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118-405: Castres is the fourth-largest industrial centre of the predominantly rural former Midi-Pyrénées region after Toulouse , Tarbes and Albi , as well as the largest in the part of Languedoc lying between Toulouse and Montpellier . It is noted for being the birthplace of the famous socialist leader Jean Jaurès (1859–1914) and home to the important Goya Museum of Spanish painting . In 1831,

236-657: A crusade against the Cathars. He offered the lands of the Cathar heretics to any French nobleman willing to take up arms. From 1209 to 1215, the Crusaders experienced great success, capturing Cathar lands and systematically crushing the movement. From 1215 to 1225, a series of revolts caused many of the lands to be regained by the Cathars. A renewed crusade resulted in the recapturing of the territory and effectively drove Catharism underground by 1244. The Albigensian Crusade had

354-551: A bishop. Innocent eventually suspended four bishops in the Languedoc-the Archbishop of Narbonne, and the bishops of Toulouse , Béziers , and Viviers -from their duties. The poor quality of bishops in the Languedoc was due to a mix of the lack of political centralization in the region as well as the papacy placing higher importance on appointments in more politically sensitive areas. The chaotic situation in

472-652: A dialect of Occitan. Today, although the daily use of regional languages of Midi-Pyrénées is greatly diminished, they have left a strong imprint on the French language used in the region. French in Midi-Pyrénées is spoken with a distinct southwestern pronunciation (with many variants from Rouergue, to Toulouse, to Bigorre). Moreover, people in Midi-Pyrénées use some words and expressions of Occitan origin which differ from those of standard French; these may not be easily understood outside southwest France. The population in

590-482: A diplomat for Louis XI, but the appointment led to so much disagreement (family feud between Boffille de Juge, his only daughter, and his brother-in-law) that the countship was united to the crown by King Francis I in 1519. Around 1560, the majority of the population of Castres converted to Protestantism. In the wars of the latter part of the 16th century the inhabitants sided with the Protestant party, fortified

708-659: A dualist community in Constantinople . It is theorized that this group provided Westerners with Latin translations of Greek Bogomil texts, which included the consolamentum ritual, thus helping to generate the first organized dualist movement in Western Europe. By the 12th century, organized groups of dissidents, such as the Waldensians and Cathars, were beginning to appear in the towns and cities of newly urbanized areas. In western Mediterranean France, one of

826-409: A girl who had traveled to the city from Flanders were burned after refusing to repent. Burnings for heresy had been very uncommon, and in the past had sometimes taken place at the behest of noblemen for political rather than religious reasons over the objections of leading Catholic clergy. After this event however, they grew more frequent. Contact was maintained between the older dualist communities in

944-536: A handful of so-called "balancing metropolises" ( métropoles d'équilibre ). Another example of this is the region of Rhône-Alpes which was created as the region for Lyon. Historically, Midi-Pyrénées is made up of several former French provinces : The historical makeup of Midi-Pyrénées is even more complex, as the provinces listed here are further subdivided into pays –used interchangeably in French for country, area, land, etc.–each with its own particular identity, such as Armagnac , Astarac , or Lomagne inside

1062-416: A multinational pharmaceutical group ( Pierre Fabre Group ) emerged in the town in the 1960s, and it has kept its headquarters and R&D division in the metropolitan area, helping to counterbalance the general decline in industry. Some now accuse its founder and president, Pierre Fabre, of being the real "master" of Castres, making and designating Castres' mayors at will. The Gare de Castres railway station

1180-557: A number of preachers, many of them monks of the Cistercian order, to convert the Cathars. They were under the direction of the senior papal legate, Pierre de Castelnau . The preachers managed to bring some people back into the Catholic faith, but for the most part, were renounced. Pierre himself was extremely unpopular, and once had to flee the region for fear that he would be assassinated. On 13 January 1208, Raymond met Pierre in

1298-533: A ritual fast called the endura . After receiving the consolamentum , a believer would sometimes take no food and rely only on cold water, a practice eventually resulting in death. The procedure was typically performed only by those close to death already. Some members of the Church claimed that if a Cathar upon receiving the consolamentum showed signs of recovery, the person would be smothered to death to ensure entry into Heaven . This sometimes happened, but there

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1416-594: A role in the creation and institutionalization of both the Dominican Order and the Medieval Inquisition . The Dominicans promulgated the message of the Church and spread it by preaching the Church's teachings in towns and villages to stop the spread of heresies, while the Inquisition investigated people who were accused of teaching heresies. Because of these efforts, all discernible traces of

1534-452: A separate conflict in the Languedoc. Hence, the plan stalled. One of the most powerful noblemen, Raymond VI, did not openly embrace Cathar beliefs, but was sympathetic to Catharism and hostile to the French king. He refused to assist the delegation. He was excommunicated in May 1207 and an interdict was placed on his lands. Innocent tried to deal with the situation diplomatically by sending

1652-454: A wealthy family of Castres in 1907. Former French footballer Claude Puel was also born in Castres. Other people born in the city include: Residents of Castres include: Castres is intersected from north to south by the river Agout . The river is fringed by old houses the upper stories of which project over its waters. The church of Saint Benoît , once the cathedral of Castres, and

1770-492: Is a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Occitania . It was the largest region of Metropolitan France by area, larger than the Netherlands or Denmark. Midi-Pyrénées has no historical or geographical unity. It is one of the regions of France created in the late 20th century to serve as a hinterland and zone of influence for its capital, Toulouse , one of

1888-492: Is a private botanical garden and conservatory that can be visited. The commune has been awarded the "Commune à découvrir" tourism and heritage label. In 2024, it obtained 2.5 clocks. As one might expect of a town of western Occitania nicknamed Ovalie , the main sport in Castres is rugby union , followed religiously by many locals. The local professional club is Castres Olympique , who are five-time champions of France (in 1949, 1950, 1993, 2013 and 2018). Castres Olympique

2006-403: Is little evidence that it was common practice. Cathar bishops were selected from among the perfect. If a person receiving the consolamentum ever committed a grievous sin, the procedure had to be reapplied. If the bishop who dispensed it committed a serious sin, all of the people to whom he had given the procedure would need to undergo it again. Cathar theology found its greatest success in

2124-455: Is now southern France . The Crusade was prosecuted primarily by the French crown and promptly took on a political aspect. It resulted in the significant reduction of practicing Cathars and a realignment of the County of Toulouse with the French crown. The distinct regional culture of Languedoc was also diminished. Between 1022 and 1163, the Cathars were condemned by eight local church councils,

2242-515: Is only spoken by older people in distant areas of Gascony and the Pyrenees valleys. The regional channel France 3 broadcasts programs in Occitan (but not its Gascon dialect) a few hours per week. Speakers of Gascon complain of the hegemony of Languedocian Occitan and its cultural center of Toulouse, and some followers of a self-proclaimed linguist, Lafitte, even reject the classification of Gascon as

2360-855: Is seen as the cultural, economical, and political center. An interesting phenomenon is that Midi-Pyrénées is one of the very few areas in France where young people, when thinking about "making it" in life, still prefer in their majority to move to their regional capital rather than to Paris with the Rhône-Alpes region around Lyon and maybe also the Bouches-du-Rhône around Marseille . In most other regions of France, such as Champagne-Ardenne, Centre, or even Burgundy, some of which exist more on paper than in reality, young people always prefer to move to Paris rather than to their regional capital. The phrase "monter à Paris" (literally "to ascend to Paris")

2478-573: Is served by regional trains to Mazamet and Toulouse. Castres is the hometown of socialist politician and newspaper publisher Jean Jaurès (1859–1914), who was murdered in Paris the day before the start of the First World War . Mathematician Pierre de Fermat died in Castres in 1665, while attending a session of the Chambre de l'Édit there. French writer Roger Peyrefitte was born into

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2596-476: Is still a matter of debate. The Pyrenean provinces developed strong peculiarities over time, protected by their isolated valleys, and they looked quite distinct from the rest of Gascony. What's more, Bigorre, Quatre-Vallées, Nébouzan, and even Comminges kept their provincial states until the French Revolution , while Gascony had no provincial states. These Pyrenean provinces sent their representatives to

2714-446: Is the centre of a functional urban area with 104,695 inhabitants (2019). Castres is located at an altitude of 172 metres (564 feet) above sea level . It is located 45 km (28 mi) south-southeast of Albi , the préfecture (capital) of Tarn, and 79 km (49 mi) east of Toulouse , the capital of Occitania . Castres is intersected from north to south by the rivers Agout and Durenque . The Thoré forms most of

2832-623: Is the property of local tycoon Pierre Fabre , founder and president of Pierre Fabre Group . The finish of Stage 12 of the 2007 Tour de France was in Castres. Castres is the place where a short film festival occurs each year. The city happened to see the birth of its first student radio ( RADIOM ) in 2007. Castres is twinned with: Midi-Pyr%C3%A9n%C3%A9es Midi-Pyrénées ( French pronunciation: [midi piʁene] ; Occitan : Miègjorn-Pirenèus [mjɛdˈdʒuɾ piɾeˈnɛws] or Mieidia-Pirenèus [mjejˈði.ɔ piɾeˈnɛws] ; Spanish : Mediodía-Pirineos )

2950-490: The consolamentum , to replace the Catholic rite of baptism. Instead of receiving baptism through water, one received the consolamentum by the laying on of hands. Cathars regarded water as unclean because it had been corrupted by the earth, and therefore refused to use it in their ceremonies. The act was typically received just before death, as Cathars believed that this increased one's chances for salvation by wiping away all previous sins. After receiving consolamentum ,

3068-506: The Basque influence), and later as Gascony, from which they seceded over time. Furthermore, after the 16th century these Pyrenean provinces were made part of the military region of Gascony, and later in the 18th century they were ruled from Auch by the intendant of Auch, as with the rest of Gascony. If these Pyrenean provinces are included inside Gascony, then 35.4% of Midi-Pyrénées is Gascony, outweighing Languedoc and its 23.4%. This point

3186-590: The Benedictine abbey of Saint Benoît, which is believed to have been founded in AD 647, possibly on the site of an old Roman fort ( castrum ). Castres became an important stop on the international pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela in Spain because its abbey-church, built in the 9th century, was keeping the relics of Saint Vincent , the renowned martyr of Spain. It was a place of some importance as early as

3304-526: The Byzantine Empire in the east and the new ones in Western Europe. Emissaries from the former strengthened the dualist beliefs of the latter. Catharism continued to spread, but it had its greatest success in the Languedoc. Cathars established virtually no presence in England, and communities in the kingdoms of France and Germany generally did not last long. It was in the Languedoc that they were

3422-543: The Catholic priesthood , labelling its members, including the pope, unworthy and corrupted. Disagreeing on the Catholic concept of the unique role of the priesthood, they taught that anyone, not just the priest, could consecrate the Eucharistic host or hear a confession . There were, however, men selected amongst the Cathars to serve as bishops and deacons. Cathars rejected the dogma of the real presence of Christ in

3540-655: The Duchy of Aquitaine in the west. In many areas south and east of Toulouse, the Crown of Aragon and the Principality of Catalonia were both more influential than the French kingdom or even northern Languedoc. By the early 13th century, the power of towns in the Languedoc was growing rapidly. The city of Toulouse was the main urban center in the region. By 1209, it had a population of 30,000–35,000 people, and enjoyed greater size, wealth, and influence than anywhere else in

3658-602: The Estates-General of 1789 in Versailles at the beginning of the Revolution, whereas the various other parts of Gascony sent their own representatives. In demographic terms, given the overwhelming demographic weight of Toulouse (located in the historical Languedoc), the majority of the inhabitants of Midi-Pyrénées live in the Languedoc part of Midi-Pyrénées. As a matter of fact, the historical flag of Languedoc,

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3776-464: The French Revolution was generally welcomed in Castres, particularly among the local Protestant merchants and entrepreneurs, but the majority of the population remained moderate during the whole period. In 1793 for instance, Protestant pastor Alba La Source, Castres' representative at the Convention in Paris, opposed the deportation of "non-juror" Catholic priests to French Guiana , where death in

3894-840: The Greater Castres-Mazamet Council in 2000 was expected to deal with the transport problem, and to work on attracting new industries. The good fortune of Castres is to be located only 79 kilometres (49 mi) away from the very dynamic Toulouse . The long-promised motorway link with Toulouse is due to be completed soon, and Castres hopes to benefit from its proximity with the big Occitan city. The principal industries are mechanical and electrical engineering, machine tools, wooden furniture, granite, textile, fur and leather-dressing, tanning, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and selective breeding of cows. Traditional and polluting industries such as textile, tanning, fur and leather-dressing, or chemicals, are in sharp decline. However,

4012-595: The Industrial Revolution , Castres is experiencing a difficult restructuring of its industrial base. Textile has particularly suffered. Castres is also crippled by its geographical location, isolated in a dead end at the foot of the Massif Central mountains, away from the main exchange and transport routes. Castres is still not connected to the motorway (freeway) network of France, the only town of that size in France not yet connected. The creation of

4130-541: The Kingdom of France . They spoke different dialects, but these could broadly be classified under the French language. By contrast, Languedoc regions did not consider themselves French. Their language, Occitan , was not mutually intelligible with French. Instead, it was closer to Catalan . The County of Toulouse , the dominant political entity in the region, was a fief to the Angevin Empire , which controlled

4248-486: The Languedoc , a name eventually given to a region later incorporated into the French nation. An alternative name for the region is "Occitania." In the Languedoc, political control and land ownership was divided among many local lords and heirs. Before the crusade, there was little fighting in the area. Regions to the north were divided into separate polities, but all of them generally recognized themselves as part of

4366-588: The Occitan cross , was adopted as the official flag of the Midi-Pyrénées region by the regional council. This historic flag design is itself derived from the coat of arms of the old county of Toulouse . In the Middle Ages , most of what is now Midi-Pyrénées was ruled at some time or another by the Count of Toulouse (except for Hautes-Pyrénées and the west of Gers), either directly or through vassals (such as in

4484-674: The Piedmont area on the border of France and Italy, were violently persecuted and repressed. The Paulicians were ordered to be burned to death as heretics; the Bogomils were expelled from Serbia and later subjected to the Inquisition and the Bosnian Crusade ; Peter of Bruys , leader of the Petrobrusians, was pushed into a bonfire by an angry mob in 1131. A number of prominent 12th century preachers insisted on it being

4602-448: The bishopric of Albi . Capital of the département of Tarn in 1790, the town was downgraded to capital of an arrondissement in 1797, Albi being made the capital of the département . Despite these setbacks, in the 19th century the economy of Castres developed greatly, and the town grew outside of its old medieval center. As early as 1815, the first mechanized wool mill was set up in town. Originally specialized in luxury cloth,

4720-530: The sacraments , they did not, except the Paulicians and Bogomils, subscribe to Cathar dualist beliefs. They did not specifically invoke dualism as a tenet. The Cathars may have originated directly from the Bogomils, as some scholars believe in a continuous Manichaean tradition which encompassed both groups. That view is not universally shared. Following the First Crusade , Latin settlers established

4838-559: The transmigration of souls , in which the soul went from one body to another. Whether they did so or not, sexual intercourse under all circumstances was a grave sin, because it either brought a new soul into the evil world or perpetuated the cycle of souls being trapped in evil bodies. Civil authority had no claim on a Cathar, since this was the rule of the physical world. Accordingly, the Cathars refused to take oaths of allegiance or volunteer for military service. Cathar doctrine opposed killing animals and consuming meat. Cathars rejected

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4956-670: The 12th century, and ranked as the second town of the Albigeois behind Albi . Despite the decline of its abbey, which in 1074 came under the authority of Saint Victor abbey in Marseille , Castres was granted a liberal charter in the 12th century by the famous Trencavel family, viscounts of Albi. Resulting from the charter, Castres was ruled by a college of consuls. During the Albigensian Crusade it surrendered of its own accord to Simon de Montfort , and thus entered into

5074-478: The 1970s it was still possible to hear Occitan in the farmer markets of Gascony or Rouergue. Nonetheless, even there, changes in the last 30 years of the 20th century were dramatic, despite regional efforts to revive the language by teaching it in schools ( calendretas ). Today, Languedocian Occitan is essentially only spoken by the older people in the distant areas of Quercy, Rouergue, and the County of Foix, and Gascon

5192-526: The Arnoldists, was hanged in 1155 and his body burnt and thrown into the Tiber River , "for fear", one chronicler says, "lest the people might collect them and honour them as the ashes of a martyr". The Waldensians, followers of Peter Waldo , experienced burnings and massacres. Although these dissenting groups shared some common features with the Cathars, such as anti-clericalism and rejection of

5310-536: The Atlantic Ocean. In 2006 its total GDP was $ 87.915 billion for a population of 2,755,000. It had a GDP per capita of $ 32,519 a year with an unemployment of 8.9%, the GDP per employment equal to $ 80,103 a year. The economy of Midi-Pyrénées can be divided into three sectors. Primary sector : Because of its size Midi-Pyrénées has the largest number of farms of all France with 60,000 farms in active use. It has also

5428-410: The Castres textile industry then turned toward more ordinary types of cloth, whose markets were considerably larger. Around 1860, there were 50 wool mills in town, employing 3,000 people. In the end of the 19th century, mechanical engineering industries appeared beside the textile industry, which led to Castres becoming a major arsenal for the French army during the First World War . Castres was linked to

5546-601: The Cathar movement were eradicated by the middle of the 14th century. Some historians consider the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars an act of genocide . The word "Cathar" is derived from the Greek word katharos, meaning "clean" or "pure." Partially derived from earlier forms of Gnosticism , the theology of the Cathars was dualistic , a belief in two equal and comparable transcendental principles: God,

5664-631: The Cathars and sent a delegation of friars to the province of Languedoc to assess the situation. The Cathars of Languedoc were seen as not showing proper respect for the authority of the French king or the local Catholic Church, and their leaders were being protected by powerful nobles, who had a clear interest in independence from the king. At least in part for this reason, many powerful noblemen embraced Catharism despite making little attempt to follow its strict lifestyle restrictions. In desperation, Innocent turned to Philip II of France , urging him either to force Raymond VI, Count of Toulouse to deal with

5782-558: The Church by sending legates to Rome. They exchanged gifts, were reconciled, and the excommunication was lifted. At the Council of Avignon in 1209, Raymond was again excommunicated for not fulfilling the conditions of ecclesiastical reconciliation. After this, Innocent III called for a crusade against the Albigensians, with the view that a Europe free of heresy could better defend its borders against invading Muslims. The time period of

5900-439: The Church, his lands could not be attacked. The Crusaders therefore turned their attention to the lands of Raymond Roger, aiming for the Cathar communities around Albi and Carcassonne. They marched out of Lyon on 24 June and arrived at the Catholic town of Montpellier on 20 July. Raymond Roger was not formally a Cathar but tolerated the sect's existence. There were many Cathars in his domain, and his own sister had become one of

6018-614: The Crusade coincided with the Fifth and Sixth Crusades in the Holy Land. By mid-1209, around 10,000 Crusaders had gathered in Lyon before marching south. Many Crusaders stayed on for no more than 40 days before being replaced. A large number came from Northern France, while some had volunteered from England. There would also be volunteers from Austria . The question of who would lead

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6136-507: The Eucharist and Catholic teaching on the existence of Purgatory . Cathar meetings were fairly simple. In a typical gathering, those present would make one or more recitations of the Lord's Prayer , make a general confession of sins, ask for forgiveness, and conclude with a common meal. There were however some special rituals. Catharism developed its own unique form of "sacrament" known as

6254-488: The French railway network in 1865. At the end of the 19th century, Castres was the largest town in the département of Tarn, with 5,000 more inhabitants than Albi. However, in the 20th century the town entered a new period of decline. Although Castres emerged from the two world wars unscathed, no military operations or combats taking place in southwest France, the local economy has been hard hit by change. Like so many towns and cities of Europe which had benefited most from

6372-506: The Gascogne part of Midi-Pyrénées, Lauragais or Volvestre inside the Languedoc part of Midi-Pyrénées, Bonezan inside County of Foix, Lavedan inside Bigorre, and so on. The Pyrenean provinces of Couserans, Nébouzan, Quatre-Vallées, and Bigorre (but not the County of Foix) are sometimes considered to be part of Gascony. These provinces were all formed from the old Roman province of Novempopulana , later known as Vasconia (because of

6490-551: The Holy Land (1095–1291) Later Crusades (1291–1717) Northern (1147–1410) Against Christians (1209–1588) Popular (1096–1320) Languedoc War Languedoc Revolt Royal intervention and aftermath The Albigensian Crusade (French: Croisade des albigeois ), also known as the Cathar Crusade (1209–1229), was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc , what

6608-493: The Languedoc distinguished it from the more rural north, and more readily allowed for the mixing of different groups of people. This fostered an atmosphere of comparative religious tolerance. Jews in the Languedoc experienced little discrimination, as was the case with the religious dissidents appearing in the area in the 12th century. Muslims were not bequeathed the same level of tolerance, but Islamic literature and scholarship were respected. Historian Joseph Strayer summarizes

6726-471: The Languedoc. It also enjoyed a high level of political autonomy. The Count of Toulouse resided in the Château Narbonnais inside of the city but had little real control over it. Small towns were built with defense in mind, generally with thick walls and on high mountains, often next to cliffs. Hence, a municipality was called a castrum , meaning "fortified place." The urbanized character of

6844-468: The Midi-Pyrénées region into a "Region of Toulouse". Indeed, the city of Toulouse adopted the Occitan flag as its official flag, thus Toulouse and Midi-Pyrénées currently share the same flag. Despite the controversy, most researchers agree that far from distracting resources and workers from the rest of the region, Toulouse is actually acting as a locomotive for the whole region. Without Toulouse, Midi-Pyrénées would probably be declining much more than it has in

6962-548: The Protestants of Languedoc , a measure of protection granted to them by the Edict of Nantes . This court attracted much business to Castres. In 1665, there were 7,000 inhabitants in Castres, 4,000 of whom Catholic, and 3,000 Protestant. In 1670 however, the Chambre de l'Édit was transferred to Castelnaudary , much to the discontent of even the catholic citizens of Castres, who lost a major source of business and revenue with

7080-518: The amount of ten million journeys each year. With 80,000 students and 15,000 scientists divided into 400 laboratories the region ranks in France's top three for scientific research. Technology transfers to small-business-enterprises is therefore substantial. Tourism is an important source of incomes for the region, partly due to a sunny climate and the presence of the Pyrénées. It is well known for its gastronomy and quality of life. Aside of casual tourism

7198-430: The area or with important offices, such as Orange , IBM and CapGemini . It is Toulouse, the largest city and capital, that currently concentrates the largest amount of employment however with the progressive extensions of transportation this has been grown considerably in recent years. In late 2006 a large plan was initiated to replace older train, the circulation of regional train has kept on increasing and has now reach

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7316-420: The area, as Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse was one of its principal leaders. Nevertheless, the popularity of Crusading was not as durable in the Languedoc as it was in France. Strayer speculates that a general climate of laxity prevailed in the region which allowed nonconformist religious movements to grow without being seriously challenged. On assuming the papacy in 1198, Pope Innocent III resolved to deal with

7434-980: The authority of the Catholic Church. These groups based their beliefs and practices on the Gospels rather than on Church dogma and sought a return to the early church and the faith of the Apostles . They claimed that their teaching was rooted in Scripture and part of Apostolic tradition. Sects such as the Paulicians in Armenia, Bogomils from Bulgaria and the Balkans , Arnoldists in northern Italy , Petrobrusians in southern France , Henricans in Switzerland and France, and Waldensians of

7552-468: The building of a renowned bishop's palace by Mgr. Tubœuf, still the most famous monument in town today. A new cathedral was also built, after the destructions of the religious wars. Perhaps even more important, Castres was made the seat of the Chambre de l'Édit of the Parliament of Toulouse , a court of justice detached from the Parliament of Toulouse and in charge of dealing with the cases involving

7670-626: The case of Foix). After the French conquest in the 13th century, the county of Toulouse was dismantled, and eventually Languedoc was born as a remnant of the old county, but quite smaller than it. Nonetheless, until the French Revolution the Parlement (supreme court of justice) of Toulouse extended its jurisdiction over not just Languedoc, but also all the other territories that are now Midi-Pyrénées. Thus, towns like Tarbes (Bigorre), Auch (Gascony), or Rodez (Rouergue) were already under

7788-481: The cathedral who were killed in front of their own altar". News of the disaster quickly spread and afterwards many settlements, with Narbonne being a prominent example, surrendered without a fight. Others were evacuated. The Crusaders encountered no opposition as they marched toward Carcassonne. After the Massacre at Béziers, the next major target was Carcassonne, a city with many well-known Cathars. Carcassonne

7906-563: The city, calling on the Catholics within to come out, and demanding that the Cathars surrender. Neither group did as commanded. The city fell the following day when an abortive sortie was pursued back through the open gates. The entire population was slaughtered and the city burned to the ground. It was reported that Amalric, when asked how to distinguish Cathars from Catholics, responded, "Kill them all! God will know his own." Strayer doubts that Amalric actually said this, but maintains that

8024-543: The coming of the Crusader army, he abandoned it and hurried back to Carcassonne to prepare his defences. At around the same time, another Crusader army commanded by the Archbishop of Bordeaux took Casseneuil and burned several accused heretics at the stake. The Crusaders captured the small village of Servian and then headed for Béziers, arriving on 21 July 1209. Under the command of Amalric, they started to besiege

8142-470: The commune of Castres proper, 13% in the commune of Mazamet, and the rest in the communes in between. The communauté d'agglomération was created in order to better coordinate transport, infrastructure, housing, and economic policies between the communes of the area. The current president of the communauté d'agglomération is Pascal Bugis, mayor of Castres. The name of the town comes from Latin castrum , and means "fortified place". Castres grew up round

8260-430: The commune's south-eastern border, then flows into the Agout, which forms part of its western border. Between 1790 and 1797 Castres was the prefecture of Tarn. Since 2001, the mayor of Castres has been Pascal Bugis (right, member of UMP ), who defeated the then socialist mayor in the 2001 election after a campaign focused on the bad records of the socialist mayor on fighting crime, and the high level of insecurity in

8378-416: The conflict. Papal legate Arnaud Amalric , Abbott of the Cistercian monastery Cîteaux Abbey , assumed command of the enterprise. As the Crusaders assembled, Raymond attempted to reach an agreement with his nephew and vassal, Raymond Roger Trencavel , viscount of Béziers and Carcassonne , for a united defense, but Raymond Roger refused him. Raymond decided to make an accommodation with the Crusaders. He

8496-411: The construction and civil engineering field the secondary sector uses 15% of the regional resources. Several multinational companies are headquartered or have major offices in the region such as: Airbus , EADS , Alcatel , Siemens , Bosch and Pierre Fabre . The aerospace industry is an important source of income for the region and employs 57,000 people. Moreover, more than 3,000 suppliers form part of

8614-416: The crusade was unclear. In early 1209, Philip II had learned of an anti-French alliance between King John and Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV , both of whom were overlords of different parts of the Languedoc. This motivated him to stay out of the crusade. He refused to campaign in person but promised to send a contingent of troops, ensuring that he would have a say in any political settlements that would result from

8732-627: The cultural differences between the North and South as follows: [T]he North and the South of what is now France were, in the twelfth century, two different countries, as different as France and Spain are today. The people of each country disliked and distrusted those of the other. The northerners thought the southerners were undisciplined, spoiled by luxury, a little soft, too much interested in social graces, too much influenced by contemptible people such as businessmen, lawyers, and Jews. The southerners thought

8850-828: The departure of the lawyers and the plaintiffs. The Revocation of the Edict of Nantes soon followed, and Castres suffered greatly when many Protestants chose to go into exile. Then came the plague of 1720-1721 and the fire of 1724. Last but not least, Castres lost its liberal charter in 1758. In the 1760s, a few years after the famous Calas Affair in Toulouse , Castres made the headlines nationwide: Pierre-Paul Sirven and his wife, both Protestants, were wrongly accused of having murdered their daughter in order to prevent her from converting to Catholicism. Tried and sentenced to death in absentia on March 29, 1764, they were defended by Voltaire , and eventually exonerated in 1771. The outbreak of

8968-489: The engineering, electronic, telecommunication and computing infrastructure for this industry. However, there is a large restructuring plan ongoing and about 10,000 new jobs are expected to be lost outright and partners will be regrouped into larger entities. Tertiary sector : The region has been behind the other French regions for a long time on services. However this has changed a lot in the recent years and there are many important consulting and telemarketing companies based in

9086-487: The episcopacy contributed to the inability of the Church to stamp out the heresy. Among the people, the Cathars were a minority, but they won acceptance from many Catholics in the region. Those who became Cathars were often accepted by their families. Several Cathars were chosen as members of the governing council of the city of Toulouse. The Languedoc region participated less in popular religious movements than other areas of Europe. The First Crusade stirred up some support in

9204-457: The force of good, and the demiurge , the force of evil. Cathars held that the physical world was evil and created by this demiurge, which they called Rex Mundi (Latin, "King of the World"). Rex Mundi encompassed all that was corporeal, chaotic and powerful. The Cathar understanding of God was entirely disincarnate: they viewed God as a being or principle of pure spirit completely unsullied by

9322-526: The grounds of similar stories about clergy appearing elsewhere in areas of Europe that did not have large numbers of religious deviants. However, there is evidence of greater corruption among bishops in the Languedoc than in other areas in Europe. Pope Innocent III wrote a letter in which he accused the Archbishop of Narbonne of never having visited his diocese during his 10 years as bishop and of demanding money from someone as payment for consecrating him as

9440-471: The heresy or depose him militarily. By 1204, he offered to bless those willing to go on a military campaign against the Cathars with the same indulgence given to crusaders travelling to the Holy Land . The Fourth Crusade , in its late stages at the time, had not shown any signs of going in that direction. However, Philip was engaged in conflict with King John of England , and was unwilling to get involved in

9558-586: The hope of gaining absolution. The discussion did not go well. Raymond expelled him and threatened his safety. The following morning, Pierre was killed, allegedly by one of Raymond's knights. Innocent III claimed that Raymond ordered his execution; William of Tudela blames the murder entirely on "an evil-hearted squire hoping to win the Count's approval". Pope Innocent declared Raymond anathematized and released all of his subjects from their oaths of obedience to him. However, Raymond soon attempted to reconcile with

9676-523: The horrid jungle was certain (see Civil Constitution of the Clergy ). "Non-juror" priests were by far the majority in the region of Castres. Accused of being a moderate, Alba La Source was guillotined in October 1793. Suspected of being lukewarm toward the revolution, Castres was duly chastised. The bishopric which had been established by Pope John XXII in 1317 was abolished, Castres later becoming part of

9794-498: The jurisdiction of Toulouse before the Revolution, although only for judicial and legal matters. In terms of population Midi-Pyrénées is again a region of sharp contrasts. While the metropolitan area of Toulouse at the center of the region is a densely populated area, in some places reaching 3,500 inhabitants per km (9,000 inhabitants per sq. mile), the rest of the region is sparsely populated, with densities ranging from 12 to 60 inh. per km (31 to 155 inh. per sq. mile), which are among

9912-671: The kingdom of France in 1229. In 1317, Pope John XXII established the bishopric of Castres . In 1356, the town of Castres was raised to a countship by King John II of France . However, the town greatly suffered from the Black Plague in 1347-1348, then from the Black Prince of England and the Free Companies (bands of lawless mercenaries) who laid waste the country during the Hundred Years' War . Consequently, by

10030-506: The largest amount of land readily usable with 2.6 million hectares. This is however being reduced by both the increasing population and the CAP . The departments of the Gers, Aveyron, Lot and Tarn-et-Garonne have the most significant agricultural activity of the region. Wine production has suffered in recent years from declining demand, reducing prices and over-production. There are 19 AOC wines in

10148-431: The last of which, held at Tours , declared that all Albigenses should be put into prison and have their property confiscated. The Third Lateran Council of 1179 repeated the condemnation. Innocent III's diplomatic attempts to roll back Catharism were met with little success. After the murder of his legate Pierre de Castelnau in 1208, and suspecting that Raymond VI, Count of Toulouse was responsible, Innocent III declared

10266-437: The late 14th century Castres entered a period of sharp decline. In 1375, there were only 4,000 inhabitants left in town, only half the figure from a century before. Following the confiscation of the possessions of Jacques d'Armagnac , duke of Nemours, to which the countship of Castres had passed, it was bestowed in 1476 by King Louis XI on Boffille de Juge (Boffillo del Giudice), an Italian nobleman and adventurer serving as

10384-573: The lowest densities in western Europe. The territory now comprising Midi-Pyrénées was divided in two by its traditional dialects of Occitan , Languedocian and Gascon , with Toulouse lying by the limit between the two, on the Languedocian side. Gascon (in its several local variants : Bearnese , Aranese ) was traditionally spoken in the west and southwest of the region: Gascony, Bigorre, Quatre Vallées, Nébouzan, Comminges, Couserans. While other variants of Occitan (but primarily Languedocian)

10502-487: The lowest in France. The metropolitan area of Toulouse (1,000,000 inhabitants) far outweighs the second largest metropolitan area of Midi-Pyrénées, Tarbes , with only 110,000 inhabitants. For all these reasons, Midi-Pyrénées is often dubbed "Toulouse and the Midi-Pyrenean desert", in reference to the famous phrase "Paris and the French desert" coined by the French geographer Jean-François Gravier in 1947, when it

10620-628: The metropolitan area of Toulouse is significantly younger and with a higher level of education than in the rest of Midi-Pyrénées. Outside Toulouse, Midi-Pyrénées is an aging region, which combines with a loss of population, as can be also seen in Limousin or other declining areas of France. Incomes are also rather high in the Toulouse metropolitan area, among the highest in France outside the metropolitan area of Paris, Lyon and Marseille whereas outside Toulouse incomes in Midi-Pyrénées are rather low, among

10738-510: The most durable. The Cathars were known as Albigensians because of their association with the city of Albi , and because the 1176 Church council which declared the Cathar doctrine heretical was held near Albi. The condemnation was repeated through the Third Lateran Council of 1179. Various reasons have been proposed for the Cathar movement's success in the Languedoc relative to other places. A traditional explanation has been

10856-470: The most important of the churches of Castres today, dates only from the 17th and 18th centuries. The city hall occupies the former bishop's palace, designed in the 17th century by Jules Hardouin-Mansart (the architect of Versailles ), and with gardens designed by André Le Nôtre (the designer of the gardens in Versailles ). The Romanesque tower beside it ( Tour Saint Benoît ) is the only survival of

10974-504: The most urbanized areas of Europe at the time, the Cathars grew to represent a popular mass movement, and the belief was spreading to other areas. One such area was Lombardy , which by the 1170s was sustaining a community of Cathars. The Cathar movement was seen by some as a reaction against the corrupt and earthly lifestyles of the clergy. It has also been viewed as a manifestation of dissatisfaction with papal power. The Cathar movement occasionally mingled with Waldensianism. However, it

11092-541: The northerners were crude, arrogant, discourteous, uncultured, and aggressive. The climate was such that if war were to break out between the two countries it was sure to be long and bitter. The Cathars were part of a widespread spiritual reform movement in medieval Europe which began about 653 when Constantine-Silvanus brought a copy of the Gospels to Armenia. In the following centuries a number of dissenting groups arose, gathered around charismatic preachers, who rejected

11210-537: The old Benedictine abbey. The town possesses some old mansions from the 16th and 17th century, including the Hôtel de Nayrac , of the Renaissance . Castres possesses the renowned Goya Museum, created in 1840, which contains the largest collection of Spanish paintings in France. A Jaurès Museum was also opened in 1954 in the house where Jean Jaurès was born in 1859. The Jardin botanique Pierre Fabre "La Michonne"

11328-438: The perfect. Nevertheless, Raymond Roger attempted to negotiate with the Crusaders. He declared himself a loyal member of the Church, and disclaimed responsibility for the spread of heresy in his land on account of his youth. He was 24 at that time. The Crusaders' rejected his request for peace. They marched first for Béziers, a city with a strong Cathar community. Raymond Roger initially promised to defend it, but after hearing of

11446-486: The population of Castres was 12,032, making it the largest town of the department of Tarn. One of the few industrial towns in the region of Albigeois , the population of the commune proper grew to 19,483 in 1901, and 34,126 by 1954. However, with the decline of its industries, population growth diminished. Albi surpassed Castres as the most populous metropolitan area of Tarn. The population of Castres reached its peak in 1975, after that it has been decreasing slowly. Castres

11564-411: The recent decades, both demographically and culturally as well as economically. Despite all these differences, it is wrong to assume that Midi-Pyrénées exists only on paper. Since the region was created in the 1970s, a certain sense of a "Midi-Pyrenean" identity has emerged. Inhabitants of the region share common cultural or social features, some of them not just particular to Midi-Pyrénées, but common to

11682-477: The recipient became known as perfectus . Having become "perfect," the soul, upon the death of the body, could escape the perpetual cycle of death and rebirth and achieve salvation. Prior to becoming a perfect, believing Cathars were encouraged but not always required to follow Cathar teaching on abstaining from sex and meat, and most chose not to do so. Once an individual received the consolamentum , these rules became binding. Cathar perfects often went through

11800-543: The region was merged with Languedoc-Roussillon to form the new region of Occitanie . The new name was taken up on 28 September 2016, with the capital remaining at Toulouse . Thus the debate ended in the second argument being accepted by the National Assembly and the Senate . 43°30′N 1°20′E  /  43.500°N 1.333°E  / 43.500; 1.333 Albigensian Crusade In

11918-462: The region. A policy of merging producers into wider groups has been initiated. Secondary sector : The second largest part of the industrial production of the region is the food industry. 4.6bn Euros are generated each year from agriculture. It is however evolving as it received the fourth largest amount of foreign investment of France and is the region of France that created the largest number of enterprises in 2005 with 14,398 new enterprises. Excluding

12036-529: The regional council in video clips to promote the distinct identity of the region. The regional council has also played a key role in developing a network of motorways/freeways to bring all the different areas of Midi-Pyrénées together. As of 2005, there are seven motorways/freeways that radiate from Toulouse and link all the most distant corners of the region with its capital city (with two of these seven motorways/freeways only partly built and scheduled to be completed by 2010-2015). A network of Regional Express Trains

12154-411: The reputed corruption and poor quality of the clergy, which, according to many accounts, manifested itself through love of money and sexual escapades. Many priests in the Languedoc, especially those in rural parishes, were often poorly educated and functionally illiterate. Many were appointed to their posts by laymen. The theory that the inadequacy of the clergy was the primary factor has been challenged on

12272-477: The responsibility of the individual to develop a relationship with God, independent of an established clergy. Henry of Lausanne criticized the priesthood and called for lay reform of the Church. He gained a large following. Henry's preaching focused on condemning clerical corruption and clerical hierarchy, and there is no evidence that he subscribed to Cathar teachings on dualism. He was arrested around 1146 and never heard from again. Arnold of Brescia , leader of

12390-533: The small town of Lourdes , because of religious pilgrimage, is France's second largest tourist destination after Paris and has more hotels than any other city but Paris. The administrative division of France is currently in debate. Many think that the communes are too small and should be merged, that the departments are outdated and should disappear, and that the regions are too small and too numerous (22 in metropolitan France ) and should be merged. Regarding Midi-Pyrénées, there are two thoughts: On 1 January 2016,

12508-457: The statement captures the "spirit" of the Crusaders, who killed nearly every man, woman, and child in the town. Amalric and Milo wrote in a letter to the Pope, claimed that the Crusaders "put to the sword almost 20,000 people". Strayer says that this estimate is too high, but noted that in his letter "the legate expressed no regret about the massacre, not even a word of condolence for the clergy of

12626-585: The taint of matter. He was the God of love, order, and peace. Jesus was an angel with only a phantom body, and the accounts of him in the New Testament were to be understood allegorically. According to Cathar teaching, humans originally had no souls. They taught that the evil God, or Satan in another version, either gave new souls to people or used the souls of fallen angels. Alternatively, God took pity on men and gave them souls. Some Cathars believed in

12744-555: The town, and established an independent republic. Castres was one of the largest Protestant strongholds in southern France, along with Montauban and La Rochelle . Henry of Navarre, leader of the Protestant party, who later became King Henry IV of France , stayed in Castres in 1585. The Protestants of Castres were brought to terms, however, by King Louis XIII in 1629, and Richelieu came himself to Castres to have its fortifications dismantled. Nonetheless, after these religious wars,

12862-471: The town, now in peace, enjoyed a period of rapid expansion. Business and traditional commercial activities revived, in particular fur and leather-dressing, tanning, and above all wool trade. Culture flourished anew, with the founding of the Academy of Castres in 1648. Castres was turned by the Catholic Church into an active center of Counter-Reformation , with the establishments of several convents in town, and

12980-506: The town. Castres has teamed up with the nearby town of Mazamet (22 kilometres (14 miles) southeast of Castres) and the independent suburbs and villages in between to create the communauté d'agglomération de Castres Mazamet , which was established in December 1999. The communauté d'agglomération groups 14 independent communes (including Castres and Mazamet), with a total population of 78,101 inhabitants (2018), 54% of these living in

13098-604: The whole of southwest France, such as an interest in Rugby union : the south-west of France is even called The Land of the Oval Ball ( French : Pays de l'Ovalie ). There are images that come spontaneously to the mind of Midi-Pyrénées people when thinking about their region, such as the Airbus planes leaving their factories in Toulouse, the snowy peaks of the Pyrenees, or a game of rugby. These three images were used for some time by

13216-721: Was also set up by the regional council to ensure frequent train connections between the different parts of the region. Perhaps more importantly, the dynamism of Toulouse, as well as the fact that many young people from Midi-Pyrénées move to Toulouse after high-school, means that the inhabitants of Midi-Pyrénées identify more and more with the regional capital, which acts as a strong bond between people and areas otherwise quite diverse. When traveling away from southern France, someone from Midi-Pyrénées will in most cases introduce oneself as coming "from Toulouse". Unlike other régions of France, in Midi-Pyrénées there exists no other regional city that can rival Toulouse, so all turn toward Toulouse, which

13334-447: Was distinct from it, for while Waldensians agreed with the Cathars in their opposition to the Catholic hierarchy and emphasis on poverty and simplicity, they generally accepted most Catholic teachings. Both movements eventually came under violent persecution, but the main energies of the Church were directed against Catharism, which was both the more radical and the more numerous of the two sects. In Cologne in 1163, four Cathar men and

13452-488: Was even coined to describe this phenomenon of young people leaving their regions to move to Paris. Here, Midi-Pyrénées stands clearly apart, with Toulouse being largely favored by young people over Paris, which is another proof of the strong identity that has developed around the regional capital. Midi-Pyrénées is the largest region of France. It occupies a strategic position between the Mediterranean Sea and

13570-409: Was felt that the ever-expanding urban area of Paris, so much larger than any other city in France, would soon attract all the French population and economy, turning the rest of the country into a desert. Residents elsewhere in Midi-Pyrénées at times complain of the overwhelming weight of Toulouse inside the region, and they resent the fact that so much is done for Toulouse by the regional council, turning

13688-463: Was fiercely opposed by Amalric, but at Raymond's request, Innocent appointed a new legate, Milo, whom he secretly ordered to obey Amalric. On 18 June 1209, Raymond pronounced himself repentant. He was scourged by Milo and declared restored to full Communion with the Church. The following day, he took the Cross, affirming his loyalty to the crusade and promising to aid it. With Raymond restored to unity with

13806-530: Was spoken in the east and northeast of the region: Languedoc, Rouergue, Quercy, and Comté de Foix. Today, French is dominant throughout the region; Midi-Pyrénées is unlike Catalonia or northern Wales, where the regional languages are still very much part of everyday life in urban areas at least. Occitan was used on a daily basis in the Garonne and Tarn valleys until the beginning of the 20th century. More distant and isolated regions resisted longer, and as late as in

13924-442: Was well fortified but vulnerable, and overflowing with refugees. The Crusaders traversed the 45 miles between Béziers and Carcassonne in six days, arriving in the city on 1 August 1209. The siege did not last long. By 7 August, they had cut the city's water supply. Raymond Roger sought negotiations but was taken prisoner while under truce, and Carcassonne surrendered on 15 August. The people were not killed but were forced to leave

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