Crusade Against the Grail - Rennes-le-Chateau Research and ...

THE APOTHEOSIS OF THE GRAIL 175
The siege began in the spring of 1243. The Catholic army established its camp
on the crest to the west of the castle's rocks, which is still called el campis today.
The besiegers surrounded the entire promontory—nobody could enter or leave the
castle.
Nevertheless, it appears that the defenders of Montsegur had contact with their
friends on the plain. For this reason, some historians have concluded that large
subterranean galleries may have existed—probably natural caves. Whatever they
were, it is certain that one day, Esclarmonde de Alion, niece of Esclarmonde de
Foix, sent a Catalan with money and soldiers to the beleaguered fortress. On
another occasion, the son of the troubadour Peire Vidal managed to get a message
from the Count of Toulouse to the defenders that announced that Emperor
Frederick II was coming to their aid, and said, "Resist just another week. . . !"
As he approached Montsegur, Peire Vidal's son claimed to have seen a
fantastic knight with a purple cape and sapphire-colored gloves. He interpreted this
vision as a sign of a favorable outcome, but he was mistaken. He was killed in the
first sortie along with the outlaws who were comforted by his news.
The help promised by the Emperor would arrive too late. The night of March
1, 1244—supposedly a Palm Sunday—the Catholics reached the summit.
Treasonous shepherds informed some crusaders of the existence of a path on the
mountain which climbed from the gorge of Lasset to an advance post and was
invisible from the castle. They chose to attack at night, because they were afraid
that they would fall into the abyss if they could see the vertiginous heights. They
strangled those on guard, and with prearranged signals they communicated to
those in the camp that the operation had been successful. An hour later, the fortress
was completely surrounded.
The besieged capitulated. In order to avoid a useless spilling of blood, Raimon
de Perelha and Peire Roger de Mirepoix declared that they were ready to
unconditionally surrender the fortress and all the Cathars in it to the archbishop the
next morning, if he would respect the lives of the knights. Pierre Amelii agreed.
Many knights, conscious of the destiny that awaited them, asked the ancient
heresiarch bishop, Bertran En Marti, the successor of Guilhabert de Castres, to
administer the consolamentum to them before the capitulation, and admit them
into the Church of Amor. Nobody thought of