King+Louis+IX

 [1] **__King Louis IX__** [|King Louis IX] (1214-1270), commonly known as Saint Louis, was son of Queen Blanche of Castile and King Louis VIII. [1] He became King of France in 1226 at the age of twelve, and remained so until his death. [2] He led and participated in the 7th and 8th Crusades which is recorded and known, as are most detail of his life, in Joinville’s (1938), //History of St. Louis//. [3] Louis is thought to have been the central figure of Christianity in France during the 13th century and is renowned for being France’s only Canonised King. [4]

** Early Life ** Louis was born on the 25th of April 1214, which is also St Mark’s Day. [5] This marked the beginning of Christianity's importance in his life. His mother was well educated and a devout Christian. [6] For this reason, much of Louis’ education and Christendom is attributed to the teachings of his mother. [7] Joinville declares that Louis' mother taught him that death was far better than committing any mortal sin. [8] Louis’ father, King Louis VIII, died on the 8th November 1226 and Louis was heir to the throne. [9] On the 29th November, Louis’ coronation was held and he became King Louis IX, the child King of France. [10]

 [2] ** Crusades ** In 1244 Louis fell gravely ill and one of the nurses caring for him, believed him to be dead. [11] According to Joinville, it was the ‘Lord that worked upon him’ and saved him; upon consciousness he asked for the Crusader’s Cross. [12] Louis led the [|7th Crusade] against the Saracens in 1248 with little success. [13] Famine and disease occurred in the Christian camp as a result of these battles. [14] Louis and several of his men were [|taken captive] and tortured. [15] Here the Saracens argued whether to massacre them or not, with one quoting their religious book that stated “for the assurance of the faith, slay the enemy”. [16] The Christians were defeated in the 7th Crusade.

In 1267 Louis took the cross again and participated in the 8th Crusade, but became ill. [17] When close to death, Louis asked his son Lord Phillip to record his various teachings that he proceeded to recite. [18] Joinville includes these in his work, the first of which reads:

Thou set thine heart to love God; for without this can no man be saved. Keep thyself from doing aught that is displeasing to God, that is to say, from mortal sin.[19] King Louis IX died on the 25th August 1270; his final wish was for the Holy Church Sacraments to be carried out. [20]

** Canonisation ** Louis’ life was governed by his religious devotion and piety towards his people.[__2____1__<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">] These characteristics were well known to all, which resulted in the preceding King and the Pope, arranging the inquisition into his life, to declare his Sainthood. [22] It was successful and his Canonisation occurred on the 25th August 1298. [23]

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">[1] M. Guizot, //Great Christians of France: Saint Louis and Calvin// (London: Macmillan and Co, 1879), 9-10. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">[2] Jean Sire De Joinville, //The History of St. Louis//, trans. and ed. Joan Evans (London: Oxford University Press, 1938), 21. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">[3] Joinville, //History of St. Louis//, 34-200; 221-27. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">[4] Ibid., 5; 228-9. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">[5] Joinville, //History of St. Louis//, 21. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">[6] Jean Richard, //Saint Louis: Crusader King of France// (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992), 3; Guizot, //Great Christians of France//, 10-18; Joinville, //History of St. Louis//, 22. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[7] Joinville, //History of St. Louis//, 22. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">[8] Ibid., 22. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">[9] William Chester Jordan, //Louis IX and the Challenge of the Crusade// (New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1979), 4. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">[10] Joinville, //History of St. Louis//, 181. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">[11] Ibid., 33. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> [12] Joinville, //History of St. Louis//, 33; Michael Lower, “Conversion and St Louis’ Last Crusade,” //Journal of Ecclesiastical History// 58, no. 2 (2007): 211, [|http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.uq.edu.au]. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">[13] Joinville, //History of St. Louis//, 34; See hyperlink for more information on the 7th Crusade, the text refers to it as the 6th Crusade, but is the same Crusade. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">[14] Ibid., 86-7. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">[15] Joinville, //History of St. Louis// ,92-3; 101-2. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">[16] De Joinville, //Memoirs of the Crusades//, trans. Frank Marzials (London: J. M. Dent and Co., 1908), 227.-28. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">[17] Joinville, //History of St. Louis//, 223-24; Joinville, //Memoirs of Crusades//, 320-21. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">[18]See pages 223-26 in Joinville, //History of St. Louis// for all of Louis’ teachings. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[19] Joinville, //History of St. Louis//, 223-24. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">[20] Ibid., 227. <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[__21__<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">See pages 145; 148; 151 in Joinville, //Memoirs of the Crusades// for evidence of this. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">[22] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Joinville, //History of St. Louis//, 228. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">[__2____3__<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Ibid., 229.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> [1] Image retrieved from: http://belgianbeershrimper.wordpress.com/people/louis-ix/ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> [2] Image retrieved from: http://patchodirtfarm.blogspot.com/2008/08/saint-king-louis-ix.html