Raymond VII

Raymond VII (born July 1197, Beaucaire, Fr.—died Sept. 27, 1249, Millau) was the count of Toulouse from 1222, who succeeded his father, Raymond VI, not only in the countship but also in having to face problems raised by the Albigensian Crusade against the heretical Cathari. Under his rule, the de facto independence of Toulouse from the French kingdom was permanently curtailed.

After helping to recover lands of which his father had been dispossessed by the fourth Lateran Council (1215), Raymond became count and then negotiated a truce (1223) with the land-hungry crusaders from the North of France. For failing to suppress the Cathari, however, he was excommunicated (1226), was declared forfeit of his lands, and was subjected to an invasion by King Louis VIII of France. Although the death of Louis (Nov. 8, 1226) weakened this campaign, Raymond eventually was compelled (Treaty of Meaux, 1229) to cede territory to France and to permit the crusade against the Cathari to continue in Languedoc. His daughter Joan was to marry Alphonse, brother of Louis IX of France; the failure of this marriage to produce an heir led to the reversion of Toulouse to the crown in 1271.

In 1242, in alliance with King Henry III of England, Raymond rebelled against Louis. Henry’s defeat at Saintes (October 1242) obliged Raymond to yield, and by the Treaty of Lorris (January 1243) the authority of France over Toulouse was greatly strengthened. In his later years, Raymond was a notable builder of bastides (fortified new towns).