Chapter
61 Victory at Termes
There is no future. There is no past. Do you
see? Time is simultaneous, an intricately structured jewel that humans insist
on viewing one edge at a time, when the whole design is visible in every facet. – Alan
Moore
From the north will Evil come forth, upon all
the inhabitants of the earth.
(Jeremiah 1:14)
Simon was not waiting for news from
Toulouse from Amaury, he was pressing his advantage throughout the lowlands,
crushing the heretics wherever he found them.
He had decided however to attempt another siege of yet another Cathar
mountain stronghold, this time Termes in Corbieres, long thought as unassailable
as Lastours. The buzzing in his head
give him the ideas that he was certain would bring him victory this time.
As his wife Alix brought in fresh troops
through the dangerous paths up, the Lion of Montfort had his catapults hauled
to another mountain peak, just across the valley from high Termes. Simon had his best siege engineer set up and
direct the catapaults which from the position on the nearby mountaintop had an
unimpeded access to fling firey projectiles at the Cathar fortress, while Simon
and his men held siege dangerously exposed on the mountainside beneath
Termes. However, the defenders under
constant assault from Simon’s catapults could not press their advantage against
Simon’s men, and within just more than a month of constant bombardment, the
defenders of Termes surrendered.
This surrender shook the Cathar defenders
courageous defiance badly. After the
victories at Minerve and Termes, Peter of Castenou pressed for rpeace,
abandoning the fortresses of Lastours.
The armies of the Crusaders then turned their attention again to the
lowlands and the hangings and burnings or the Cathar faithful continued with
increasing vigor and frequency across the land of Languedoc. Nothing, it seemed could now stand in
Raymond’s way.
When the news reached him from Amaury that
in response to Raymond’s trial and the reinstitution of his excommunication,
Raymond’s son was to be next in line for the seat of Toulouse which had then
fallen under the King of Aragon in Spain’s dominion until such a time that he
came of age to take control of his lands.
In essence, Languedoc was now Simon’s domain, save the vicinities of
Toulouse which were now part of the Kingdom of Aragon. Simon de Montfort had become Lord of
Languedoc. The buzzing in his head made
him relish this.
copyright 2017 Diana Hignutt
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