Louis IX (French:. The son of Louis VIII, the tenth king of the Capet dynasty, and Blanka of Castile.
Louis IX ascended the throne in 1226. In the early stages, he devoted himself to suppressing the rebellion of the nobility, defeating the joint invasion of the rebels and King Henry III of England, successfully strengthening his royal power, and annexing all the British territories in France except for Aquitaine. [12] Afterwards, efforts began to strengthen France's influence along the Mediterranean coast and in North Africa. [13] In 1249, Louis IX launched a Crusade and led his troops to land in Egypt. However, he was tragically defeated when advancing towards Alexandria, and he himself was captured by the Egyptian Muslim army. After paying a ransom, he was released and went to Aka to take over the Kingdom of Jerusalem. In 1254, he returned to France. In 1270, he launched the crusade again and led the army to land in Tunisia, North Africa. In August of the same year, he died of pestis there at the age of 55 [19].
During the reign of Louis IX, judicial, monetary, and military reforms were carried out to strengthen and consolidate centralization, develop culture and art, and bring the Capetian dynasty to its peak. Due to his impartial law enforcement and devout faith, he launched two consecutive Crusades and was posthumously canonized as a saint shortly after his death. Later generations referred to him as "Saint Louis" (French: Saint Louis) [4], and his reign was known as the "Golden Age of Saint Louis" [14]. He was regarded as a model among medieval French and even European monarchs [25-26], nicknamed the "Perfect Monster".

Juvenile succession
Louis was born on April 25, 1214, and is the son of Louis VIII, the tenth king of the Capet Dynasty of the Kingdom of France, and Blanka of Castile. [4]
On November 8, 1226, Louis VIII passed away. On the same day, Louis, who was only 11 years old, was crowned on the throne of Reims and succeeded to the French throne, known as Louis IX. At the beginning of his accession, his mother, Queen Mother Blanka, was regent. After Louis took office, she continued to assist in politics. When Louis first led the Crusaders in the East, she served as regent. Blanka is shrewd and capable, and has an important role and influence on Louis's conduct and administration, and on the consolidation and enhancement of the French monarchy. [8]
Flatten internal strife
In France, the unification movement centered around monarchy and carried out through the continuous expansion of royal territory was a long-term and complex struggle process. The feudal lords regarded it as their traditional right to cede territory and claim power. The King of England is nominally a vassal of the King of France, with a large feudal territory in France. Louis IX's grandfather Philip II had incorporated some of the British Crown's territories in western and central France into the French royal domain, but there were still vast territories of the British Crown in southwestern France. When Louis IX succeeded to the throne, it was only three years after the death of Philip II. The ambitious French princes and British kings, who saw a 12 year old young lord supported by a foreign 38 year old widow, saw this as a rare opportunity to seize power and expand territory. [8]
When Louis IX was crowned in 1226, many nobles did not participate. Shortly after, a noble alliance against the royal family was formed, and an open civil war began. In 1228, King Henry III of England participated in the rebellion and landed in Brittany. But the aristocratic alliance itself is lax, and the big nobles have their own plans and different steps. Henry III, due to conflicts with the British aristocracy, could only operate in France with weak armed forces. Louis IX personally led his troops on the expedition. He ordered the reconstruction of the castle in Angers and advanced towards the base of Henry III, Nantes. Henry withdrew without any success. [8]
In France, the monarchy has a certain level of prestige, with small and medium-sized nobles leaning towards it, and the Catholic Church generally supporting it; Urban citizens are an important support force for monarchy. In 1227, Blanka and Louis IX were on their way back to Paris from Orleans, when the rising princes gathered in Cobel, south of Paris, to try to stop them. Citizens of Paris and other cities organized teams to go out of the city to protect themselves upon hearing the news. On the road leading to Paris, people gathered in groups to pray for the king and prepare to fight for loyalty to him. The feudal lords who participated in the rebellion were intimidated by the popularity of the masses and had to lead troops to retreat. In 1229, 34 cities between the Seine River and Flanders swore allegiance to the king. [8]
On May 27, 1234, at the age of 19, Louis IX married Margaret, the eldest daughter of Raymond Berengar IV, the Earl of Provence, at the age of 13. [8] On the 28th, Margaret was crowned as the Queen of France. [17]
The advantage of monarchy has been basically established in the years following the beginning of the turmoil. From 1240 to 1243,

Died of illness in North Africa
Main term: The Eighth Crusade
During the latter half of Louis IX's reign, he remained deeply attached to the Holy Land. Coinciding with changes in the political and military situation in the Eastern Mediterranean, Louis was forced to make a decision to send troops. Around the summer of 1266, Louis IX had already begun planning a new Crusade. In October of the same year, he secretly informed Pope Clement IV of this decision. On March 25, 1267, Louis announced this decision at a gathering of senior clergy and nobles. At another rally held on February 9, 1268, he further announced that the Eastern Expedition would depart in May 1270. Some people believe that Charles I of Naples attempted to conquer the revived Byzantine Empire and control both sides of the Sicilian Strait and the passage from the Eastern Mediterranean to the Western Mediterranean, thus strongly encouraging Louis to designate Tunisia in North Africa as the attack point for this Crusade. But some historians have also suggested that "the convenient use of Sicily played a role... this crusade was both to save and force Muslims to convert, and to conquer the land". The people of that time shifted their preferred religious goals from the farther East to Tunisia. Louis, like his contemporaries, believed that Tunisia was much closer than Egypt and could be used as a land base for future attacks on Sudan. [18] Therefore, he chose Tunisia as the point of attack. [4]
In early July 1270, the French expeditionary army crossed the Mediterranean and landed in Tunisia. In the early stages of the war, the French army was unstoppable, winning consecutively and occupying Carthage. But the plague struck again, causing the Crusaders to suffer from malignant fever and malaria, while the attacks of dysentery and scurvy left Louis with only one tooth and his body weakened to the point where it was difficult to mount a horse. On July 17th, Louis led his army to reach the city of Tunisia. Starting from August 13th, Louis had a relapse of malaria and was unable to recover from it. He eventually passed away on the same day, at the age of 55 (under 56), on a crib in his tent. [4] Before his death, Louis said, "Oh Jerusalem! Jerusalem! God, you are so kind! May you bless the people living here, and may they not fall into the hands of the enemy and be forced to give up their faith in you." He paused for a moment and then continued, "My God, I have entrusted my soul to you
After Louis's death, his body was divided into pieces and boiled in wine and water until the bones and flesh were separated for easy transportation. His body was brought back to France by Prince Philip, passing through the Apennines Peninsula and Lyon in France. Wherever he went, people gathered and knelt down to his remains. In May 1271, the coffin of Louis IX arrived in Paris and a grand funeral was held at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Eventually, he lay to rest in the Cathedral of Saint Denis, the resting place of the kings of the Capetian dynasty. [4] Another prince, Charlie de Anjou, was responsible for keeping Louis's meat, heart, and other internal organs. He sent someone to transport them to Moncler Monastery in Sicily. [19]
After the death of Louis IX, people did not wait for the judgment of the Holy See to consider him a saint and prayed to his tomb. August 1, 1297

Politics
Louis IX's reform measures had a profound impact on French society. His judicial and currency reforms were a solid step towards France's path towards a centralized state.
Strengthening royal power
Under the old system of the Capetian dynasty, the court meetings presided over by the king decided on national military and political affairs and the management of royal territories. The complexity of political, military, financial, and legal affairs makes it necessary for court meetings to work in groups. Prior to the reign of Louis, the auditing house responsible for budgeting, final accounting, and reviewing the income and expenses of the royal domain had been separated from the court meetings. Louis improved the Audit Office to play a greater role. He appointed full-time personnel familiar with the rights and finances of the royal family to be responsible for the work, and the final budget, final accounts, and major finances were personally controlled and ruled by the king. [8]
Judicial reform
Louis' judicial reform is of historical significance. The Paris High Court (also known as the Balleigne) began to diverge from court meetings during Louis' reign and became the highest appellate court in the entire law. Its scope of power not only governs all royal territories, but also accepts appeals from feudal vassals outside the royal territories. Previously, the court council had a system of sending members to various districts of the royal domain for circuit trials; Currently, the circuit trial system is still ongoing on schedule, but there are already fixed and regular judicial institutions. The Paris High Court often handles judicial work and trial cases, mainly by non aristocratic legal experts with legal expertise and serious and responsible handling of affairs. The situation in the past where cases were judged solely based on the intentions of feudal lords and royal officials, disregarding legal basis and disregarding necessary evidence, has gradually been corrected. Louis explicitly prohibited the old practice of using duels to resolve judicial disputes in certain circumstances. The royal power has been further strengthened. The litigation fees and fines imposed by the court have also increased the income of the royal family. [8]
Louis believed that the king should be the highest judge in the country, presiding over judicial trials, which was his sacred duty. He once tried cases with his advisors under the large oak trees of Fangsen near Paris, in his royal garden. He realized that the formulation and implementation of laws were important means to enhance royal power, strengthen governance, and maintain domestic stability and order. Within the royal domain, Louis issued laws prohibiting feudal private fights; In his vassal territories, he advocated the implementation of the "King's Forty Days" policy, which allowed only declaration of war and no confrontation within 40 days; The challenged nobles can appeal to the king during this period, and the king will make a ruling. In 1258, he ordered the prohibition of "all private fights, all incidents of arson, and all disturbances in farming". [8]
Local administrative reform
The local administrative institutions during the Louis period basically followed the old system since Philip II. The local governor of the original royal territory is called the Governor (Bai), which governs the district under the jurisdiction of the Governor; The southern region newly incorporated into the royal domain is governed by the Governor General (Seneshar) appointed by the king, who governs the Governor General's District. Below the general manager and governor, there are also lower level local officials. Many local officials use their power to exploit local residents through unpaid expropriation, forced labor, property encroachment, and fines beyond the customary practice of compulsory education. [8]
The general manager in the northern region is usually selected from the local nobility. And the governor of the south is chosen by the king from the nobles of the north

military
Forming a mercenary army
The army, like the court, is an important component of the king's power. Louis IX not only retained the power to recruit arms from nobles and citizens, but also organized a mercenary army that paid military salaries and was free to enlist. In the mercenary army, there are soldiers such as cavalry and archers, as well as guards and police personnel. [8]
Two Eastern Expeditions
Louis IX's piety also reflected his enthusiasm for the Crusades. He participated in the seventh and eighth Crusades, marking the end of the history of the Crusades. The previous attack, which lasted from 1248 to 1250, saw the young and energetic Louis launch an all-out attack on Egypt under the rule of the Ayyubid dynasty. But after occupying the port of Damieta, he was attacked by a plague, his strength was greatly damaged, and he was eventually captured by the Ayyub army. He was only released after paying a fine of 800000 gold coins. The next time from 1269 to 1270, Louis disregarded the opposition of the majority of the nobles in the country and led 6000 knights and 30000 infantry to attack Tunisia. At first, the situation was overwhelming, but he fell ill and died in the eerie and ever-changing North African desert. [8]
Religion
In Louis' view, his internal affairs, like his foreign policies, should be in line with Christian beliefs. In his view, the king represents God in governing the country and is the guide to guide his subjects towards the direction of heaven. There are many records of Louis' devout faith in Christianity. He did mass early, religious education for his children at night, often read the Bible and prayed; He enjoys listening to people preaching and also enjoys preaching to those around him; Many of his advisors were senior priests and monks, with whom he discussed theology and politics. In life, he is self restrained, simple and abstemious; They generously contribute to religious causes and activities. He established some churches and monasteries, as well as hospitals and blind homes in Paris. He provided relief to the disaster victims, gave alms to the poor, washed the feet of the poor, and even washed the wounds and pains of leprosy patients. [8]
Christians describe him as a kind, just, and peaceful king. And it is this king, who is revered by the Catholic Church as a 'saint', who advocates for severe punishment and even burning, killing, and execution of so-called heretics and blasphemers. In terms of faith, he does not advocate for tolerance at all, nor does he know about tolerance. The papal inquisition, known for its brutality and brutality, launched to suppress heresy, received the full support of Louis and his mother and queen, and was established universally throughout France after 1233. The royal family provides funding for the religious tribunal and armed guards. The officials of the king execute and confiscate property in accordance with the judgment of the religious tribunal. The confiscated large amount of property enriched Louis' treasury. In the territory of the vassals of the king, there is also religious terror shrouded. In the late 1330s, 183 heretics were burned to death in Champagne; In Toulouse, religious persecution continued for a long time, and in 1249, 80 Albi people who had expressed their repentance were burned near Ejing. [8]
Western Europe in the 13th century was the heyday of the feudalism and the peak of the Catholic Church's power. There are both cooperation and contradictions between the monarchy and religious power in feudal societies in Western Europe. Louis did not forget that he was a king and maintained his independence from the Pope; Meanwhile, his internal focus

France
During the reign of Louis IX, the political and economic dominance of the Kingdom of France in Europe was known as the 'golden century of Saint Louis'. The French king is regarded as the 'primus inter pares' among the kings and rulers of Europe. He commanded the largest military in Europe and governed the wealthiest country in Europe. At that time, France was the center of European art and knowledge, and he was considered the founder of La Sorbonne (possibly referring to the University of Paris Sorbonne). In many ways, Louis IX established the "Christian State" and also established his own sacred and just reputation while he was still alive. Louis was chosen as the arbiter on many occasions. Historians believe that 'he was the perfect monster never seen in this world'. [3]
A legitimate historical document praises Louis of France as "the most chivalrous person of his time, an ideal medieval king... his rule over France was the golden age of medieval France". Another scholar believes that Louis "infused substantial content into the vague sense of identity and mission that has so far appeared in France. [16]
Jacques Legoff, a representative figure of the French "New History School", referred to Louis IX as the "unique ideal king", "the divine king, the magical king, and the saint king", and "the suffering king, the Christ king" in the book "Saint Louis". [1]
Other countries
American scholar Ken Wolf compared Louis with the later ruler of the Malian Empire, Mansa Moussa, in his book "The Great Historical Perspective", and commented that Louis IX of France was almost his contemporaries, representing a peak in the development of Christian monarchy and national construction in the Middle Ages Louis may have been the most revered monarch of medieval France. However, if he is considered an 'ideal monarch', it is entirely because he was able to effectively combine religious piety (he was posthumously recognized as a saint in 1298) with practical political means that strengthened France's monarchy. Like Mansa Musa, he was both an excellent ruler and a devout person. Unlike the African ruler, Louis IX was almost the last French monarch to maintain, even if pretending to maintain, the image of a saint. [16]
American scholar Thomas Crowell's "Illustrated Kings of Ancient and Modern Times": King Louis IX of France's greatest wish was to become a model Christian monarch. Due to his achievements in devout faith, participation in the Crusades, and fair law enforcement, he was considered successful - to the extent that he was regarded as a model among medieval French and even European monarchs. [9]
Chinese historian He Bingsong praised him as "the most wise among French monarchs。