Louis IX

Louis IX., called St. Louis, was born in 1215, and was only nine years old when his father died. The regency was in the hands of his mother, by whom he was carefully educated, till 1236. The early years of the reign were occupied in defeating a combination of some of the vassals with Henry III. of England. The result of the war was the acquisition by France of part of Saintonge, which, however, with other territory, he gave back by the Treaty of Abbeville in 1259. After recovering from a severe illness, Louis in 1248 sailed from Aigues-Mortes for a crusade against the infidels, leaving Blanche of Castile as regent. He took Damietta, and penetrated into the country, but in 1250 he fell .ill, and, while retreating with his troops, was made prisoner by the Mussulmans. After his ransom he passed four years in Syria, fortifying Tyre and other ports, and returned to France at the end of 1254. Louis IX. abolished judicial combats, and instituted the Parlement de Paris as a supreme court of justice where the royal officers were to decide upon quarrels between the vassals of the crown and their vassals. Skilled lawyers were introduced into France, and with their help the Etablissements de Saint Louis, a collection of ordinances dealing with the administration of justice, especially between debtor and creditor, were drawn up. By the issue of the Pragmatic Sanction Louis forbade the raising of money for the Pope in France without the king's consent. He also made the royal coinage current everywhere, and obliged the great vassals to keep order in their domains, while he kept a hold upon the towns by reserving- to himself the right of choosing the mayor from four candidates submitted to hirn by them. In 1264 Louis was called upon to arbitrate between Henry III. of England and the barons, and decided in favour of the king. In 1270 he undertook a second crusade. He set out for Tunis with 60,000 men; but died of the plague after a month's illness. He was canonised by Boniface VIII. in 1297.