Louis IX, king of France from 1226 to 1270, was an enthusiastic if unsuccessful Crusader. During his crusade to Egypt in 1248-54, he was captured and ransomed at great cost. On his crusade to Tunis in 1270, he contracted dysentery and died, along with a large number of his companions and troops. After his death, his family and members of the French church pushed to have him canonised. He was declared a saint in 1297.
Several accounts of Louis' life, intense piety and saintly deeds were written, either with the express purpose of ensuring his canonisation, or, afterwards, to embellish his reputation as a saintly king. Two Dominican friars, Geoffrey of Beaulieu and William of Chartres, who had been very close to Louis, as, respectively, confessor and chaplain, wrote the hagiographies which ensured his canonisation. William of St Pathus, a Franciscan, and confessor to Louis' queen, Marguerite of Provence, and Jean de Joinville, an aristocrat and soldier who accompanied Louis on his first Crusade, both wrote shortly after the canonisation.
Read Full Article »