Raymond V, Count of Toulouse

Raymond V (Occitan: Ramon; c. 1134 – c. 1194) was Count of Toulouse from 1148 until his death in 1194.

Silver obol of Raymond V count of Toulouse.

He was the son of Alphonse I of Toulouse and Faydida of Provence.[1] Alphonse took his son with him on the Second Crusade in 1147.[2] When Alphonse died in Caesarea in 1148,[3] the county of Toulouse passed to his son Raymond, then aged 14. Raymond co-ruled with his brother Alfonso II. The young count was honoured by Rorgo Fretellus, archdeacon of Nazareth, who dedicated a new edition of his Description of the Holy Places to him.[2]

As count, Raymond permitted the first assembly of townsmen in Toulouse, the origin of the later capitouls.

In 1165, in the town of Lombers, the bishop of Albi, attended by both clerics and members of the nobility, including Constance, the wife of Raymond V, interrogated and debated with members of an alleged heretical sect. Calling themselves "Good Men", this group held beliefs similar to those of Henry of Lausanne and Peter of Bruys as well as indicating Cathar influence. While the Good Men declined to respond to a number of questions about their beliefs, they told the bishop that they did not accept the Old Testament, and that their reading of the New Testament persuaded them that they should not take oaths. They further challenged the jurisdiction of the bishop.[4]

In 1178 Raymond requested assistance from the Cistercians to combat heresy in his dominions. Wakefield suggests that being under pressure on his western border from King Alfonso II of Aragon, Raymond wished to present himself as a defender of the faith. A joint legatine and royal commission arrived in Toulouse charged with authority to preach, investigate, and condemn. It operated for three months.[4]

  1. ^ Pegg 2009, p. 5.
  2. ^ a b Boeren 1980, p. xviii.
  3. ^ Richard 1999, p. 165.
  4. ^ a b Wakefield & Evans 1991, p. 194.