People/Papacy and Western Europe

1214–1270 · King of France and leader of the Seventh and Eighth Crusades

Louis IX

Other names · Saint Louis

King of France, leader of the Seventh Crusade who was captured in Egypt and died on the Tunis crusade of 1270.

Louis IX
Verified biography·Bible moralisée de Tolède / Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

BIOGRAPHICAL DOSSIER

Life and historical role

01

Life and political setting

Louis became king of France as a child in 1226 and grew up under the regency of his mother, Blanche of Castile. He became known for personal piety, judicial reform and the strengthening of royal administration. After recovering from a serious illness he took a crusading vow and organised an expedition on an unusually large royal scale.

02

Role in the Crusades

Louis captured Damietta in 1249, but his army was worn down around Mansurah and his brother Robert of Artois was killed. Captured after the defeat at Fariskur in April 1250, Louis was released for a large ransom and the return of Damietta. He strengthened the defences of Acre in 1250–1254 and died of disease before Tunis in 1270.

Method note

Biographical information is linked to the sources shown on the page and to the connected event records. Disputed dates are given as approximate, gaps are not filled by conjecture, and later literary or visual depictions are not treated as contemporary portraits.

CONTEXTUAL READING

Related cases

17 July 1245 · Lyon

First Council of Lyon and call for the Seventh Crusade

The council Pope Innocent IV held at Lyon in summer 1245 deposed Emperor Frederick II and, in response to the loss of Jerusalem, proclaimed a new crusade. A tax on clerical revenues was decided for the Seventh Crusade, to be led by King Louis IX of France.

Open record →17 September 1248 · Limassol

Louis IX arrives in Cyprus

Louis IX set out from Aigues-Mortes in August 1248 and reached the port of Limassol in Cyprus on 17 September 1248. The army wintered in Cyprus; during this time supplies were gathered, ships prepared, Mongol envoys received and Damietta chosen as the crusade's objective.

Open record →5–6 June 1249 · Damietta

Louis IX captures Damietta

Louis IX's army landed near Damietta on 5 June 1249 and forced the Ayyubid forces on the beach to withdraw. When the commander Fakhr al-Din withdrew, the garrison and population also abandoned the city; the crusaders took Damietta without a fight on 6 June.

Open record →8 February – 6 April 1250 · Mansurah – Fariskur

Louis IX captured at Mansurah and Fariskur

Louis IX's army crossed the river before Mansura in February 1250, but the reckless charge into the town by the king's brother, Count Robert of Artois, caused heavy losses. After long attrition and disease, the retreating army was surrounded at Fariskur in April 1250; Louis was captured and released in exchange for the return of Damietta and a large ransom.

Open record →May 1254 · Acre

Louis IX leaves the Levant

After his release in May 1250, Louis IX stayed in Acre for four years instead of returning to France. During this time he had the walls of Acre, Caesarea, Jaffa and Sidon repaired, negotiated the release of the prisoners in Egypt, and returned to France in April 1254.

Open record →18 July – 25 August 1270 · Carthage / Tunis

Eighth Crusade: Tunis

Louis IX's second crusade sailed in July 1270 not to the Levant but to Hafsid Tunis. Disease spread through the camp at Carthage; the king died on 25 August 1270. His brother Charles of Anjou secured the army's withdrawal through a treaty with the Hafsid sultan.

Open record →