The court of a saint
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| Louis IX |
The author illustrates Louis IX, commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the Direct Capetians.
Excerpt:
" No man can by taking care (as the Scripture saith) add a Cubite to his Stature in this Uttle Model! of a Man's Body: But in the Great Frame of Kingdomes and Commonwealths it is in the power of Princes or Estates to add Amplitude and Greatness to their Kingdoms."
— Bacon
Along the road which borders the meadows between Paris and Montl'hery, there was, on a spring morning of the year 1227, an air of great bustle and commotion. From the gates of the city since daybreak bands of men had been marching out till the road was an avenue, not of the straight poplars of the Seine country, but of armed men. Stout burghers in imposing if unaccustomed armour lined the way, followed by men with maces and cross-bows.
Among them moved not a few knights with shining helmets and shields, and squires in charge of those heavy masses of tapestry beneath which lurked the horses of the Middle Ages. Here and there were glimpses of the ragged smocks and bright pitchforks of peasants from the fields, the gay headdresses of women, the white and black cowls of passing monks. In the foreground of these moving figures may be pictured the prancing dogs and dignified flowers of a Botticelli or Filippo Lippi, in the background, the white towers and the white walls of Paris.
In that eager crowd, every face was turned towards the far-away turrets of Montl'hery. Above all the noise and gossip rose one persistent rumour, of how the lord King and his mother were returning to Paris, of how the lords of Champagne and Boulogne, of Dreux and Brittany, I were at Corbeil purposing to intercept them as they made the last stage of their journey from ]\Iontrhery to Paris, of how the good city of Paris and all the neighbourhood were out here upon the road to protect their lord.
All along the line suddenly there was an added stir and confusion. Down the avenue, to the sound of many voices, came the long-expected procession. At the head rode, per- haps, a few knights and men, a bishop with his cross and his servants, some men-at-arms bearing the royal fleur-de-lys. Round these again were more of the loyal burghers and men who bordered the road. In the centre of all, there was a coach, and it was towards this that the onlookers pressed forward eagerly.
Within it, they saw a woman of that commanding matronly beauty that ignores the possibility of danger or insult to its owner. By her side, the centre of aU this enthusiasm, sat a taU fair boy, with those clear smiling eyes which so many chroniclers have sought to picture. He was little more than a child, but there was already something in his bearing which roused a sudden vehemence in the cheers of the crowd. " Long live the King ! " they cried on aU sides. "
Down with his enemies! May his enemies perish! Long live the King! " The shouts did not die away till the last glimpse of the procession had disappeared and the bells rang out from the steeples of Paris to tell the people that the King and his mother were safely enclosed in the city walls.
For that woman was Blanche, widow of Louis viii of France. The boy was afterwards to be known as Louis ix. Saint and most Christian King. This incident, which took place in the spring of the year 1227, is so typical and full of meaning that it may well serve as an introduction to his life.
Contents:
I. The Story of the Avenue.
II. The Childhood of the Saint
II. The Childhood of the Saint
III. The Court of the Regency
IV. The Court Militant.
V. The King of the Court
V. The King of the Court
VI. The Queen and the Royal Family
VII. The Court Triumphant
VIII. The Court, the Empire and the Papacy
IX. The Court and the Crusade
X. The Court in Egypt.
XI. The Court in Retreat
XII, The Court in the Holy Land
VII. The Court Triumphant
VIII. The Court, the Empire and the Papacy
IX. The Court and the Crusade
X. The Court in Egypt.
XI. The Court in Retreat
XII, The Court in the Holy Land
XIII. The Court and Europe
XIV. A Day at the Court.
XV. The Family at Court
XV. The Family at Court
XVI. The Changes at Court
XVII. The People outside the Court
CVIII. The Court and the Church
XIX. The Death of the King
XX. Authorities
XVII. The People outside the Court
CVIII. The Court and the Church
XIX. The Death of the King
XX. Authorities
Index...
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