The Making of Saint Louis: Kingship, Sanctity, and Crusade in the Later Middle Ages

352 Pages·2010·10.824 MB·English

by  M. Cecilia Gaposchkin

The Making of Saint Louis

THE MAKING OF
Saint L ou i s
Kingship, Sanctity, and Crusade
in the Later Middle Ages
M. Cecilia Gaposchkin
Cornell University Press
ithaca and london
Publication of this book has been aided by a grant from the Medieval Academy of America.
Copyright © 2008 by Cornell University
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thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from
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First published 2008 by Cornell University Press
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gaposchkin, M. Cecilia (Marianne Cecilia), 1970–
The making of Saint Louis : kingship, sanctity, and crusade in the later Middle Ages /
M.Cecilia Gaposchkin.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8014-4550-7 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Louis IX, King of France, 1214–1270—Cult. 2. Canonization—Political aspects—
France—History—To 1500. 3. Church and state—France—History—To 1500. 4. France—
Kings and rulers—Religious aspects. 5. France—Church history—987–1515. I. Title.
DC91.5.G37 2008
944'.023—dc22 2007052329
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Cloth printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Chris, in memoriam

Contents
List of Illustrations ix
List of Maps, Diagram, and Tables xi
Acknowledgments xiii
List of Abbreviations xv
Introduction 1
Areas of Inquiry, 4 Sources, 12 Plan of Inquiry, 18
1. The Making of a Saint, 1270–1297 21
1270: The Death of Louis IX and the Rhetoric of Saintliness, 25 1275:
Official Requests for Canonization, 30 Hagiography: Geoffrey of Beaulieu
and William of Chartres, 33 St.-Denis and the Canonization Inquest, 36
Canonization and the Constraints of Interpretation, 43
2. The Canonization of 1297 48
The Political Context: The First Phase of the Conflict between Boniface
VIII and Philip IV (1296–1297), 50 Boniface’s Interpretation of Louis’
Sanctity: The Texts, 51 Politics, Sanctity, and the Interpretation of Virtue, 57
James of Viterbo and the Duties of Kingship, 60 Philip’s Response, 63
3. Constructing the Cult: Bones, Altars, and Liturgical Offices 67
Philip at St.-Denis, 69 Philip at the Ste.-Chapelle, 72 Philip and the
Dominicans, 77 Other Princely Courts, 82 Saint Louis in the Kingdom of
Sicily, 85 The Scope of Commemoration, 86
viii Contents
Excursus: A Short Primer on the Structure of the Liturgical Office 93
4. Royal Sanctity and Sacral Kingship 100
The Dominican Contribution, 101 Constituency, 102 Modes of
Composition: Mapping Louis onto Scripture, 103 The Precepts of Good
Kingship: Humility and Justice, 106 Sacral Kingship, 107 Typology, 111
The Liturgical Readings: Beatus Ludovicus quondam Rex Francorum, 115
Dominicans Redux, 119 The Sanctity of Kingship, 123
5. The Monastic Louis: Cistercians and Dionysians 125
Cistercian Liturgical Commemoration and the Capetians, 126 Lauda
Celestis 1: The Cistercian Office, 128 The Image of Kingship in the Cistercian
Office, 129 Monastic Spirituality and the Liturgy, 131 Lauda Celestis3 in
Paris, 137 Saint Louis at St.-Denis, 139 Liturgy and Institutional
Identity, 151
6. The Franciscans’ Saint Louis and the Specter of Saint Francis 154
William of Saint-Pathus, 156 The Franciscan Liturgical Office for Louis, 158
Imitatio Christi, Renunciation, Stigmata, and the Crusades, 169 Alms,
Charity, and Religious Patronage, 175 Authority and Crusade among the
Franciscans, 179
7. Joinville 181
Chronology and Composition, 182 The Portrait of Louis in the Crusading
Narrative, 185 The Hagiographic Frame: Louis as Secular Saint, 188 Piety,
Kingship, Crusading, and Sanctity, 192
8. Private Devotion, Saintly Lineage, and Dynastic Sanctity 197
The Translation Office (Exultemus Omnes), 198 Books of Hours and the
“Hours of Louis” (Sanctus Voluntatem), 206 Dynasticism, Crusade, and
Legitimacy, 230 Louis, Capetians, Valois, 237
9. Conclusion 240
Appendix 1 Sources for the Liturgical Tradition 245
Appendix 2 Liturgical Offices for Saint Louis of France 250
Appendix 3 Sermons in Honor of Saint Louis (IX) 284
Appendix 4 Sermons Misidentified as in Honor of Louis IX in
Schneyer’s Repertorium 290
Bibliography 293
Index 317
Illustrations
1. Louis at sea; Louis in prison with miraculous delivery of
the breviary, from the chapel of Saint Louis at St.-Denis
(after Montfaucon) 142
2. Louis teaching justice; Louis chastised by his confessor, from
the chapel of Saint Louis at St.-Denis (after Montfaucon) 143
3. Louis gathering bones; Louis feeding a leper in bed, from the
chapel of Saint Louis at St.-Denis (after Montfaucon) 144
4. Louis’ death; veneration of Louis at St.-Denis by pilgrims, from
the chapel of Saint Louis at St.-Denis (after Montfaucon) 145
5. Louis administers to the sick, from the Hours of
Jeanne d’Evreux (142v.) 202
6. Breviary miracles, from the Hours of Jeanne d’Evreux (155r.) 203
7. Louis buries bones of Christians at Sidon, from the Hours of
Jeanne d’Evreux (159v.) 214
8. Education of Louis, from the Hours of Jeanne de Navarre (85v.) 215
9. Coronation of Louis IX, from the Hours of
Jeanne de Navarre (100v.) 216
10. Louis IX carrying the Crown of Thorns, from the Hours of
Jeanne de Navarre (102r.) 217
11. Louis IX carrying the Crown of Thorns, from the lost Savoy Hours (279r.) 218
12. Breviary miracle, from the Hours of Marie de Navarre (179r.) 219
13. Louis feeding lepers or the poor, from the Hours of
Marie de Navarre (185r.) 220
14. Louis and three others carry a sick person on a stretcher, from
the Hours of Marie de Navarre (190r.) 221