The ‘Traitor’ of Béziers

Abstract The townspeople of Béziers conspired and killed their lord, Raymond Trencavel, viscount of the city, at the altar of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine on 15 October 1167 initiating an urban revolt. Sparse evidence from disparate sources makes the motive difficult to discern. The count of Toulouse is largely suspected of orchestrating the event, so much so that the cives themselves have been left absent from the narrative at worst or manipulated pawns at best. Only two individuals mentioned within the ‘Cartulary of Béziers’ ( the ‘Livre Noir’ ) are inculpated in the rebellion: a certain Richer and one Petrus Vairatus called the ‘Traitor’. Briefly discussed by others in the past, this article reexamines the records which bear their names and those of their associates illuminating a group of elites existing in two spaces – both tenant and lord. The influence of these men, their families, and others of their position throughout the twelfth century forms the social context of the revolt itself, an aspect which has hitherto been undervalued.