Arnaud Amaury (Latin: Arnoldus Amalricus) was a Roman Catholic Cistercian abbot who played a prominent role in the Albigensian Crusade. Prior to the massacre of Béziers, it was reported that Amalric, when asked how to distinguish Cathars from Catholics, responded, "Kill them all! God will know his own." Whether this was actually said is sometimes considered doubtful, but, according to historian Joseph Strayer, it captures the "spirit" of the Crusaders, who killed nearly every man, woman, and child in the town.
