Louis IX, also known as Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death in 1270. He is widely recognized as the most distinguished of the Direct Capetians. Following the death of his father, Louis VIII, he was crowned in Reims at the age of 12. His mother, Blanche of Castile, effectively ruled the kingdom as regent until he came of age and continued to serve as his trusted adviser until her death. During his formative years, Blanche successfully confronted rebellious vassals and championed the Capetian cause in the Albigensian Crusade, which had been ongoing for the past two decades.
Pope Honorius III, born Cencio Savelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 18 July 1216 to his death. A canon at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, he came to hold a number of important administrative positions, including that of Camerlengo. In 1197, he became tutor to the young Frederick II. As pope, he worked to promote the Fifth Crusade, which had been planned under his predecessor, Innocent III. Honorius repeatedly exhorted King Andrew II of Hungary and Emperor Frederick II to fulfill their vows to participate. He also gave approval to the recently formed Dominican and Franciscan religious orders.
Pope Urban II, otherwise known as Odo of Châtillon or Otho de Lagery, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 March 1088 to his death. He is best known for convening the Council of Clermont which ignited the series of Christian military expeditions known as the Crusades.
Year 1234 (MCCXXXIV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar.
Louis VIII, nicknamed The Lion, was King of France from 1223 to 1226. As a 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. After the Treaty of Lambeth, he was paid 10,000 marks, pledged never to invade England again, and was absolved of his excommunication.
The Eighth Crusade was the second Crusade launched by Louis IX of France, this one against the Hafsid dynasty in Tunisia in 1270. It is also known as the Crusade of Louis IX Against Tunis or the Second Crusade of Louis. The Crusade did not see any significant fighting as Louis died of dysentery shortly after arriving on the shores of Tunisia. The Treaty of Tunis was negotiated between the Crusaders and the Hafsids. No changes in territory occurred, though there were commercial and some political rights granted to the Christians. The Crusaders withdrew back to Europe soon after.
The Fifth Crusade was a campaign in a series of Crusades by Western Europeans to reacquire Jerusalem and the rest of the Holy Land by first conquering Egypt, ruled by the powerful Ayyubid sultanate, led by al-Adil, brother of Saladin.
The Seventh Crusade (1248–1254) was the first of the two Crusades led by Louis IX of France. Also known as the Crusade of Louis IX to the Holy Land, it aimed to reclaim the Holy Land by attacking Egypt, the main seat of Muslim power in the Near East. The Crusade was conducted in response to setbacks in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, beginning with the loss of the Holy City in 1244, and was preached by Innocent IV in conjunction with a crusade against emperor Frederick II, Baltic rebellions and Mongol incursions. After initial success, the crusade ended in defeat, with most of the army – including the king – captured by the Muslims.
Joan, often called Joan of Constantinople, ruled as Countess of Flanders and Hainaut from 1205 until her death. She was the elder daughter of Baldwin IX, Count of Flanders and Hainaut, and Marie of Champagne.
John II reigned as Duke of Brittany from 1286 until his death, and was also Earl of Richmond in the Peerage of England. He took part in two crusades prior to his accession to the ducal throne. As a duke, John was involved in the conflicts between the kings of France and England. He was crushed to death in an accident during the celebrations of a papal coronation.
The Archdiocese of Reims or Rheims is a Latin Church ecclesiastic territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. Erected as a diocese around 250 by Sixtus of Reims, the diocese was elevated to an archdiocese around 750. The archbishop received the title "primate of Gallia Belgica" in 1089.
Henry (VII) (1211 – 12 February 1242), a member of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was King of Sicily from 1212 until 1217 and King of Germany (formally Rex Romanorum) from 1222 until 1235, as son and king, co-ruler of Emperor Frederick II. He was the seventh Henry to rule Germany, but in order to avoid confusion with the Luxembourg emperor Henry VII, he is usually numbered Henry (VII).
The Diocese of Beauvais, Noyon, and Senlis is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The diocese encompasses the department of Oise in the region of Hauts-de-France. The diocese is a suffragan of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Reims. The current bishop is Jacques Benoit-Gonnin, appointed in 2010.
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Christian Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these military expeditions are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that had the objective of reconquering Jerusalem and its surrounding area from Muslim rule. Beginning with the First Crusade, which resulted in the conquest of Jerusalem in 1099, dozens of military campaigns were organised, providing a focal point of European history for centuries. Crusading declined rapidly after the 15th century.
Henry of France, bishop of Beauvais (1149–1161), then archbishop of Reims (1161–1175), was the third son of King Louis VI of France and Adelaide of Maurienne.
Philip of Dreux was a French nobleman, Bishop of Beauvais, and figure of the Third Crusade. He was an active soldier, an ally in the field of Philip Augustus, the French king and his cousin, making him an opponent in campaigns in France and elsewhere of Richard I of England. He was also in demand as a priest, to make and break marriages. He presided over that of his cousin Conrad of Montferrat at the Siege of Acre, marrying him to Isabella I of Jerusalem, daughter of Amalric I, whose marriage he annulled. He was also a party to the annulment of the marriage between Philip Augustus and Ingeborg of Denmark.
Renaud de Pons was a nobleman from the Saintonge. He served as Seneschal of Gascony between 1214 and 1217 and briefly as Seneschal of Poitou in 1216. He went on the Fifth Crusade in 1217–21. He and his nephew, Renaud II de Pons, are distinguished in contemporary documents by the epithets senior and iunior. He is also known by the epithet Palmarius because he was a crusader.
Robert of Auvergne, also called Robert de la Tour, was a French nobleman, prelate and poet from the Auvergne. He served as bishop of Clermont from 1195 until 1227 and thereafter as archbishop of Lyon until his death. He was also a troubadour, composing poetry in Occitan.
Hugh of La Tour-du-Pin was the bishop of Clermont from 1227 until his death.
Pierre Charlot,, was the treasurer of St. Martin of Tours, St. Frambaud of Senlis, and St. Fursy of Peronne. He was the illegitimate son of Philip II of France. Elected bishop of Noyon in 1240, Pierre accompanied Louis IX of France on the Seventh Crusade. He died near Cyprus in 1249 and was buried in the cathedral of Noyon.
