Caussou
Encyclopedia
Caussou is a commune
in the Ariège
department in the Midi-Pyrénées
region
in southwestern France.
Its church is dedicated to St Jean Baptist.
valley to the Col de Marmare; the village overlooks the confluence of two streams:
The Rusisseau de la Coume d'Amont bisects the village on a north/south basis, whilst the Marmare rises some three miles north east of the village from near the top of the Col de Marmare. Behind the Marmare are located the Cathar stronghold villages of Prades
and Montaillou
.
associations and the village gave birth to the famous Cathar Béatrice de Planisoles
- the one-time châtelaine of Montaillou
. Her family were minor nobility in the area.
In the 13th and early 14th centuries, the route over the Col de Marmare was an important route for the Cathars and proided them with a lifeline. From Caussou to either Prades
or Montaillou
involves and arduous 7 mile journey - beginning with a gentle slope up and past the Marmare and then rises steeply for approximately 2 miles to the col
itself.
From the early thirteenth century for the next 7 or 8 decades, Caussou was greatly affected by the Inquisitions and saw many of its inhabitants forced to wear the Yellow cross
- the punishment sign of the heretics.
Béatrice's father was an ardent Cathar and frequently accommodated the Cathar Perfect
s in his Caussou house.
It was in 1322 in the Caussou garden of Béatrice's uncle Pons de Planisoles, that her cousin Raymond and an accomplice by the name of Bourret buried the body of a shepherd that he had murdered. The aristocratic Raymond was never charged with the murder, but the hapless Bourret was hanged for the offence at Foix
. At his trial in an attempt to reek revenge, Bourret had implicated one of Béatrice's brothers Bernard as a Cathar heretic; as a result, on the 4th July 1322, Bernard, who still lived at Caussou, was sentenced to wear the Yellow cross
by the Inquisition
.
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Ariège
Ariège
Ariège is a department in southwestern France named after the Ariège River.- History :Ariège is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from the counties of Foix and Couserans....
department in the Midi-Pyrénées
Midi-Pyrénées
Midi-Pyrénées is the largest region of metropolitan France by area, larger than the Netherlands or Denmark.Midi-Pyrénées has no historical or geographical unity...
region
Régions of France
France is divided into 27 administrative regions , 22 of which are in Metropolitan France, and five of which are overseas. Corsica is a territorial collectivity , but is considered a region in mainstream usage, and is even shown as such on the INSEE website...
in southwestern France.
Its church is dedicated to St Jean Baptist.
Geography
The village gives its name to the Val de Caussou, which is a 6-mile-long cut connecting the AriègeAriège
Ariège is a department in southwestern France named after the Ariège River.- History :Ariège is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from the counties of Foix and Couserans....
valley to the Col de Marmare; the village overlooks the confluence of two streams:
- Rusisseau de la Coume d'Amont - (known in the 13th century as the brook of Caussou) and
- Marmare
The Rusisseau de la Coume d'Amont bisects the village on a north/south basis, whilst the Marmare rises some three miles north east of the village from near the top of the Col de Marmare. Behind the Marmare are located the Cathar stronghold villages of Prades
Prades
-Places:* Prades, Ardèche, in the Ardèche département, France* Prades, Ariège, in the Ariège département, France* Prades, Haute-Loire, in the Haute-Loire département, France...
and Montaillou
Montaillou
Montaillou is a commune in the Ariège department in southwestern France.-History:The town is best known for being the subject of Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie's pioneering work of microhistory, Montaillou, village occitan. It analyzes the town in great detail over a thirty-year period from 1294 to 1324...
.
Cathar associations
This part of France is famous for its CatharCathar
Catharism was a name given to a Christian religious sect with dualistic and gnostic elements that appeared in the Languedoc region of France and other parts of Europe in the 11th century and flourished in the 12th and 13th centuries...
associations and the village gave birth to the famous Cathar Béatrice de Planisoles
Béatrice de Planisoles
Béatrice de Planisoles was a minor noble in the Comté de Foix in the late thirteenth and early fourteenth century. She was born circa 1274, probably in the mountain village of Caussou....
- the one-time châtelaine of Montaillou
Montaillou
Montaillou is a commune in the Ariège department in southwestern France.-History:The town is best known for being the subject of Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie's pioneering work of microhistory, Montaillou, village occitan. It analyzes the town in great detail over a thirty-year period from 1294 to 1324...
. Her family were minor nobility in the area.
In the 13th and early 14th centuries, the route over the Col de Marmare was an important route for the Cathars and proided them with a lifeline. From Caussou to either Prades
Prades
-Places:* Prades, Ardèche, in the Ardèche département, France* Prades, Ariège, in the Ariège département, France* Prades, Haute-Loire, in the Haute-Loire département, France...
or Montaillou
Montaillou
Montaillou is a commune in the Ariège department in southwestern France.-History:The town is best known for being the subject of Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie's pioneering work of microhistory, Montaillou, village occitan. It analyzes the town in great detail over a thirty-year period from 1294 to 1324...
involves and arduous 7 mile journey - beginning with a gentle slope up and past the Marmare and then rises steeply for approximately 2 miles to the col
Mountain pass
A mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. If following the lowest possible route, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...
itself.
From the early thirteenth century for the next 7 or 8 decades, Caussou was greatly affected by the Inquisitions and saw many of its inhabitants forced to wear the Yellow cross
Cathar yellow cross
In the Middle Ages, the Cathar yellow cross was a distinguishing mark worn by repentant Cathars, who were ordered to wear it by the Roman Catholic Church.-Background:...
- the punishment sign of the heretics.
Béatrice's father was an ardent Cathar and frequently accommodated the Cathar Perfect
Cathar Perfect
Perfect was the name given to a monk of the medieval French Christian religious movement commonly referred to as the Cathars. The term reflects that such a person was seen by the Catholic Church as the "perfect heretic"...
s in his Caussou house.
It was in 1322 in the Caussou garden of Béatrice's uncle Pons de Planisoles, that her cousin Raymond and an accomplice by the name of Bourret buried the body of a shepherd that he had murdered. The aristocratic Raymond was never charged with the murder, but the hapless Bourret was hanged for the offence at Foix
Foix
Foix is a commune, the capital of the Ariège department in southwestern France. It is the least populous administrative centre of a department in all of France, although it is only very slightly smaller than Privas...
. At his trial in an attempt to reek revenge, Bourret had implicated one of Béatrice's brothers Bernard as a Cathar heretic; as a result, on the 4th July 1322, Bernard, who still lived at Caussou, was sentenced to wear the Yellow cross
Cathar yellow cross
In the Middle Ages, the Cathar yellow cross was a distinguishing mark worn by repentant Cathars, who were ordered to wear it by the Roman Catholic Church.-Background:...
by the Inquisition
Inquisition
The Inquisition, Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis , was the "fight against heretics" by several institutions within the justice-system of the Roman Catholic Church. It started in the 12th century, with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy...
.