Cathar Castles

A few weekends ago, my Medieval Literature class went on a field trip to tour two medieval era castles in southwestern France.  It was a long bus trip into the Pyrenees Mountains to get there but it was well worth it.  The castles were occupied by Cathar Christians, a group declared heretical by the Pope for going against the teachings of the Catholic Church.  The Cathar christian sect started in the french town of Albi and grew large in southern France, a wealthy area that disliked paying taxes to the church.  So many Catholics defected to the group that the Pope declared a crusade against them and the Cathars hid in these castles high in the mountains.

The Cathars believed in some strange things that also offended the Church.  They believed that each person is a fallen angel and inherently evil.  They also believed in reincarnation and did not have the same view of Jesus or salvation as medieval Catholicism.  Eventually, all Cathars and even those who helped protect them were destroyed by French crusaders, but their castles remained and they are an amazing sight.

Perched high on mountaintops, the hike to get to them and the constant gale force winds at the sites are enough to keep most visitors away!  The views from castles as well as their unique histories made for an excellent day trip and added nicely to our class discussions.  We experienced how the Cathars were fugitives in terrible conditions with no way to get supplies or escape.  In fact, our bus driver made up hike up the mountain and then drove away so we really were stuck for a while...

All in all, the ruins of the castles are intact, the stone pillars, walls, dungeons, and even a chapel remain for people to tour.  The second castle we visited is even the longest castle from end to end in the world.  Check out the pictures below.

Pyrenees in the background 

View from the first castle

Chapel and alter in larger castle

We climbed up this mountain to get to the castle

You can just make out a castle in the distance (pictured up close below)

Inside wall of castle

Intricately designed ceiling at the smaller castle

    In between this field trip and fall break from the university, my group took another trip to the french town of Anduze to visit a Bamboo forest and natural caves.  While it was an interesting trip, I'm not going to do a blog on it.  My next post will be on my trip to Scotland, which took place from October 26 to Nov. 2.  Thursday, I'm going to Barcelona, Spain for four days and I'm really looking forward to some promised warm and dry weather.  Montpellier and most of southern France is currently a flood zone and the rain shows no signs of stopping...