Queribus held out an additional eleven years beyond the more widely known Cathar castle at Montsegur, which gave Queribus the distinction of being the last of the Cathar castles. As a result, in many ways the capture of Queribus represents the end of the organized Cathar movement and is sometimes referred to as "the last bastion."
Geographically, the castle is high and isolated.The exhausting hike up the mountain, a few hundred steep meters, that is necessary to reach the castle is rewarded by the stunniing military architecture of Queribus. The gothic style hall and its polygonal keep are especially worth seeing.
As one examines the castle, most of which is well preserved, the heavy winds howling throughout the structure provide an almost surreal effect. From Queribus, one can look out over the mountain range and see the remains of another Cathar Castle, Peyrepertuse, in the distance. Queribus is, in the opinion of the editor of this website, perhaps the most interesting historical place one can visit in relation to the Cathar movement or the Albigensian Crusade.
In 1255, the Castle was governed by Chabert de Barbaira. In the wake of the fall of Montsegur in 1244, the castle Queribus came to house a number of dispossessed knights and Cathars who found themselves overwhelmed by the Catholic presence in the region. The successful siege and surrender of the castle in 1255 concluded the military phase of the Albigensian Crusade. Chabert de Barbaira was captured and imprisoned, but ultimately released and possibly may have lived the rest of his life in Barcelona.The crusade had crushed the independence of southern France and resulted in the placement of northern nobility in positions of authority throughout the region.
Albigensian Crusade- Catholic-Encyclopedia
Primary Sources of the Albigensian Crusade- Crusades-Encyclopedia
Chabert de Barbaira- Crusades-Encyclopedia
Montsegur- Crusades-Encyclopedia
Cathars- Crusades-Encyclopedia
Albigensians-Crusades-Encyclopedia
(c) Andrew Holt, May 2005- Permission is granted for electronic copying and distribution in print for educational and personal use. No permission is granted for commercial use.