powered his reason, and his death immediately followed. He was attended by an antient servant, who exhorted him to confide himself in his calamity to the Consoler of the afflicted. But Boniface made no reply. His eyes were haggard, his mouth white with foam, and he gnashed his teeth in silence. He passed the day without nourishment, the night without repose; and when he found that his strength began to fail, and that his end was not far distant, he removed all his attendants, that there might be no witness to his final feebleness and his parting struggle. After some interval, his domestics burst into the room, and beheld his body stretched on the bed, stiff and cold. The staff which he carried bore the mark of his teeth, and was covered with foam; his white locks were stained with blood; and his head was so closely wrapped in the counterpane, that he was believed to have anticipated his impending death by violence and suffocation *.

This took place on the 10th of October; and precisely on the same day, after an interval of three hundred and three years, his body was dug up, and transferred to another place of sepulture. Spondanus †, the Catholic historian, was at Rome at the moment. He relates the circumstances, and mentions the eagerness with which the whole city rushed to the spectacle. His body was found, covered with the pontifical vestments, still fresh and uncorrupted. His hands, which his enemies had asserted to have been bitten away in his rage, were so free from decay and mutilation, with every finger entire, that even the veins and nerves appeared to be swelling with flesh and life.

After the death of Boniface the French interest presently prevailed in the College; and in the year 1305 the archbishop of Bourdeaux, a native of France, was elected to the chair. He took the title of Clement V., and presently transferred the papal residence from Rome to Avignon.

CHAPTER XXI.

(I.) On Lewis IX. of France-His public motives-contrasted with those of Constantine and Charlemagne-His virtues, piety, and charity-Particulars of his civil legislation-His superstition-The original Crown of Thorns-its removal to Paris-its reception by the king. His death-His miracles and canonization-The Bull of Boniface VIII.-(II.) On the Inquisition.—Whether St. Lewis contributed to its establishment-Origin of the Inquisition-Office of St. Dominic and his contemporaries-Erection of a separate tribunal at Toulouse-by Gregory IX.-The authority then vested in the Mendicants-Its unpopularity in France-Co-operation of St. Lewis-Conduct of Frederic II.-Of Innocent IV.-Limits to the prevalence of the Inquisition.-(III.) On the Gallican Liberties.-Remonstrance of the Prelates of France respecting excommunications. Firmness of Lewis-His visit to the Cistercian chapter. The supplication of the monks, and the reply of the King-Early spirit and sense of independence in the French clergy-The Pragmatic Sanction of St. Lewis-Its principle-The six articles which constitute it-Consequences of the policy of Innocent III.-(IV.) On the Crusades. Remarks on the character and circumstances of the first. Crusade-Exertions of St. Bernard for the second Crusade-its fatal result-Excuse of that abbot -Causes of the fall of the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem-Third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh

*Sismondi, Rep. Ital., end of chap. xxiv. Concerning which Boniface (says Matthew of Westminster) a certain versifier wrote as follows:

Ingreditur Vulpes, regnat Leo, sed Canis exit;

Re tandem vera si sic fuit, ecce Chimæra !—

Flores Histor. ad ann. 1303. Others give the same in the form of a prophesy, delivered by Morone during his imprisonment. Ascendisti ut Vulpes, regnabis ut Leo, et morieris ut Canis. Antiq. Eccles. Britann. ad ann. 1295.

Spondanus continued the History of Baronius from the year 1197, in which it con. cludes, to 1646. See also Bzovius on this same occurrence.-Ann. 1303,

Crusades-The eighth and ninth. St. Lewis-Termination of the Crusades, and final loss of Palestine-General remarks-(1.) On the Origin and first motives of religious pilgrimage-Treatment of first pilgrims by the Saracens-Pilgrimage during the 10th and 11th centuries-Conquest of Palestine by the Turks-Practice of private feuds and warfare in Europe-prevalent in the 10th century-The superstitious spirit of the same age-associated with the military-General predisposition in favour of a Crusade-Failure of Sylvester II. and Gregory VII.-(2.) On the Objects of the Crusades-what they were-what they were not-The object of the first distinguished from that of following Crusades-Conduct and policy of the sovereigns of Europe-Of the VaticanGradual change in its objects.-(3.) On the Results of the Crusades—Advantages produced by them -Few and partial-on government-on commerce-on general civilization-Evils occasionedReligious wars-Immoral influence-Corruption of church discipline-Canonical penance-Introduction of the Plenary Indulgence-its abuses-The Jubilee-Interests of the clergy. Note (A). On the collections of papal decretals-That of Gratian-the Liber Sextus-Clementines, &c.—Note (B). On the University of Paris-The Four Faculties-Foundation of the Sorbonne.-Note (C). On certain Theological Writers-Rise and progress of the Scholastic System of Theology-Peter the Lombard-His Book of the Sentences'-St. Thomas Aquinas-His history and productionsSt. Bonaventure-the character of his theology-The Realists and Nominalists-or Thomists and Scotists.-The Immaculate Conception.

Iris seldom that the stream of ecclesiastical history receives any important contribution from the biography of kings. Our more peaceful course is indeed perpetually troubled by the eddies of secular polity, and most so in the most superstitious ages. The names of Constantine and Charlemagne have, it is also true, deserved an eminent rank among the heroes of the church. But if we pass over the legendary tales of the monarch-monks of the darkest days, we shall scarcely discover any other powerful prince whose policy was formed either on an ardent sense of religion, or an attachment to ecclesiastical interests, until we arrive at the reign of Lewis IX. And here we must at once distinguish the principles of that prince from those either of Constantine or of Charlemagne. By whatsoever motives of genuine piety those two sovereigns may really have been influenced, it is certain that their ecclesiastical institutions were chiefly regulated for political ends. It was their object-an object worthy of their royal rank and virtues-to improve the moral and religious condition of their subjects through the instrumentality of Christ's ministers; and at the same time to raise the dignity and character of those, whose sacred office, when they are not the worst of men, is calculated to make them the best. But the actions of Lewis were not guided by any such considerations. They proceeded from that which it was the purpose of the others' policy to create an absorbing Christian piety, with its train of concomitant excellencies. On this subject there is no difference among historians, except in as far as some are more disposed to ridicule the superstitions excesses into which he fell, through the practice of his age, than to do justice to the lofty motives whence his virtues proceeded.

SECTION I.

On Lewis IX.

Lewis IX. was born about the year 1215, and came to the throne at a very early age. He was educated by a mother named Blanche, who was eminent for her devotion to God and the church; and we should here remark, that he drew his first breath, and received his earliest notions of ecclesiastical polity, among the groans of the suffering Albigeois. The sanctity of his private life was not sullied by any stain, nor was it clouded by any austerity. Never, since I was born,' (says Joinville,) did I hear him speak ill of any one.' He loved his subjects; and had his lot been cast in happier days, he would have loved mankind. But the principles of his church so contracted those of his religion, that his benevolence could never expand itself into philanthropy.

He was devout in private prayer, as well as a constant attendant on the offices of the church. On the one hand, his submission to the admonitions, and even to the personal corrections, of his confessor is diligently recorded; and on the other, his adoration of the Holy Cross is recounted with no less admiration. He would descend from his seat, and advancing in a homely garment, with his head, neck, and feet bare, and his children behind him, bend with such profound humility before the emblems of his salvation, that the spectators were moved to tears of affection and piety. He appears, too, from the same accounts, to have washed the feet of monks and of mendicants, by a very common exercise of self-abasement. And we may overlook this foolish affectation in that substantial excellence, which distributed his charitable benefactions without thrift or partiality, through every class of those who needed them. The foundation of many churches and monasteries secured at the same time the gratitude and fidelity of his spiritual subjects.

Hume has ascribed to Lewis IX., together with the mean and abject superstition of a monk, the magnanimity of a hero, the integrity of a patriot, the humanity of a philosopher'-That insatiable zeal for crusades, which neither his reason, which was powerful, nor his humanity, nor his philosophy, nor all united, were even in later life sufficient to allay, afforded at the same time the most pernicious proofs of his superstition and his heroism. But his patriotism was more honourably displayed in the internal regulation of his kingdom; in the removal of abuses, in the advancement of civilization; and in this office, (as his domestic biographer observes,) he so combined the secular with the spiritual interests of his subjects, that he seemed to discharge by the same acts the double office of priest and king †. He detested the practice of usury; and to that motive we may perhaps attribute his hatred for the Jews, who exercised the trade exclusively. Still we must doubt the wisdom, while we censure the cruelty, of the edict, by which he expelled them from the country. He enacted a very severe (according to our notions, a barbarous law against blasphemy. While we praise his bold, though seemingly ineffectual, attempts to restrain the moral profligacy of his nobles, we shall scarcely less applaud the vigour, with which he exerted against that body the power of royalty, in a cause almost equally sacred. It was a leading object of his policy, to protect the lower classes of his subjects against the brutal § oppression of the aristocracy; and to unite the interests of the crown and the people against that privileged order, which was equally hostile to the independence of both. Justice he commonly admi

See the book' De Vita et Actibus Ludovici,' &c. by his chaplain, William (Carnotensis) of Chartres; and his Vita, Conversatio et Miracula,' by F. Gaufridus his confessor. One object of the latter is to point out the exact correspondence of the character of Lewis with that of Josiah. The particular description and changes of his coarse raiment ; the days of his fasting, of his abstinence from meat, or from fruit and fish, or from every kind of fish except one, or from every thing except bread and water, and such like details of his devotional observances, are related by both writers; especially by the confessor, and in his 17th chapter. The king's eleemosynary liberality forms the worthier subject of that which follows. Both his biographers were Dominicans.

+ Quod etiam quodammodo regale sacerdotium, aut sacerdotale regimen videretur pariter exercere.'-Gulielm. Carnotensis.

He caused the lips (or, as some say, the forehead) of those convicted, to be seared with a hot iron.

§ Having learnt, on one occasion, that a nobleman had hanged three children for the offence of hunting rabbits, Lewis condemned him to capital punishment. But the rest of the nobility united with so much determination to preserve the life of their fellow-tyrant and the prerogatives of their order, that the king was obliged to commute the punishment for deprivation of property.

nistered in person, and tempered it with his natural clemency. At the same time he endeavoured to purify its sources by permanent alterations, and to secure at least for future ages the blessings, which he might despair effectually to impart to his own. Accordingly, he struck at the root of the evil, and made it the grand object of his efforts, to substitute trial by evidence for the judgments of God;' and most especially for the most sanguinary among them, the decision by duel. His ordinances on those subjects were obeyed within the boundaries of his own domains: but he had not the power to enforce them universally. The Barons, who were severally the legislators in their own estates, adhered to the venerable establishments of former days; and a more general diffusion of knowledge was required, before the plainest reason, aided even by royal authority, could prevail against the inveterate sanctity of instituted absurdities.

It was the same with those humane endeavours to arrest the practice of private warfare, in which he anticipated the course of civilization by more than two centuriest. But when he despaired of effecting this object at once, he attempted at least to mitigate the mischief by a judicious prohibition-that neither party should commence hostilities till forty days after the offence had been offered. Thus was he compelled to temporize with a great national evil, of which he felt at the same time the whole extent, as well as his own incapacity to correct it. From these instances we may observe, that the civil legislation of St. Louis was generally founded on wise policy, and that it always sprang from benevolent motives. We shall presently notice some of his ecclesiastical enactments; but, at the same time, it must be admitted, that the charge of abject superstition' alleged against him by the philosophical historian is not less just, than the merits also ascribed to him; nor will it here be out of place to recount one celebrated incident in support of this imputation.

Reception of the Crown of Thorns.

The History of the Church comprises the records of superstition, which in those corrupt ages was indeed so interwoven with piety, that it is rare to find them separate. The character of St. Lewis particularly exemplified their combination; it may be perpetually detected in his warlike enterprises; but there is not one among his spiritual adventures which better illustrates himself and his age than the following:-The original Crown of Thorns had been long preserved at Constantinople as the most precious and venerable among the relics of Christ; yet such were at this time the necessities of the government, that the holy treasure was consigned in pawn to the government of Venice. It was delivered over to

* I have often seen the saint,' (says Joinville,) after he had heard mass, in summer, come out to the Forest of Vincennes, and seat himself at the foot of an oak, and make us sit all round him. And those who had any business came and spoke to him without any officer giving them hinderance.-And sometimes he would come to the Garden of Paris, and have carpets spread for us to sit near him; and then he administered justice to his people, as he did at Vincennes.'-Histoire du Roy St. Louis, p. 23. Edit. Paris, 1617. This history, which is the life of an admirable king and Christian, by a candid, loyal, unaffected soldier, is a beautiful specimen of inartificial biography. But, unhappily, the most beneficial, and, therefore, the noblest acts of the monarch, are not those which have most attracted the attention of the soldier. The details of his campaigns, and many anecdotes of his private life, are related with minuteness and seeming accuracy; but his great legislative enactments are slightly, or not at all noticed.

The right of private feud cannot be considered as abolished, until nearly the end of the 15th century. In collecting a large and, for those days, a valuable library, and in encouraging the progress of knowledge among his subjects, St. Lewis opened the only certain path to their civilization.

Some attribute this regulation to Philippe Auguste.

the commissioners of the Republic, who immediately set sail, in a wintry and inclement season, full of religious confidence, and were preserved (as it was thought) through a perilous voyage by the holiness of their charge. The pledge, which the Greeks were too poor or too wise to redeem, was eagerly purchased by St. Lewis, and the relic, after a few months at Venice of repose and adoration, continued its pilgrimage to the west. During the course of an overland journey it was again distinguished by the favour of the elements; and though the rain fell abundantly during the nights, not a drop descended by day to interrupt its progress. At length when it arrived at Troyes in Champagne, the event was notified to the king at Paris, and he instantly set off to welcome it, accompanied by the Queen Blanche his mother, by his brothers, by some prelates, and other nobles. The royal company met their holy acquisition in the neighbourhood of Sens, and after they had uncovered the case and beheld the object, and moistened it with pious tears, they assembled the clergy of the diocese and formed a solemn procession towards the city. As they approached the gates, the king and his eldest brother, the Count d'Artois, received the venerated burden on their shoulders; and in this manner, with naked feet, and no other covering than a shirt *, they carried it, in the midst of the adoring crowd, into the cathedral. Thence it proceeded to Paris, and there its arrival was hailed with a repetition of the same degrading solemnities. The whole clergy and the whole people were in motion, and again the two illustrious brothers, barefoot and naked as before, supported and deposited it in the destined sanctuary. An annual festival was instituted to commemorate an event of such national importance-the introduction of this new palladium. But its value was soon afterwards diminished by the importation of a formidable rival for the popular adoration. It was not long before the royal enthusiast succeeded in procuring some substantial fragments of the real Cross; and this acquisition again furnished him with another pretext to multiply to his lively subjects the occasions of religious festivity.

:. In the year 1270, St. Lewis died before Tunis, while in the prosecution of his second crusade. His last words were said to have His Death, been these†- Lord, I will enter into thine house; I will worship in thy holy temple, and give glory to thy name. Into thy hands I commend my spirit.' From the beginning of his life to its latest breath the same principle predominated, the same religious fervour (however it may sometimes have been perverted) influenced all his actions; and, perhaps, in the interminable catalogue of her Saints, the Church of Rome cannot number a name more worthy of that celestial dignity than Lewis IX. But the merit to which that pious monarch was chiefly indebted for his heavenly office, was not that to which he had ever particularly pretended. His eminent virtues, his religious life and death, even his services to the Catholic Church, might seem to have entitled him to that high reward. But those claims had been wholly insufficient, had it not also been conclusively attested that he had performed many manifest and astonishing miracles.

The canonization of Lewis IX. took place twenty-seven years after his death, and almost the whole of that time was employed in collecting

* Vita et Convers. S. Ludovici, &c., per F. Gaufridum. Aug. 11, 1239, was the day consecrated by this exploit.

So says William of Chartres, and Boniface VIII. in his Bull of Canonization, confirms it.