State-Making

When Innocent III proclaimed a Crusade against heretics in the south of France, it led, eventually, to the deposition of the count of Toulouse, Raymond VI. One of Raymond’s territories—the county of Melgueil—had an ancient (though vague) relationship with the papacy. The bishop of Maguelone used this relationship to justify his own possession of the county (granted to him, at his request, by the pope). In the process the bishop and the other claimants to the county established that Melgueil was a papal ‘fief’ (feudum)—a term not applied to the county before. Once the bishop had taken possession, he instrumentalized papal authority to build up his power against both internal and external enemies.