Louis IX of France

"Louis IX" redirects here. For other uses, seeLouis IX (disambiguation).

Louis IX
Contemporary depiction from theBible of St Louis,c.1230
King of France
Reign	8 November 1226 – 25 August 1270
Coronation	29 November 1226
Predecessor	Louis VIII
Successor	Philip III
Regents	See list Blanche of Castile(1226–1234, 1248–1252) Alphonse, Count of Poitiers Charles I of Anjou(1252–1254)
Born	25 April 1214 Poissy,France
Died	25 August 1270 (aged 56) Tunis,North Africa
Burial	Basilica of St DenisandMonreale Cathedral
Spouse	Margaret of Provence ​ ​ (m.1234)​
Issue among others...	Isabella, Queen of Navarre Louis Philip III, King of France John Tristan, Count of Valois Peter I, Count of Alençon Blanche, Infanta of Castile Margaret, Duchess of Brabant Robert, Count of Clermont Agnes, Duchess of Burgundy
House	Capet
Father	Louis VIII, King of France
Mother	Blanche of Castile
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Painting of Louis IX byEmile Signol

Louis IX(25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly revered asSaint Louis,wasKing of Francefrom 1226 until his death in 1270. He is widely recognized as the most distinguished of theDirect Capetians.Following the death of his father,Louis VIII,he wascrowned in Reimsat the age of 12. His mother,Blanche of Castile,effectively ruled the kingdom asregentuntil he came of age and continued to serve as his trusted adviser until her death. During his formative years, Blanche successfully confronted rebelliousvassalsand championed the Capetian cause in theAlbigensian Crusade,which had been ongoing for the past two decades.

As an adult, Louis IX grappled with persistent conflicts involving some of the most influential nobles in his kingdom, includingHugh X of LusignanandPeter of Dreux.Concurrently, England'sHenry IIIsought to reclaim theAngevin continental holdings,only to be decisively defeated at theBattle of Taillebourg.Louis expanded his territory by annexing several provinces, including parts ofAquitaine,Maine,andProvence.Keeping a promise he made while praying for recovery from a grave illness, Louis led the ill-fatedSeventhandEighth Crusadesagainst theMuslim dynastiesthat controlledNorth Africa,Egypt,andthe Holy Land.He was captured and ransomed during the Seventh Crusade, and later succumbed todysenteryduring the Eighth Crusade. His son,Philip III,succeeded him.

Louis instigated significant reforms in theFrench legal system,creating aroyal justicemechanism that allowed petitioners toappealjudgements directly to the monarch. He abolishedtrials by ordeal,endeavored to terminate private wars, and incorporated thepresumption of innocenceintocriminal proceedings.To implement his new legal framework, he established the offices ofprovostsandbailiffs.Louis IX's reign is often marked as an economic and political zenith formedieval France,and he held immense respect throughoutChristendom.His reputation as a fair and judicious ruler led to his being solicited to mediate disputes beyond his own kingdom.

Louis' admirers through the centuries have celebrated him as the quintessential Christian monarch. His skill as a knight and engaging manner with the public contributed to his popularity, although he was occasionally criticized as being overly pious, earning the moniker of a "monkking ".Louis was a staunch Christian and rigorously enforcedCatholic orthodoxy.He enacted harsh laws againstblasphemyand launched actions againstFrance's Jewish population,including the notorious burning of theTalmudfollowing theDisputation of Paris.Louis IX holds the distinction of being the solecanonizedking of France.

Sources

Much of what is known of Louis's life comes fromJean de Joinville's famousLife of Saint Louis.Joinville was a close friend, confidant, and counselor to the king. He participated as a witness in the papal inquest into Louis's life that resulted in his canonization in 1297 byPope Boniface VIII.

Two other important biographies were written by the king's confessor,Geoffrey of Beaulieu,and his chaplain,William of Chartres.While several individuals wrote biographies in the decades following the king's death, only Jean of Joinville, Geoffrey of Beaulieu, and William of Chartres wrote from personal knowledge of the king and of the events they describe, and all three are biased favorably to the king. The fourth important source of information is William of Saint-Parthus's 19th-century biography,which he wrote using material from the papal inquest mentioned above.

Early life

Louis was born on 25 April 1214 atPoissy,near Paris, the son ofLouis the LionandBlanche of Castile,and was baptized there inLa Collégiale Notre-Damechurch. His grandfather on his father's side wasPhilip II,king of France; his grandfather on his mother's side wasAlfonso VIII,king ofCastile.Tutorsof Blanche's choosing taught himLatin,public speaking, writing, military arts, and government.He was nine years old when his grandfather Philip II died and his father became King Louis VIII.

Minority (1226–1234)

Louis was 12 years old when his father died on 8 November 1226. He was crowned king on 29 November 1226 atReims Cathedral,officiated by thebishop of Soissons.His mother, Blanche, ruled France asregentduring his minority.Louis's mother instilled in him her devout Christianity. She is once recorded to have said:

I love you, my dear son, as much as a mother can love her child; but I would rather see you dead at my feet than that you should ever commit a mortal sin.

His younger brotherCharles I of Sicily(1227–85) was createdcount of Anjou,thus founding theCapetian Angevindynasty.

In 1229, when Louis was 15, his mother ended theAlbigensian Crusadeby signing an agreement withRaymond VII of Toulouse.Raymond VI of Toulousehad been suspected of ordering the assassination ofPierre de Castelnau,a Roman Catholic preacher who attempted to convert theCathars.

On 27 May 1234, Louis marriedMargaret of Provence(1221–1295); she was crowned in the cathedral of Sens the next day.Margaret was the sister ofEleanor of Provence,who later marriedHenry III of England.The new queen's religious zeal made her a well-suited partner for the king, and they are attested to have gotten along well, enjoying riding together, reading, and listening to music. His closeness to Margaret aroused jealousy in his mother, who tried to keep the couple apart as much as she could.

While his contemporaries viewed his reign as co-rule between the king and his mother, historians generally believe Louis began ruling personally in 1234, with his mother assuming a more advisory role.She continued to have a strong influence on the king until her death in 1252.

Louis as king

Arts

Pope Innocent IVwith Louis IX atCluny

Louis's patronage of the arts inspired much innovation inGothic artandarchitecture.The style of his court was influential throughout Europe, both because of artwork purchased from Parisian masters for export, and by the marriage of the king's daughters and other female relatives to foreigners. They became emissaries of Parisian models and styles elsewhere. Louis's personal chapel, theSainte-Chapellein Paris, which was known for its intricate stained-glass windows, was copied more than once by his descendants elsewhere. Louis is believed to have ordered the production of theMorgan Bibleand theArsenal Bible,both deluxeilluminated manuscripts.

During the so-called "golden century of Saint Louis", the kingdom of France was at its height in Europe, both politically and economically. Saint Louis was regarded as"primus inter pares",first among equals, among the kings and rulers of the continent. He commanded the largest army and ruled the largest and wealthiest kingdom, the European centre of arts and intellectual thought at the time. The foundations for the notable college of theology, later known as theSorbonne,were laid in Paris about the year 1257.

Arbitration

Seal of Louis IX, legend:lvdovicvs di gra(tia) francorvm rex
( "Louis, by the grace of God, king of theFranks")

The prestige and respect felt by Europeans for King Louis IX were due more to the appeal of his personality than to military domination. For his contemporaries, he was the quintessential example of the Christian prince and embodied the whole ofChristendomin his person. His reputation for fairness and even saintliness was already well established while he was alive, and on many occasions he was chosen as an arbiter in quarrels among the rulers of Europe.

Shortly before 1256,Enguerrand IV, Lord of Coucy,arrested and without trial hanged three young squires of Laon, whom he accused of poaching in his forest. In 1256 Louis had the lord arrested and brought to theLouvreby his sergeants. Enguerrand demanded judgment by his peers and trial by battle, which the king refused because he thought it obsolete. Enguerrand was tried, sentenced, and ordered to pay 12,000 livres. Part of the money was to pay formassesto be said in perpetuity for the souls of the men he had hanged.

In 1258, Louis andJames I of Aragonsigned theTreaty of Corbeilto end areas of contention between them. By this treaty, Louis renounced his feudal overlordship over theCounty of BarcelonaandRoussillon,which was held by the King of Aragon. James in turn renounced his feudal overlordship over several counties in southern France, includingProvenceandLanguedoc.In 1259 Louis signed theTreaty of Paris,by whichHenry III of Englandwas confirmed in his possession of territories in southwestern France, and Louis received the provinces ofAnjou,Normandy(Normandie),Poitou,Maine,andTouraine.

Religion

The perception of Louis IX by his contemporaries as the exemplary Christian prince was reinforced by his religious zeal. Louis was an extremely devout Catholic, and he built theSainte-Chapelle( "Holy Chapel" ),located within the royal palace complex (now theParis Hall of Justice), on theÎle de la Citéin the centre of Paris. TheSainte Chapelle,a prime example of theRayonnantstyle ofGothic architecture,was erected as a shrine for theCrown of Thornsand a fragment of theTrue Cross,preciousrelicsof thePassionof Christ. He acquired these in 1239–41 from EmperorBaldwin IIof theLatin EmpireofConstantinopleby agreeing to pay off Baldwin's debt to the Venetian merchant Niccolo Quirino, for which Baldwin had pledged the Crown of Thorns as collateral.Louis IX paid the exorbitant sum of 135,000livresto clear the debt.

Reliquaryof Saint Louis (end of the 13th century)Basilica of Saint Dominic,Bologna,Italy

In 1230, the King forbade all forms ofusury,defined at the time as any taking of interest and therefore covering most banking activities. Louis used these anti-usury laws to extract funds from Jewish and Lombard moneylenders, with the hopes that it would help pay for a future crusade.Louis also oversaw theDisputation of Parisin 1240, in which Paris's Jewish leaders were imprisoned and forced to admit to anti-Christian passages in the Talmud, the major source of Jewish commentaries on the Bible and religious law. As a result of the disputation, PopeGregory IXdeclared that all copies of the Talmud should be seized and destroyed. In 1242, Louis ordered the burning of 12,000 Talmudim, along with other important Jewish books and scripture.The edict against the Talmud was eventually overturned by Gregory IX's successor,Innocent IV.

Louis also expanded the scope of theInquisitionin France. He set the punishment forblasphemytomutilationof the tongue and lips.The area most affected by this expansion was southern France, where theCatharsect had been strongest. The rate of confiscation of property from the Cathars and others reached its highest levels in the years before his first crusade and slowed upon his return to France in 1254.

In 1250, Louis headed a crusade to Egypt and was taken prisoner. During his captivity, he recited theDivine Officeevery day. After his release against ransom, he visited the Holy Land before returning to France.In these deeds, Louis IX tried to fulfill what he considered the duty of France as "the eldest daughter of the Church" (la fille aînée de l'Église), a tradition of protector of the Church going back to theFranksandCharlemagne,who had been crowned byPope Leo IIIinRomein 800. The kings of France were known in the Church by the title "most Christian king" (Rex Christianissimus).

Louis founded many hospitals and houses: the House of theFilles-Dieufor reformed prostitutes; theQuinze-Vingtfor 300 blind men (1254), and hospitals at Pontoise, Vernon, and Compiégne.

St. Louis installed a house of theTrinitarian OrderatFontainebleau,his chateau and estate near Paris. He chose Trinitarians as his chaplains and was accompanied by them on his crusades. In his spiritual testament he wrote, "My dearest son, you should permit yourself to be tormented by every kind of martyrdom before you would allow yourself to commit a mortal sin."

Louis authored and sent theEnseignements,or teachings, to his sonPhilip III.The letter outlined how Philip should follow the example of Jesus Christ in order to be a moral leader.The letter is estimated to have been written in 1267, three years before Louis's death.

Personal reign (1235–1266)

Seventh Crusade

Louis IX was taken prisoner at theBattle of Fariskur,during the Seventh Crusade (Gustave Doré).

Main article:Seventh Crusade

Louis and his followers landed in Egypt on 4 or 5 June 1249 and began their campaign with the capture of the port ofDamietta.This attack caused some disruption in the MuslimAyyubidempire, especially as the current sultan,Al-Malik as-Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub,was on his deathbed. However, the march of Europeans from Damietta towardCairothrough theNile River Deltawent slowly. The seasonal rising of the Nile and the summer heat made it impossible for them to advance.During this time, the Ayyubid sultan died, and the sultan's wifeShajar al-Durrset in motion a shift in power that would make her Queen and eventually result in the rule of the Egyptian army of theMamluks.

On 8 February 1250, Louis lost his army at theBattle of Fariskurand was captured by the Egyptians. His release was eventually negotiated in return for a ransom of 400,000livres tournois(roughly 80 million USD today) and the surrender of the city of Damietta.

Four years in the Kingdom of Jerusalem

Upon his liberation from captivity in Egypt, Louis IX devoted four years to fortifying theKingdom of Jerusalem,focusing his efforts inAcre,Caesarea,andJaffa.He generously utilized his resources to aid the Crusaders in reconstructing their defensesand actively engaged in diplomatic endeavors with theAyyubid dynasty.In the spring of 1254, Louis and his remaining forces made their return to France.

Louis maintained regular correspondence and envoy exchanges with theMongolrulers of his era. During his first crusade in 1248, he received envoys fromEljigidei,the Mongol military leader stationed inArmeniaandPersia.Eljigidei proposed that Louis should launch an offensive in Egypt while he targetedBaghdadto prevent the unification of the Muslim forces in Egypt and Syria. In response, Louis sentAndré de Longjumeau,aDominicanpriest, as a delegate to theKhanganGüyük Khan(r. 1246–1248) inMongolia.However, Güyük's death preceded the arrival of the emissary, and his widow and acting regent,Oghul Qaimish,rejected the diplomatic proposition.

Louis sent another representative, theFranciscanmissionary and explorerWilliam of Rubruck,to the Mongol court. Rubruck visited the KhaganMöngke(r. 1251–1259) in Mongolia and spent several years there. In 1259,Berke,the leader of theGolden Horde,demanded Louis's submission.In contrast, Mongol emperors Möngke andKhubilai's brother, theIlkhanHulegu,sent a letter to the French king, soliciting his military aid; this letter, however, never reached France.

Later reign (1267–1270)

Eighth Crusade and death

Death of Saint Louis: On 25 August 1270, Saint Louis dies in his tent, ornamented with royal symbols, nearTunis.Illuminated byJean Fouquet,Grandes Chroniques de France(1455–1460)

In a parliament held at Paris, 24 March 1267, Louis and his three sons "took the cross." On hearing the reports of the missionaries, Louis resolved to land atTunis,and he ordered his younger brother, Charles of Anjou, to join him there. The crusaders, among whom was the English princeEdward Longshanks,landed atCarthage17 July 1270, but disease broke out in the camp.

Louis died atTunison 25 August 1270, in an epidemic ofdysenterythat swept through his army.According to European custom, his body was subjected to the process known asmos Teutonicusprior to his remains being returned to France.Louis was succeeded as King of France by his son,Philip III.

Louis's younger brother,Charles I of Naples,preserved his heart and intestines, and conveyed them for burial in theCathedral of MonrealenearPalermo.

Louis's body returning, from a copy of the crusade treatiseDirectorium ad passagium

Louis's bones were carried overland in a lengthy processional across Sicily, Italy, the Alps, and France, until they were interred in the royal necropolis atSaint-Denisin May 1271.Charles and Philip III later dispersed a number ofrelicsto promote Louis's veneration.

Children

1. Blanche (12 July/4 December 1240 – 29 April 1244), died in infancy.
2. Isabella(2 March 1241 – 28 January 1271), marriedTheobald II of Navarre.
3. Louis(23 September 1243/24 February 1244 – 11 January/2 February 1260). Betrothed toBerengaria of Castilein Paris on 20 August 1255.
4. Philip III(1 May 1245 – 5 October 1285), married firstly toIsabella of Aragonin 1262 and secondly toMaria of Brabantin 1274.
5. John (1246/1247 – 10 March 1248), died in infancy.
6. John Tristan(8 April 1250 – 3 August 1270), Count of Valois, marriedYolande II, Countess of Nevers.
7. Peter(1251 – 6/7 April 1284),Count of Perche and Alençon, marriedJoanne of Châtillon.
8. Blanche(early 1253 – 17 June 1320), marriedFerdinand de la Cerda, Infante of Castile.
9. Margaret(early 1255 – July 1271), marriedJohn I, Duke of Brabant.
10. Robert(1256 – 7 February 1317), Count of Clermont,marriedBeatrice of Burgundy.The French crown devolved upon his male-line descendant,Henry IV(the firstBourbonking), when the legitimate male line of Philip III died out in 1589.
11. Agnes(1260 – 19/20 December 1327), marriedRobert II, Duke of Burgundy.

Louis and Margaret's two children who died in infancy were first buried at theCistercianabbey of Royaumont.In 1820 they were transferred and reinterred toSaint-Denis Basilica.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Louis IX of France
8.Louis VII of France 4.Philip II of France 9.Adèle of Champagne 2.Louis VIII of France 10.Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut 5.Isabelle of Hainaut 11.Margaret I, Countess of Flanders 1.Louis IX of France 12.Sancho III of Castile 6.Alfonso VIII of Castile 13.Blanca of Navarre 3.Blanche of Castile 14.Henry II of England 7.Eleanor of England 15.Eleanor of Aquitaine

Veneration as a saint

Saint Louis
San Luis, Rey de Francia(English:Saint Louis, King of France) byFrancisco Pacheco
King of France Confessor
Venerated in	Catholic Church Anglican Communion
Canonized	11 July 1297,Rome,Papal StatesbyPope Boniface VIII
Feast	25 August
Attributes	TheCrown of Thorns,crown,sceptre,globus cruciger,sword,fleur-de-lis,mantle,and the other parts of theFrench regalia
Patronage	France Third Order of Saint Francis TheFrench Monarchy Archdiocese of New Orleans Diocese of Port-Louis barbers grooms

Pope Boniface VIIIproclaimed the canonization of Louis in 1297;he is the only French king to be declared asaint.Louis IX is often considered the model of the ideal Christian monarch.

Named in his honour, theSisters of Charity of St. Louisis a Roman Catholicreligious orderfounded inVannes,France, in 1803.A similar order, the Sisters of St Louis, was founded inJuillyin 1842.

He is honoured as co-patron of theThird Order of St. Francis,which claims him as a member of the Order. When he became king, over a hundred poor people were served meals in his house on ordinary days. Often the king served these guests himself. His acts of charity, coupled with his devout religious practices, gave rise to the legend that he joined the Third Order of St. Francis, though it is unlikely that he ever actually joined the order.

The Catholic Church andEpiscopal Churchhonor him with a feast day on 25 August.

Things named after Saint Louis

• The French royalOrder of Saint Louis(1693–1790 and 1814–1830)

Places

Many countries in which French speakers and Catholicism were prevalent named places after King Louis:

• San Luis Provincein Argentina
• San Luis Potosíin Mexico
• Multiple locations in the United States
  • St. Louis, Missouri,named by French colonists
  • San Luis Rey, Oceanside, California,named by the Franciscans who built one of the California missions there.
• Multiple locations in France
  • Île Saint-Louis,an island in the riverSeine,Paris
  • Saint-Louis, New Caledonia
• Multiple locations in Canada
• Saint-Louis, Senegal
• São Luís, Maranhãoin Brazil
• The Philippines
  • San Luis, Aurora
  • San Luis, Batangas

Buildings

• France
  • Hôpital Saint-Louis,hospital in the 10th arrondissement of Paris
  • TheCathédrale Saint-Louis de VersaillesinVersailles
• United States
  • TheBasilica of St. Louis, King of France,completed in 1834 in St. Louis, Missouri
  • TheCathedral Basilica of St. Louis,completed in 1914 in St. Louis, Missouri
  • TheSt. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans
  • The St. Louis King of France Catholic Church and School, in Metairie, Louisiana
  • Saint Louis Catholic High School, in Lake Charles, Louisiana
  • St. Louis the King Catholic Church,in Marquette, Michigan
  • Saint Louis King of France Catholic Church and School, in Austin, Texas
  • Saint Louis Catholic Church, in Waco, Texas
  • Mission San Luis Rey de Francia,Oceanside, California, founded 12 June 1798
  • San Luis Rey Mission, Chamberino, New Mexico
  • St. Louis Roman Catholic Churchin Buffalo, New York(Mother Church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo)
• Thenational church of Francein Rome: San Luigi dei Francesi in Italian, or Saint Louis of France in English
• TheCathedral of St Louisin Plovdiv, Bulgaria
• TheCathedral of St Louisin Carthage, Tunisia, so named because Louis IX died at that approximate location in 1270
• TheChurch of St Louisin Moscow, Russia
• India
  • Rue Saint Louis ofPondicherry
  • St. Louis Church, Dahisar West, Mumbai
• The Convent of Saint Louis and Catholic High School in Carrickmacross, Ireland.

Notable portraits

• United States
  • A bas-relief of St. Louis is one of the carved portraits of historic lawmakers that adornthe chamberof theUnited States House of Representatives.
  • Saint Louis is also portrayed on afriezedepicting a timeline of important lawgivers throughout world history, on the North Wall of theCourtroomat theSupreme Court of the United States.
  • A statue of St. Louis by the sculptor John Donoghue stands on the roofline of theNew York State Appellate DivisionCourt at 27 Madison Avenue in New York City.
  • TheApotheosis of St. Louisis an equestrian statue of the saint, byCharles Henry Niehaus,that stands in front of theSaint Louis Art Museumin Forest Park.
  • A heroic portrait byBaron Charles de Steubenhangs in theBasilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin MaryinBaltimore.An 1821 gift ofKing Louis XVIII of France,it depicts St. Louis burying his plague-stricken troops before the siege ofTunisat the beginning of theEighth Crusadein 1270.

In fiction

• Louis IX,play byJacques-François Ancelot,1819
• Davis, William Stearns,"Falaise of the Blessed Voice"aka"The White Queen".New York, NY: Macmillan, 1904
• Peter Berling,The Children of the Grail
• Jules Verne,"To the Sun?/Off on a Comet!" A comet takes several bits of the Earth away when it grazes the Earth. Some people, taken up at the same time, find the Tomb of Saint Louis is one of the bits, as they explore the comet.
• Adam Gidwitz,The Inquisitor's Tale
• Dante Alighieri,Divina Commedia.It is likely that Dante hides the figure of the Saint King behind the Veltro, the Messo di Dio, the Veglio di Creta and the "515", which is a duplicate of the Messo. This is a trinitarian representation to oppose to the analogous representation of his nephewPhilip IV the Fair,as theBeast from the Sea.The idea came to Dante from the transposition of the Revelation of St. John in the history, studied from the abbot and theologianJoachim of Fiore.
• Theodore de Bainville, poem, "La Ballade des Pendus (Le Verger du Roi Louis)"; musicalized by Georges Brassens.

Music

• Arnaud du Prat,Paris canon; Rhymed, chanted office for St. Louis, 1290, Sens Bib. Mun. MS6, and elsewhere.
• Marc-Antoine Charpentier,Motet for Saint Louis,H.320, for 1 voice, 2 treble instruments (?) and continuo 1675.
• Marc-Antoine Charpentier,MotetIn honorem santi Ludovici Regis Galliae canticum tribus vocibus cum symphonia,H.323, for 3 voices, 2 treble instruments and continuo (1678?)
• Marc-Antoine Charpentier,MotetIn honorem Sancti Ludovici regis Galliae,H.332, for 3 voices, 2 treble instruments and continuo 1683)
• Marc-Antoine Charpentier, MotetIn honorem Sancti Ludovici regis Galliae canticum,H.365 & H.365 a, for soloists, chorus, woodwinds, strings and continuo (1690)
• Marc-Antoine Charpentier, MotetIn honorem Sancti Ludovici regis Galliae,H.418, for soloists, chorus, 2 flutes, 2 violins and continuo (1692–93)

See also

• List of royal saints and martyrs

References

Bibliography

• Brown, Elizabeth A. R. (Autumn 1990). "Authority, the Family, and the Dead in Late Medieval France".French Historical Studies.16(4): 803–832.doi:10.2307/286323.JSTOR286323.
• Cross, Frank Leslie;Livingstone, Elizabeth A., eds. (2005).The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church.Oxford University Press.ISBN0-1928-0290-9.
• Davis, Jennifer R. (Autumn 2010). "The Problem of King Louis IX of France: Biography, Sanctity, and Kingship".Journal of Interdisciplinary History.41(2): 209–225.doi:10.1162/JINH_a_00050.S2CID144928195.
• Dupuy, Trevor N. (1993).The Harper Encyclopedia of Military History.HarperCollins.ISBN978-0-062-70056-8.OL1715499M.
• Gaposchkin, M. Cecilia (2008).The Making of Saint Louis: Kingship, Sanctity, and Crusade in the Later Middle Ages.Cornell University Press.ISBN978-0-801-47625-9.OL16365443M.
• Hanley, Catherine (2016).Louis: The French Prince who invaded England.Yale University Press.
• Jackson, Peter (July 1980). "The Crisis in the Holy Land in 1260".The English Historical Review.95(376): 481–513.doi:10.1093/ehr/XCV.CCCLXXVI.481.ISSN0013-8266.JSTOR568054.
• Jordan, William Chester (1979).Louis IX and the Challenge of the Crusade: A Study in Rulership.Princeton University Press.ISBN978-0-691-05285-4.OL4433805M.
• —— (2017). "A Border Policy? Louis IX and the Spanish Connection". In Liang, Yuen-Gen; Rodriguez, Jarbel (eds.).Authority and Spectacle in Medieval and Early Modern Europe: Essays in Honor of Teofilo F. Ruiz.Routledge.OL33569507M.
• Le Goff, Jacques (2009).Saint Louis.University of Notre Dame Press.ISBN978-0-268-03381-1.
• Lock, Peter (2013).The Routledge Companion to the Crusades.Routledge.ISBN978-1-135-13137-1.
• Magill, Frank Northen;Aves, Alison, eds. (1998).Dictionary of World Biography: The Middle Ages.Vol. 2. Routledge.ISBN1-5795-8041-6.
• Shadis, Miriam (2010).Berenguela of Castile (1180–1246) and Political Women in the High Middle Ages.Palgrave Macmillan.ISBN978-0-312-23473-7.
• Richard, Jean (1983). Lloyd, Simon (ed.).Saint Louis: Crusader King of France.Translated by Birrell, Jean. Cambridge University Press.
• Streyer, J.R. (1962). "The Crusades of Louis IX". In Setton, K.M. (ed.).A History of the Crusades.Vol. II. Philadelphia. pp. 487–521.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Sumption, Jonathan (1978).The Albigensian Crusade.Faber and Faber.ISBN978-0-571-20002-3.OL7857399M.
• Tyerman, Christopher (2006).God's War: A New History of the Crusades.The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
• Westerhof, Danielle (16 October 2008).Death and the Noble Body in Medieval England.Boydell Press.ISBN978-1-843-83416-8.

External links

• John de Joinville. Memoirs of Louis IX, King of France. Chronicle, 1309.
• Saint Louis in Medieval History of Navarre
• Site about The Saintonge War between Louis IX of France and Henry III of England.
• Account of the first Crusade of Saint Louis from the perspective of the Arabs..
• A letter from Guy, a knight, concerning the capture of Damietta on the sixth Crusade with a speech delivered by Saint Louis to his men.
• Etext full version of the Memoirs of the Lord of Joinville, a biography of Saint Louis written by one of his knights
• "St. Lewis, King of France",Butler's Lives of the Saints
• "Man of the Middle Ages, Saint Louis, King of France", Archdiocese of St. Louis, MO