Esclarmonde of Foix

Infobox Person
name = Esclarmonde de Foix


image_size = thumb|180px|right
caption = Esclarmonde de Foix was largely responsible for rebuilding the fortress of Montségur.
birth_date = after 1151
birth_place = France
death_date = 1215
death_place = France
occupation = Cathar Perfect
parents = Roger-Bernard I of Foix and Cecile Trencavel
spouse = Jordan III of L'Isle-Jourdain

Esclarmonde de Foix, (born after 1151 – died 1215), also called Esclarmonde the Great, was a prominent figure in Catharism in thirteenth century France.

She was the daughter of Roger Bernard I, Count of Foix, and of Cecile Trencavel. The name Esclarmonde means "Light of the World" [But also in French, "éclair du monde" means "light of the world," but not only: the first meaning of the word "éclair" is "lightning," or "flash of lightning." Cassell's French-English Dictionary, Cassell & Co., London 1968.] in the Occitan language. She was a sister of Raymond-Roger de Foix, Count of Foix. She married Jordan III of L'Isle-Jourdain, lord of L'Isle-Jourdain. They had several children, among them Bernard, Guillamette, Olive, Othon de Terride, and Bertrand, Baron de Launac.

She was widowed in 1200 and, sometime thereafter, turned to the Cathar Church.Fact|date=September 2007 She received the Cathar sacrament, the consolamentum, for becoming a Parfaite, or member of the Cathar Elect, at the hands of the Cathar bishop Guilhabert de Castres in 1204 in Fanjeaux with three other women of high rank, Aude de Fanjeaux, Fays de Durfort, and Raymonde of Saint-Germain. The ceremony was conducted in the presence of her brother, Raymond-Roger de Foix, Count of Foix.

She settled in Pamiers and was likely involved in the initiative to rebuild the fortress of Montségur. She belonged to the conference of Parmiers, also called the "conference of Montreal" in 1207. It was the last debate between the Cathars and the Roman Catholic Church, represented by Dominic Guzman. The following year Pope Innocent III launched the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars.

Esclarmonde de Foix also was responsible for the establishment of schools for girls and for hospitals in the region. She and her sister-in-law Philippa ran a House for Parfaites at Dun in the Pyrenees Mountains, which functioned as a home for aged Parfaits and a girls' school.

Legacy

Today Esclarmonde de Foix is a saint of at least one modern Gnostic Church. The Gnostic Church of Mary Magdalene and the Apostolic Johannite Church have established a monastic lay order called The Order of Saint Esclarmonde. People who join the order are required to commit to "mindfulness, daily contemplation, and community action through charitable works" in their home communities. Saint Esclarmonde, according to Apostolic Johannite Gnostic Church Monsignor Jordan Stratford of Vancouver, British Columbia, was romanticized during the Napoleonic era in France and became a "kind of Cathar Joan of Arc" who was a symbol of the revival of art and mysticism in the 19th century. One legend has it that Esclarmonde turned into a dove and flew away when inquisitors of the Roman Catholic Church arrived to take her to her execution. [cite web | author=Jordan Stratford | year= 2007| title = "Order of Saint Esclarmonde" | Work=egina2.blogspot.com| url=http://egina2.blogspot.com| accessdate= March 18| accessyear=2007]

She is also honored in the Commemoration of Saints during the Gnostic Holy Eucharist of the Ecclesia Gnostica, of which Stephan Hoeller is the bishop.

[ [http://www.art-science.com/Tourism/France/Cathars/c4.html Foix] ] The University of Winnipeg offers the Esclarmonde de Foix travel scholarship in her memory. [cite web | author=University of Winnipeg | year= 2007| title = "International Opportunities for Study at the University of Winnipeg" | Work=uwinnipeg.ca| url=http://www.uwinnipeg.ca/index/int-rel-res-fund-op2 | accessdate= March 18| accessyear=2007]

Notes

References

*Michel Roquebert, "The epopee cathare. 1198-1212: The invasion," Toulouse: Privat, 1970.
*Helene Luise Köppel, "Die Ketzerin vom Montségur," Aufbau-TB-Verlag, Berlin, 2002, ISBN 3-7466-1869-X

Persondata
NAME= Foix, Esclarmonde de
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Cathar Perfect
DATE OF BIRTH= after 1151
PLACE OF BIRTH= France
DATE OF DEATH= 1215
PLACE OF DEATH= France