The White Lady

I’m going to digress briefly here, since the subject of Blanche of Castile has been raised. Her part in this drama is not just relegated to the Treaty of Meaux, signed by Raymond VII in 1229. She will reappear in the drama at a later date, in a similar situation.

In his book “Montségur and the Mystery of the Cathars” Jean Markale says this of Queen Blanche’s actions in 1229 and later:

“Blanche de Castille’s attitude remains inexplicable and prompts a number of questions. It could well be asked if Raymond VII might not have had secret means of applying pressure in order to receive such indulgence when, as an excommunicate and declared rebel, he was liable to the confiscation of his domains. In any event, we know that Queen Blanche has left a strange imprint in the popular memory of Cathar country, particularly in Razés, where a mysterious treasure is attributed to her. It is true that her name is also associated with the widespread belief throughout the Pyrenees in the existence of the White Lady; in other words, a female fairy who rules over the underground world of caves that are quite numerous in this region.” [pg. 34]

I have some revelations to relate that may explain her actions to a large degree. It’s not quite so mysterious and dark as Jean Markale would have it sound. As a member of a royal family, Blanche (b. 4 March 1188, d. 26 November 1252) likely would have been very much aware of her own ancestry. Her own ancestry was the stuff of legends, for she was the great-great granddaughter of Roderigo Diaz de Vivar, otherwise known as El Cid. His daughter, Cristina Elvira Rodriguez de Vivar was the wife of Ramiro Sánchez de Monzón  who was in turn the father of Queen Blanche’s grandfather García Ramírez the King of Navarre.

Cristina Elvira had a sister named Maria Rodriguez de Vivar, who was married to Raymond Berenguer II, the Count of Barcelona. They had a daughter named Jimena Diaz (b. 1101, d. 1169), who was married to Roger III de Foix. In turn, their son was Roger-Bernard I “the Great” de Foix, the father of Esclarmonde de Foix, who is also reputed to be the White Lady. Esclarmonde’s mother was Cecile de Trencavel and her brother was Raymond-Roger (Raimond Drut) de Foix, the father of the twins Esclarmonde d’Alion and Loup de Foix.

Of course, Blanche’s direct ancestors played no part in the Albigensian Crusade, but some portions of her family were heavily allied with the Counts of Toulouse. Possibly, Blanche was playing both sides against the middle trying to protect her relations and their heirs, as well as protecting her husband’s and subsequently hers and her son’s lands. No doubt she must have found herself in a strange and compromising position along with Raymond VII of Toulouse.

Raymond VII and his father were a shining example of what can happen when one goes against the wishes of the Pope and rebels against the Church. Blanche knew from what had happened with them that she couldn’t refuse to act against the rebels. She and her regency would be subject to excommunication by the Pope as well if she did not do so. This might in turn endanger her son’s eventual succession to the throne, because he was still in his minority. Louis IX was about 15 years old when she brought Raymond VII before her at Meaux and offered the treaty. The fact that she had Raymond flogged and ‘briefly’ imprisoned would seem to be for show more than anything else. This wouldn’t be the first time, or the last, that something was done for the sake of appearances in all of this – particularly in the person of Raymond VII himself. One might wonder if at the same time she was laying down stipulations to Raymond, she was also giving him a bit of queenly and ‘motherly’ advice. There is a relationship there of which no one seems to be aware, although it is historically verifiable if one might care to dig.

What comes next is a bit of a mind twister, because of the inter-relations of the royal families of Europe. I shall try to explain it as simply as possible. Raymond VII was the son of Raymond VI’s fourth wife, Joan Plantagenet, whose father was Henry II Plantagenet. Henry II was Queen Blanche’s other grandfather. Another of Henry's daughters was Eleanor of England the Queen of Castile, who was the mother of Blanche of Castile. Queen Blanche was Raymond VII’s great-aunt through her own aunt Joan Plantagenet. This might go a very long way toward explaining her actions toward him.

Was Blanche the White Lady? Certainly, her name means ‘white’, but it would seem that Markale must be referring to the treasures and records of the Cathars. These are said to have been placed beneath either the fortress or the settlement on the pog upon the request of Guillabert de Castres to Raymond de Périella, the seigneur of the fortress at Montségur. Guillabert de Castres was the head of the Cathar church during this time. In this case, if that is indeed the treasure to which Markale is referring, then that would be more associated with Esclarmonde de Foix (the first Esclarmonde) than Blanche of Castile. His reference there is rather vague, but the so-called ‘treasure of the Cathars’ is the most well-known and sought after treasure in the region. The name of the Albigensians broken down also means ‘the white people’, from albi or alba  - 'white', and gens - a family line or just ‘people’.

Was the White Lady – whoever she may be – a Queen of the Fey? That is a whole other subject that encompasses a few thousand years, as well as a horrendous number of ‘begats’ that are as complicated as the genealogies of the royal families of Europe. They are a precursor to those royal genealogies. These genealogies are historically attestable up to a point, and then fall off into the murky realm of myths and legends such as the Grail, and the Merovingians. The Merovingian genealogies are only historically attestable up to Clovis I. Not even his paternity is a sure thing – variously said to be Merovech after whom the lineage was named,  Chlodio the Long Haired King of the Salian Franks or a creature of myth known as ‘the Quinotaur’.

Often these myths and legends are taken for ‘gospel truths’ that people like to take for fact when they are myths and legends. As they say however, “where there is smoke, there is fire”. These myths and legends do seem to have some basis in the lives of several historical groups of people and their propensity to worship certain deities brought westward from the Middle East in times past. From these same groups of people came the royal houses of Europe, but not always and necessarily by the routes some would have you believe.

In spite of all of this or perhaps because of it, there is a great deal of strangeness and other-worldly intrusions that are attendant with these stories. This includes Montségur and the Cathars. Recall, if you will my own tale at the beginning, regarding my vision of the girl running through the forest. I am not the only one to have such visions of or on that fateful pog of Montségur. We can only guess at the significance and meaning of it and how it relates to those who’ve had these experiences as individuals. I can only reveal what I have about the hitherto overlooked relationship between Queen Blanche and Raymond VII, because of where my own vision led me - not without a lot of research that I probably would not have undertaken - were it not for that vision.     

Au revoir my dears and thank you for coming by!

Rayvn

Fathers and Sons

Raymond VI’s excommunication had been lifted in 1209 when he recognized the threat of the forces gathering against them. However, he was excommunicated again in 1211. Raymond was excommunicated several times. Raymond-Roger de Trencavel had gone to the leaders of the crusade and sought accommodation from them but was refused audience. The lords of the Languedoc banded together and had retaken many towns captured by the crusaders during the early years under the leadership of Raymond VI. However, the crusaders would return and take them back. The fortunes of the battle see-sawed back and forth like this for several years until the battle of Muret and Simon de Montfort’s eventual end in 1218.

The Fourth Council of the Lateran was convoked by Pope Innocent III by a papal bull dated April 19, 1213. The council was to gather at Rome’s Lateran Palace in November of 1215. The Third Crusade had failed miserably, resulting in the capture of Constantinople and large portions of the Byzantine empire by the Muslims. The results of the Fourth Crusade to this point had alienated the Church to the people and major lords of the Languedoc. Innocent felt was time to reinstate and reformulate papal involvement with the Crusades both in the Holy Land and on European soil. The Council declared the Fifth Crusade to free the Holy Land of the powerful Ayyubid Muslims of Egypt. Measures dealing with heretics were re-opened and discussed, as well.

The Council was attended by Raymond VI of Toulouse, his son Raymond (VII) and Raymond-Roger de Foix. They were there to dispute the threat of their territories being confiscated by the Church. Guy de Montfort, the brother of Simon de Montfort argued that the Church should confiscate their territories. Raymond’s son-in-law, Pierre-Bermond II of Sauve attempted to lay claim to Toulouse and was rejected.  Toulouse was awarded to Simon de Montfort. The lordship of Megueil was separated from Toulouse, entrusted to the bishops of Maguellone. The lordship of Megueil was Raymond VI’s by his marriage to Ermessenda, the Countess of Megueil. Provence, also one of Raymond VI’s possessions was also confiscated and kept in trust for Raymond VII – if he showed himself worthy of having it. That is, if he denounced the heretical Cathars and no longer aided them.

It was in 1215, the year of the Council that Simon was awarded Toulouse and Narbonne. In April of 1216, Simon ceded these lands to Philip Augustus II, the French King.

Innocent III died in July of 1216 and was succeeded by Honorius III, who was by all accounts a ‘kinder and gentler’ man, but the Fifth Crusade and the war on heresy were still high on his agenda. Philip Augustus was more concerned about his newly acquired lands of Toulouse and Narbonne than he was about the Cathars, for Raymond VI had retaken Toulouse in 1218. Amaury de Montfort, Simon’s son had taken up his father’s leadership of the Fourth Crusade, but Amaury was not the tactician or the warrior his father was. His attempts to retake Toulouse in 1219 failed and several more of Simon’s holds fell to the embattled Raymond and his allies.

In 1221, Raymond and his forces retook Montréal and Fanjeaux, forcing the Catholics to leave. Raymond VI died in 1222 and his son Raymond VII who had also been fighting battles to regain their territories took up where his father left off. Like his father, Raymond VII of Toulouse was excommunicated by the Council of Bourges in 1225 for his continuing fight against the forces of the Church.

Philip Augustus II died in 1223 and was succeeded by his son Louis VIII. Louis mounted a campaign in 1226 to take back his father’s lands. Louis was already well seasoned in battle, having spent his earlier years fending off John Lackland of England’s attempts to take back Normandy. You might know John better as the ‘evil King John’ the brother of Richard the Lionheart from tales of Robin Hood.

Roger-Bernard the Great, Count of Foix went to Louis ‘the Lion’ suing to keep the peace but Louis rejected his overtures. Roger-Bernard and Raymond VII had no choice but to take up arms against the new king. Many fortified towns and castles surrendered to Louis’ forces without a fight, until he came to Avignon. There Louis engaged in a three month siege and finally took Avignon in September of 1226. Louis returned to Paris after taking Avignon, but contracted dysentery on the way home. He died in November of 1226 in his chateau at Montpensier in Auvergne and was succeeded by his son Louis IX.

Louis IX was not of the age of majority to take the throne himself, and so the throne was taken by Queen Regent Blanche of Castile, Louis VIII’s widow. Blanche allowed the Crusade to go on under the leadership of Humbert de Beaujeau. Humbert took Labécède and Vereilles in 1227 and Toulouse in 1228. Queen Blanche then offered Raymond VII a treaty. She would recognize him as the ruler of Toulouse if he would enjoin the fight against the Cathars, return the Church’s properties that they’d seized, turn over his castles and destroy the walls and defenses of Toulouse. She also stipulated that he had to marry his daughter Jeanne to Alphonse, the brother of Louis VIII. This made Alphonse the Count of Toulouse and Poitiers. Their heirs would inherit Toulouse and Poitiers upon Raymond VII’s death. If they had no issue, which they did not, the inheritance would revert to the King of France. With little choice in the matter, if he wanted peace at long last, Raymond VII signed the treaty at Meaux in April of 1229. It is reported that he was then seized, flogged and imprisoned for a short time. The treaty nominally brought an end to the Albigensian Crusade, and put Raymond VII in a position that was not to be envied.