in England were then in arms against John, who was abandoned by almost all the world. Philip fummoned him to ap-. pear before his court at Paris, and he not appearing, Philip went through all the minute forms of law; John was convicted of felony, and as fuch, Normandy, and all his poffeffions. in France, were judged to be forfeited to that crown. Το give this fentence effect, Philip entered Normandy with a ftrong army, and though Chateau-Galliard, and fome other places made a brave refiftance, yet John unaccountably re-i tired to England. Philip reduced firft the higher, then the lower, Normandy, and at laft the city of Rouen itself, reannexing them all to his own crown, after they had been feparated from it three hundred years. Philip died at Mante, in the fifty-ninth year of his age, and the forty-fourth of his reign. The great fuccefs he met with in reviving the luftre of the French monarchy, has screened his memory from the cenfure due to the many acts of meannefs, barbarity and treachery he perpetrated in establishing his greatnefs. It must be allowed at the fame time, that he was the legiflator and civilizer of his country. In thefe refpects, he was one of the greateft kings that France had feen fince the days of Charlemagne. He improved the military difcipline and fortifications of the kingdom. If he amassed money, it was to lay it out on the nobleft purpofes; namely, in mak ing roads, building bridges, and raising magnificent edifices, CHAP. LXI. -- - -- Lewis VIII-Crufade against the Albigenfes.Lewis IX. His Character. The laft Crufade. Atchievements of Lewis. He is taken Prisoner and releafed. He dies in Africa-Philip III.-Sicilian Vefpers-Inftitution of Parliaments, and admiffion of the Commons. Suppreffion of the Knights Templars-Flemish Expedition.-Domeftic Troubles.-Philip's Death and Character.Lewis X. furnamed the Boifterous. Philip the Tall. Wisdom of the Salique Law. Charles IV. the last of the Capatine Kings. A. D. 1223. HILIP left the kingdom of France twice as large as he had received it; fo that future acquifitions became eafy to his fucceffors. Lewis VIII. however, did not enlarge the monarchy. His short reign was chiefly spent in a crufade against the Albigenfes. Chriftians did not always affume the badge of the crofs to fight against infidels. The madnefs of bigotry, and a per a perfecuting spirit produced a crufade for the deftruction of Chriftians, Oppofition to errors in doctrine, as well as to the pride and ambition of the clergy, had rendered many of the fouthern provinces of France obnoxious to the church of Rome. They refused to acknowledge, as minifters of the religion of the humble Jefus, men who were deftitute of humility, meeknefs, and felf-denial. These witneffes for the truth were called, by a general name, Albigenfes. Innocent III. alarmed at their principles and oppofition to the clergy, determined to extirpate them. A crufade was preached against them; and the Pope having prevailed upon Lewis, almost against his will, to put himself at the head of it, he marched with his army into Languedoc, where he demanded entrance into Avignon. This city had belonged to the kings of Naples and Sicily, as kings of Arles and Provence, and having protected many of the Albigenfes, it had been often devoted to deftruction by the papal excommunications. The people offered Lewis entrance into their city, if he would give them any affurance of quarter, which he durft not venture to do without the Pope's leave. This rendered their defence very defperate for eight months, and then Lewis, feeing his army reduced to a handful, by the fword, diftempers, and famine, granted them a capitulation. Lewis was then preparing to return to Paris, but falling fick on the road, he died at Montpenfier, in the thirty-ninth year of his age. We are told by an English hiftorian *, who lived at this time, that during the fiege of Avignon, famine and peftilence prevailed in the French camp, and killed all kinds of cattle and beafts of burden; that the French being obliged to forage at a great distance from their camp, were cut off by the friends of the befieged, and parties from the town; that the vaft number of dead bodies bred fuch a number of gnats, flies and vermin of every kind, as to render it impoffible for the furvivors either to fleep or eat with comfort, or fafety. The king of France, upon this, ordered all the dead bodies to be thrown into the Rhone, and retired to Montpenfier, that e might avoid the infection. While he remained there, execting every day to hear that the town was furrendered, Tenry count of Champagne applied to him for leave to return me, the forty days being expired, for which he had engaged fervice. The king rejected his fuit, and swore, that if he fifted in it, he would lay wafte the count's dominions h fire and fword. The fame hiftorian informs us of a report then prevailing he count's being deeply in love with the queen, which, together with the affront he had received, induced him to give the king poison. The legates and prelates about his perfon gave out, upon the death of Lewis, that he was only indif pofed, but that he would recover in a fhort time; and that his orders to the general officers of his army, were to push the fiege with all imaginable vigour. The citizens, however, continuing to make a refolute defence, the legates thought proper to mention an accommodation, and to invite twelve of the chief citizens to a conference. The legate then proposed that he and the other prelates, with their trains only, might be permitted to enter the city, to difcourfe with the inhabitants concerning the ftate of their fouls, and that they might have an opportunity of clearing them to his holiness from the imputation of herefy. The deputies declared, that their countrymen were refolyed to endure all extremities, rather than fubmit to French tyranny; but the prelates taking a folemn oath that they meant no more than they pretended, the deputies were, with great difficulty, prevailed upon to take them with them into the town. The gates being opened, a party of the French, as had been preconcerted, rufhed in, and getting the better of the centinels, put the inhabitants to the fword, and became mafters of the city, which they plundered. The Pope, at this time, established the court of inquifition, which, in the name of the God of peace, has exercised for feveral centuries the moft fhocking cruelties. Of all the unjuft tribunals established upon earth, the inquifition is the moft iniquitous. This tribunal allows fufpicions to be good proof, the appearance of a crime to be really a crime, fuftains the evidence of the moft infamous informer, and, without mercy, commits thousands of unfortunate victims to the flames. The power of this infernal tribunal is now much less than it once was; and we may indulge the hope, that the time is not diftant, when it will be totally annihilated. The innocent Albigenfes, purfued by their enemies, fell by the fwords of the crufaders, or expired in the midst of flames kindled by the inquifition. Many cities were pillaged and deftroyed, and their inhabitants maffacred, while the priefts, who accompanied the armies, were the first to set fire to the towns and villages. Raymond, count of Thouloufe, fovereign' of Languedoc, was excommunicated for attempting to affift his fubjects; and to fave his life, obliged to humble himfelf before a haughty legate, and fubmit to the moft ignominious penance. But all the cruelties Rome could inflict, did not wholly extirpate the Albigenfes; they continued till the reformation, and became a part of the Proteftants. A. D. 1226. Lewis IX. commonly called St. Lewis, was fcarce twelve years of age when his father died. During his minority, a variety of dif orders orders arofe in France, occafioned chiefly by the ambition of the powerful vaffals of the crown. But all these were happily composed by the prudence and firmness of Blanche of Caftile, the regent and queen-mother, Lewis no fooner came of age than he was univerfally ac knowledged to be the greatest prince in Europe; and his character is, perhaps, the moft fingular in the annals of history. To the mean and abject fuperftition of a monk, he united all the courage of a hero; nay, what may be deemed still more wonderful, the juftice and integrity of the fincere patriot; and, where religion was not concerned, the mildnefs and hu manity of the true philofopher. Being feized with a dangerous illness, which deprived him of his fenfes, and almoft of his life, his heated imagination took fire, and he thought he heard a voice commanding him to fhed the blood of infidels. He accordingly made a vow, as foon as he recovered to engage in a crufade. His mother, wife, and council, ufed every argument to diffuade him from fuch an undertaking. But the circumftances of his kingdom, the intereft of his family, and the danger attending fo rafh an enterprise, were not fufficient to divert him from his defign. He was told that a rash vow is not binding, and that the first duty of a king is to confult the happiness of his people. This falutary advice made no impreffion on Lewis. After spending four years in preparation, and in fettling the government of his kingdom, which he left to the care of his mother, he fet out, accompanied by his queen, his three brothers, and almost all the knights of France. Edward, fon of Henry III. king of England, joined the crufade with a numerous body of nobility. The army embarked at Aguemortes, failed for Egypt, and landed near Damietta, a ftrong city, at the mouth of the Nile. The Mahometans, who lined the fhore, attempted, in vain, to hinder the Chriftians from landing. Lewis, in complete armour, leaped firft on fhore. The city of Damietta, which had formerly refifted the attack of the Chriftians for fixteen months, was evacuated by the infidels on the firft affault. But the career of the French king, as he proceeded towards Cairo, was checked by an inundation of the Nile, and by an epidemical disease which this occafioned in his camp. The barons and knights of France exhibited, under the command of their intrepid fovereign, an invincible contempt of danger. About two thousand of the flower of the army, led by the count of Artois, paffed the deep and rapid Nile, and with rafh valour affaulted the town of Maf foura. The confternation of the inhabitants difappeared when they learned that the main body of the French were feparated by the Nile from the affailants; and, before the Chriftians 3 Chriftians could arrive, the count of Artois and his compa nions had gloriously perifhed in the conflict. After an arduous conteft the French were victorious over the Saracens. This conqueft ferved only to increase their dirtrefs; they were compelled by the accumulating forces of the infidels, to shelter themselves in a strong camp; while the Nile was occupied by the gallies of Egypt, and the open country by the Arabs. All provifion was intercepted, and to retreat was impracticable. Lewis indeed might have escaped by fea; but he glorioufly difdained to forfake his fubjects in this diftrefs. After fuffering all the horrors of disease and famine, and the inceffant fire of the furrounding Saracens, the king, with his brothers, the count of Anjou, the chief part of his nobles, and the fmall remains of his army, were taken captives by the victorious infidels. The fplendor of his triumph was obfcured by the barbarity of the conquerors, who loaded even their royal prifoners with chains; and who, after having cruelly maffacred his fubjects who were unable to ranfom their lives, expofed their heads on the walls of Cairo, the capital of Egypt. The strength of Dameitta, to which he had intrufted the queen and his treafures, was the fecurity of Lewis; who at length obtained his deliverance, with that of his queen and his foldiers, by reftoring that city, and paying four hundred thousand pieces of filver. Thus ended the crufades, undertaken for the recovery of the holy land. Thefe expeditions were the confequence of the religious fentiments and manners of the middle ages, and a lafting proof of the bad effect of wrong principles. The Chriftians of Europe, took no farther concern in the affairs of their brethren in the east; and the fettlements they had made there, being deprived of affiftance, foon came to nothing. Lewis afterwards led a new army against the infidels of Africa, where he was feized with an epidemic diftemper, and died. His fon and fucceffor, Philip III. kept the field against the Moors, and faved the remains of the French army, which procured him the name of the Hardy. The most remarkable circumftance in the A D. 1270. reign of Philip III. a prince of fome merit, but much inferior to his father, is the intereft that he took in the affairs of his uncle Charles of Anjou, king of Naples and Sicily, whofe fubjects had for fome time fubmitted with indignation to his cruelty and tyranny. A confpiracy was formed under the aufpices of Michael Palæologus, the Greek emperor; a Sicilian nobleman having fecretly prepar ed |