Louis IX of France
Saint Louis, the monk king who led crusades and reformed justice.
Louis IX of France was born at Poissy on 25 April 1215 and died near Tunis on 25 August 1270.[1] He became king at age eleven and married Marguerite of Provence at nineteen, with whom he had eleven children.[1] He is the only French king canonized as a saint of the Catholic Church.[2]
Quick Facts
- Reign
- 8 November 1226 – 25 August 1270
- Coronation
- 29 November 1226
- Predecessor
- Louis VIII
- Successor
- Philip III
- Spouse
- Margaret of Provence (1234)
- House
- Capet
- Father
- Louis VIII of France
- Mother
- Blanche of Castile
Facts from the source article.
Life and work
Louis IX's mother Blanche of Castile served as regent from 1226 to 1234 and her influence over the government extended far beyond his minority.[1] He won a victory over a feudal coalition at Taillebourg in 1242, which led to the Peace of Bordeaux annexing part of Saintonge to France.[1] Between his two crusades, he negotiated the Treaty of Paris with Henry III in 1258, giving up certain fiefs while gaining homage for Guyenne.[1] In 1263 he arbitrated the dispute between Henry III and the English barons, issuing the Dit d'Amiens in favor of the king.[1]
He established the offices of provosts and bailiffs to implement his new legal framework.[3] He enacted harsh laws against blasphemy and ordered France's Jewish population to wear a yellow badge of shame.[4] He led two crusades, the first in 1248-1249 and the second in 1270.[1] Under Louis IX, the practice of trial by ordeal was eliminated, and the principle that an accused person is considered innocent until proven guilty was introduced into legal procedures.[3]
What the cited sources add
The Catholic Encyclopedia account notes that Louis IX's victory at Taillebourg in 1242 was followed by the Peace of Bordeaux.[1] The same source records that Louis IX was chosen as arbitrator in 1263 between Henry III and the English barons.[1] It describes how Blanche of Castile protected the clergy in 1251 from a marauder called the "Hungarian Master" during Louis's absence on crusade.[1] The account also notes that Louis IX claimed and obtained from popes the right to levy heavy taxes from the clergy for the crusade.[1]
According to the source, the agreement known as the Treaty of Paris, finalized on 28 May 1258, was widely thought by Joinville and others to have given away excessive territory to Henry III.[1]
References
- "Goyau, Georges. 'St. Louis IX.' The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company", 2013. facts only, no text reused. newadvent.org
- Wikipedia, "Louis IX of France" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Pope Who Saved the Talmud", The 5 Towns Jewish Times, 15 June 2013 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Louis IX of France" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Goyau, Georges. 'St. Louis IX.' The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company", 2013; Collings, "The King Cannot be Everywhere: Royal Governance and Local Society in the Reign of Louis IX", 2018 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Louis IX of France" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bobineau, "Retour de l'ordre religieux ou signe de bonne santé de notre pluralisme laïc ?", Le Monde.fr, 8 December 2011 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Louis IX of France (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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