The Albigensian Crusade, which forms the main subject of William of Puylaurens' Chronicle, was a defining episode in the history of France. Launched in 1209 by Pope Innocent III, it was directed against the aristocracy of southern France (especially the Counts of Toulouse) who were accused of protecting heresy, and especially Catharism, a dualist heresy which represented a major threat to the Catholic Church. The Crusade ended in 1229 with the defeat of Count Raymond VII of Toulouse. It was followed in the 1230s by the establishment of the Papal Inquisition against heresy. The long-term...

Infection of most species of cultivated and wild plants by fungi is a normal biological event, but one of profound importance in the exploitation of plants for food and medicine, building materials and decorative purposes. Potato Blight, Dutch Elm disease and Southern Leaf Blight are all examples of infections leading to disease and plant death, but mycorrhizal fungi confer great benefit on plants, enhancing growth and providing cross-protection agains plant pathogenic species. Originally published in 1987, this book examines infection as a phenomenon common to pathogenic and mycorrhizal...