Art and Crusade in the Age of Saint Louis

Art and Crusade in the Age of Saint Louis

The reign of Louis IX of France is widely recognized as one of the most important in the history of medieval France. Art and the Crusade in the Age of St. Louis examines the art patronage of the French king during the formative period of his reign. Focusing on the Sainte-Chapelle (the palace chapel and reliquary constructed in Paris) and the Arsenal Old Testament (an illuminated Bible made to commemorate the king’s disastrous crusade to the Holy Land). Daniel Weiss examines these works within their social, political, and religious contexts. This study offers a new perspective on the meaning of art during a defining moment in the history of medieval France and, more generally, thirteenth-century society in the East and West.