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• 1 2021-11-03T13:49:16-07:00 When was this made? 10 plain 2023-01-14T09:47:22-08:00 by Augusta Holyfield '22
  
  The manuscript was created between 1244 and 1254, the decade surrounding King Louis IX of France's first crusade. King Louis IX was born in 1214 and ruled France from 1226 to 1270, taking the throne when he was just 12 years old. During his reign he defended France against rival kingdoms, expanded his territory, and reformed the French legal system. The kingdom of France experienced a economic and political golden age under his leadership.
  
  King Louis IX chose to participate in the Seventh Crusade (1248–1254) in order to keep a vow he made while praying for recovery from a serious illness. The goal of the Seventh Crusade was the defeat the Ayyubid dynasty in Egypt and Syria, thereby clearing the path to the Holy Land. Louis iX and his army sailed to Egypt, landing in early June of 1249. They quickly captured the port of Damietta, but their march through the Nile River delta to Cairo went slowly. Unused to the summer heat and the tidal patterns of the Nile, it was difficult for the crusaders to make progress. On February 8th of 1250, the crusaders won a Pyrrhic victory against the Egyptian army, and were eventually forced to retreat back to Damietta. The Battle of Fariskur on April 6th was the last major battle of the Seventh Crusade. The Crusaders were annihilated and King Louis IX was captured. After a ransom of 400,000 livres tournois were paid and Damietta was surrendered, King Louis was released and lived in Jerusalem for 4 years. He returned to France in the spring of 1254 with his surviving army. 
  
  For another object associated with the Seventh Crusade and the crusaders' defeat in Egypt, see the Sword Pommel of Pierre de Dreux.