Innocent III (1216–2016): Eight hundred years of history and some remarks on the Albigensian Crusade

Abstract

This work has the purpose to come up with some considerations on Innocent III’s papacy and some consolidated perceptions established by the historiographical tradition about the subject. On the anniversary of eight centuries of his death, there are still many aspects to think about his pontificate, notably, because that pope is still categorized by many labels, such as the “pontifical monarch”. Thus, analyzing the Albigensian Crusade, launched by Innocent III, in 1208, we aim to comprehend how that pope exercised his power from Rome over Languedoc. As an example, we emphasize Raymond VI’s case, Count of Toulouse, and his constant attempt to reconcile with the Church. The pontifical epistles and those from pope’s legates, as well as the main narratives about the crusade, are the documental basis that allows us to retrieve the events and the political interpretations of the time. This corpus was analyzed, both in its context, as in the narrow dialogue with the historiography, to understand the exercise of power by that pope within the crusade against the cathars. The hypothesis that the famous ‘plenitude of power’ was exercised based on pacts and agreements has been confirmed throughout the study.

Keywords: Innocent III, Albigensian Crusade, plenitudo potestatis.