General Notes

Alias:<ALIA> /Saint Louis/
REFN: 6928AN
Louis IX or Saint Louis (April 25, 1215 – August 25, 1270) was King of Fra
nce from 1226 until his death. Born at Poissy, France, he was a memb
er of the Capetian dynasty and the son of King Louis VIII and Blanche of C
astile.
Much of what we know of Louis' life comes from Jean de Joinville's famo
us biography of Louis, Life of Saint Louis. Joinville was a close frien
d, confidant, and counselor to the king, and also participated as a witne
ss in the papal inquest into Louis' life that ended with his canonizati
on in 1297 by Pope Boniface VIII.
Louis was eleven years old when his father died in 1226. He was crowned ki
ng the same year in the cathedral at Reims.
Because of Louis' youth, his mother, Blanche of Castile, ruled France as r
egent until 1234, when Louis was deemed of age to rule himself. She contin
ued as an important counsellor to the king until her death in 1252.
On May 27, 1234 Louis married Marguerite de Provence (1221–December 21, 12
95), the sister of Eleanor, the wife of Henry III of England.
Louis was the elder brother of Charles I of Sicily (1227–1285), whom he cr
eated count of Anjou, thus founding the second Angevin dynasty.
Louis brought an end to the Albigensian Crusade in 1229 after signing an a
greement with Count Raymond VII of Toulouse that cleared his father of wro
ng-doing. Raymond VI had been suspected of murdering a preacher on a missi
on to convert the Cathars.
Louis' piety and kindness towards the poor were much celebrated. He we
nt on crusade twice, in 1248 (Seventh Crusade) and then in 1270 (Eighth Cr
usade). Both crusades were total failures. After initial success in his fi
rst attempt, Louis's army was met by overwhelming resistance from the Egyp
tian army and citizens. In 1249, Louis was eventually defeated and taken p
risoner in Mansoura, Egypt. Louis and his companions were then releas
ed in return for the surrender of the French army and a large ransom. He d
ied near Tunis during the latter expedition on August 25, 1270 traditional
ly believed to be during an outbreak of plague but thought by modern schol
ars to be dysentery.
Some of his entrails were buried directly on the spot in Tunisia, whe
re a Tomb of Saint-Louis can still be visit today, whereas other par
ts of his entrails were sealed in an urn and placed in the Basilica of Mon
reale, Palermo, where they still remain. His corpse was taken, via a sho
rt stay at the Basilica of Saint Dominic in Bologna, to the French royal n
ecropolis at Saint-Denis, resting in Lyon on the way. His tomb at Saint-De
nis was a magnificent gilt brass monument designed in the late 14th centur
y. It was melted down during the French Wars of Religion, at which time t
he body of the king disappeared. Only one finger was rescued and is ke
pt at Saint-Denis.
Pope Boniface VIII proclaimed the canonization of Louis in 1297; he is t
he only French monarch ever to be made a saint.
Louis IX was succeeded by his son, Philippe III.
Louis' patronage of the arts drove much innovation in Gothic art and archi
tecture, and the style of his court radiated throughout Europe by both t
he purchase of art objects from Parisian masters for export and by the mar
riage of the king's many daughters to foreign husbands and their subseque
nt introduction of Parisian models elsewhere. Louis' personal chapel, t
he Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, was copied more than once by his descendan
ts elsewhere. Louis most likely ordered the production of the Morgan Bibl
e, a masterpiece of medieval painting.
Saint Louis ruled during the so-called "golden century of Saint Louis", wh
en the kingdom of France was at its height in Europe, both politically a
nd economically. The king of France was regarded as a primus inter pares a
mong the kings and rulers of Europe. He commanded the largest army, and ru
led the largest and most wealthy kingdom of Europe, a kingdom which was t
he European center of ar