First translation into English of key chronicle for events of the Albigensian Crusade and the attack on heresy, including the siege of the Cathar stronghold, Montsegur. The Albigensian Crusade, which forms the main subject of William of Puylaurens' Chronicle, was a defining episode in the history of France. Launched in 1209 by Pope Innocent III, it was directed against the aristocracy of southernFrance (especially the Counts of Toulouse) who were accused of protecting heresy, and especially Catharism, a dualist heresy which represented a major threat to the Catholic Church. The Crusade ended in 1229 with the defeat of Count Raymond VII of Toulouse. It was followed in the 1230s by the establishment of the Papal Inquisition against heresy. The long-term outcome of the Crusade was the defeat of Catharism, and the establishment of French Royal powerin the region. William of Puylaurens' Chronicle, here translated into English for the first time, is one of the main contemporary accounts of these events. It describes heresy in the south of France in the early 13th century; provides a narrative of the Crusade; and then outlines the growth of the Inquisition and the sustained attack on heresy which followed, including the siege of the Cathar fortress of Montsegur in 1243-44. This translation is accompanied by an introduction, full notes, appendices, and a bibliography.W.A. SIBLY is a former Domus Exhibitioner in Classics at Balliol College, Oxford; M.D. SIBLY read history at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. They have also translated Peter of Les Vaux de Cernay's History of the Albigensian Crusade (also published by Boydell & Brewer).

First English translation of important contemporary source for the history of the Cathar heresy and the Albigensian crusade. The Historia Albigensis is one of the most important sources for the history of the Cathar heresy and the Albigensian crusade. This new translation makes the work available in English for the first time. The Historiawas written between about 1212 and 1218 by Peter, a young monk at the Cistercian abbey of les Vaux-de-Cernay, where his uncle Guy was abbot. Guy took part in the preaching mission against heresy in 1207 and later played an important part in the crusade and became bishop of Carcassonne. Peter several times accompanied his uncle, and not only met those involved in the crusade, but himself witnessed many episodes. The Historiathus contains a wealth offirsthand detail about the personalities and events of the crusade, and about contemporary warfare. An introduction and extensive notes draw on other contemporary sources and on recent scholarship; nine appendices range from the policies of Innocent III to the technical terms used to describe fortifications, also providing translations of other important contemporary sources. W.A. SIBLY read classics at Balliol College, Oxford; his son M.D. SIBLY read history at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.