Louis VII, king of France

Louis VII (Louis the Young), c.1120–1180, king of France (1137–80), son and successor of King Louis VI. Before his accession he married Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor of Aquitaine (ăkwĭtān`, ăk`wĭtān)
..... Click the link for more information. . A controversy with Pope Innocent II over Louis's refusal to accept the papal appointee to the archbishopric of Bourges led to a papal interdict on Louis and to warfare between the king and the count of Champagne, who supported the papal candidate. It was settled, after the intervention of St. Bernard of Clairvaux Bernard of Clairvaux, Saint (klrvō`), 1090?–1153, French churchman, mystic, Doctor of the Church.
..... Click the link for more information. , by Louis's capitulation (1144) to Pope Celestine II, Innocent's successor. In the course of that war Geoffrey IV (Geoffrey Plantagenet), count of Anjou, completed his conquest of Normandy; Louis, in return for a small concession, acquiesced in the conquest. In 1147, Louis left on the Second Crusade (see Crusades Crusades (kr
..... Click the link for more information. ), after appointing Abbé Suger Suger (süzhĕr`), 1081–1151, French cleric and statesman, abbot of Saint-Denis from 1122, minister of kings Louis VI and Louis
..... Click the link for more information. as regent. The crusade failed, and he returned in 1149. In 1152 Louis, suspecting Eleanor of being unfaithful, had his marriage with her annulled. Her subsequent marriage with Henry Plantagenet (later King Henry II Henry II, 1133–89, king of England (1154–89), son of Matilda , queen of England, and Geoffrey IV , count of Anjou. He was the founder of the Angevin , or Plantagenet, line in England and one of the ablest and most remarkable of the English kings.
..... Click the link for more information. of England), Geoffrey's son, resulted in Henry's claims to Aquitaine Aquitaine (ăk`wĭtān, äkētĕn`), Lat. Aquitania, former duchy and kingdom in SW France.
..... Click the link for more information. and precipitated recurrent warfare between Louis and Henry. Louis supported Thomas à Becket Thomas à Becket, Saint, or Saint Thomas Becket, 1118–70, English martyr, archbishop of Canterbury, b. London. He is called St. Thomas of Canterbury and occasionally St. Thomas of London.
..... Click the link for more information. during his exile from England and joined in the revolt of Henry's sons (1173–74), but won no territory. He completed his father's work of subduing the barons on the royal domain and continued to increase his influence over more distant vassals. His son Philip II succeeded him.

Louis VII

known as Louis the Younger

(born c. 1120—died Sept. 18, 1180, Paris) King of France (1137–80). One of the Capetian kings, he married Eleanor of Aquitaine in 1137, thus temporarily extending his kingdom to the Pyrenees. Doubtful of her fidelity, he had the marriage annulled in 1152 and, after the death of his second wife, married Alix of Champagne, who bore him his son and heir, Philip II Augustus. Eleanor married the future Henry II of England, who took control of Aquitaine and carried on a long rivalry with Louis (1152–74) marked by recurrent warfare and constant intrigue. Louis was joined by Conrad III in leading the Second Crusade (1147–49), which failed in all its objectives.