Folquet de Marselha Folquet de Marselha , alternatively Folquet de Marseille , Foulques de Toulouse , Fulk of Toulouse ( c . 1150 – 25 December 1231 ) came from a Genoese merchant family who lived in Marseille . He is known as a trobadour , and then as a fiercely anti - Cathar bishop of Toulouse . Troubadour . Initially famed as a troubadour , he began composing songs in the 1170s and was known to Raymond Geoffrey II of Marseille , Richard Coeur de Lion , Raymond V of Toulouse , Raimond - Roger of Foix , Alfonso II of Aragon and William VIII of Montpellier . He is known primarily for his love songs , which were lauded by Dante ; there are 14 surviving cansos , one tenson , one lament , one invective , three crusading song s and possibly one religious song ( although its authorship is disputed ) . Like many other troubadours , he was later credited by the " Biographies des Troubadours " to have conducted love affairs with the various noblewomen about whom he sang ( allegedly causing William VIII to divorce his wife , Eudocia Comnena ) , but all evidence suggests that Folquet ' s early life was considerably more prosaic and in keeping with his status as a wealthy citizen . A contemporary , John of Garlande , later described him as " renowned on account of his spouse , his progeny , and his home , " all marks of bourgeois respectability . Bishop . Folquet ' s life and career abruptly changed around 1195 when he experienced a profound religious conversion and decided to renounce his former life . He joined the strict Cistercian Order , entering the monastery of Thoronet ( Var , France ) , and appears to have placed his wife and two sons in monastic institutions as well . He soon rose in prominence and was elected abbot of Thoronet which allowed him to help found the sister house of Géménos to house women , quite possibly including his wife . He was elected Bishop of Toulouse in 1205 , after two Cistercian Papal legates had been sent to the region to reform it . Pope Innocent III was particularly concerned by the prevalence of both heresy and episcopal corruption in the Languedoc and used the Cistercians to combat both . The legates had deposed the previous Bishop , Raimon de Rabastens , and were probably instrumental in arranging Folquet ' s nomination for the position . As Bishop of Toulouse , Folquet ( now traditionally referred to by his proper name , Foulques , Fulk , or Folc , instead of the diminutive Folquet ) took a very active role in combatting heresy . Throughout his episcopal career he sought to create and encourage outlets for religious enthusiasm that were Catholic in an effort to woo believers away from preachers of heresy ( primarily Cathar and Waldensian ) . In 1206 he created what would become the convent of Prouille to offer women a religious community that would rival ( and , where necessary , replace ) those of the Cathars . He participated in the initial preaching mission of Saint Dominic that was led by Dominic ' s superior , Bishop Diego of Osma . He continued to support this new form of preaching after Bishop Diego ' s death by backing Dominic and his followers , eventually allotting the nascent Dominicans property and a portion of the tithes of Toulouse to ensure their continued success . Figure of the Albigensian Crusade . Bishop Foulques had tumultuous relations with his diocese , primarily on account of his support of the Albigensian Crusade , which was popularly perceived as a war of aggression against the region . Hated by many Toulousains and by Count Raymond VI of Toulouse he left Toulouse on 2 April 1211 , after the crusaders laid siege to Lavaur . Soon afterwards he instructed all clerics to leave the city . He was present at the siege in April – May 1211 ; he then travelled north to France , where he preached the Crusade alongside Guy of les Vaux - de - Cernay . He then returned to the south , participating in the Council of Pamiers in November 1212 , in the Council of Lavaur in January 1213 , in the meeting with Peter II of Aragon on 14 January 1213 , at the Battle of Muret on 12 September 1213 , and at the Council of Montpellier in January 1215 . There he was instructed by the Papal legate , Peter of Benevento , to take possession of the Château Narbonnais , the Count ' s residence , at Toulouse ; thus he finally returned to the city in February 1215 . In July 1215 Foulques issued a diocesan letter instituting Dominic ' s brotherhood of preachers ( which eventually became the Dominican Order ) . In November 1215 he and Dominic , with Guy of Montfort , were in Rome at the Fourth Lateran Council . After the Toulousains revolted in August 1216 against their new ruler , Simon IV de Montfort , and Foulques ' negotiated settlement led to further violence , he tried to relinquish his position , claiming that it was impossible to manage the diocese , but his requests to the pope were refused . In October 1217 , when Simon was besieging Toulouse once more , he sent a group of sympathisers to Paris to plead for the help of king Philippe - Auguste . This group included Simon ' s wife , the countess Alix de Montmorency , as well as Foulques . They began their journey clandestinely , " through the forest " , to avoid attacks by " faidit s " . They returned more flamboyantly , in May 1218 , bringing a party of new Crusaders including the dashing Amaury de Craon . Foulques spent much of the following decade outside his diocese , assisting the crusading army and the Church ' s attempts to bring order to the region . He was at the Council of Sens in 1223 . After the Peace of Paris finally ended the crusade in 1229 , Foulques returned to Toulouse and began to construct the institutions that were designed to combat heresy in the region . He helped to create the University of Toulouse and administered the newly created Episcopal Inquisition . He died in 1231 and was buried , beside the tomb of William VII of Montpellier , at the abbey of Grandselves , near Toulouse , where his sons , Ildefonsus and Petrus had been abbots .