Frederick, on hearing of the outrage perpetrated upon him, called for his crown, and, placing it upon his head, exclaimed; “There it is; and before it shall be wrested from me my enemies shall know the terror of my arms. Let this pontiff tremble, who has broken every tie that bound me to him.” From that day, as history shows, the popes lost power ever again to lead united Europe. But for the pious zeal of one man, it is not probable that another crusading host would ever have set out against the Moslem. The hero of the seventh crusade was Louis IX., the “Good St. Louis” of France. He was the son of Louis VIII., who, Guizot says, “added to the history of France no glory, save that of having been the son of Philip Augustus, the husband of Blanche of Castile, and the father of St. Louis.” Blanche of Castile was a woman remarkable for her personal beauty and queenly bearing. She knew how to unite dignity of mien and elegance of estate with that suavity which wins the hearts of all. According to a contemporary, Matthew Paris, she was “the most discreet woman of her time, with a mind singularly quick and penetrating, and with a man’s heart to leaven her woman’s sex and ideas; personally magnanimous, of indomitable energy, sovereign mistress in all the affairs of her age, worthy to be compared with Semiramis, the most eminent of her sex.” The only weakness remembered of Queen Blanche was one which might be attributed to the intensity of her maternal affection. She was rudely jealous of Marguerite when the latter became wife of her son Louis, and resented the least absorption of her son’s attention and love. She was possessed of decided ability for government, and at the death of her husband, Louis VIII. (1226), assumed the direction of affairs as the guardian of her son, then a lad of eleven years. Louis IX. is described as very handsome, his features of almost feminine delicacy, his hair light, long, and flowing. He was extremely courteous, gentle, and companionable. One might have suspected weakness from the softness of his manners, until it was observed that he maintained the same quiet demeanor while shrewdly watching the chicanery of the court and while planning the most warlike and desperate expeditions against his foes. When La Marche rebelled and insulted his Majesty, Louis made no retort, but deliberated regarding him with his counsellors without apparent resentment, and laid plans so shrewd and far-reaching that they conquered both the rebel’s arms and hatred. The kings of France had always been at variance, often at swords’ points, with the great feudal barons of the realm; but in 1243 Louis made such arrangement with them as won their complete fidelity.