Pierre Clergue (FR Pierre Clergue) is a parish priest of the Roman Catholic Church and the de facto ruler of the village of Montai in southern France in the county of Foix at the beginning of the 14th century.
He is the central figure in the monograph of the French historian Emmanuel Le Roi Laduri " Montayu, Occitan Village (1294-1324) ."
Biography
Born in a family of wealthy peasants, the richest in the village of Montayu , whose influence spread throughout the region. He was the eldest son and after the death of his father became the head of the family.
He was a priest of the village, just as one of the few educated inhabitants of the village, served as a notary. His brother Bernard Klerg became a local baille - law enforcement and tax collector. Thus, the Klerg brothers played a key role in the life of the population of the village and the countryside, as representatives of religious and secular authorities.
Despite the fact that Pierre Clerk was a priest of the Roman Catholic Church , he was an ardent Qatar - an Albigensian . Around 1300, Pierre Klerg began to inform some of the parishioners in the Inquisition . In 1308, with his direct involvement, the Inquisition arrested the entire adult population of the city, with Pierre Clerk deciding which of them would be punished and who would be released, using this power to satisfy personal grievances. At the same time, he and his brother regularly provided shelter and assistance to the Cathars.
In 1320 he was arrested by the Inquisition on the orders of Bishop Jacques Fournier . Attempts by his brother Bernard to release him, including through bribery, were unsuccessful. He died in prison.
Records of his testimony before the Inquisition were not preserved.
Relations with women
Pierre Klerg is notable for his sexual appetite. At that time, celibacy was not obligatory among priests in the Pyrenees , and Klerg, during his long career as a priest and in fact the ruler of the village, had many mistresses. Le Roi Laduri lists nine women.
The most notable among them was Beatrice de Planisols - the nominal ruler of the village. Remaining a widow at 28, she was raped by Patu Klerg - cousin of Pierre Klerg, and then for two years was Pierre's mistress.
His connection with his cousin, which began when she was fifteen, is known. A year later, at the behest of Klerg, she married a fellow villager, but their relationship continued, with the consent of her husband.
Also his lover was the wife of his brother Bernard.
Pierre Klerg justified his behavior in several ways. Firstly, the teaching of the Cathars declared all sexual relations a sin, even among spouses, however, as Klerg noted, spouses are not considered sinners. Secondly, he believed that he would be freed from sin by confession on his deathbed.
Sources
- Le Roi Laduri, E. Montayu, Occitan Village (1294-1324) / Transl. with fr. V. A. Babintseva and Y. Yu. Startseva. - Yekaterinburg: Publishing House of the Ural University, 2001. - 544 p. - ISBN 5-7525-0738-3 .