In the year of our Lord 1319, Thursday the eve of Saint-Laurent (the 9th of August), Reverend Father in Christ My Lord Jacques, Bishop of Pamiers by the Grace of God, seated at des Allemans castle, attended by Brother Gaillard de Pomiès, whom My Lord the Inquisitor of Carcassonne had assigned to him, and by My Lord Pierre du Verdier, archdeacon of Majorque, had Huguette de la Côte brought into his presence in the diocese of Lyon, by her own belief [Hugette] wife of Jean Marinier, citizen of Arles, whom he had detained in his prison on account of certain denunciations made against them, of which she was strongly suspected.

Therefore, when she was in his presence, because he wanted to investigate concerning this matter, he ordered and advised her several times to swear to tell the pure and entire truth regarding herself as the defendant and all others, living or dead, as a witness, presenting her with a book containing the Gospel.

The said Huguette said and responded that she would not swear in any way, and that she did not dare swear, alleging the fact that she was pregnant, and that, as had happened to others who were pregnant and had sworn, she would have a miscarriage. That is why she feared that if she swore, the same thing would happen to her. She said that a priest named Jean, who was the prior of Saint-Michel de l'Echelle in Arles, had forbidden her to swear, and that this was the reason she did not wish to swear in any way.

About seven weeks. I came with a woman named Pétronille.

[missing text here]

I believe that purgatory exists, and that the intercessions of the Church liberate those souls who are in purgatory.

(The 21st of January).2

On the order and the simple word of My said Lord Bishop, she swore on the four Saints of the Gospel of God, touching them physically, to tell the whole and entire truth regarding herself as defendant and all others, living or dead, as witness, regarding the Vaudois Heresy or the Poor of Lyon, of which she was strongly suspected, and regarding all other heresy of which she knew something.3

I am the daughter of Jean Roux, a baker, who was born in the village of Côte-Saint-André and lived in Boucin4, places that are, I believe, in the Vienne diocese. At my father's death, my mother, who was named Pétrone, took me to Arles, the village in which I was raised for four years. Next, I lived for a year in Tarascon in Provence, then I came back to Arles. Some time after, about six years ago, I married Jean de Vienne there.

When I was arrested, the people who were here on the behalf of My Lord the Pope5 advised me to say that Raimond de la Côte was named Pierre. My husband, whom I said was named Jean Mariner, is this Jean de Vienne who was arrested with me. I called him "Marinier" because he spent a long time at sea. The same people also advised me to say that this Raimond whom I called Pierre was my uncle, my mother's brother, and that I had come to serve him because he was not well. All that is false. As for what I said about him coming to Pamiers because of a quarrel that he had at the Papal Court and that he was a great cleric, I do not know otherwise, for this is what I've heard tell in Pamiers, but I do not know from whom.

It was my husband who brought me there, because the food there is inexpensive, and because he could earn a lot there with his trade, for he is a cooper. We lived in the same house as Raimond because we spoke the same language. But it was with my husband that I came, and with Pétrone, his sister, who got away when we were arrested, with Jean, Raimond's servant.

My husband and I stayed with Raimond for about six weeks, and of these six weeks Raimond spent three outside of Pamiers. When he left, he told us that he had something to do at the Roman Papal Court, and when he returned, he told us that he had married off his sister Jeanne, who had come to Pamiers with him for a few days, and whom I had seen. When this servant of Raimond came back from the Papal Court, he passed through Narbonne.

Two or three days after my husband and I started to live with Raimond, his sister Jeanne left Pamiers and Jacqueline, a relative of Raimond, went with her, and Etienne went with these women. I heard that Jeanne got married in Roybon6.

(The 13th of March 1321)7

Do you wish to swear the tell the full and pure truth regarding yourself as well as others, living or dead, regarding the sect of Vaudoise Heresy or the Poor of Lyon, of which you are strongly suspected, on the book containing the Gospel?

Why did you swear before? Did you believe yourself to be sinning when you swore?

I swore the other time because I thought that I would be able to get out of this that way, but even then I believed that it was a sin, but I hoped that I could confess this sin and do penance for it. I did not believe that I would be damned if I swore just once or twice to tell the truth.

Who taught you this? Where were you when you were told for the first time that swearing to tell the truth is a sin? How long ago was it?

I was about twelve years old. It was probably about 18 years ago, because I am about thirty now. I was living with Bertrande de Tarascon, in Arles, near Cavalerie gate8. A man named Guirard, who was Vaudois, taught me to never swear, because it was a sin and the Lord had forbidden it.

What was the name of his family?

I don't know.

Did you believe that what this Guirard was telling you was true, have you believed it ever since, and do you believe it still?

Yes.

Was this man a member of your family? What language did he speak?

He was not of my family. He spoke the Viennoise or Bourguignonne language. It seems to me that it was Viennoise9. He was middle aged.

Did you promise this man not to swear in the future?

I told him that I would not, but I did not promise him in any other way.

Who was present?

No one but myself and this Guirard.

Did you see this man often?

Yes, two or three times, because he used to come to see me. Once I gave him something to eat and drink, and he gave me a piece of Tournois money. I promised him that I would be of his sect and of his faith. I believed that he was a good man, and that I could find my salvation in his faith.

About six years ago, Girard told me that our chief herdsman, Jean le Lorrain, was in Montpellier, and he encouraged me to go from Arles to Montpellier to see this Jean le Lorrain, with the pretext of going to hold a vigil in the Church Notre-Dame of the Tables. I found him on Sannarie street, and I spoke to him in the house of en Falcou which is close to Peyrou. I found him in the street, and he told me that he wanted to speak to me; we went into this house, and we spoke together. He told me, among other things, to never again swear in the future, because that is a sin, for whatever reason it be.He told me that purgatory only existed in the present life, not in the other world, for those who die immediately go either to hell or heaven. He told me that the prayers, alms, masses, and other things that one does for the dead do not do anything for them, because there is no purgatory in the other world. He told me that one mustn't kill another man, without excluding criminals. He told me that excommunication did not matter, and that they should not worry about it. I believed all that, I have believed it ever since, and I believe it still.

An indication that by this time the Waldensians denied a number of Roman Catholic deoctrines - and were already proto-Protestants

Did he give something to you, or you to him?

No. The next day, he sent me three pieces of Tournois money to the Church of the Tables10 where I was staying so that I could buy myself some shoes. It was his servant, whose name I have forgotten, who brought me the money. I took it, and I bought two bolts of linen. And I told this Jean that I wanted to be of his faith and of his sect, and that I wanted to obey him. I believe that what he told me is true.

Another time, I went to Vauvert11. Because I wanted to see this Jean, I went to Montpellier with a woman named Martine, of Arles, who lived near Sainte-Croix Church, and I found him at the gate of the Franciscan Friars of Montpellier, and it was there that I spoke to him. But I did not speak to him of these errors, and I did not give him anything. Neither did he give anything to me.

I saw this Jean at the Mouton inn, in Saint-Gilles12. This was the house that I was living in. But because he was afraid that I had done something dishonest there, he came to see me and told me to leave that house and return to Arles. He did not speak to me of these errors. I followed his orders, and I returned to Arles.

I saw him in Arles in the garden of the Bertande of whom I have spoken, under a fig tree13. I told him to leave because there were many people in the house.

Did you give him something?

Yes, half a pound of dates, which I gave to him in this garden in Arles. Once he gave me a bolt of linen in Alres, in this same garden, and another time he gave me a belt of white linen thread that he gave me in that house. I saw him often during those five years. He asked me if I had trust in what he had taught me, and I responded that I did.

Did you confess your sins to him?

Yes, and often.

Did you believe yourself to be absolved of your sins when he absolved you?

Yes, just like when I would confess to a priest subject to the Roman Church.

Did you ever hear him spoken of as a priest, or did you believe that he was a priest?

I did not hear him called a priest, and I do not believe that he was one, for I have not seen him celebrating mass, nor have I heard that he has done so.

Did you believe that his faith and his sect were good'

Yes, and I believe it still.

I saw Girard the Provençal and Jean Cernon, of this same sect14. I saw them for the first time on the road that goes from Lunel to Montpellier, and then I saw them in Montpellier in that house that is near the Franciscans. It seems to me that it was the house of Raimond de Roncas of Montpellier. I went to see them in this house with a woman named Jeanne, who was the servant of the house and who was of our faith and our sect. When I went to see them, I knew full well that Girard and Jean were of the faith and sect, or I would not have gone to see them. I stayed there that night with the men and I heard them speak of these errors. But I did not confess to them, nor did I give them anything; they gave me supper. I went to that house six or seven times to see these heretics, and I knew them as such.

Did you sometimes give anything to them, or they to you?

I did not give them anything. Jean Cernon once gave me a crude veil.

Do you repent for these errors that you confessed here above? (After it was explained to her that these were errors and teachings contrary to the doctrine upheld and preached by the Holy Roman Catholic Church.)

No, it is in this faith that I wish to live and die, and I believe to believe well in believing these errors, and I wish to persist in my present confession.

(The 16th of March)15.

The deposition that she had given on the 13th of the present month of March was read to her intelligibly in the common tongue, and she was asked if the content of that deposition was true. She responded that it was. She was asked if she wanted to persist in that content, and she responded yes. She was asked if she wanted to abandon these errors, and she responded no, because she did not believe that these were errors.

My Lord the Bishop then explained to her intelligibly in the common tongue that the Holy Roman Catholic Church and all loyal Christians of the Church of God uphold, believe, and preach that it is permitted to swear in order to tell the truth, when one is required of it by the justice, particularly in matters of faith, and that he who does not wish to swear sins; that it is permitted to swear in certain other cases; that there is a purgatory after this life, in which venial sins are forgiven after they have been appeased and for the punishment of mortal sins which were not appeased in the present life; that masses, prayers, alms, and other works done by the living for the dead who are in purgatory work towards a quicker liberation of their souls; that criminals can be justly and legitimately put to death by the secular power without sin; that ritual excommunication performed by those who have the power against its contumacious subjects excludes them from the kingdom of God and all the spiritual goods that are done in the Church; that no one can absolve sins that are confessed to him, save only for the priest.

She had confessed to believe the contrary of all this; this being true, after he explained these articles to her, he told her to no longer believe these heretical articles. She responded that she believed them and would belief them, and that if she said the contrary, she would not be telling the truth, and that she wished to persevere in this belief.

Have you ever heard these heretics say that there are only three orders in the Church: the Episcopal, the Presbyterial, and the Diaconal?

No, but I have heard that Jean le Lorrain was the chief among his sect, and the wisest among them all.

This seems an odd question

Have you heard his mass, or that of another in his sect?

No, and I've never heard that he celebrated mass. Myself, I have never celebrated it or ever heard confessions16.

One day when I was in Montpellier, when I saw Jean for the first time, I wanted to give him two pieces of tournois money. He told me that didn't have and didn't carry money. That is how I saw the inside of his purse, and I saw that he didn't have any money inside. When his servant came to see me and bring me three pieces of tournois money, he told me that his master didn't have and didn't carry money.

This Jean leLorrain is dead, but I don't know where he died. I believe that his soul is in Heaven.

Did this Jean and the others of his sect consider themselves to be subject to the Roman Pontiff?

I've never heard them speak of it, but it seems to me that they did not because My Lord the Pope persecutes them because they are of this sect.

Do you belief yourself to be subject to My Lord the Pope?

I believe myself to be for the things that concern the faith of God, but not for other things.

If My Lord the Pope told you that it is permitted to swear the tell the truth in matters of faith, that there is a purgatory, that the prayers of the Church are useful to those who are in purgatory, that it is permitted to kill criminals, that excommunication of the Church is binding and is the supreme punishment, that no one can absolve sins except for the ritually ordained priest, would you trust him and would you consider yourself obligated to believe him?

No, because I believe that if My Lord the Pope said that, he would be in error, and I believe that on this point My Lord the Pope is more mistaken than I.

An astonishing act of bravery - she can have been in no doubt as to the consequences

You admitted that you confessed your sins to this Jean, whom you did not believe to be a priest. Do you believe that he who is not a priest may absolve the sins that are confessed to him?

I believe that only God absolves sins, and that the man to whom they are confessed, whether he is a priest or not, only gives advice about what should be done and imposes a penance. And as this Jean was a man of judgment and learned, he could well give advice and impose penance like a priest and as well as one.

Have you heard, and have you believed yourself, that this Jean, whom you did not know to be a priest, could celebrate mass or consecrate the body of Christ?

I've heard from a few people that I have spoken with, I no longer remember who, that he could have celebrated the mass if he had wanted to because he was chief shepard, but that the others couldn't do it. I believed it.

Have you heard from these heretics that the indulgences of the Church are useless?

I have heard this from a few of them, but I no longer remember which ones.

Did you believe it?

Yes, and I believe it still.

Do you think that your soul would be saved if you were killed for your defense of these errors?

I believe and I hope so.

When we came to Pamiers from Arles, myself, my husband Jean le Fustier, and Pétrone, who escaped, and Jean's sister, we went to Beaucaire, and from there all the way to Montpellier; another time from Montpellier all the way to Saint-Thibéry, and the next day from Saint- Thibéry17 to Narbonne, and from Narbonne to Carcassone, and from Carcassone to Mirepoix, and from Mirepoix to Pamiers. We always stayed in public inns, and I did not see anyone on the way who was from our sect. Once we arrived in Pamiers, we went to the house where Raimond de la Côte the heretic was living, and we lived in the house with him. Raimond and Agnes who was burned was with him; Raimond's sister Jeanne, from what she said; Jacqueline who was a member of his family; and two men who were both called Etienne; myself; Pétrone; and Jean my husband all were there. I believed that they were all of the sect, except for Pétrone. Five weeks before, Etienne, who was Raimond's nephew, Jeanne, and Jacqueline left Pamiers. I don't know where they went.

I had a few acquaintances with whom I went to Church. One time I went to Saint-Raimond Church on Saint Anne's day18 with Jeanne, Arnaud Melonier's wife; Barcellone, Bernard de Loubens' wife; and sometimes I went to Church with Jeanne, Pierre de Calmelles wife, and Guillemette, Jean Parédès's wife. But I never spoke to them of these said errors.

After which, My Said Lord Bishop and the said Brother Gaillard warned her and beseeched her insistently and charitably to abandon these errors that she had admitted to have believed and to believe, and to return to the faith and the unity of the Holy Roman Catholic Church, failing which they notified her that she would be tried as a persevering and impenitent heretic, in accordance with the canonical institutions. They ordered her again to tell the truth more fully. She responded that she would not abandon these errors, but that she wished to persevere in them, to live and die by them. Nevertheless, the Said Lord Bishop and Brother Gaillard gave her a period of reflection lasting eight days from today.

(The 18th of March)19.

She was once again interrogated, before the day assigned, by My Lord the Bishop:

Do you wish to abandon these errors that you have confessed to have believed and to believe still?

I do not wish it, because I do not believe that I am in error in believing this.

Whom do you believe or whom have you believed it is better to obey, Jean, or your chief sheppard, or My Lord the Pope?

I felt and I still feel more obligated to obey this Jean or the chief Shepard than My Lord the Pope

From whom do you believe Jean has the power to hear confessions and to celebrate masses?

From God and those who put on him on this path or in this sect.

Would you yourself or another woman be able to hear confessions, according to you others?

No.

Did this Jean or others in your sect teach you the Apostles' Creed'

No.

Did you pray together with these heretics?

No.

Have you taught these errors to anyone or have you spoken of them to anyone?

With Jean, my husband, and with Jeanne of Montpellier, whom I already mentioned.

Did you lead this Jean to believe these errors?

Yes, as much as I could, and that pleased me very much, and it pleases me that he believed them and believes them still.

Do you believe that he who condemns a heretic to death sins?

Yes.

Do you believe that those who condemn criminals to death or to life in prison sin?

If I condemned a man to death or to life in prison, I would believe myself to be sinning, and to the extent that if I didn't confess and repent, I would be damned. Also, whoever kills a Christian in any war or other, that's a sin. As far as I'm concerned, I would not judge anyone, for if I did, I would be going against the Precept of the Lord20.

Waldensians followed biblical injunctions - which is why they would not kill, swear or judge.

Do you wish to swear that what you have confessed is true?

I will not swear.

These preceding depositions were then reread to her. As to what she had said that she feared a miscarriage if she were to swear, she added that she believed also to sin if she swore to tell the truth. She also withdrew what she had said, to the effect that the priest who had told her not to swear in the future was named Pierre, for, she says, he was not named Pierre, but Jean. She explained that what she had said, to the effect that that she believed that there was a purgatory and that the intercessions of the Church serve to liberate the souls that are there, in that she did not mean that there was one and that intercessions worked after death, but only in the present life, for she understood and understands purgatory to be the sacrament of penance and the reparation of sins, and moreover the prayers only help the souls that are in this life. And, she says, she does not wish for prayers or alms to be performed for her after her death.

She also withdrew what she had said, that the servant of Raimond the heretic was named Jean, the one who escaped with Pétrone, the sister of her husband, for, she says, he was not named Jean, but Etienne.

As to the rest of the depositions above, she wishes to maintain them. And she was again ordered by My Said Lord Bishop and Brother Gaillard to abandon these errors, the first as well as those she confessed today. She responded that she would not do it in any way, but that she wished to persist in them, to live and die by them. Despite their numerous warnings, she did not wish to hear them.

(The 23 of March)21.

She was read the heretical articles that she confessed to believe, which are the following:

III) That she had believed that masses, prayers, alms, and others things that are done for the dead do not help them in any way because there is no purgatory in the other world.

VI) That when she confessed to Jean le Lorrain, the chief Shepard of the Vaudois sect, whom she did not believe to be a priest, she believed to be absolved in the same manner as when she confessed and was absolved by the priests of the Roman Catholic Church.

VII) That she believed that this Jean and the others of his sect were of a good faith, and that in that faith she would be able to save her soul, and that the soul of this Jean was in heaven.

VIII) That she believed that neither those in this Jean's sect nor herself were subject to My Lord the Pope, in matters that do not concern the faith of God, and not otherwise.

IX) That if My Lord the Pope told her that it is permitted to swear in order to tell the truth in matters of faith, that there is a purgatory, that the prayers of the Church are valuable for those who are in it (purgatory), that the excommunication of the Church is binding and is the supreme punishment, that it is permitted for the secular power which weilds high justice to kill criminals, that no one can absolve sins that is not a priest ritually ordained according to the form of the Roman Catholic Church, she would not trust in these points, for if My Lord the Pope said this, he would be in error, and even more so than she is now.

X) That she believed that only God can absolve sins, but that the man to whom one confesses, be he priest or no, only gives advice to the penitent on what he must do and suggest a penance, and as this Jean was a wise man, capable of giving council and of recommending a penance as any priest, he could hear confessions.

XI) That she believed, even though she did not believe that this Jean was a priest, that he could celebrate mass if he wished to do so, but the others of the sect could not.

XIII) That if she was killed for her defense of these errors, she believed and hoped to save her soul.

XV) That the power this Jean had to hear confessions and to celebrate masses was given to him by God and those who put him on his path, in his faith and his sect.

XVII That if she herself condemned someone to death or to life in prison, she would believe herself to sin, and sin to the extent that her soul would be damned if she did not repent and did not confess it.

XIX) That she believed that he who kills a man in any war sins.

XX) That she believed that by the word purgatory one is to understand only the sacrament of penance and not a fixed place for doing penance in the other world.

XXI) That by believing these articles she did not believe to sin because she believed herself to believe well.

The which articles were read by My Said Lord Bishop and explained in the common tongue, and she was again warned and beseeched to abandon these errors, and to return to the faith and unity of the Roman Catholic Church, and to recant and denounce them, as well as others of the Vaudois sect, and all other heresy rising against the science of God and the Holy Roman Catholic Church. She responded that she would persevere and wished to persevere in the belief of these heretical articles, that she would neither swear nor recant in any way the said articles, nor would she swear in order to tell the truth, or for any other reason, and that she wished to live and die in the belief of these articles. She concluded in the present case and requested judgment.

(The 7th of April)22.

The said heretical articles were read to her intelligibly in the common tongue and she was warned and beseeched profusely to abandon these errors. She responded that she persisted and wished to persist in the belief of these articles.

(The 17th of July)23. (New Notice) 24…

And as she was told that if she refused to recant these errors, she would be judged and condemned as a persevering and impenitent heretic, she responded that she would not recant these errors for such, and that she wished to live and die in the faith of her husband Jean Fustier, for she knows that they are of the same faith25.

After which, in the year of our Lord 1321, the 30th of the month of July, Huguette, the daughter of Jean Roux de la Côte-Saint-André, wife of Jean the above-named, removed from the prison of My Lord the Bishop, appeared judicially in the hall of Allemans Castle before My Lord the Bishop and religious persons Brothers Jean de Beaune and Bernard Gui, Inquisitors of the heretical deviation in the kingdom of France appointed by the Apostolic Seat in the presence of witnesses and ourselves hereabove named; My Lord the Bishop having presented her with the Book of the Gospel, she was ordered and beseeched to swear on the saints of the Holy Gospelto tell the truth on the act of heresy and especially on the Vaudois sect or the sect of the Poor of Lyon, regarding herself as much as others, living or dead, as witness. She said that she would not swear in any way, and she thus refused to swear. It was then said and demonstrated to her by the said Bishop and Inquisitors26…When interrogated whether she wished to hear her sentence on that which she had confessed, she said that she was ready to hear all that which would please My Lord the Bishop, reckoning that the present affair was concluded.

Bernard Gui - a very well known Inquisitor

Done in the presence of My Lord Guillaume Audibert, Canon of Limoges; of Brothers Pierre de Nores and Pierre Sicard, companions of the said lords Inquisitors; of David and Jean Guillard, monks of Fontfroide, in the diocese of Narbonne; of Guillaume Julia, notary of the Inquisition of Toulouse; of Menet de Robécourt, notary of My Lord Inquisitor of Carcassone; and of Bataille de Penne, notary of My Said Lord Bishop, who received and wrote this last ratification.

After which, the first of August, Bataille de Penne, the abovesaid notary, presented himself personally to Allemans Castle on the order of the said Lord Bishop and Inquisitors, and there subpoenaed the said Huguette precisely and peremptorily to appear in person the next day, meaning the 2nd of the same month, in the Saint-Jean cemetery of Pamiers before them, to hear her sentence on that which she had confessed before them. The which Huguette accepted this date purely of her own free will.

On the said day fixed for her, the said Huguette appeared in the cemetery of Saint-Jean the martyr as it had been ordered her by the said Bataille, and My Lords the Bishop and the Inquisitors proceeded then to the pronouncement of the sentence against the said Huguette as follows: "Know all, etc." (see this sentence in the Book of Sentences)27.

And me, Rainaud Jabbaud, the aforementioned, has faithfully corrected all this on the original28.

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