Louis VIII of France

Louis VIII the Lion
King of the Franks and Count of Artois (more...)
Reign	14 July 1223 – 8 November 1226
Coronation	6 August 1223, Reims
Titles	Count of Artois (1189–1226) King of England (1216–17)
Born	5 September 1187(1187-09-05)
	Paris, France
Died	8 November 1226 (aged 39)
	Chateau Montpensier, France
Buried	Saint Denis Basilica
Predecessor	Philip II Augustus
Successor	Louis IX
Consort	Blanche of Castile (1188–1252)
Issue	Louis IX (1214–1270) Robert I, Count of Artois (1216–50) Alphonse, Count of Toulouse and Poitiers (1220–71) Saint Isabel of France (1225–69) Charles I of Sicily (1227–85)
Royal House	House of Capet
Father	Philip II of France (1165–1223)
Mother	Isabelle of Hainaut (1170–90)

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 was not 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 he 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 had never been the legitimate king of England.

As King Louis VIII

Coronation of Louis VIII and Blanche of Castile at Reims in 1223; a miniature from the Grandes Chroniques de France, painted in the 1450s, kept at the National Library of France

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 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 courts.

French Monarchy
Direct Capetians
Louis VIII
Louis IX
Robert I, Count of Artois
Alphonse, Count of Poitou and Toulouse
Saint Isabel of France
Charles I of Anjou and Sicily

Twenty six barons accepted, but Theobald IV (1201–53), the powerful Count of 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 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 did not 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

1. Blanche (1205–1206).
2. Agnes (b. and d. 1207).
3. Philippe (9 September, 1209 – July 1218), married (or only betrothed) in 1217 to Agnes of Donzy.
4. Alphonse (b. and d. Lorrez-le-Bocage, 23 January 1213).
5. John (b. and d. Lorrez-le-Bocage, 23 January 1213), twin of Alphonse.
6. Louis IX (Poissy, 25 April, 1214 – 25 August, 1270, Tunis), King of France as succesor to his father.
7. Robert (25 September, 1216 – 9 February, 1250, killed in battle, Manssurah, Egypt)
8. Philippe (2 January, 1218–1220).
9. John Tristan (21 July, 1219 – 1232), Count of Anjou and Maine.
10. Alphonse (Poissy, 11 November, 1220 – 21 August, 1271, Corneto), Count of Poitou and Auvergne, and by marriage, of Toulouse.
11. Philippe Dagobert (20 February, 1222 – 1232).
12. Isabel (14 April 1225 – 23 February, 1269).
13. Charles Etienne (21 March 1226 – 7 January, 1285), Count of Anjou and Maine, by marriage Count of Provence and Folcalquier, and King of Sicily.

References