Louis VII de France Roi de France ^{5 6 7}

   Another name for Louis was Louis VII "The Younger" de France.

  General Notes:

LOUIS de France, son of LOUIS VI King of France & his wife Adélaïde de Maurienne [Savoie] (1120-Paris, Palais Royal de la Cité 18/19 Sep 1180, bur Abbaye cistercienne de Notre-Dame-de-Barbeaux near Fontainebleau, transferred 1817 to l'église de l'Abbaye royale de Saint-Denis). His parentage is recorded by Orderic Vitalis. He became heir to the throne on the death of his older brother in 1131. Consecrated associate-king 25 Oct 1131, Notre-Dame de Reims, he received effective power from his father 28 Oct 1135, due to the latter's ill health. He succeeded his father in 1137 as LOUIS VII "le Jeune/le Pieux" King of France. Duke of Aquitaine, by right of his first wife, 8 Aug 1137 at Bordeaux. He declared war against Thibaut IV Comte de Champagne, who was fighting Raoul Comte de Vermandois, laid siege to and captured Vitry, but signed a peace treaty there in 1143. After the fall of Edessa in 1146, Pope Eugenius III addressed a bull to Louis VII 1 Dec 1145 urging a new crusade. He assembled his army at Metz 15 Jun 1147, and arrived in Constantinople 4 Oct 1147. He left the government in the hands of Suger Abbé de Saint-Denis, his brother Henri Archbishop of Reims and his cousin Raoul Comte de Vermandois. Although the crusade failed in its aim to capture Damascus end-Jul 1148, Louis VII gained much prestige as the first western king to lead a crusading army. After leaving Palestine in Summer 1149, he landed in Calabria where he discussed launching a new crusade aimed at taking vengeance on Byzantium with Roger II King of Sicily and Pope Eugenius III, but the scheme was later dropped for lack of support from Konrad III King of Germany who had entered an alliance with Emperor Manuel I. He arrived back in Paris end-1149. The Chronicle of Alberic de Trois-Fontaines records the death "XV Kal Oct" of "rexLudovicus pius" and his burial "abbatiam Cisterciensis ordinis de Sancto Portu…Barbel". The necrology of the abbey of Saint-Denis records the death "XIII Kal Oct" of "Ludovicus rex".

m firstly (Bordeaux, Cathedral of Saint-André 22 Jul 1137, annulled for reasons of consanguinity Château de Beaugency 21 Mar 1152) as her first husband, ELEONORE Dss of Aquitaine , daughter of GUILLAUME X Duke of Aquitaine, GUILLAUME VIII Comte de Poitou & his first wife Eléonore de Châtellerault (Nieul-sur-Autize, Vendée or Château de Belin, Guyenne or Palais d'Ombrière, Bordeaux 1122-Abbaye de Fontevrault 1 Apr 1204, bur Abbaye de Fontevrault). The Chronicle of Alberic de Trois-Fontaines names "Alienor Guilielmi filia comits Pictavorum et Aquitanie ducis" as wife of "regi Francie Ludovico". She succeeded her father 9 Apr 1137 as Dss of Aquitaine Ctss de Saintonge, Angoûmois, Limousin, Auvergne, Bordeaux & Agen. She left France with her husband in Jun 1147 on the Second Crusade. She married secondly (Poitiers or Bordeaux Cathedral 18 May 1152) Henri Comte d'Anjou et du Maine Duke of Normandy, who succeeded in 1153 as Henry II King of England. The Continuator of Florence of Worcester records the death "XII Kal Apr" [1204] of "regina Alienor" and her burial "ad Fontem Ebraldi".

m secondly (Cathedral of Sainte Croix, Orléans ([Jan/Jul] 1154) Infanta doña CONSTANZA de Castilla, daughter of don ALFONSO VII King of Castile and León & his first wife Berenguela de Barcelona ([1138]-6 Oct 1160, bur église de l'Abbaye royale de Saint-Denis). This second marriage of King Louis is recorded by Matthew of Paris, who calls her father "Aldefonsi regis Hispaniæ cuius regni caput civitas est Tholetum". The De Rebus Hispaniæ of Rodericus Ximenes names "Sancium et Fernandum, Elisabeth et Beatiam" as the children of "Aldefonsi Hispaniarum Regis" and his wife "Berengariam", specifying that "Elisabeth" (error for Constantia) married "Ludovico Regi Francorum". She was consecrated Queen Consort in 1154 at Orléans, église Sainte-Croix. Robert of Torigny records the death in 1160 of "Constantia regina Franciæ" while giving birth to a daughter. The necrology of the abbey of Saint-Denis records the death "II Non Oct" of "Constantia regina filia regis Hispanie".

m thirdly (Paris, Cathedral of Notre-Dame 13 Nov 1160) ALIX de Blois, daughter of THIBAUT IV "le Grand" Comte de Blois, Comte de Troyes/Champagne& his wife Mathilde von Sponheim [Carinthia] ([1140]-Paris 4 or 13 Jun 1206, bur Pontigny, Yonne, église de l'Abbaye cistercienne). William of Tyre names her as "Ala filia Theobaldi senioris" when recording her marriage. The Chronicon Hanoniense names "Alam sororem…Henrici comitis Campanensis" as the wife of "Ludovicus rex". The Chronicle of Alberic de Trois-Fontaines names "Adela Francorum regina" as the youngest of the six daughters of "comes Campanie Theobaldus", and in a later passage names "filia comitis Theobaldi…Adala" as mother of the wife of Alexios Komnenos. She was anointed queen after her marriage in Notre-Dame de Paris. Regent of France for her son King Philippe II Jun-Dec 1191, during his absence abroad. The Chronicle of Alberic de Trois-Fontaines records the death "1206…Non Iun" of "Adela regina Francorum mater regis Philippi". The necrology of the abbey of Saint-Denis records the death "Id Jun" of "Ala Francorum regina, mater Philippi regis". The Chronique de Guillaume de Nangis records the death in 1206 of "la reine Adèle, mère de Philippe roi de France" at Paris and her burial "en Bourgogne, à Pontion".

Mistress (1): ---. The name of the mistress of King Louis VII is not known.

King Louis VII & his first wife had two children: Marie and Alix.

  Events

• Ruled: 1137-1180.

Louis married Aliénor d'Aquitaine Duchesse d'Aquitaine, daughter of Guillaume X d'Aquitaine Duc d'Aquitaine (X), Comte de Poitou (VIII) and Aénor de Châtellerault, in 1154 in Cathédrale Sainte-Croix, Orléans, Loiret, Centre, 45000, FR.¹ (Aliénor d'Aquitaine Duchesse d'Aquitaine was born in 1122 in Château de Belin, Belin-Béliet, Gironde, Aquitaine, 33830, FR,^{8 9 10} died on 1 Apr 1204 in Abbaye Notre-Dame de Fontevraud, Fontevraud-L'Abbaye, Maine-et-Loire, Pays de la Loire, 49590, FR ^{9 10 11} and was buried in Abbaye Notre-Dame de Fontevraud, Fontevraud-L'Abbaye, Maine-et-Loire, Pays de la Loire, 49590, FR.)

Louis next married Constanza de Castilla y León, daughter of Alfonso VII de Castilla y León Rey de León y de Castilla and Berenguela de Barcelona, in 1154 in Cathédrale Sainte-Croix, Orléans, Loiret, Centre, 45000, FR.^{1 2 3} (Constanza de Castilla y León was born about 1138,² died on 6 Oct 1160 ^{1 2 3} and was buried in Abbaye de Saint-Denis [now Cathédrale royale de Saint-Denis], 1 Place de la Légion d'Honneur, Saint-Denis, Île-de-France, 93200, FR ².). The cause of her death was In childbirth.

Louis next married Adèle de Blois, daughter of Thibaut [IV] de Blois Comte de Blois and Mathilde von Sponheim, in 1154 in Cathédrale Sainte-Croix, Orléans, Loiret, Centre, 45000, FR.^{1 4} (Adèle de Blois was born about 1140 in Blois, Loir-et-Cher, Centre, FR,¹ died on 4 Jun 1206 in Paris, Île-de-France, FR ^{1 4} and was buried in Abbaye de Pontigny, Pontigny, Yonne, Bourgogne, 89230, FR.)