Although this work is set in the time of the Albigensian Crusade in 1209 A.D., it is not so much a historical novel as one concerned with the challenge all leaders face – the choice not between black and white but between shades of grey. Herein lies the seeds of universal tragedy as developed by literary giants such as Goethe, Dante and Shakespeare. It is the choice, not between good and evil but between the lesser of two evils, the results of which destroys not only the hero but those he loves.

Caught between his duty as a feudal lord to protect those whom God has entrusted to his care and his obedience to the Church of Rome - ‘God’s Representative on Earth’ – Raymond, the powerful Count of Toulouse, is prepared to humble himself to a point of ridicule. Only when he realises that nothing he says or does will placate his enemies, bent on his ultimate destruction, does he take up arms and defy the Church to protect his domains and people from the marauding Crusaders from the North. But by saving their bodies he is damning their souls and courting personal perdition because Pope Innocent III excommunicates him and places the entire Languedoc under interdict.

Veritas, bastard half-brother of Count Raymond, is the mute narrator of this story who has to stand by and watch how the ambition and lust for power of others destroys all he holds dear – family, home and freedom. “You” the reader, are taken into his confidence, travel with him and watch events as they unfold.

Of all the many wars, injustices and cruelty religion (in its many forms) has been guilty of the greatest crimes against humanity. Perhaps only the sack of Jerusalem and Constantinople can compare with the genocide committed in the Languedoc which started in 1209 and lasted almost 20 years. The Crusade against the Cathars was justified as a “holy war” against heretics. As the war dragged on, the power of the Inquisition grew. It exercised a vast and deplorable influence on the whole judicial system of Continental Europe for five centuries. One cannot but wonder how Europe and France in particular, would have developed had the Languedoc been allowed to prosper. Instead of civilisation declining until the Renaissance what advances would not have taken place in the fields of art, literature, technology and commerce?

The pity of it all is that mankind never seems to learn from history and therefore is doomed to make the same mistakes over and over again. War never solves anything; it only impoverishes all - even the victor. Today, instead of religion we use excuses such as “peace”, “democracy” and “freeing oppressed peoples from their own tyrannical leaders” or the “need to protect the world from weapons of mass destruction” when in fact we all see reality from different points of view, have different reference frame works, interpret the facts differently and regard ours as the only truth.

And so we still fight our holy wars.

Click here to read the introduction of "Kill them all!"

Click here to read some historical background information about "Kill them all!"

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Title:	Kill them all!
Author:	Lènor Tancred
E-book:	Price: € 6.00 / R 59.00