The present fortress ruin at Montségur is not from the Cathar era. The original Cathar fortress of Montségur was entirely pulled down by the victorious royal forces after its capture in 1244. It was gradually rebuilt and upgraded over the next three centuries by royal forces. The current ruin so dramatically occupying the site, and featured in illustrations, is referred to by French archeologists as “Montsegur III” and is typical of post-medieval royal French defensive architecture of the 17th century. It is not “Montsegur II”, the structure in which the Cathars lived and were besieged and of which few traces remain today.

Démythifier Montségur: Montségur. 13 Ans de Recherche Archéologique, 1964-1976 (Bulletin du Groupe de Recherches Archéologiques de Montségur et Environs, N° Spécial 1980; Carcassonne, 1981)

The Cathar religion was an extreme example of Roman Catholicism that espoused extreme asceticism. There would be nothing attractive about genuine Catharism to today’s conspiracy theorists.

Original Catharism should not be confused with the Neo-Catharism of the 19th century Gnostic Catholic Church, of which Jules Doinel was a major player.

Below: The French Video is wrong because it is not referring to the original Cathar castle destroyed in 1244, but to the architecture of the 17th century castle built in its place. The Rhedesium website is promoting misleading material (as per usual).