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SUMMARY:Documenting a Child's Rule: Louis IX of France and the Vision for 
 his Kingship\, 1226-1235 - Dr Emily Ward ( Faculty of History)
DTSTART:20201103T131500Z
DTEND:20201103T140000Z
UID:TALK152203@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Prof. Nebojša Radić
DESCRIPTION:Louis IX (1226-1270)\, more commonly known as 'Saint Louis'\, 
 is one of the most renowned medieval rulers of France. Much of what we kno
 w about his life\, reign and experiences of rulership centres either on th
 e years after 1244\, when the king swore the crusader's vow at Maubisson\,
  or on the process and impact of the king's canonisation following his dea
 th in 1270. Yet\, long before Louis was either crusader or saint – when 
 he was\, as yet\, unknown for his piety or legal reforms – he was a chil
 d king under the guardianship of his mother\, Queen Blanche of Castile. Ov
 er three hundred surviving charters date from between Louis's succession a
 s a twelve-year-old boy in 1226 and his twenty-first birthday in 1235\, ma
 ny still unpublished. They can provide important insights into a period wh
 en Louis was learning to be king and coming into his full adult power. In 
 this talk I will show how these documents illuminate important details reg
 arding Louis's early kingship\, complementing what we already know of his 
 later reign and challenging prevailing assumptions about a boy king's rule
 . Rather than being a time of confusion and crisis\, documents from the in
 itial months of Louis's reign show a methodical and coherent vision for th
 e boy's kingship\, warning against accepting the simplistic equation of a 
 child king with political disorder. In the years between 1226 and 1235\, L
 ouis\, under his mother's care\, received a formative education in develop
 ing networks of patronage\, rewarding loyal service\, promoting dynastic m
 emory\, and the importance of the royal family\; themes which continued to
  be important throughout the king's life.\n\n
LOCATION:Online (ask organizers for link)
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