Everything about Louis Viii Of France totally explained
Louis VIII the Lion (
5 September 1187 –
8 November 1226) reigned as
King of France from
1223 to
1226. He was a member of the
House of Capet. Louis VIII was born in
Paris,
France, the son of
Philip II of France and
Isabelle of Hainaut. He was also
Count of Artois from
1190, inheriting the county from his mother.
As Prince Louis
At the age of 12, Louis was married to
Blanche of Castile on
23 May 1200, following prolonged negotiations between
Philip Augustus and Blanche's uncle
John of England.
In
1216 the English barons rebelled in the
First Barons' War against the unpopular
King John of England (
1199–
1216) and offered the throne to Prince Louis. Louis invaded and was proclaimed King in London in May 1216, although he wasn't crowned. There was little resistance when the prince entered London. At
St Paul's Cathedral, 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 (
1214–
49), gathered to give homage to him.
On
June 14, Louis captured
Winchester and soon conquered over half of the English kingdom. After a year and a half of war, most of the rebellious barons had defected and so Louis had to give up his claim to be the King of England by signing the
Treaty of Lambeth in
1217. The effect of the treaty was that Louis agreed he'd never been the legitimate king of England.
As King Louis VIII
Louis VIII succeeded his father on July 14, 1223; his coronation took place on August 6 of the same year in the cathedral at
Reims. As King, he continued to seek revenge on the
Angevins and seized
Poitou and
Saintonge from them in 1224. There followed the seizure of
Avignon and
Languedoc.
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 of France (1180–1223).
Usury (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, a severe punishment. However since Jews were not Christian, they couldn't 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 courts.
Twenty six barons accepted, but
Theobald IV (1201–53), the powerful
Count of
Champagne, did not, since he'd 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 excommunicated the
Count of Toulouse,
Raymond VII, and declared a crusade against the southern barons. Louis happily renewed the conflict in order to enforce his royal rights.
Roger Bernard the Great,
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 didn't complete the work before his death.
While returning to Paris, King Louis VIII became ill with
dysentery, and died on November 8, 1226 in the chateau at
Montpensier,
Auvergne.
The
Saint Denis Basilica houses the tomb of Louis VIII. His son,
Louis IX (1226–70), succeeded him on the throne.
Ancestors
Marriage
On
May 23,
1200, at the age of twelve, Louis married
Blanche of Castile (
March 4,
1188 –
November 26,
1252).
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 (Poissy, 25 April, 1214 – 25 August, 1270, Tunis), King of France as successor to his father.
- Robert (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 (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 Etienne (21 March 1226 – 7 January, 1285), Count of Anjou and Maine, by marriage Count of Provence and Folcalquier, and King of Sicily.
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