Seventh Crusade

Seventh Crusade, 1248 - 1250

At the First Council of Lyon, in 1245, Innocent IV bishop of Rome pressed for support for a Seventh Crusade being organized by Louis IX, king of France:

... In 1245 Pope Innocent IV fled to Lyon from the besieged city of Rome. Having convened a general council attended by only about 150 bishops, the Pope renewed the church's excommunication of the Holy Roman emperor Frederick II and declared him deposed ... . During the council the Pope also urged support for Louis IX, king of France, who was making preparations for the Seventh Crusade.
Copyright © 1994-2000 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., Lyon, councils of

... The Council of Lyons in 1245 had for one of its four objects the relief of the holy places. A summons was sent forth by pope and council for a new expedition, and the usual gracious offers were made to those who should participate in the movement. St. Louis responded. During a sickness in 1245 and at the moment when the attendants were about to put a cloth on his face thinking he was dead, the king had the cross bound upon his breast.
History of the Christian Church, by Philip Schaff, Volume V, Chapter 7, § 57

Louis and the army assembled at Cyprus whence, in the spring of 1249, they departed for Egypt. Upon their approach to Damietta the inhabitants of the city fled, and the crusaders had but to occupy the city unopposed. As in the Fifth Crusade, the Sultan in Cairo offered Jerusalem in exchange for Damietta. Once again, the Crusaders unwisely refused. In their advance toward Cairo, the Crusaders snuck across the river and wreaked a surprise early morning rout upon the Egyptian camp. In their pursuit of the fleeing Egyptians, they found themselves snared in Mansourah, and were slaughtered:

The Crusaders could not defend themselves; many, indeed, found themselves in alleys so narrow they could not even turn their horses around. Disaster fell on them. Two hundred and ninety Templar knights rode into Mansourah; five escaped. Robert of Artois was killed, overwhelmed when he tried to take refuge in a house. The Lord of Coucy and the Count of Brienne were killed. The Grand Master William lost one eye, but managed to get away. The Earl of Salisbury and almost all of the English knights were killed. Many who escaped the city drowned while trying to swim the river back to safety. Duke Peter of Brittany, severely wounded, managed to make it to the river crossing and it was he who told the King of the disaster.
The Crusades, by Dr. E.L. Skip Knox; The Sixth Crusade, p. 8, Egyptian Counter-attack

King Louis and what remained of his army were captured. Shortly Queen Margaret, Louis's wife, gave birth to a son at Damietta. Louis now had to exchange Damietta, in addition to a large ransom, for his life. He was released and returned to Acre having lost most of his army. Thus ended the Seventh Crusade a failure, as had ended all the previous crusades, save the first, which had enjoyed short-lived success.

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