Editing Toulouse (section)

==== The fight against Catharism and its various aspects ====
At the beginning of the thirteenth century the County of Toulouse was caught up in [[Albigensian Crusade|another crusade]] that would last twenty years (1209-1229), of which it was the target this time. The reason for this was the development of [[Catharism]] in the south of France, which the [[Pope Innocent III]] wanted to eradicate by all possible means.<ref name="Histoire de Toulouse 2019"/>

After an initial victory of the crusaders led by [[Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester|Simon de Montfort]] who defeated the combined forces of Count [[Raymond VI, Count of Toulouse|Raymond VI of Toulouse]] and King [[Peter II of Aragon]] at the [[Battle of Muret]], the following years saw the fate of the county of Toulouse swing alternately in favour of one party or the other. Finally, a late intervention by King [[Louis VIII of France]] in 1226 tipped the balance in favour of the crusaders, resulting in the submission of Count [[Raymond VII, Count of Toulouse|Raymond VII]] to the French Crown and the end of the independence of the County of Toulouse.<ref name="Histoire de Toulouse 2019"/>

But beyond the military crusade, this struggle took on several important aspects for the city of Toulouse:
* The [[Dominican Order]] was founded in Toulouse by [[Saint Dominic]] in 1215. Spanish priest Dominic de Guzmán wanted to convert the Cathars to Catholicism peacefully, by preaching and by living a poor and exemplary life. After years of criss-crossing the [[Lauraguais]] countryside between Carcassonne and Toulouse, he changed his method and decided to preach in town. In 1215 he settled in Toulouse and founded a [[mendicant order]] which, within a few decades, would cover Europe with hundreds of convents: The Order of Preachers, also known as the Dominicans.<ref name="Histoire de Toulouse 2019"/>
* Under the impulse of the bishop of Toulouse, [[Folquet de Marselha|Foulques]], an original and austere architectural style was born in Toulouse, designed to break with the display of luxury of the Catholic church which drove the faithful towards the Cathars: the [[Southern French Gothic]].<ref name="Histoire de Toulouse 2019"/>
* In the [[Treaty of Paris (1229)|Treaty of Paris of 1229]], Toulouse formally submitted to the crown of France. The county's sole heiress [[Joan, Countess of Toulouse|Joan]] was engaged to [[Alphonse, Count of Poitiers]], a younger brother of [[Louis IX of France]]. The marriage became legal in 1241, but it remained childless and so after Joan's death, the county fell to the [[Crown of France]] by inheritance.<ref name="Histoire de Toulouse 2019"/>
* Another consequence of the Treaty of Paris was the creation of the [[University of Toulouse]], established on the [[University of Paris|Parisian model]], strongly sponsored by the pope and intended as a means to dissolve the heretic movement.<ref name="Histoire de Toulouse 2019"/><ref>{{cite book |last1= Blackburn|first1= William Maxwell|date= 1879|title= History of the Christian Church from Its Origin to the Present Time|language= en|location= |publisher= Cranston and Stowe|page= 309}}</ref>
* Also in 1229, the [[Council of Toulouse]] was held, which laid the foundations for the long period of [[Medieval Inquisition|Inquisition]] that was to eradicate Catharism in the region after the military victory of the Crusade.<ref name="Histoire de Toulouse 2019"/>