page_title: Aimery III of Narbonne
section_title: Crusades in southern France and Spain
hierarchical_section_title: Aimery III of Narbonne / Crusades in southern France and Spain
caption_attribution_description: The Death of Simon de Montfort at the siege of Toulouse (25 June 1218)
context_page_description: Aimery III, known in Spanish as Aimerico Pérez de Lara, was the Viscount of Narbonne from 1194 until his own death. He was a member of the House of Lara. Throughout his reign he had to navigate competing claims of suzerainty over him and until 1223 his reign was dominated by the Occitan War. He participated unenthusiastically on the side of the crusaders, but retained his viscounty, which he passed on to his son.
context_section_description: In 1209 the Albigensian Crusade (“Occitan War”) visited the south of France. Pressured by Odo III, Duke of Burgundy, and Hervé, Count of Nevers, the viscount of Narbonne bowed to a Papal command and assisted the crusaders with money, supplies and castles. Aimery was present at Béziers when Agnes, widow of the last viscount, Raymond Roger Trencavel, handed the viscounty of Béziers over to Simon de Montfort IV. The next year (1210), Aimery assisted Simon in the siege of Minerve, but he refused, on account of the wishes of his subjects, to participate in the siege of Castelnaudary.
  Aimery may have taken part in the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212, where the united armies of Spain, led by Alfonso VIII of Castile, Aimery's homeland, routed the Almohads. It is known that Arnaud Amalric, the Archbishop of Narbonne, took part. Pope Innocent III, organiser of the Albigensian Crusade, had granted the title Duke of Narbonne, which had been held by Aimery's uncle and namesake Aimerico Manrique until 1177, to the archbishop. Arnaud was thus Aimery's suzerain by 1212.
  After the Battle of Muret in 1213, Aimery refused entry in Narbonne to Simon de Montfort, who proceeded to besiege the place. Aimery led an effective sally that split the attacking troops and forced them to retreat, lifting the siege. The next year (1214), Aimery was one of those who intervened with Pope Innocent and forced him to order Simon to do homage to King James I of Aragon for his lands in southern France. When Simon hesitated to obey, Aimery prepared for war, but the intervention of Cardinal Peter of Benevento, the Papal legate for Provence, prevented open hostilities. A settlement was reached in April 1214 to which Aimery and the citizens of Narbonne were party.
  In 1215 Louis the Lion, the son of the king of France, Philip Augustus, entered the territory of the duchy of Narbonne with an army. Philip had recognised Simon as Duke of Narbonne and now Louis, acting on his father's behalf, ordered the destruction of Narbonne's walls, to prevent any resistance to the royal will from being exercised later. Later that year the Fourth Council of the Lateran opened. Upon his return from the council in 1216, Arnaud Amalric tried to convince Aimery and the citizens of Narbonne to renounce their submission to Simon, but the duke of Narbonne was at the height of his power and the viscount and citizens renewed their submission and were put under Simon's protection.
caption: Modern artist's impression of the Siege of Toulouse, at which Aimery was present.
exif: {}