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King, diplomat, lawyer

By tradition, the kings capétiens, since Philippe Ier, named their first-born first name of their grandfather. Louis IX must reign with the death of the 4 first born of White of Castille, of which his/her Philippe brother born in 1209 and died in 1218. It is what explains why arrived in 5th position, Louix IX is not major with the death of the king Louis VIII.

In his will, Louis VIII entrusts regency to Blanche of Castille. The capacity passes " between the hands of a child, of a woman and a vieillard" , Barthelemy de Roy, chambrier at the court since 20 years (Chronicle of Turns).

The kingdom enters in a state of agitation, the revolt is organized by Philippe Hurepel, uncle de Louis IX, wire legitimated of Philippe Auguste, by the house of Dreux and the duke of Brittany Pierre Mauclerc. Subduing the agitated rebellion and barons, the regent White of Castille, the conquest of Languedoc completes initiated by Louis VIII by forcing the count of Toulouse Raymond VII to give his Jeanne daughter in marriage to Alphonse, brother of Louis IX.

Louis IX is only 12 years old when he is crowned king the November 29th 1226 with Rheims by the bishop of Soissons, Jacques de Bazoches. Regency is ensured by his/her mother, Blanche of Castille, with the title of “Baillistre”. It long enough kept a great influence on the capacity, beyond the majority of the king, considered major the April 25th 1234. In 1234, it organizes the marriage of Louis IX with Marguerite, the girl of the count de Provence Raymond-Béranger V thus hoping to incorporate the county of Provence to the kingdom of France, since the count of Provence has four girls.

Louis IX seizes indeed the power as from 1241. He invests his Alphonse brother of the county of Poitiers in order to force the nobility poitevine to pay homage. The rebellion of Hugues X of Lusignan enables him to sit its authority in a short campaign (April 28th, 1242 at April 7th, 1243) and in same time to push its advantage until Quercy to dislodge there the king of England Henri III which decided to break the truce of 1238.

Considered for his piety, Louis IX cuts, thanks to the crusades, a diplomatic reputation of king and lawyer in all Europe. The kingdoms call upon its wisdom in the complex affairs. Thus, it referee succession of the county of Hainaut by the " Known as of Péronne" of September 24th, 1256. The treaty of Paris of May 28th, 1258 restores with the kingdom of France the Limousin, Périgord, Quercy, the Resident of Agen and part of Saintonge, while for its part, Henri III of England gives up Normandy, in Maine, in Anjou and Poitou, at the same time as it agrees to pay the homage for Guyenne. Later, when the king Henri III of England has problems with his revolted barons, it calls upon the arbitration of Louis IX who returns in his favor the " Known as of Amiens" of January 24th, 1264. By the treaty of Corbeil of May 11th, 1258, Louis IX gives up his suzerainty on Catalonia, Cerdagne and Roussillon, exchanges of it Jacques 1st of Aragon renonça to its rights on Provence and Languedoc. To seal this treaty, Louis Maria her White daughter with infant of Castille Ferdinand of Cerda and Jacques 1st of Aragon Maria her Isabelle daughter with the son of Louis IX, the future Philippe III.

Louis IX did not spare his sorrow in the interior matters, time that it did not pass apart from the kingdom. He dispatched royal investigators to inform it of the state of the country in 1247, with load for them to repress directly in the fields of justice, the administration, the taxation and the army.

He also founded the " Forty-the-Roi" , which precedes the diplomatic negotiations before the hostilities. The ordinance of 1260 allowed opening of negotiations before any private war, ordalie, legal duel, judgment of God and replaced finally, bringing a more modern form of justice. Thus, the justiciable ones could henceforth call some with the king whose court orders exceeded those of its vassal. The king Louis IX has kind broken of many sentences.

The influence of the Church

Very believing, holy Louis wants to make France, the “oldest daughter of the Église” and Paris a high place of the Chrétienté. April 26th 1248, Louis IX inaugurates there the the Ste Chapelle in the island of the City.

The December 4th 1259 with Paris, it signs a peace treaty with the England putting thus fine at the first “One hundred Year old war” between the two countries.

To lead his subjects to the hello, holy Louis prohibits the plays, the prostitution and punishes the Blasphème cruelly. He takes discriminatory measures against the Juif S:

in 1242, with the request even for Jewish S converted with the Christianity, according to which the Talmud contains a certain number of invectives against Jesus-Christ and the Blessed Virgin, a controversy on the subject is held in Paris, under the presidency of White of Castille. Eudes of Chateauroux, headmaster of the Sorbonne, and the abbot Nicolas Donin (former rabbi) establish that the reproach is founded. Saint Louis then makes burn specimens of Talmud with Paris.
in 1254, it banishes France the Juifs which refuse to convert with Catholicism. This decree was cancelled a few years later in exchange of a money payment to the royal treasure.
in 1269, pursuant to a recommendation of the IV^e council of Lateran of 1215, it forces the Jews to carry distinctive vestimentary signs. For the men, a yellow fabric round, the Round slice, on the chest and a special bonnet for the women. These signs make it possible to differentiate them from the remainder of the population and to thus prevent the mixed marriages.

However, holy Louis keeps, in his for interior, the hope to convert them and thus protects them from any exaction.

Crusades

In 1244, holy Louis falls seriously sick (dysentery) and makes the wish leave in crusade if he would cure. Restored, it prepares its departure towards the Christian kingdoms of the East in difficulty which it wants to support. The June 12th 1248, it seizes streamer capétienne in the Basilique of Saint-Denis and leaves accompanied by the queen Marguerite Provence, by the count Robert d' Artois and Charles of Anjou, his brothers. The organization of the crusade lasts 4 years which will see the construction of the port of Acute-Dead on the initiative of Charles of Anjou, future king de Naples and of Sicily. The city will never recover from the exorbitant cost of installations necessary for this crusade and will continue Charles of Anjou in justice. Robert d' Artois found death with the battle of Mansourah.

Seventh crusade

The Seventh crusade share of the port of Acute-Dead and moves towards the Egypt. The crusaders make stopover with Cyprus before moving towards Damiette in May 1249 with 1800 ships. The city is taken the June 8th.

The army of cross then moves towards Cairo but undergoes the ceaseless attacks of the emir Fakhr el-DIN. From February to April 1250, the crusaders make the seat of the citadel of Mansourah. The Scurvy and the Dysenterie decimate the soldiers and force the king to beat a retreat. A sergeant félon makes then run the noise that the king went. The majority of the soldiers go and are made prisoners. Louis IX is also made prisoner.

During his captivity, the king charges the queen Marguerite with Provence of the control of the crusade. One month later, in May 1250, the king and the whole of the prisoners are released against a strong ransom paid by the Ordre of the Temple.

Louis IX decides to prolong his stay in what remains Latin States of the East. He returns Alphonse of Poitiers and Charles of Anjou to France to shoulder Blanche of Castille remained to only control the kingdom. Of 1250 with 1253, it consolidates the fortresses of Acre, of Césarée, Jaffa and Sidon.

In spring 1253, Louis IX learns the death from the Blanche queen of Castille, regent of France, which obliges it to return to the kingdom. The crusaders re-embark with Tyr the April 24th 1254 for the kingdom of France. At the time of this voyage, the personality of the king changes and Louis IX becomes little by little that of which we preserved the memory as a Louis saint.

Eighth crusade

Louis IX hopes to convert the sultan of Tunis to Christianity and to draw up it against the sultan of Egypt. The crusaders seize Carthage easily but the army is victim of the plague. Louis IX dies about it the August 25th 1270 under the ramparts of Tunis. Its body is wide on a bed of ashes as a sign of humility and the arms in cross with the image of the Christ. This defeat marks the end of the crusades, which must survive a severe bleeding in the royal line. Isabelle d' Aragon, marries of Philippe III, dies in Sicily on the way of the return. Alphonse of Poitiers and his Jeanne wife of Toulouse, die at 3 days of interval in Italy.

Part of the remainders of the king was buried in Tunisia, where a tomb of Louis saint can still be visited today. Another part is placed in a ballot box located in the Basilica of Monreale at Palermo. Its body is brought to the basilica of Saint-Denis but it disappears during the wars of religion. Only a finger is saved and preserved at Saint-Denis. Lastly, of the relics preserved in Sicily were brought in Tunisia at the time of the dedication of the Cathédrale Saint-Louis de Carthage at the end of the 19th century, and finally, at the time of the independence of Tunisia, brought back to France and deposited with the the Ste Chapelle.

Louis IX was canonized in 1297 by the pope Boniface VIII under the name of holy Louis de France .

Descent

The May 27th 1234, in the cathedral of Direction, it married Marguerite of Provence (1221-1295), girl of Raimond-Berenger IV (v. 1198-1245), count de Provence, and of Béatrice of Savoy (dead in 1266). They had eleven children:

White (1240-1243),
Isabelle (1242- May 1271) which married in 1258 Thibaud de Champagne king de Navarre,
Louis (February 24th, 1244 - 1260),
Philippe III Bold the (May 1st, 1245 - October 5th, 1285),
Jean (1248-1248),
Jean-Tristan (1250- August 3rd, 1270) count de Valois and of Nevers. In 1266, it did Yolande of Burgundy marry (? - 1280),
Pierre (1251-1284) count d' Alençon and of Pole. In 1272, it did Jeanne marry de Châtillon (1254-1291),
Blanche (1252-1320) which marries in 1269 Ferdinand of Cerda (1255? - 1275) infant of Castille,
Marguerite (1254-1271) which married in 1270 Jean I {{er}} duke of the Brabant (? - 1294),
Robert (1256-1317) count of Clermont. He married in 1279 Béatrice of Burgundy, lady of Bourbon.
Agnes (1260-1327) which married in 1279 Robert II duke of Burgundy] (? - 1305),

Radiation

The 13th century remains in the history like " the century of gold of Louis" saint;. France, centers arts and intellectual life grace, inter alia, with the Sorbonne, reached there its apogee as well economically as politically. Louis IX orders more the large army and directs the largest kingdom of Europe. Its reputation of holiness and justice is already well established of sound living and one regularly chooses it like referee to regulate the quarrels between large Europe. The king is regarded as the primus inter pares (the first among its pars).

The Ordinance of 1263 ensures a good currency. It installs with the Temple a financial commission in charge of the control of the royal accounts, reinforcing the structure installation in 1190 by his grandfather Philippe Auguste, drawing future the Court of Auditors.

Prévost of Paris, Etienne Boileau organizes and codifies into 1268 the trades of the capital (drafting of the Book of the Trades).

Under the reign of Louis IX are built the cathedrals of Amiens, of Rouen, of Beauvais, of Auxerre as well as the Ste Chapelle of Paris and that of Saint-Germain-in-Bush hammer.

Posterity

The towns of Saint-Louis-of-France to the Quebec, Saint Louis with the the United States and the Lac Saint-Louis with the Quebec were named in memory of Louis IX of France. The town of Saint-Louis of the Senegal is also dedicated to this king, as well as the Mission San Luis Rey de Francia in California, the United States. The towns of Saint-Louis of North, Saint-Louis of the South in Haiti are dedicated holy Louis, King de France. Other cities also have it like patron saint: Jeremy, Mirebalais etc…

Another interpretation

Several historians and analysts have very an other interpretation of the life of Louis saint. The architect Eugene Purple-the-Duke for example, advances the assumption that he was a politician crafty one who skilfully knew to make use of the religion to consolidate his capacity and to increase his kingdom. At the time, the large feudal ones (barons, duke), like the dynasty of Coucy (see Enguerrand III), opposed a savage competition to king de France. They quarreled constantly and manigançaient sometimes against the person even of the king. Saint Louis knew, while being shown like a saint, to use the faith of its barons and the lure of gain to encourage them to take part in its crusades. Few large feudal which took part in it returned to France, and holy Louis could without problem put the hand on their grounds and their possessions. Those which had survived were ruined by forwarding, so that it then became more dependant on the king for their safety, therefore more flexible.

Perhaps its measurements against the “sins”, its persecution of the Jews and its religious buildings show a religious enthusiasm, but they show also a fine political spirit. While gaining the favors of the Church, it also gained by its operations the favor of very pious people of the time. It thus kept of it a better control on its kingdom, and an increased legitimacy.

Its modernization of the administration, and its reinforcement of the justice of the king were the last parts of the political architecture which it had been built in order to increase his capacities and those of its descendants on the throne of Capétiens. Its Court of Auditors is the fundamental instrument of this political building.

Here is how holy Louis succeeds in posing the foundations which were going to become finally the State nation of France, plain under a king by divine right. He reached that point by a subtle policy which was much more effective than to quarrel with its vassal and to try to subject them by the force.

The local tradition of the village of Sidi Bou Saïd, not far from Tunis, tells that holy Louis would not have died in 1270 but would have converted with Islam under the name of Sidi Bou Saïd, even regarded to him as a saint of the Islam died at the end of the 13th century Christian and buried in Djebel-el Manar.

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