feudalism in its early stages. Later, the evolution of the customs of Languedoc,
particularly their testamentary provisions favoring free distribution of properties, limited
the effectiveness of the military aspect of feudalism. By the end of the 12th century,
nevertheless, undeniably feudal institutions were in place in Languedoc; certainly, the
view of Dognon that even then the power of the count of Toulouse rested on the number
of his allods and not on the number of his vassals cannot be maintained. It is significant,
nonetheless, that the northerner Simon de Montfort felt it necessary immediately after his
conquests to redefine and establish, through the statutes of Pamiers, rigorous feudal
obligations for his southern vassals.
Two other features emerged in the 12th century that gave to the society of Languedoc
its distinctive physiognomy: customary law based on the Roman codes and the spread of
the heretical doctrines known as Catharism. Unlike Catalonia, where Roman legal
traditions, maintained by the Visigoths, remained alive, north of the Pyrénées the
disorders of the 10th century brought their influence to an end. The reemergence of
Roman law in the 12th century can be traced, first in the former region of Septimania,
then in the Rouergue, and finally in the Toulousain, through the appearance of advocates
(magistri, causidici) and of notaries public. The adoption of Roman law, which these and
other institutions announced, became established in the 13th century. Promoted by the
royal administration and by that of Alphonse of Poitiers, whose interests were served by
defining a coherent legal system, and by the creation of great centers of study at the
universities of Toulouse and Montpellier, Roman law was accepted as the custom of the
Midi. In 1251, an ordinance of Blanche of Castile formally recognized the custom of
droit écrit as the binding legal system of Languedoc.
Conjointly with the emergence of Roman law came economic expansion and the rise
of municipal self-government. This latter, achieved sometimes at the cost of violence (as
at Béziers and Nîmes), most often through mutual agreement, appeared typically in the
form of governments directed by urban consuls representing the dominant merchant
class. The consulates in turn, beginning with that of Arles in 1131, provided ready
vehicles for the spread of Roman law. They coincided as well with the growth of the
heterodox beliefs of Catharism.
It is possible that Catharism owed its success in Languedoc, as in Lombardy and
Catalonia, to the precocious urbanization of the region. Its faith did indeed find a
favorable milieu among the artisans, merchants, and notaries of many towns. The
indulgent attitude of the Cathar ministers toward commercial activities and usury, as well
as their ability to serve as intermediaries and repositories for moneys exchanged, made
them attractive to the merchant classes. The causes of the success of Catharism, however,
are complex. Its appeal cut across socioeconomic lines, affecting both the nobility and the
peasantry. Its greatest sphere of influence within Languedoc was limited to the region of
Carcassonne, Albi, part of the Toulousain, and the region of Foix. Major urban and
commercial centers, such as Cahors, were barely touched. Clerical laxity may also have
prepared the way for Catharism, but it, too, was not unique to those few areas of
Languedoc in which the Cathars took root. Catharism in Languedoc, as elsewhere
Waldensianism or the movement of the béguines, represented an alternative for those
who aspired to a more apostolic conception of the Faith. As such, the weapons that
defeated it were not the crusades or the Inquisition but the message and spirituality of the
mendicant orders, particularly the disciples of St. Francis. Before its disappearance,
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