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ALBI
. The city of Albi (Tarn) in southern France, whose name became associated with heresy,
crusades, and the Inquisition, remained until the 11th century a town of modest size and
importance. It was endowed with a bishopric from the 5th century and in 778 became the
seat of a county. Following the collapse of Carolingian authority, Albi fell under the
power of the counts of Toulouse-Rouergue, who administered it through hereditary
viscounts. The viscounts thereafter extended their domains through marriages,
culminating with the union of Viscount Raymond-Bernard, called Trencavel, and
Ermengarde, heiress of the counties of Carcassonne, Béziers, and Agde (ca. 1066).
The power of the viscounts of Albi, however, did not efface that of the bishops, who
retained broad regalian
Albi (Tarn), Sainte-Cécile, plan. After
Stoddard.
rights and secular jurisdiction. After 1066, the overextension of the Trencavels allowed
the bishops to achieve practical autonomy and effective control over their city. At the
same time, the burghers, whose numbers and importance increased with growing
economic prosperity, allied with the bishops in their struggle for autonomy. During the
Albigensian Crusade (1209–29), the burghers and bishop alike collaborated faithfully
with Simon de Montfort, and in 1220 Bishop Guilhem Peire recognized the citizens’
rights in a charter of liberties and franchises.
The political crisis of Albi came in the reign of Bishop Bernard de Castanet (r. 1277–
1308) with the end of the alliance between the bishop and burghers. The latter, seeking
increased independence, appealed to the royal government. Bishop Bernard responded by
using the power of the Inquisition. In 1299 and 1300, thirty-two of the leading citizens
were arrested and condemned for involvement with heresy. Thereafter, the fate of the
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