Louis VIII | |
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![]() Louis VIII's seal | |
King of France | |
Reign | 14 July 1223 – 8 November 1226 |
Coronation | 6 August 1223, Reims Cathedral |
Predecessor | Philip II |
Successor | Louis IX |
King of England (Disputed) | |
Reign | 2 June 1216 – 20 September 1217 |
Predecessor | John |
Successor | Henry III |
Born | 5 September 1187 Paris, France |
Died | 8 November 1226 (aged 39) Château de Montpensier, France |
Burial | |
Spouse | |
Issue more... | Saint Louis IX, King of France Robert I, Count of Artois Alphonse, Count of Poitiers Saint Isabelle of France Charles I, King of Sicily |
House | Capet |
Father | Philip II of France |
Mother | Isabelle, Countess of Artois |
Louis VIII (5 September 1187 – 8 November 1226), nicknamed The Lion (French : Le Lion), [lower-alpha 1] was King of France from 1223 to 1226. As prince, he invaded England on 21 May 1216 and was excommunicated by a papal legate on 29 May 1216. On 2 June 1216, Louis was proclaimed "King of England" by rebellious barons in London, though never crowned. He soon seized half the English kingdom but was eventually defeated by the English and after the Treaty of Lambeth, was paid 10,000 marks, pledged never to invade England again, and was absolved of his excommunication.
Louis, as prince and fulfilling his father's crusading vow, led forces during the Albigensian Crusade in support of Simon de Montfort the Elder, from 1219 to 1223, and as king, from January 1226 to September 1226. Crowned king in 1223, Louis' ordinance against Jewish usury, a reversal of his father's policies, led to the establishment of Lombard moneylenders in Paris.
Louis' campaigns in 1224 and 1226 against the Angevin Empire gained him Poitou, Saintonge, Périgord and Angoumois as well as numerous cities in Languedoc, thus leaving the Angevin Kings of England with Gascony as their only remaining continental possession. Louis died in November 1226 from dysentery, while returning from the Albigensian Crusade, and was succeeded by his son Louis IX.
Born 5 September 1187, Louis was the son of Philip II of France and Isabelle of Hainaut. [2] His mother died in 1190, but Louis was not formally invested as Count of Artois. [3] Instead his father allowed him a nominal control over the county to learn about governance. [3] In summer 1195, a marriage between Louis and Eleanor of Brittany, niece of Richard I of England, was suggested for an alliance between Philip II and Richard, but it failed. [4]
On 23 May 1200, Louis was married to Blanche of Castile, daughter of King Alfonso VIII of Castile and Eleanor of England. [5] The marriage could only be concluded after prolonged negotiations between King Philip II of France and Blanche's uncle John, King of England. [6]
In 1213, Louis occupied two towns in Flanders, St. Omer and Aire, [7] which led to animosity between Louis' father, Philip II, and Count Renaud of Boulogne. [7] By 1214, Philip II of France, was facing an alliance consisting of King John of England, Emperor Otto IV, Count Renaud of Boulogne and Count Ferdinand of Flanders. [8] Facing a two front war, the first attack coming from Flanders led by Otto, Renaud and Ferdinand, supported by the Earl of Salisbury would march south-west, while the other attack from Poitou, under John, would march north-east towards Paris. [9]
Louis was given command of the front against John in Poitou. The first part of the campaign went well for the English, Louis being outmanuevered by John, and losing the city of Angers by the end of June. [10] When John besieged the castle of Roche-au-Moine, a key stronghold, Louis was forced give battle against John's army. [11] When faced against Louis' forces, the local Poitevin nobles refused to advance with the king; left at something of a disadvantage, John retreated back to La Rochelle. [11] Shortly afterwards, Philip won the hard-fought Battle of Bouvines in the north against Otto and John's other allies, bringing an end to John's hopes of retaking Normandy. [12]
In April 1215, Louis, fulfilling his father's vow to crusade against the Albigensians, was cautioned by a papal legate not to impede the crusade. [13] At Narbonne, Louis ordered the destruction of the town's fortifications in response to the disagreement between Simon de Montfort and Arnaud Amaury, and forced the viscount and other authorities to swear loyalty to Simon. [13] While at Toulouse, he ordered the city officials to tear down their walls, fill in their moat, and to accept Simon de Montfort as the head of their government. [14] Louis' involvement in the crusade favored Simon de Montfort at every turn. [13]
In 1215, the English barons rebelled against the unpopular King John in the First Barons' War. The barons, seeing Louis' wife as a descendant of Henry II of England, offered the throne to him. [15] While Louis prepared an army to press his claim to the English throne, a new papal legate, Cardinal Guala Bicchieri, who was traveling through France to England, explicitly condemned Louis' plan. [15]
Louis landed unopposed on the Isle of Thanet in eastern Kent, England, at the head of an army on 21 May 1216. There was little resistance when the prince entered London, and he was proclaimed King Louis I of England at Old St Paul's Cathedral with great pomp and celebration in the presence of all of London. [16] Even though he was not crowned, many nobles, as well as King Alexander II of Scotland on behalf of his English possessions, gathered to give homage. [17] At Winchester on 29 May 1216, Cardinal Bicchieri excommunicated Louis and all his followers. [15]
On 14 June 1216, Louis captured Winchester and soon controlled over half of the English kingdom. [18] King John's death in October 1216 caused many of the rebellious barons to desert Louis in favour of John's nine-year-old son, Henry III. [19] Louis, undeterred by Henry's reissuing of the Magna Carta, besieged and invested the castle of Hertford in December 1216. [20] By 20 December 1216, he received a proposal for a truce, from regent William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke, lasting from Christmas until 13 January. [21] Louis accepted these terms and traveled back to London, on the way threatening to burn the abbey at St. Albans for the abbot's refusal to recognize him as King of England. [21]
After his army was beaten at the Battle of Lincoln on 20 May 1217 and his naval forces were defeated at the Battle of Sandwich on 24 August 1217, Louis was forced to make peace on English terms. [22] The principal provisions of the Treaty of Lambeth were an amnesty for English rebels, a pledge from Louis not to attack England again, and 10,000 marks to be given to Louis. [23] In return Louis' excommunication was lifted. [24]
Louis succeeded his father on 14 July 1223; his coronation took place on 6 August of the same year in the cathedral at Reims. He gained the county of Toulouse after Amalric of Montfort ceded his claim in 1224. [25] As King, he continued to seek revenge on the Angevins, seizing Poitou (in 1224) [26] and Saintonge. [27] While his campaign in 1226 captured numerous cities in Languedoc. [27]
On 1 November 1223, Louis issued an ordinance that prohibited his officials from recording debts owed to Jews, thus reversing the policies set by his father Philip II Augustus. [28] This removed any type of assistance for the Jews from the king or barons. [28] Further, Christians would be required to repay only the principal of any loans owed to Jews. [29] This caused a major impact on Jewish moneylenders and affected France so much that in 1225 Louis invited Lombard moneylenders to Paris. [29]
In 1223, Louis received a letter from Pope Honorius III, entreating him to move against the Albigensians. In early 1226, following the excommunication of Raymond VII of Toulouse at the Council of Bourges and the promise of a tenth of clerical incomes towards the next crusade, Louis took the cross, stating his intention to crusade against the Albigensians. [30]
In May 1226, Louis assembled his army at Bourges and moving quickly captured the towns of Béziers, Carcassonne, Beaucaire, and Marseille. [31] [32] However, Avignon resisted, refusing to open its gates to the French troops. [33] Not wanting to storm the city, Louis settled in for a siege. A frontal assault that August was fiercely beaten back. [34] On 9 September 1226, the town surrendered, agreeing to pay 6,000 marks, handing over hostages, and destroying its walls. [35] However, Louis' army took heavy losses besieging Avignon. [36] Finally arriving at Toulouse in October 1226, it was apparent his army was too tired and too weak to attack. [lower-alpha 2] [36] Louis chose to return to Paris with the plan to attack Raymond VII of Toulouse next season. [36]
While returning to Paris, King Louis VIII became ill with dysentery, and died on 8 November 1226 in the Château de Montpensier, Auvergne. [36]
The Saint Denis Basilica, just to the north of Paris, houses the tomb of Louis VIII. [37] His son, Louis IX (1226–70), succeeded him on the throne. Queen Blanche concluded the crusade in the south in 1229.
On 23 May 1200, Louis married Blanche of Castile (4 March 1188 – 26 November 1252). They had:
Alphonse or Alfonso was the count of Poitou from 1225 and count of Toulouse from 1249. As count of Toulouse, he also governed the Marquisate of Provence.
The Albigensian Crusade or the Cathar Crusade was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted primarily by the French crown and promptly took on a political aspect. It resulted in the significant reduction of practicing Cathars and a realignment of the County of Toulouse with the French crown. The distinct regional culture of Languedoc was also diminished.
Blanche of Castile was Queen of France by marriage to Louis VIII. She acted as regent twice during the reign of her son, Louis IX: during his minority from 1226 until 1234, and during his absence from 1248 until 1252. She was born in Palencia, Spain, in 1188, the third daughter of Alfonso VIII, King of Castile, and Eleanor of England, sister of King Richard I of England and King John of England.
Peter I, also known as Peter Mauclerc, was Duke of Brittany jure uxoris from 1213 to 1221, and regent of the duchy for his minor son John I from 1221 to 1237. As duke he was also 1st Earl of Richmond from 1218 to 1235.
Theobald I, also called the Troubadour and the Posthumous, was Count of Champagne from birth and King of Navarre from 1234. He initiated the Barons' Crusade, was famous as a trouvère, and was the first Frenchman to rule Navarre.
Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester, known as Simon IVde Montfort and as Simon de Montfort the Elder, was a French nobleman and knight of the early 13th century. He is widely regarded as one of the great military commanders of the Middle Ages. He took part in the Fourth Crusade and was one of the prominent figures of the Albigensian Crusade. Montfort is mostly noted for his campaigns in the latter, notably for his triumph at Muret. He died at the Siege of Toulouse in 1218. He was lord of Montfort-l'Amaury from 1188 to his death and Earl of Leicester in England from 1204. He was also Viscount of Albi, Béziers and Carcassonne from 1213, as well as Count of Toulouse from 1215.
Raymond VI was Count of Toulouse and Marquis of Provence from 1194 to 1222. He was also Count of Melgueil from 1173 to 1190.
Raymond VII was Count of Toulouse, Duke of Narbonne and Marquis of Provence from 1222 until his death.
The House of Capet ruled the Kingdom of France from 987 to 1328. It was the most senior line of the Capetian dynasty – itself a derivative dynasty from the Robertians.
Savari de Mauléon was a French soldier, the son of Raoul de Mauléon, Viscount of Thouars and Lord of Mauléon.
Folquet de Marselha, alternatively Folquet de Marseille, Foulques de Toulouse, Fulk of Toulouse came from a Genoese merchant family who lived in Marseille. He is known as a trobadour, and then as a fiercely anti-Cathar bishop of Toulouse.
Raimond Roger was the sixth count of Foix from the House of Foix. He was the son and successor of Roger Bernard I and his wife Cécilia Trencavel.
Roger Bernard II, called the Great, was the seventh count of Foix from 1223 until his death. He was the son and successor of the count Raymond-Roger and his wife Philippa of Montcada.
The Saintonge War was a feudal dynastic conflict that occurred between 1242 and 1243. It opposed Capetian forces supportive of King Louis IX's brother Alphonse, Count of Poitiers and those of Hugh X of Lusignan, Raymond VII of Toulouse and Henry III of England. The last hoped to regain the Angevin possessions lost during his father's reign. Saintonge is the region around Saintes in the centre-west of France and is the place where most of fighting occurred.
AimeryIII, known in Spanish as Aimerico Pérez de Lara, was the Viscount of Narbonne from 1194 until his own death. He was a member of the House of Lara. Throughout his reign he had to navigate competing claims of suzerainty over him and until 1223 his reign was dominated by the Occitan War. He participated unenthusiastically on the side of the crusaders, but retained his viscounty, which he passed on to his son.
Count of Boulogne was a historical title in the Kingdom of France. The city of Boulogne-sur-Mer became the centre of the county of Boulogne during the ninth century. Little is known of the early counts, but the first holder of the title is recorded in the 11th century.
Petronilla of Bigorre or Petronilla of Comminges was ruling Countess of Bigorre between 1194 and 1251. She was the only child of Bernard IV, Count of Comminges, and his wife Stephanie-Beatrice IV, Countess of Bigorre. Petronilla succeeded her mother in 1194 as Countess of Bigorre; she was also Viscountess of Marsan and Nébouzan through further successions. She reigned as countess for fifty-seven years, in which time she was married five times.
Amaury I of Craon (1170–1226), was Lord of Craon, of Chantocé, Ingrandes, Candé, Segré, Duretal, Baugé and of Lude.
Geoffrey de Neville was an English nobleman who served as King's Chamberlain and Seneschal of Gascony and Périgord.
The siege of Avignon was the principal military action of the Albigensian Crusade of 1226. King Louis VIII of France besieged the town of Avignon, which lay within the Holy Roman Empire, from 10 June until 9 September, when it surrendered on terms.