Revolution in Carcassonne - Elaine Graham-Leigh

In August 1303, the people of the southern French town of Carcassonne rose up in revolt. Their rebellion against King and Inquisition saw the prison stormed, many of the town elite driven out and their houses sacked, and the inquisitors humiliated. For eighteen months, Carcassonne was a town where the French royal writ did not run.

Reconstructed from the contemporary accounts, the revolt emerges as an important incident in medieval class struggle. It was also the apogee of the fight by the people of Languedoc against the northern French invaders of the Albigensian crusade and the persecutions they brought with them. 

Combining political analysis with original research, this book reveals the hidden story of a significant medieval rebellion and its importance for our understanding of oppression and resistance today.

‘A riveting history of a popular rebellion against the inquisition in a southern French city in 1303. It is a story in which we hear the voices of rebels from the Middle Ages call out to us with stunning vividness. It is an irresistible narrative that interweaves real and imagined heretics, violent crusaders, charismatic friars, autocratic popes, supercilious kings, helpless lepers, and valiant if foolhardy revolutionaries who wanted a better and more just world here on earth. Ultimately, it is a poignant tale with a compelling message for the present — that it is always worth rebelling, even when you lose.’ Mark Gregory Pegg, author of Beatrice’s Last Smile: A New History of the Middle Ages

‘A concise and well-written account which casts a light on a largely forgotten episode of medieval Europe. I thoroughly enjoyed it.’ Chris Bambery, author of A People’s History of Scotland and Catalonia Reborn