Peerage): 
"Paratge"
translates literally into English as peerage, but this gives
almost no clue to the significance or meaning of the word
in medieval Occitania.
Paratge denoted a whole world-view, almost a philosophy, as alien to the modern mind as it was to the medieval French Crusaders. The word meant something more than honour, courtesy, nobility, chivalry or gentility though our concepts of honour, courtesy, nobility, chivalry and gentility all owe something to the concept of "paratge".
The word also carried implications of balance, natural order, and what is right. Paratge does not seem to have been a distinctly Cathar notion. The Count of Toulouse could reportedly use the word to the Pope in reminding him of his duty to paratge. In any case we have no indication of any disagreement between the two belief systems, which appear to have coexisted in complete harmony. If it seems odd that we have even the faintest echo of the concept in English, it is well to remember that Occitan was the first language of many in England, including two queens (Eleanor of Aquitaine, and John's wife Isobel) and an English King, Richard I).
The
nearest concept to paratge we know of elsewhere seems to
be the ancient Egyptian idea of Ma'aht - another untranslatable
word carrying suggestions of right, cosmic balance and natural
order to which may be added ideas of contentment, joy and
light. (Ma'aht was embodied as a goddess, and played a part
in the development of Christian concepts of heaven
and hell). The ancient Greeks seem to have had a similar
idea. The word kosmos, the origin of our word cosmos,
meant not just the universe but a state of universal order
and harmony. Plato, in Meno, (apparently referring
specifically to the Pythagoreans) says "The wise men
tell us that heaven and earth, and gods and men, are bound
together by kinship, love, orderliness, temperance and justice;
and for this reason my friend they give to the whole the
name kosmos, not a name implying disorder or licenciousness".
In the modern world, the nearest we can come to it is probably
in Eastern philosophies: the yin-yang and the Buddhist ideas
of karma and what is "right".
The word paratge was used extensively in Occitan writings, and it features heavily in the works of troubadours and especially in the Song of the Cathar Wars. If you knew that a man upheld paratge, then that was pretty much all you needed to know about him. Similarly, if you knew that he despised paratge then again that was all you needed to know.
In the latter part of the Canso (The Song of the Cathar Wars) written in Occitan the writer is horrified and mystified that the French invaders seem to have no respect for paratge, or even any understanding of it. The charge is more serious than any other - indeed it probably encompasses all the others - deceit, brutality, vandalism, lying, hypocrisy, even mass-murder. Here is an observation, laisse 137, referring to the French Catholic Crusader victory over the joint forces of King Pedro II of Aragon and Count Raymond VI of Toulouse defending their lands at Muret:
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Toto lo mons ne valg mens, de ver o sapiatz, |
It diminished the whole world, be sure of that, |
Here is a later example from a famous coruscating indictment of a dead crusade leader, Simon de Montfort, refering to the epitaph on his original tomb at the Cathedral of Saint-Nazaire in Carcassonne. The inscription on it is now lost, but we know that it envisaged Simon as a saint enthroned in heaven, enjoying God's reward for his earthly deeds:
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E ditz e l'epictafi, cel qui•l sab ben legir, |
The epitaph says, for those who can read it, |
Elsewhere the canso [laisse 147] reports that Simon's death filled the world with light and set paratge free.
The gulf between the original concept and our attempts at understanding it across the gulf of centuries is emphasised by trying to define it. Paratge is almost like an ethereal substance that pervades the universe. It can grow or diminish, it can be extinguished. It can be exalted and set free, or brought low. Here are a few examples:
| Context | Occitan Text | English Translation | Laisse 151. Raymond VI, Count of Toulouse rails at Pope Innocent III for thinking to dispossess the count's son of his inheritance. | E l'efans, que no sab ni falhir ni pecar, Mandas sa terra toldre e lo vols decassar! E tu, que deus Paratge e Merce guovernar, Membre•t Dieus e Paratges e no•m laiches pecar | ...And the boy, not capable of doing wrong: you order his fiefs to be taken from him and for him to be driven out! You who should rule by mercy and paratge! Be mindful of paratge and of God! |
| Laisse 154. Guy of Cavillon gives advice to the young Raymond future Raymond VII, outlining his duty to paratge. | ... lo coms de Montfort que destrui Los baros e la gleiza de Roma e la prezicacios fa estar tot Paratge aunit e vergonhos, qu'en aisi Es Paratges tornatz de sus en jos; que si per vos no•s leva per totz tems Es rescos. E si Pretz e Paratges no•s restaura per vos, doncs Es lo mortz Paratges e totz lo mons en vos. E pus de tot Paratge etz vera sospeisos, o totz, Paratges moria o vos que siatz pros! | ...the count of Montfort who destroys men, he and the Church at Rome and the preachers are covering paratge with shame. They have cast it down from its high place, and if you do not raise it up, it will vanish for ever. If worth and paratge do not rise again through you, then paratge will die - with it the whole world will die. You are the true hope of all paratge and the choice is yours: either you show valour, or paratge dies! |
| Laisse 137 and Laisse 141: On the defeat of King Peter II of Aragon and Raymond VI of Toulouse at the battle of Muret in 1213 |
Totz lo mons NE valg mens, de ver o sapiatz, car Paratges NE FO destruitz e decassatz. E totz Crestianesmes aonitz e abassatz. ... A tot Crestianesme et a trastotas gens |
It diminished the whole world, be sure of that, for it destroyed and drove out paratge. It disgraced and shamed all Christendom. ...It dishonoured the whole of Christendom and all humanity. |
Here is another passage. Raymond VI and his son Raymondet, the future Raymond VII, had left Rome after the Fourth Lateran Council in 1216 and travelled separately until they met at Genoa and then onto Marseille. Having been stripped of his lands and title the Count's vassals might well have taken the opportunity to abandon him, but events turned out differently. Here is an extract from the Canso, laisse 153:
Reaching Marseille, they dismounted by the shore and were welcomed with joy and delight. The count took up residence in the castle of Toneu. Then on the fourth day a messanger arrived, greeted the count and said: "My Lord Count, tomorrow morning be ready early for the best men in Avignon are waiting for you on the river bank. More than three hundred will be there to do you homage"
Count Raymond was very pleased to hear this. Next morning he and his son [Raymondet] set off and when they had almost reached the meeting place beside the river the Count dismounted from his good Arab horse and and found the men from Avignon kneeling on strewn branches. They and the Count greeted each other with delight.
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