Joinville Life Of St. Louis Summary

In the expect of Joinville’s Life of St. Louis much information and detail is given about King Louis IX of France’s first crusade through the perspective of John, Lord of Joinville, nobleman and companion of Louis. In his chronicles, Lord John of Joinville gives insight of the crusade from its inception until till its bitter end. Joinville’s document gives a personal and historical perspective of the mentality of the crusaders and insight of their struggles, aspiration, and thoughts as they endured much difficulty and unexpected horrors through their six year religious journey. The official royal conversion into Christianity set a precedent for the future of France and the establishment of Christianity throughout the country that would later result in being part of the French identity.
Motivation for going on the crusade
Faith had been the strongest motivation for going on the crusade and it served as an reinforcement when the journey became difficult to many and fatal to some. King Louis IX is described by Joinville as a man who
John of Joinville had his own financial troubles as he was supporting nine knights and three banners with a limited income in efforts to escape worldly dependency as he states, “…had it not been for the aid and assistance of God, who never forgot me, I should have never been able to support such a burden as I bore for six years, the time I was on my pilgrimage in the Holy Land” (2). At the beginning of the journey, Joinville “did not possess more than 1,200 livres of yearly revenue” and he was responsible for a total of twelve other people (4). By the time they had arrived to Cyprus, Joinville had “but 12 livres in gold and silver, after paying the freight of the ship” and was nearly abandoned by his knights because of his lack of finances (5). Joinville would later thank God and St. Louis for providing him with 800 livres