People/Papacy and Western Europe

1120–1180 · King of France and leader of the Second Crusade

Louis VII

King who led the French army of the Second Crusade and took part in the siege of Damascus in 1148.

No verified depiction added

BIOGRAPHICAL DOSSIER

Life and historical role

01

Life and political setting

Louis became king of France in 1137 and through his marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine held claims over extensive lands. After the fall of Edessa he took the cross under the influence of Bernard of Clairvaux's preaching. The expedition also exposed political strains within his marriage and the limits of royal command over a composite army.

02

Role in the Crusades

Louis travelled overland through Constantinople and Anatolia in 1147. His army suffered severe losses around Mount Honaz before reaching the Levant partly by sea. Together with Conrad III he participated in the siege of Damascus, but the army withdrew after four days, turning the campaign into a major political failure.

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

31 March 1146 · Vézelay

Assembly of Vézelay and the preaching of the Second Crusade

On Easter Day, 31 March 1146, at Vézelay, Bernard of Clairvaux preached the Second Crusade before King Louis VII and a great crowd. The king, Queen Eleanor and a large part of the French aristocracy took the cross there.

Open record →February 1147 · Étampes

Assembly of Étampes and the crusade route

The assembly Louis VII held at Étampes in February 1147 decided that the Second Crusade would travel overland through Hungary and Byzantium. In the king's absence the government of France was entrusted to Abbot Suger of Saint-Denis and Count Ralph of Vermandois.

Open record →1147–1149 · Anatolia, Levant and Iberia

Second Crusade

In the Second Crusade, launched after the fall of Edessa, the armies of Conrad III and Louis VII advanced east separately and suffered heavy losses in Anatolia. In the Levant, Damascus rather than Edessa became the target, and the siege of July 1148 failed. In the same period Lisbon was taken in Iberia.

Open record →7 January 1148 · Mount Honaz / Denizli

Crossing of Mount Honaz

In early January 1148, at the pass of Mount Cadmus (Honaz Dağı), Louis VII's French army was split in two when the vanguard advanced against orders. Seljuk forces routed the exposed main column with heavy losses; the king barely escaped.

Open record →24 June 1148 · Palmarea / Acre

Council of Acre

On 24 June 1148 at Palmarea near Acre, Conrad III, Louis VII, the young King Baldwin III, Queen Melisende and the barons of Jerusalem discussed the Second Crusade's objective. The meeting decided to attack Damascus, at times an ally of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Open record →24–28 July 1148 · Damascus

Siege of Damascus

On 24 July 1148 the armies of the Second Crusade besieged Damascus from the orchards to its west. Faced with Mu'in al-Din Unur's resistance and the prospect of Nur al-Din and Sayf al-Din coming to the city's aid, the army moved to the east side; four days later the siege was lifted.

Open record →