Protonationalism and the Albigensian crusade

The European crusade in the XIII century to the south of France was accompanied by a number of cultural, social and political phenomena, which in the works of historians are traditionally considered to be a manifestation of proto-national identity. In general, the rise of national and proto-national movements can be called a characteristic phenomenon of most socio-political conflicts. Based on the constructivist approach to the question of the origin of the nation and nationalism, this article analyzes the correlation between the degree of violence exerted on Occitan socio-political institutions by the crusaders and the formation of proto-national feeling among the local population. The conflict between religious and socio-political (including urban) identities, exacerbated by the crusade, within Occitan society often ended with the prevalence of the latter. Strong urban traditions, kinship ties between local Catholics and heretics predetermined the nature of the evolution of the conflict from a formally religious to a secular-political and social one, since the crusading army inevitably exerted pressure on the traditional institutions of Languedoc to achieve its goals. Moreover, the reverse process has also been revealed - the crusaders expand their idea of a potential opponent beyond the category of «heretics», using, among other things, national markers, such as language and origin, and more specific socio-antagonistic ones, such as anticlericalism, traditional for southerners. The article examines the issues of the proto-national movement as an independent process, not directly related to the image and status of count Raymond VII formed by the Toulouse court.