader sources, reinforcing the legitimacy of the ‘Holy War’ and situating Crusader identity within a framework of collective piety. In the Gesta Dei per Francos, Guibert de Nogent portrays Mary as the spiritual protectress of Jerusalem, stressing that the expedition derived its sanctity from her intercession (Guibert de Nogent 1997, pp. 99–100). Likewise, Jacques de Vitry, in his thirteenth-century writings, describes Mary as both a “healer of the sick” and a “celestial intercessor,” observing that prayers directed to her were crucial in moments of failure and hardship (Hinnebusch 1972, pp. 87–113). The frequent construction of chapels dedicated to Mary in the Holy Land further shows that the emphasis on Marian devotion took on not only a discursive but also a spatial and liturgical dimension. Thus, the image of the Virgin Mary came to occupy a central place in Crusader ideology, operating simultaneously on symbolic and ritual planes within the chronicles.

The main concern of the anonymous author of the Canso, and indeed of all the inhabitants of the County of Toulouse, was being placed on the same level as the Cathar heretics. Roger Bernard (1195–1241), son of Raymond-Roger, Count of Foix, open declared when facing the Crusaders at Lauragais in 1219, “The Son of the Virgin who died in agony/may he recognize the just and take their sins into consideration.”24 The Cathars argued for the evil of matter and radically rejected the death and suffering of Jesus. As explained above, Cathars deny the death of Jesus and the humanity of the Virgin Mary. As an educated troubadour and Languedoc native who knew his society well, the unknown author likely knew Cathar opinion on this matter.25

The authors’ choices to use or not use the element of the Virgin Mary element generally varied according to the type and purpose of their text. William of Puylaurens’ simple formal narrative, as well as the fact that the intellectual struggle with the Cathars had ended during his lifetime, may have eliminated the usefulness of this theme for him. Peter of Vaux-de-Cernay was busy justifying the expedition and certain individuals to a limited audience, whereas William of Tudela was defending his identity as a crusader and Baldwin of Toulouse, whose protection he was under as a crusader. William can also be said to have aimed to reinforce anti-Cathar sentiment in society and to offer a different alternative to women in this regard. The anonymous author used the theme of the Virgin Mary to reinforce his opposition to the Crusades, thereby proving both the Crusaders’ injustice and the Languedocians’ adherence to the Catholic faith.

5. Conclusions

The usage and popularity of the Virgin Mary theme, of which Bernard of Clairvaux was a pioneer, is reflected in period sources from the Albigensian Crusade. The influence St. Bernard had on the expedition is also evident, as he had preached against the Cathars in his time, with some sources even recording him as a traveling preacher in the Languedoc region. In this regard, the theme of the Virgin Mary played a specific role, both in presenting arguments that could be used in the intellectual struggle against the Cathars and in emphasizing the just side of the expedition. Although the writers of the period are assumed to have been aware of this issue, the Virgin Mary comes across in the role of a defender of various aims in almost every text.

While Peter of Vaux-de-Cernay used the theme of the Virgin Mary in his text for different purposes than those of William of Tudela and the anonymous author, William of Puylaurens made no reference to her. The fact that William of Puylaurens did not use this theme is just as important as the fact that the other authors did. Primarily, the nature of William of Puylaurens’ text required formal expression and as plain a language as possible and carried no concern for acclaim. In addition, the Cathars no longer having significant numbers and the French Inquisition that was “hunting” the remaining Cathar heretics being very strong in the region culminated in no one being left to chase. In the end, the intellectual struggle against the Cathars aimed to prevent them from obtaining new credentes and to return the old credentes, Perfecti, and Perfectae to the Catholic faith. Of course, William of Puylaurens showed his negative views toward the Cathars in the relevant parts of the work. However, the events that took place during the Albigensian Crusade, the defeat of the Cathars, and the French Crown’s annexation of the County of Toulouse had become issues that could not possibly benefit William.

Peter of Vaux-de-Cernay, author of the Historia Albigensium, holds the Virgin Mary as both supporter and witness in his text. The author had created a text structure in accordance with the readership of this work, which was mainly aimed at monastery libraries and other clergy or religiously educated people. By focusing on the affairs of Guy des Vaux-de-Cernay and Count Simon de Montfort, Peter used various miracle narratives to support the righteousness of the Crusades, with which these people were affiliated. However, the Virgin Mary motifs in the text are not intended as examples or evidence for heretics. Moreover, this text would not have been available in practically any circles where a Cathar heretic could access and read it. The text attempts to show how a Cistercian monk fought against the Cathars and how necessary and appropriate the expedition was. As can be seen from the previously given examples, the Virgin Mary was also a guide and even a determinant in this regard.

Similar to Peter of Vaux-de-Cernay, William of Tudela also used the Virgin Mary phenomenon to indicate the right side in the Albigensian Crusade. The point on which the Canso differs from Historia Albigensium is that William of Tudela’s target audience is the people themselves. The motifs used here are for anyone who listens to troubadours but cannot read. The Canso, which would have been read in the Languedoc region where a large number of Cathars were found alongside Catholics, may have presented the Virgin Mary as an example of the Catholic faith to the heretic women. The intention may have been to instill the idea of an imitatio Mariae [the imitation of Mary] specific to women, an alternative to imitatio Christi [the imitation of Jesus] in which the Virgin Mary’s characteristics, lifestyle, and way of thinking could be imitated, even if one could not reach her level. However, William can be guessed to have used the image of the Virgin Mary to glorify Baldwin of Toulouse.

In Crusading literature, the Virgin Mary is consistently represented as a figure who blesses and protects the Crusaders. During the campaigns in the East, authors such as Jacques de Vitry, as William of Tudela did in his account of the Albigensian Crusade, portrayed her as aligned with the cause of the ‘righteous’ Crusaders and as an active participant in unfolding events. By contrast, William of Tudela’s anonymous successor disengaged the Virgin from the ideological framework of the ‘Holy War’, repositioning her as a symbolic patron of anti-Crusader resistance.

The anonymous author of the Canso used the Virgin Mary theme not unexpectedly for anti-Crusader purposes. The anonymous author claimed Toulouse and its people to be under the Virgin Mary’s protection against the Crusaders. Victory always went to Count Raymond VI and his entourage, despite the Crusaders praying to Mary for victory and swearing oaths in her name. According to the author, the Crusaders brought death and destruction unjustly and used the name of religion for their own worldly purposes. The Virgin Mary being on the side of Toulouse proves within the people of Toulouse to be right in the eyes of God in the narrative. Meanwhile, the anonymous author also aimed to draw a line between the Cathar heretics and the inhabitants of Languedoc, to prove that the people of Languedoc were not in complete religious perversion. The opponents of the Crusaders taking refuge in the Virgin Mary during the siege and remembering God and the Virgin Mary at every step are the most common ways the anonymous author expressed how the people of Toulouse were different from the Cathars.

The image of the Virgin Mary in the texts considered in this article can initially be viewed similar to any popular literary or religious theme. However, the importance the authors gave to the image of the Virgin Mary and the differences in the way they used her image depended on those for whom they were preparing their works while taking into account political and religious factors. The Canso appeals to a broad audience and has more references to the Virgin Mary, while the Historia and Chronica, having narrower readerships, also have fewer respective references. How the authors used the same theme in different ways to serve their primary purpose when writing the texts is also clearly seen.