Louis VIII of France

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Louis VIII of France

Louis VIII the Lion (5 September 1187 – 8 November 1226) reigned as King of France

List of French monarchs

The monarchs of France ruled, first as kings and later as emperors , from the Middle Ages to 1870. There is some disagreement as to when France came into existence....
from 1223 to 1226. He was a member of the House of Capet

House of Capet

For a full history of the Capetian family, see Capetian dynasty.The House of Capet, or The Direct Capetian Dynasty, , also called The House of France , or simply the Capets, which ruled the Kingdom of France from 987 to 1328, was the most senior line of the Capetian dynasty - itself a derivative dynasty from the...
. Louis VIII was born in Paris

Paris

Paris is the Capital of France and the country's largest city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the ?le-de-France Regions of France ....
, France

France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
, the son of Philip II Augustus and Isabelle of Hainaut

Isabelle of Hainaut

Isabelle of Hainaut was queen consort of France.Isabelle was born in Valenciennes, the daughter of Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut and Countess Margaret I of Flanders....
. He was also Count of Artois from 1190, inheriting the county from his mother.

3 May 1200, at the age of 12, Louis was married to Blanche of Castile

Blanche of Castile

Blanche of Castile , wife of Louis VIII of France. She was born in Palencia, Spain, the third daughter of Alfonso VIII of Castile, kings of Castile, and of Leonora of Aquitaine....
, following prolonged negotiations between Philip Augustus and Blanche's uncle John of England

John of England

John reigned as List of English monarchs from 6 April 1199, until his death. He succeeded to the throne as the younger brother of King Richard I of England, who died without issue....
(as represented in William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English people poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist....
's historical play King John
King John

The Life and Death of King John, a history play by William Shakespeare, dramatises the reign of King John of England , son of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine and father of Henry III of England....
).

In 1216, the English barons rebelled in the First Barons' War

First Barons' War

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Louis VIII the Lion (5 September 1187 – 8 November 1226) reigned as King of France

List of French monarchs

House of Capet

Paris

Paris is the Capital of France and the country's largest city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the ?le-de-France Regions of France ....
, France

France

Isabelle of Hainaut

As Prince Louis

On 23 May 1200, at the age of 12, Louis was married to Blanche of Castile

Blanche of Castile

John of England

William Shakespeare

First Barons' War

The First Barons' War was a combination of :* a civil war in the Kingdom of England, between :**the forces of a number of rebellious barons, led by Robert Fitzwalter, and...
against the unpopular King John of England (1199–1216) and offered the throne to Prince Louis. Louis and an army landed in England; he was proclaimed King in London in May 1216, although he was not crowned. There was little resistance when the prince entered London. At St Paul's Cathedral

St Paul's Cathedral

St Paul's Cathedral is the Anglicanism cathedral on Ludgate Hill, in the City of London, and the seat of the Bishop of London. The present building dates from the 17th century and is generally reckoned to be London's fifth St Paul's Cathedral, although the number is higher if every major medieval reconstruction is counted as a new cathedr...
, Louis was accepted as ruler with great pomp and celebration in the presence of all of London. Many nobles, as well as King Alexander II of Scotland

Alexander II of Scotland

Alexander II , King of Scots, was the only son of William I of Scotland and Ermengarde of Beaumont. He was born at Haddington, East Lothian, East Lothian, in 1198, and spent time in England before succeeding to the kingdom on the death of his father on 4 December 1214, being crowned at Scone on 6 December the same year....
(1214–49), gathered to give homage. On 14 June 1216, Louis captured Winchester

Winchester

Winchester is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. It lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of the River Itchen, Hampshire....
and soon controlled over half of the English kingdom.

After a year and a half of war, King John's death, and his replacement by a regency on behalf of the boy king Henry III

Henry III of England

Henry III was the son and successor of John of England as King of England, reigning for fifty-six years from 1216 to his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester....
(John's son), many of the rebellious barons deserted Louis. When his army was beaten at Lincoln

Lincoln, Lincolnshire

Lincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of around 101,000 - the 2001 census gave the entire urban area of Lincoln a population of 120,779....
, and his naval forces (led by Eustace the Monk

Eustace the Monk

Eustace the Monk was a mercenary and Piracy, in the tradition of Middle Ages outlaws....
) were defeated off the coast of Sandwich

Sandwich, Kent

Sandwich is a historic town in Kent, south-east England. It was one of the Cinque Ports and still has many original medieval buildings. While once a major port, it is now two miles from the sea, its historic centre preserved.....
, he was forced to make peace under English terms.

The principal provisions of the Treaty of Lambeth

Treaty of Lambeth

The Treaty of Lambeth, also known as the Treaty of Kingston, was signed on an island at Kingston-upon-Thames in 1217 by Louis VIII of France of France, ending his campaign in the First Barons' War, and his claim to the throne of England....
were an amnesty for English rebels, land possession to return to the status quo ante, the Channel Islands

Channel Islands

The Channel Islands are a group of islands in the English Channel, off the France coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey....
to be returned to the English crown, Louis to undertake not to attack England again, and to attempt to give Normandy

Normandy

Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is situated along the coast of France south of the English Channel between Brittany and Picardy and comprises territory in northern France and the Channel Islands....
back to the English crown, and 10,000 marks to be given to Louis. The effect of the treaty was that Louis agreed he had never been the legitimate king of England.

As King Louis VIII

Coronation of Louis Viii and Blanche of Castile 1223

Louis VIII succeeded his father on 14 July 1223; his coronation took place on 6 August of the same year in the cathedral at Reims

Reims

The city of Reims lies in the Champagne-Ardenne region in northeastern France 129 km east-northeast of Paris.Founded by the Gauls, it became a major city during the period of the Roman Empire....
. As King, he continued to seek revenge on the Angevin

Angevin

Angevin is the name applied to the residents of Anjou, a former province of the Ancien R?gime in France, as well as to the residents of Angers....
s and seized Poitou

Poitou

Poitou was a Provinces of France of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers.The region of Poitou was called Taifals in the sixth century....
and Saintonge

Saintonge

Saintonge is a small region on the Atlantic Ocean coast of France within the d?partement Charente-Maritime, west and south of Charente in the administrative region of Poitou-Charentes....
from them in 1224. There followed the seizure of Avignon

Avignon

Avignon is a Communes of France in the Vaucluse Departments of France in southeastern France with an estimated mid-2004 population of 89,300 in the city itself and a population of 290,466 in the aire urbaine at the 1999 census....
and Languedoc

Languedoc

Languedoc is a former province of France, now continued in the modern-day List of regions in France of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyr?n?es in the south of France, and whose capital city was Toulouse, now in Midi-Pyr?n?es....
.

On 1 November 1223, he issued an ordinance that prohibited his officials from recording debts owed to Jews, thus reversing the policies set by his father Philip II Augustus. Usury

Usury

Usury originally meant the charging of interest on loans. This would have included charging a fee for the use of money, such as at a bureau de change....
(lending money with interest) was illegal for Christians to practice, according to Church law it was seen as a vice in which people profited from others' misfortune (like gambling), and was punishable by excommunication

Excommunication

Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive or suspend membership in a religious community. The word literally means putting [someone] out of full communion....
, a severe punishment. However since Jews were not Christian, they could not be excommunicated, and thus fell in to a legal gray area which secular rulers would sometimes exploit by allowing (or requesting) Jews to provide usury services, often for personal gain to the secular ruler, and to the discontent of the Church. Louis VIII's prohibition was one attempt at resolving this legal problem which was a constant source of friction in Church and State

Separation of church and state (medieval)

The relationship between church and state during the medieval period went through a number of developments, roughly from the end of the Roman Empire through to the beginning of the Protestant Reformation....
courts.

Twenty-six barons accepted, but Theobald IV (1201–53), the powerful Count

Count of Champagne

The Counts of Champagne ruled the region of Champagne from 950 to 1316. Champagne evolved from the county of Troyes in the late eleventh century and Hugh I of Champagne was the first to officially use the title "Count of Champagne"....
of Champagne

Champagne (province)

The Champagne wine region is a historic province within the Champagne Champagne in the northeast of France. The area is best known for the production of the sparkling white wine that Champagne ....
, did not, since he had an agreement with the Jews that guaranteed him extra income through taxation. Theobald IV would become a major opposition force to Capetian dominance, and his hostility was manifest during the reign of Louis VIII. For example, during the siege of Avignon, he performed only the minimum service of 40 days, and left home amid charges of treachery.

In 1225, the council of Bourges

Bourges

Bourges is a commune in France in central France on the Y?vre river. It is the capital of the Departments of France of Cher and also was the capital of the former provinces of France of Berry ....
excommunicated the Count of Toulouse, Raymond VII

Raymond VII of Toulouse

Raymond VII of Saint-Gilles was Counts of Toulouse, Duke of Narbonne and Marquis of Provence from 1222 until his death.He was the son of Raymond VI of Toulouse and Joan of England, Queen of Sicily....
, and declared a crusade against the southern barons. Louis happily renewed the conflict in order to enforce his royal rights. Roger Bernard the Great

Roger-Bernard II of Foix

Roger Bernard II , called the Great, was the list of counts of Foix from 1223 until his death. He was the son and successor of the illustrious count Raimond-Roger of Foix and his wife Philippa of Montcada....
, count of Foix, tried to keep the peace, but the king rejected his embassy and the counts of Foix and Toulouse took up arms against him. The king was largely successful, but he did not complete the work before his death.

While returning to Paris, King Louis VIII became ill with dysentery

Dysentery

Dysentery is a disorder of the digestive system that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the feces. If untreated, Dysentery can be fatal....
, and died on 8 November 1226 in the chateau at Montpensier

Montpensier

The France fief of Montpensier , located in historical Auvergne , became a countship in the 14th century.It changed hands from the House of Thiern, to the House of Beaujeau, to the House of Drieux, to the House of Beaujeau again, and finally to the House of Ventadour, before it was sold in 1384 by Bernard and Robert de Ventadour to John, Du...
, Auvergne

Auvergne (province)

Auvergne was a historic province of France in south central France. It was originally the feudal domain of the List of rulers of Auvergne. It is now the geographical and cultural area that corresponds to the former province....
.

The Saint Denis Basilica

Saint Denis Basilica

The Basilica of Saint Denis is the List of cemeteries of almost all the List of French monarchs since Clovis I . Saved and restored by the architect Viollet le Duc, the basilica is located in Saint-Denis, now a northern suburb of Paris....
houses the tomb of Louis VIII. His son, Louis IX

Louis IX of France

Louis IX , commonly Saint Louis, was List of French monarchs from 1226 to his death. He was also Counts of Artois from 1226 to 1237. Born at Poissy, near Paris, he was a member of the House of Capet and the son of Louis VIII of France and Blanche of Castile....
(1226–70), succeeded him on the throne.

Ancestry

Marriage

On 23 May 1200, at the age of twelve, Louis married Blanche of Castile

Blanche of Castile

Issue

Blanche (1205–1206).
Agnes (b. and d. 1207).
Philippe (9 September 1209 – July 1218), married (or only betrothed) in 1217 to Agnes of Donzy.
Alphonse (b. and d. Lorrez-le-Bocage, 23 January 1213).
John (b. and d. Lorrez-le-Bocage, 23 January 1213), twin of Alphonse.
Louis IX
Louis IX of France

Louis IX , commonly Saint Louis, was List of French monarchs from 1226 to his death. He was also Counts of Artois from 1226 to 1237. Born at Poissy, near Paris, he was a member of the House of Capet and the son of Louis VIII of France and Blanche of Castile....
(Poissy, 25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270, Tunis), King of France as successor to his father.
Robert
Robert I of Artois

Robert I "the Good" was County of Artois. He was the fifth son of King Louis VIII of France and Blanche of Castile.On June 14, 1237, Robert married Matilda of Brabant, daughter of Henry II, Duke of Brabant and Marie of Hohenstaufen....
(25 September 1216 – 9 February 1250, killed in battle, Manssurah, Egypt)
Philippe (2 January 1218–1220).
John Tristan (21 July 1219–1232), Count of Anjou and Maine.
Alphonse
Alphonse of Toulouse

Alfonso or Alphonse was the Count of Poitou from 1225 and Counts of Toulouse from 1247.Alphonse was a son of Louis VIII of France, King of France and Blanche of Castile....
(Poissy, 11 November 1220 – 21 August 1271, Corneto), Count of Poitou and Auvergne, and by marriage, of Toulouse.
Philippe Dagobert (20 February 1222–1232).
Isabel (14 April 1225 – 23 February 1269).
Charles
Charles I of Sicily

Charles I , commonly called Charles of Anjou, was the List of monarchs of Naples and Sicily by conquest from 1266, though he had received it as a Pope grant in 1262 and was expelled from the island in the aftermath of the Sicilian Vespers of 1282....
Etienne (21 March 1226 – 7 January 1285), Count of Anjou and Maine, by marriage Count of Provence and Folcalquier, and King of Sicily.