The Counts of Toulouse · Faith & Flame

After the Merovingian conquest of the region, royal appointees were set over Toulouse to administer the district, taking the title of comte. During the Carolingian era the role became hereditary, passing through primogeniture on the male side, though in the absence of a suitable male heir a daughter could inherit. The dynasty produced the Countess Phillippa Maude, Duchess of Aquitaine, in the late eleventh century; the title may well pass to a woman in the future. The current heir is Raimond, son of Raimond VI, however, and his daughter Joan, born in 1220, will only become countess if he has no sons.

The counts soon adopted the ways and language of the region and were unwilling to honor their duties as vassals of the French king, remaining fiercely autonomous and placing the County of Toulouse outside of France. Raimond III in the early tenth century expanded the County to include all of former Septimania, and in the reign of Raimond IV (1093-1105) the count took possession of the marquisate of Provence and the Narbonnais region, becoming overlord of almost all of what is today the Provençal Tribunal. His marriage to Elvira of Aragon provided him with influence over the southern regions under the rule of the Kingdom of Aragon; only Gascony remained outside his reach.

The reign of Raimond IV marked a high point in the power of the counts, and his successor Raimond V created the capitouls of Toulouse (see page 34), a ruling council with full legislative and judicial powers, who rule alongside the counts. In 1188 the capitouls seized more power, but Raimond VI (who has ruled since 1194) has made no attempt to reassert his authority. His easy-going tolerance, extension of tax exemptions, and distraction by the Crusade against his lands has allowed the creation of a prosperous "middle class" of non-noble merchants and landowners, many of whom owe no allegiance to any lord and whose wealth is often as great as or greater than that of the great nobles of the region. Likewise, many lords have long since cast off the chains of vassalage, just as the counts of Toulouse have long been independent of their nominal royal liege. More than in many regions of Mythic Europe, characters may stand independent of the feudal system, and avoid the oaths of allegiance that prove a stumbling block that many covenants in less fortunate regions must work around.

Since the Crusade began Raimond has been stripped of many titles, and following his loss of Toulouse in 1213 to Simon de Montfort he was forced into a four year exile, much of which was spent with his son petitioning the pope for the restoration of his vast estates. In 1216 Simon de Montfort declared himself count of Toulouse, but following Raimond's return in 1217 and the active campaign to drive the crusaders from the region, Raimond has won back many of his former vassals.

In 1218 Simon de Montfort was killed besieging Toulouse, and while Raimond's claims to the title are currently maintained by military force, he still works assiduously to be once again recognized as the legitimate count of Toulouse (a title claimed by Simon's son, Amaury). Today, following the failure of the Royal Crusade of 1217, when Prince Louis' army was turned back outside the walls of Toulouse, Raimond is firmly in control of the city and holds parts of the county. Whether he can reach agreement with the French throne and papacy and pass his inheritance to his faithful son remains to be seen. Raimond has one rather surprising supporter: Arnaud Almaric, the papal legate who uttered the infamous words outside Béziers, "Kill them all; God will know his own." Unlike the bishop of Toulouse, Foulques de Marseilles, who remains an implacable enemy of the count, Amalric the legate, a long time supporter of the Crusade, switched sides after the death of de Montfort and made his peace with Raimond.

Toulouse Covenants