{ ‖ } n. pl. [ From Albi and Albigeois, a town and its district in the south of France, in which the sect abounded. ] (Eccl. Hist.) A sect of reformers opposed to the church of Rome in the 12th centuries. [ 1913 Webster ]

The Albigenses were a branch of the Catharists (the pure). They were exterminated by crusades and the Inquisition. They were distinct from the Waldenses. [ 1913 Webster ]