The year 1213 provided surprises, triumphs, and setbacks for all sides. December 1212 saw the promulgation of the Statutes of Pamiers, a set of rules by which Simon of Montfort intended to govern his territories. On the one hand, the fact that the chief crusader was able to implement these indicates he obviously felt strong enough to move beyond the conquest stage to that of governance and consolidation. On the other hand, the Council of Lavaur and the stripping of the papal indulgence placed great impediments on his ability to complete the conquest of the Count of Toulouse's territories or even hold on to what he had already acquired. Finally, the early autumn brought Simon of Montfort the greatest triumph a soldier could win in the Middle Ages: a decisive tactical victory in pitched battle over southern and Aragonese forces led by the King of Aragon.

There was one other change for the Occitan War, a historiographical one. From 1209 through 1212 William of Tudela's account is one of the two most important sources for the Occitan War, even if he wrote it in rhyme. His history begins to peter out at the end of 1212. He tangentially mentions the Statutes of Pamiers, Pere II of Aragon's military preparations to assist the Count of Toulouse, and ends with a prognosis of the fighting yet to come. The anonymous continuator carries on William's rhyme, his eye for description and detail, but falls short in objectivity.