ABOUT the year 1215, when the Pope was impressing on Christendom the necessity of arming to save the Holy Sepulchre, Poissy witnessed the birth of a prince, destined to associate his name ihdissolubly with the crusades. At that place, on the Festival of St. Mark, Blanche of Castille, wife of Louis the Eighth, King of France, became a mother; and the heir then born to the house of Capet, ascended the French throne on his father's death, with the title of Louis the Ninth.
Louis, when thus left fatherless, had hardly attained his eleventh year; and he was in no condition to maintain himself against the great feudatories of the French crown. But Providence had blessed the young King with a mother who, whatever her failings, had a high spirit and a strong will; and Queen Blanche not only maintained the rights of the French monarchy, but brought up her son with the most considerate care. She placed him under the charge of excellent masters, caused him to be attended by religious men, who, on Sundays and fast-days, preached to him the word of God; and manifested an ardent ambition that he should live a holy and virtuous life. "I would rather," she was often heard to say," see my son in the grave than that he should commit a mortal sin."
Educated under the auspices of such a mother, Louis, as years passed over, became celebrated among contemporary princes for his sanctity. He ever lived as if conscious that the eye of his Maker was upon him, and passed most of his time in devotional exercises. Every morning he heard prayers chanted, and a mass of requiem and the service of the day sung; every afternoon, he was in the habit of reclining on his couch, and, with one of liis chaplains, repeating prayers for the dead; and every evening he made a point of hearing complines.
At the time when Louis was attending, with conscientious regularity, to his religious duties, the Saint-king was not negligent of those that devolved upon him as a sovereign. One day, when he was at the castle of Hieres, a Cordelier friar approached. "Sire," said he, "I have read in the Bible, and other good books, of unbelieving princes; yet I never found a kingdom of believers or unbelievers ruined but from the want of justice being duly administered. Now let the King, who I perceive is going to France, be careful to administer justice, that our Lord may suffer him to enjoy his kingdom, and that it may remain in peace and tranquility all the days of his life."
The words of the Cordelier sunk deep into the King's heart; and, from that date, it appears that Louis devoted much attention to the administration of justice. Sometimes in summer time, after saying mass, he would repair to the gardens of his palace, and seating himself on a carpet, listen to those who wished to appeal to him; and, at other times, he would betake himself to the wood of Yincennes, and, reclining under the shadow of an oak, devote himself to the decision of causes with exemplary diligence. All who had complaints to make might come on such occasions; and no ceremony was permitted that could keep the poor from the justice-seat of the King.
While showing his devotion to his God and his neighbor, Louis entertained no insuperable aversion to buckling on the mail of a warrior; and when he mounted his steed and laid his lance in rest, his foes found him " no carpet knight." It happened that, in 1242, the Counts De la Marche and De Foix, growing malecontent, formed a confederacy against the throne; and invited Henry, King of England, to regain the provinces taken by Philip Augustus from Henry's father, King John. The confederacy seemed most formidable; and the English monarch, allured by the prospect of recovering Normandy and Anjou, crossed the sea, with an army, and prepared for hostilities. But Louis was not to be daunted. Girding on his mail, he placed himself at the head of an army, and appeared to offer his allied adversaries battle on the banks of the Charente, near the bridge of Taille-bourg.
The courage of Louis produced a striking effect on his adversaries. The confederates found they had mistaken their man; and Henry, accusing the Count De la Marche of having deceived him, fled, without drawing rein, to the village of Saintonge. Louis, however, pursued; and, the English turning to bay, a fierce conflict took place. But the armies were quite unequal. Though the barons of England fought with desperate valor, they were soon worsted; and, to save his life, Henry, hotly pursued by Louis, was under the necessity of flying to Bordeaux. From this period, it was perfectly understood that the Saint-king could hold his own; and neither French counts nor foreign princes relished the idea of provoking his vengeance.
When Louis had reached the age of nineteen, Queen Blanche became anxious to find a bride worthy of sharing the French throne; and, for reasons of state, cast her eyes wistfully towards the family of Raymond Berenger, Count of Provence. Raymond, who was a cadet of the royal family of Arragon, had early won fame as the most accomplished man in Europe, and married Beatrice, daughter of the Count of Savoy, a princess with " thought, feeling, taste, harmonious to his own." Five daughters, all destined to be queens, had sprung from this union; and Margaret of Provence, the eldest of these, was just six years younger than Louis. Blanche found little difficulty in securing the hand of Raymond's daughter for her son; and, without delay, the Provencal Princess appeared in Paris as Queen of France.
But ladies are capricious: and royal ladies are in this respect like their neighbors. No sooner was Margaret of Provence brought to her new home, than Blanche of Castille became apprehensive that the young wife might terminate the influence she had hitherto exercised over the Saint-king. The Queen-dowager, however, had no idea of allowing her power to be imperilled. On one pretext or another, she resolved to keep the royal pair separate, and nothing could exceed the tyranny which, with this view, she exercised over their movements. When the two Queens made royal progresses with the King through his dominions, Blanche always took care that Louis and Margaret should lodge in different houses; and even in cases of sickness the mother-in-law did not relent. On one occasion, when the court was at Pointoise, and Margaret lay in danger of death, Louis stole to her chamber. While he was there, Blanche entered, bent her brow, shook her head, and, taking the intruder by the shoulder, turned him out of the room.
"Go along, sir," said she sternly, pushing him away from the door; " you can do no good here."
"Alas, madam," said Margaret, her heart sickening as she spoke, " will you not allow me to see my lord either when I am living or when I am dying?"
Such was the intolerable domestic tyranny under which the Saint-king and his fair spouse were living, when circumstances fired one with the idea of undertaking a crusade, and gave the other a fair excuse for escaping from the termagant mother-in-law of whom she had been the victim.
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From John G. Edgar
The Crusades and the Crusaders, 1860
