in Church History, a sect or party of reformers, about Toulouse and Albigeois, in Languedoc, who sprung up in the 12th century, and distinguished themselves by their opposition to the discipline and ceremonies of the Romish church.

The name is supposed to have been derived, either from there being great numbers of them in the diocese of Albi, or because they were condemned by a council held in that city. It does not indeed appear that they were known by this name before the time of that council. They were also called Albiani, Albigeosi, Albii, and Albanezes, though some distinguish these last from them. Other names given to them are Cathari, Abelardists, Berengarians, Bulgarians, &c.; some on account of the qualities they assumed; others from that of the country from whence it is pretended they were derived; and others on account of persons of note who adopted their cause, as Peter de Bruis, Arnold of Brescia, Abelard, Henry, &c. Berengarius, if not Wycliffe himself, is by some ranked in the number. The Albigeneses are frequently confounded with the Waldenses; from whom, however, they differ in many respects, both as being prior to them in point of time, as having their origin in a different country, and as being charged with different heresies, particularly Manicheism, with which the Waldenses are not charged. From that imputation, however, several Protestant writers have vindicated them. Dr Allix shows that a great number of Manichaeans did spread over the western countries from Bulgaria, and settled in Italy, Languedoc, and other places, where there were also Albigeneses; by which means, being both under the imputation of heresy, they came, either by ignorance or malice, to be confounded, and called by the same common name, though in reality entirely different.

Grave errors were imputed to them by their malicious opponents: such as that they admitted two Christs; one evil, who appeared on earth; the other good who has not yet appeared: that they denied the resurrection of the body, and maintained human souls to be demons imprisoned in our bodies, by way of punishment for their sins: that they condemned all the sacraments of the church, rejected baptism as useless, held the eucharist in abhorrence, excluded the use of confessions and penance, maintained marriage unlawful, laughed at purgatory, prayers for the dead, images, crucifixes, &c. There were likewise said to be two classes of them, the Perfect and the Believers. The Perfect boasted of their living in continence, of eating neither flesh, eggs, nor cheese. The Believers lived like other men, and were even loose in their morals; but they were persuaded they should be saved by the faith of the perfect, and that none were damned who received imposition of hands from them. But from these charges also they are generally acquitted by Protestants, who consider them as the pious inventions of the Romish church, which accounts it no sin, but rather meritorious by any means to blacken heretics.

However this be, the Albigeneses grew so formidable, that the Catholics agreed upon a holy league or crusade against They were at first supported by Raymond Count of Toulouse. Pope Innocent III., desirous to suppress them, sent legates into their country, who even inflicted capital punishment on pertinacious heretics. These legates were known by the name of Inquisitors. On the murder of one of these, the pope proclaimed a crusade against the Albigeneses, and their supporter Raymond VI., Count of Toulouse. The French barons took the field under Simon de Montfort (Earl of Leicester) in 1209; and Raymond found it his interest to side with them. Soon after, however, finding himself plundered by the crusaders, he proclaimed war against them, and was joined by his relation the king of Aragon, who lost his life in the first battle. The defeat of his army was followed by the surrender of the city of Toulouse, and the conquest of the greater part of Languedoc and Provence. The war was attended with circumstances of the greatest atrocity: at the massacre of Beziers, Arnald the pope's legate, on being asked how the heretics and the orthodox were to be distinguished, replied—"Slay all, and God will find his own." Montfort was killed at the siege of Toulouse in 1218, and Raymond died four years afterwards. Their sons renewed the war; but at last the Count of Toulouse was compelled to make peace in 1229. From this time the Albigeneses gradually dwindled, till the time of the Reformation, when such of them as were left fell in with the Vaudois, and became conformable to the doctrine of Zwinglius and the discipline of Geneva.—Mosheim's Eccles. Hist.; General Hist. of Languedoc, Paris, 1730.

ALBIGENSES is also a name sometimes given to the followers of Peter Vaud or Waldo. See Vaudois.