Tenth Generation  

58. King Louis VIII CAPET of France [81986] (King Phillip II CAPET of France⁵⁶, Queen Adele de CHAMPAGNE of France⁵³, Comte Thibault IV de BLOIS de Champagne³⁹, Comte Etienne Henri II de BLOIS de Blois, of Champagne and of Meaux²⁴, Comte Thibaut de BLOIS de Blois & Champagne¹⁶, Comte Odo II de BLOIS de Blois, Champagne and Chartres¹¹, Queen Consort Berthe de WELF of the Franks³, Conrad I of Burgundy (King)², Rudolph II of Upper Burgundy & Italy (King)¹) was born on 5 Sep 1187 in Paris Isle-de-France France and died on 8 Nov 1226 in Chateau de Montpensier Puy-de-Dôme Auvergne France at age 39.

General Notes: Wikipedia says of this Louis,
Louis VIII (5 September 1187 \endash 8 November 1226), nicknamed The Lion (French: Le Lion),[1] was King of France from 1223 to 1226. From 1216 to 1217, he invaded and claimed the Kingdom of England. Louis participated in the Albigensian Crusade in southern France, driving it to its successful and deadly conclusion. He was the only surviving son of King Philip II of France by his first wife, Isabelle of Hainaut, from whom he inherited the County of Artois.

While Louis VIII only briefly reigned as king of France, he was an active leader prior to accession; having notably helped his father Philip crush an invasion attempt by a coalition of European states through his deeds at the siege of Roche-au-Moine in 1214. During the First Barons' War against King John of England, following a request from some of the rebellious English barons, the prince sailed to England with an army on 14 June 1216 despite discouragement from his father Philip and Pope Innocent III. He captured Winchester and soon controlled over half of the English kingdom.[2] He was proclaimed "King of England" by the rebellious barons in London on 2 June 1216 but was actually never crowned king. He was excommunicated by the Pope,[3] renounced his claim and was eventually repelled by the English following King John's death. Louis then successfully launched in 1217 the conquest of Guyenne, leaving the kings of England with the region of Gascony as their only remaining continental possession.

Louis was the first Capetian king to grant appanages to his younger sons on a large scale.[4] He died in 1226 and was succeeded by his son Louis IX

Noted events in his life were:

• Crowned: King of France, 6 Aug 1223, Rheims Cathedral Rheims Champagne-Ardenne France.

Louis married Eleanor PLANTAGENET [122811] in 1195. Marriage status: proposed and failed. Eleanor was born between 1182 and 1184 and died on 10 Aug 1241 in Corfe Castle Dorset England.

Marriage Notes: Wikipedia says,
In summer 1195, a marriage between Louis and Eleanor of Brittany, niece of Richard I of England, was suggested for an alliance between Philip II and Richard, but it failed. It is said that the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI opposed the marriage, and that its failure was a sign that Richard would name his brother John as heir to the English throne instead of Eleanor's younger brother Arthur of Brittany, whom Richard had designated earlier as heir presumptive. This led to a sudden deterioration in relations between Richard and Philip

General Notes: Wikipedia says,
Eleanor Fair Maid of Brittany[a] (c. 1184 \endash 10 August 1241), also known as Damsel of Brittany, Pearl of Brittany, or Beauty of Brittany, was the eldest daughter of Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany, the fourth son of King Henry II of England, and Constance, Duchess of Brittany. After the presumed death in 1203 of her imprisoned younger brother, Arthur, she was heiress to vast lands including England, Anjou, and Aquitaine as well as Brittany, realms where the Salic Law barring the accession of females did not apply. Her uncle John, King of England was the fifth son of Henry II, and Eleanor inherited Arthur's claim to the throne as child of John's elder brother Geoffrey. Thus she posed a potential threat to John, and following his death in 1216, equally to her cousin, Henry III of England; thus, having been put in prison in 1202, she was never released. As a prisoner she was also unable to press her claim to the Duchy of Brittany as her mother's heiress.

Like Empress Matilda and Elizabeth of York, her claim to the English throne gained little support from the barons, due to the expectation that the monarch should be male, despite legal provision for a female monarch. Some historians have commented that her imprisonment was "the most unjustifiable act of King John"

Louis next married Princess Blanca d'IVREA of Castile [81987] on 23 May 1200. Blanca was born on 4 Mar 1188 in Palencia Castile Spain, died on 27 Nov 1252 in Paris Isle-de-France France at age 64, and was buried in Abbaye de Maubuisson Paris Isle-de-France France. Another name for Blanca was Queen Consort Blanche IVREA of France.

Marriage Notes: Wikipedia says of this Marriage,
On 23 May 1200, at the age of 12, Louis was married to Blanche of Castile, daughter of King Alfonso VIII of Castile and Eleanor of England.[6] The marriage could only be concluded after prolonged negotiations between King Philip II of France and Blanche's uncle John

General Notes: Wikipedia says of Blanche, amongst much more,
Blanche of Castile (Spanish: Blanca de Castilla; 4 March 1188 \endash 27 November 1252) was Queen consort of France by marriage to Louis VIII. She acted as regent twice during the reign of her son, Louis IX: during his minority from 1226 until 1234, and during his absence from 1248 until 1252. She was born in Palencia, Spain, 1188, the third daughter of Alfonso VIII, King of Castile, and Eleanor of England.

Noted events in her life were:

• Crowned: Queen Consort of France, 6 Aug 1223.

Children from this marriage were:

+ 63    i. King Louis IX [the Saint] CAPET of France [122728] was born on 25 Apr 1214 in Poissy Isle-de-France France, died on 25 Aug 1270 in Tunis Tunisia at age 56, and was buried in Saint-Denis Seine-Saint-Denis Île-de-France France.

+ 64    ii. Comte Robert I d'ARTOIS [81984] was born in 1216 and died in 1249 at age 33.

   65    iii. Count Robert I CAPET of Artois [122814] was born on 29 Sep 1216 and died on 8 Feb 1250 in Al Mansurah Mansoura Qism 2 Mansoura Egypt at age 33.

   66    iv. Count Alphonse CAPET of Poitiers [122815] was born on 11 Nov 1220 in Poissy Isle-de-France France and died on 21 Aug 1271 in Savona Italy at age 50.

   67    v. Princess Isabelle CAPET of France [122816] was born in Mar 1224 in Paris Isle-de-France France and died on 23 Feb 1270 in Longchamp Pays de France Écouen France at age 45.

General Notes: Wikipedia says,
Isabelle of France (March 1224[1] \endash 23 February 1270) was a French princess, the daughter of Louis VIII of France and Blanche of Castile. She was a younger sister of King Louis IX of France (Saint Louis) and of Alfonso, Count of Poitiers, and an older sister of King Charles I of Sicily. In 1256, she founded the nunnery of Longchamp in part of the Forest of Rouvray (now called the Bois de Boulogne), west of Paris. Isabelle consecrated her virginity and her entire life to God alone. She is honored as a saint by the Franciscan Order. Her feast day is 26 February.
IT ALSO SAYS,
As Isabelle wished to found a community of Sorores minores (Sisters minor), her brother King Louis began in 1255 to acquire the necessary land in the Forest of Rouvray, not far from the Seine, west of Paris. On 10 June 1256, the first stone of the monastic church was laid. Pope Alexander IV gave his sanction on 2 February 1259 to the new Rule, which was composed especially for this monastery by Isabelle along with a team of Franciscan university masters including St. Bonaventure. The community was allowed to hold property. The monastery was named the Convent of the Humility of the Blessed Virgin. In the Rule the nuns were called the Sisters of the Humble Order of Servants of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary. The nuns were subject to the Friars Minor. Some of the first nuns came from the Poor Clare monastery in Reims.[3] A revised version of the Rule was approved by Pope Urban IV on 27 July 1263, which granted preferred name of Sorores minores inclusae, or Enclosed Sisters minor, for the nuns of Longchamp.

Isabelle never joined the community herself, but did live there in a room separate from the nuns' cells. Isabelle refused to become abbess, which allowed her to retain her wealth and resources, so she could support her abbey and continue to give to the poor. She kept a discipline of silence for most of her day

   68    vi. King Charles I CAPET of Sicily [122817] was born between 1226 and 1227 and died on 7 Jan 1285 in Foggia Foggia Apulia Italy.

General Notes: Wikipedia says of Charles,
Charles I (early 1226/1227 \endash 7 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou, was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the second House of Anjou. He was Count of Provence (1246\endash 85) and Forcalquier (1246\endash 48, 1256\endash 85) in the Holy Roman Empire, Count of Anjou and Maine (1246\endash 85) in France; he was also King of Sicily (1266\endash 85) and Prince of Achaea (1278\endash 85). In 1272, he was proclaimed King of Albania; and in 1277 he purchased a claim to the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

The youngest son of Louis VIII of France and Blanche of Castile, Charles was destined for a Church career until the early 1240s. He acquired Provence and Forcalquier through his marriage to their heiress, Beatrice. His attempts to restore central authority brought him into conflict with his mother-in-law, Beatrice of Savoy, and the nobility. Charles received Anjou and Maine from his brother, Louis IX of France, in appanage. He accompanied Louis during the Seventh Crusade to Egypt. Shortly after he returned to Provence in 1250, Charles forced three wealthy autonomous cities\emdash Marseilles, Arles and Avignon\emdash to acknowledge his suzerainty.

Charles supported Margaret II, Countess of Flanders and Hainaut, against her eldest son, John, in exchange for Hainaut in 1253. Two years later Louis IX persuaded him to renounce the county, but compensated him by instructing Margaret to pay him 160,000 marks. Charles forced the rebellious Provençal nobles and towns into submission and expanded his suzerainty over a dozen towns and lordships in the Kingdom of Arles. In 1263, after years of negotiations, he accepted the offer of the Holy See to seize the Kingdom of Sicily from the Hohenstaufens. This kingdom included, in addition to the island of Sicily, southern Italy to well north of Naples and was known as the Regno. Pope Urban IV declared a crusade against the incumbent Manfred of Sicily and assisted Charles in raising funds for the military campaign.

Charles was crowned king in Rome on 5 January 1266. He annihilated Manfred's army and occupied the Regno almost without resistance. His victory over Manfred's young nephew, Conradin, at the Battle of Tagliacozzo in 1268 strengthened his rule. In 1270 he took part in the Eighth Crusade organized by Louis IX, and forced the Hafsid Caliph of Tunis to pay a yearly tribute to him. Charles' victories secured his undisputed leadership among the Papacy's Italian partisans (known as Guelphs), but his influence on papal elections and his strong military presence in Italy disturbed the popes. They tried to channel his ambitions towards other territories and assisted him in acquiring claims to Achaea, Jerusalem and Arles through treaties. In 1281 Pope Martin IV authorised Charles to launch a crusade against the Byzantine Empire. Charles' ships were gathering at Messina, ready to begin the campaign when a riot\emdash known as the Sicilian Vespers\emdash broke out on 30 March 1282 which put an end to Charles' rule on the island of Sicily. He was able to defend the mainland territories (or the Kingdom of Naples) with the support of France and the Holy See. Charles died while making preparations for an invasion of Sicily.