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- Louis VIII the Lion, was the son of Philip II Augustus, King of the Franks and Isabelle of Hainaut. Louis was the King of France from 1223 to 1226 and a member of the house of Capet, as he was a direct descendant of Hughes Capet circa 940–996.
His mother died in 1190, giving birth to twins sons, and Louis inherited her dowry and the title of Count of Artois, which he held until his father died, and the title reverted to the crown when Louis became King of France in 1223.
After lengthy negotiations between his father, Phillip, King of France and John Lackland, King of England, and as a condition of the Treaty of Le Goulet between these two, Louis was married on 23 May 1200, at the age of 12, to Richard's sister's daughter, Blanche of Castile, also 12 at the time and born in Spain. Her grandmother, Eleanor of Aquitane, would cross the Pyrenees, bringing the girl from Spain to France. The marriage was finally consummated in 1205 and Blanche would bear the first of thirteen children.
When the English Barons rebelled against King John Lackland of England, they offered the throne to Louis, who was able to land at the Isle of Thanet with an army in May of 1216 and march to London with very little resistance. There, Louis was proclaimed king by his supporters, including King Alexander II of Scotland. Louis captured Winchester in June, but when King John died in October, the barons turned their favors to John's son, Henry III, even thought he was only nine years old. English forces led by William Marshall finally forced Louis to the Treaty of Lambeth in September of 1217, Louis promising not to attack England, agreeing that he really never was king, and Louis was given a compensation of 10,000 marks.
King Philip died on July 14, 1223, Louis was coronated August 6th at the cathedral at Reims. Louis would continue to battle his father's enemies, resulting in the capture of Avignon and Languedoc, yet he reversed his father's ruling of usury for Jews, creating havoc for both the church and the barons who were in disagreement as some were profiting from the lending. The conflicts would continue until Louis's death on November 8th, 1226 during his travels from the chateau at Montpensier, Puy-de-Dome Auvergne back to Paris. His son, Louis IX succeeded him on the throne.
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1187 - 1226 (39 years)
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