The Song of the Cathar Wars by William of Tudela

The present chronicle was translated into English from the version collated by Jean Duvernoy in 1976, reprinted in 1996 in Toulouse. Since William had served in Toulouse under bishop Fulk and bishop Raymond de Falgar, his view is obviously like that of Peter of les Vaux-de-Cernay, resolutely on the side of the church. William's writing is essential to an understanding of the functioning of the Inquisition in this area and Languedoc in general. It is, nevertheless, of considerable importance to historians interested in this matter since it covers matters occurring after the 1218 ending of the other two documents. As stated by the editors, this latest translation lacks the focus on detail found in the earlier two works, given its coverage of about a century of southern French history rather than only a few years. William of Puylaurens was himself from Toulouse, a hotbed of Cathar sympathizers, serving under two of its bishops, 'and later Count Raymond VII' (xv). The chronicle under review covers a much wider time-span, 'from the twelfth century to the mid-1270s' (xv). The history by Peter of les Vaux-de-Cernay was written between 12 by a young Cistercian monk who participated in the crusade and later became bishop of Carcassonne (Sibly, and Sibly, History, ix) Since Peter's family was closely connected with that of the leader Simon of Montfort, this history is inevitably written from the point of view of the crusaders, not the Cathars. William supported the papacy while the continuator was firmly on the side of the people of southern France (Shirley, 2). The poem was apparently written by someone named William of Tudela and continued by an anonymous writer who composed the last two-thirds of it. Shirley's translation covers the years 1214-18. Now we have the writings of William of Puylaurens to complete the documentary survey. Peter of les Vaux-de-Cernay, also with the Boydell Press. Sibly published The History of the Albigensian Crusade. A History of the Albigensian Crusade, (Scolar Press, Aldershot).

In 1996, Janet Shirley published The Song of the Cathar Wars. For far too long, students were unable to read any major documentary material in English on this topic. The publication of this chronicle completes the translation of three major primary sources for the Albigensian Crusade.

The Song of the Cathar Wars by William of Tudela