Montaillou : Cathars and Catholics In A French Village 1294 - 1324

Examines the lives and beliefs of the villagers of Montaillou, a small village in the Pyrenees with 250 inhabitants at the beginning of the 14th century. It is based largely on the Fournier Register, a set of records from the Inquisition which investigated and attempted to suppress the spread of Catharism in the Ari ge from 1318 to 1325. The work is in two parts. The first explores the physical world of the inhabitants of Montaillou, telling the stories of Pierre and Bernard Clergue, two of the most powerful men in Montaillou, and the shepherd Pierre Maury. The second explores the beliefs of the residents of Montaillou.