Louis IX the Holy
800 years ago, on April 25th 1214 – as the second son of the then heir to the throne and from the year 1223 the King of France Louis VIII the Lion of the Capetian dynasty and St. Blanche of Castile – Louis de France, from November 8th 1226, the King of France Louis IX the Holy (crowned Nov.29th ) was born in Poissy, became fully independent in governing in 1235; he established parliaments (royal courts), forbade judicial duels and private wars, streamlined administration and unified the monetary system; peacefully averted conflicts with Aragon and England; practiced asceticism, supported religious orders (especially the Franciscans, Dominicans and Lazarists), built the Sainte -Chapelle (a masterpiece of Gothic architecture) for storing the Crown of Thorns of Christ, befriended and listened to the advice of Saint Thomas Aquinas; after the re-capture of Jerusalem by the Mohammedans (1244) he organised (1248) and personally led the 4th Crusade, which however, ended in defeat and the king was taken prisoner, which he remained until 1254; in 1270 he organised another – 7th Crusade to Tunis, but died there on August 25th during an epidemic, probably of dysentery; canonised in 1297 by Pope Boniface VIII; a perfect embodiment of a Christian monarch, already called "the king of earthly kings" (Matthew the Parisian) during his lifetime.
prof. Jacek Bartyzel
translated by Arek Jakubczyk
Kategoria: Reactionary Diary
