This is an English-language edition of Jean Richard's acclaimed study of Saint Louis (1214-70), firmly established as the classic modern life of one of the greatest figures in medieval history. It is, however, more than simply a biography. Saint Louis consists essentially of a skillful interweaving of personal details, French history, Capetian dynastic history, international relations within the West, and relations between the West and the Near East (with Louis' crusades as focal points). Jean Richard's canvas is thus a broad one, as it has to be if the impact and role of Saint Louis are to be appreciated, precisely because the range and scope of his actions were themselves so braod. Saint Louis is also a splendid evocation of the way in which contemporary politics were perceived and conducted, its analysis carefully rooted in the material substance and ideological persuasions which underlay them. Jean Richard offers a sustained exploration of many of the crucial components of the thirteenth-century world, with much to say about the emergence of the territorial unity of the French state under authority of the Capetian dynasty, the extension of that dynasty's influence into the Mediterranean, the history of the Latin East and the crusade--the preparations for, and experience of which, conditioned so much of Louis' thought and practical actions. Indeed the crusade is inseparable from his royal persona, just as the history of the crusading movements in the thirteenth century is inseparable from him. This English-language edition has been translated by Jean Birrell, and adapted for anglophone readers by Simon Lloyd, who has also provided a supplementary bibliography of English-language works. Saint Louis is a figure of perennial interest, and the appearance of this acclaimed study in this accessible format will enable large numbers of both specialist and non-specialist readers to engage at first hand with one of the great lives of medieval history.

Louis IX, king of France from 1226 to 1270 and twice crusader, was canonized in 1297. He was the last king canonized during the medieval period, and was both one of the most important saints and one of the most important kings of the later Middle Ages. In Blessed Louis, the Most Glorious of Kings: Texts Relating to the Cult of Saint Louis of France, M. Cecilia Gaposchkin presents six previously untranslated texts that informed medieval views of St. Louis IX: two little-known but early and important vitae of Saint Louis; two unedited sermons by the Parisian preacher Jacob of Lausanne (d. 1322); and a liturgical office and proper mass in his honor--the most commonly used liturgical texts composed for Louis' feast day--which were widely copied, read, and disseminated in the Middle Ages. Gaposchkin's aim is to present to a diverse readership the Louis as he was known and experienced in the Middle Ages: a saint celebrated by the faithful for his virtue and his deeds. She offers for the first time to English readers a typical hagiographical view of Saint Louis, one in counterbalance to that set forth in Jean of Joinville's Life of Saint Louis. Although Joinville's Life has dominated our views of Louis, Joinville's famous account was virtually unknown beyond the French royal court in the Middle Ages and was not printed until the sixteenth century. His portrayal of Louis as an individual and deeply charismatic personality is remarkable, but it is fundamentally unrepresentative of the medieval understanding of Louis. The texts that Gaposchkin translates give immediate access to the reasons why medieval Christians took Louis to be a saint; the texts, and the image of Saint Louis presented in them, she argues, must be understood within the context of the developing history of sanctity and sainthood at the end of the Middle Ages.

The reign of Louis IX of France is widely recognized as one of the most important in the history of medieval France. Art and the Crusade in the Age of Saint Louis examines the art patronage of the French king during the formative period of his reign, with special focus on the interaction between the art of Gothic Paris and that of the Crusader Holy Land.

The thirteenth century brought new urgency to Catholic efforts to convert non-Christians, and no Catholic ruler was more dedicated to this undertaking than King Louis IX of France. His military expeditions against Islam are well documented, but there was also a peaceful side to his encounter with the Muslim world, one that has received little attention until now. This splendid book shines new light on the king’s program to induce Muslims—the “apple of his eye”—to voluntarily convert to Christianity and resettle in France. It recovers a forgotten but important episode in the history of the Crusades while providing a rare window into the fraught experiences of the converts themselves. William Chester Jordan transforms our understanding of medieval Christian-Muslim relations by telling the stories of the Muslims who came to France to live as Christians. Under what circumstances did they willingly convert? How successfully did they assimilate into French society? What forms of resistance did they employ? In examining questions like these, Jordan weaves a richly detailed portrait of a dazzling yet violent age whose lessons still resonate today. Until now, scholars have dismissed historical accounts of the king’s peaceful conversion of Muslims as hagiographical and therefore untrustworthy. Jordan takes these narratives seriously—and uncovers archival evidence to back them up. He brings his findings marvelously to life in this succinct and compelling book, setting them in the context of the Seventh Crusade and the universalizing Catholic impulse to convert the world.

M. Cecilia Gaposchkin reconstructs and analyzes the process that led to King Louis IX of France's canonization in 1297 and the consolidation and spread of his cult.

Engaging the Crusades is a series of volumes which offer windows into a newly emerging field of historical study: the memory and legacy of the crusades. Together these volumes examine the reasons behind the enduring resonance of the crusades and present the memory of crusading in the modern period as a productive, exciting, and much needed area of investigation. This new volume explores the ways in which significant crusading figures have been employed as heroes and villains, and by whom. Each chapter analyses a case study relating to a key historical figure including the First Crusader Tancred; ‘villains’ Reynald of Châtillon and Conrad of Montferrat; the oft-overlooked Queen Melisende of Jerusalem; the entangled memories of Richard ‘the Lionheart’ and Saladin; and the appropriation of St Louis IX by the British. Through fresh approaches, such as a new translation of the inscriptions on the wreath laid on Saladin’s tomb by Kaiser Wilhelm II, this book represents a significant cutting-edge intervention in thinking about memory, crusader medievalism, and the processes of making heroes and villains. The Making of Crusading Heroes and Villains is the perfect tool for scholars and students of the crusades, and for historians concerned with the development of reputations and memory.