A Siege of Toulouse occurred between October 1217 and June 1218 during Albigensian Crusade

Albigensian Crusade

The Albigensian Crusade or Cathar Crusade was a 20-year military campaign initiated by the Catholic Church to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc...

. It was third of a series of sieges of the city during the height of Crusader efforts to put down Catharism (and the local Languedoc

Languedoc

Languedoc is a former province of France, now continued in the modern-day régions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées in the south of France, and whose capital city was Toulouse, now in Midi-Pyrénées. It had an area of approximately 42,700 km² .-Geographical Extent:The traditional...

ian nobility). It ended in the repulsion of the Crusaders and the death of their leader, Simon IV de Montfort

Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester

Simon IV de Montfort, Seigneur de Montfort-l'Amaury, 5th Earl of Leicester , also known as Simon de Montfort the elder, was a French nobleman who took part in the Fourth Crusade and was a prominent leader of the Albigensian Crusade...

.

Simon first besieged Toulouse in 1211, but failed to take it. In 1216 he captured the city and proclaimed himself Count of Toulouse, but while he was elsewhere, on 12 September 1217, the legitimate claimaint, Raymond VI

Raymond VI of Toulouse

Raymond VI was count of Toulouse and marquis of Provence from 1194 to 1222. He was also count of Melgueil from 1173 to 1190.-Early life:...

, retook the city without a fight. Simon returned in haste to besiege the city once more. Despite that he had ordered the city's defences dismantled while he was in control, he found its defences intact and its walls well-manned. His forces were too small to surround it and the siege dragged on through the winter months with little activity.

In the spring of 1218 a certain maestre (master) Bertran of Toulouse suggested to the people that they construct a trebuchet

Trebuchet

A trebuchet is a siege engine that was employed in the Middle Ages. It is sometimes called a "counterweight trebuchet" or "counterpoise trebuchet" in order to distinguish it from an earlier weapon that has come to be called the "traction trebuchet", the original version with pulling men instead of...

. The city's carpenters immediately took up the task. Meanwhile, on 3 June, the Crusaders constructed (or had brought in) a "cat" (a leather-covered, steeply-gabled mobile shelter) in order to approach the walls. The defenders' trebuchet swiftly dispatched it and, on 25 June, they sortied to burn the cat, which they did. During the Crusaders' counterassault, Simon stopped to aid his brother Guy

Guy de Montfort, Lord of Sidon

Guy de Montfort was the younger son of Simon III de Montfort and Amicia, sister of Robert FitzPernel, Earl of Leicester.-Crusade:...

, who had been wounded by a crossbow

Crossbow

A crossbow is a weapon consisting of a bow mounted on a stock that shoots projectiles, often called bolts or quarrels. The medieval crossbow was called by many names, most of which derived from the word ballista, a torsion engine resembling a crossbow in appearance.Historically, crossbows played a...

, and was hit on the head by a stone from one of the defenders' siege engines (either the trebuchet or a mangonel

Mangonel

A mangonel was a type of catapult or siege engine used in the medieval period to throw projectiles at a castle's walls. The exact meaning of the term is debatable, and several possibilities have been suggested. Mangonel may also be indirectly referring to the 'mangon' a French hard stone found in...

), apparently operated by donas e tozas e mulhers (ladies, girls, and women). It killed him. The leadership of the Crusade fell to his brother Amaury

Amaury de Montfort

Amaury VI de Montfort was the son of the elder Simon de Montfort and Alice of Montmorency, and the brother of the younger Simon de Montfort.He participated in the Albigensian Crusade under his father's command...

 but the siege was soon lifted.

The events of the siege prompted the resident troubadour

Troubadour

A troubadour was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages . Since the word "troubadour" is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a trobairitz....

 (and possibly priest) Raimon Escrivan

Raimon Escrivan

Raimon Escrivan was a Toulousain troubadour. He may be identified with the canon Raimundus Scriptor of Saint-Étienne in Toulouse or perhaps Raimon de Costiran, a victim of the Papal Inquisition at Avinhonet in 1242...

 to compose a song, Senhors, l'autrier vi ses falhida, on it. The song, a tenso

Tenso

A tenso is a style of Occitan song favoured by the troubadours. It takes the form of a debate in which each voice defends a position on a topic relating to love or ethics. Closely related genres include the partimen and the cobla exchange...

, presents a mock debate between two siege machines (the trebuchet and the cat) in which the trebuchet wins.