“Kill Them All and Let God Sort Them Out”
Have you ever heard the phrase?
It’s even worked it’s way into pop culture.
For example, The Simpsons episode “The Boy Who Knew Too Much” where Marge says:
“Well, Bart, your Uncle Arthur used to have a saying, ‘Shoot ’em all and let God sort ’em out.’ Unfortunately, one day he put his theory in to practice. It took 75 federal marshals to bring him down. Now let’s never speak of him again.”
Believe it or not, the phrase is actually over 800 years old and comes from the time of the Albigensian Crusade!
The Siege at Béziers was the first major military action in the crusade against Catharism. In charge of leading the attack was papal legate and Cistercian abbot Arnaud Amalric.
Caesarius of Heisterbach writes around 1230 AD about the infamous order Amalric gave when his crusaders breached the gates at Béziers and found not just Cathars, but Catholics too.
When they discovered, from the admissions of some of them, that there were Catholics mingled with the heretics they said to the abbot “Sir, what shall we do, for we cannot distinguish between the faithful and the heretics.” The abbot, like the others, was afraid that many, in fear of death, would pretend to be Catholics, and after their departure, would return to their heresy, and is said to have replied “Kill them all for the Lord knoweth them that are His” (2 Tim. ii. 19) and so countless number in that town were slain.
In a letter to Pope Innocent III, Amalric himself tells his own story of the siege.
“While discussions were still going on with the barons about the release of those in the city who were deemed to be Catholics, the servants and other persons of low rank and unarmed attacked the city without waiting for orders from their leaders. To our amazement, crying “to arms, to arms!”, within the space of two or three hours they crossed the ditches and the walls and Béziers was taken. Our men spared no one, irrespective of rank, sex or age, and put to the sword almost 20,000 people. After this great slaughter the whole city was despoiled and burnt …”
What an incredible true story from history!
The more you know 💫
Credit: Caedite eos. Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius. via Wikimedia
