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Albi

The massive and imposing fortress cathedral at Albi serves as a constant reminder of the town's role in the Albigensian Crusade. St. Cecile Basilica was designed as a defensive place for the inhabitants of the city to flee to in the case of an attack. The windows of the cathedral were built tall and narrow, allowing archers from inside maximum room to fire their bows while providing them maximum protection.Its towers, dungeon, and forty meter high walls round out the military features of the structure, which ultimately never came under attack. Construction of the massive structure began in 1281 and was not completed and consecrated until 1480. The city's name became the basis of the term, "Albigensian", to describe the Cathar sect that prospered in the region during the twelfth and  thirteenth centuries. This may have happened because of a preaching mission to the city by the popular St. Bernard of Clairvaux.The city was mistakenly believed to have been a Cathar stronghold in the middle of the twelfth-century, when it actually became a crusader stronghold. From the use of the term to describe the Cathar sect, we also get the name "Albigensian Crusade" to describe the holy war launched against the region in 1209 by Pope Innocent III. Important Dates for Albi*: 200,000-80,000 B.C.E.: First signs of human inhabitants in the Albi area 51 B.C.E.- Roman Settlement 574-584 C.E. St. Salvi, Bishop of Albi, frees the inhabitants from slavery 1209 C.E. Albi succumbs to the crusaders commended by Simon de Montfort 1281 C.E. Work begins on St. Cecile Basilica 1424 C.E. The English occupy certain parts of Albi 1480 C.E. The Cathedral [St. Cecile] is consecrated by Bishop Louis I of Amboise. 1629 C.E. Cardinal Richelieu visits Albi 1761 C.E. Demolition of the city fortifications *Chronology of dates taken from the book by Didler Poux: Albi: City of Art, As De Coeur Collection: Edition- Alpa-Poux LTD, Albi

Albigensian Crusade- Crusades-Encyclopedia

Primary Sources of the Albigensian Crusade- Crusades-Encyclopedia

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St. Cecile Basilica- Crusades-Encyclopedia

(c) Andrew Holt, June 2005- Permission is granted for electronic copying and distribution in print form for educational and personal use. No permission is granted for commercial use.

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