King Louis VI died on August 1, 1137, and his son Louis VII became king. The succession kept the Capetian dynasty in power, but the monarchy still relied heavily on alliances with great nobles.
Louis VII was crowned at Bourges on December 25, 1137. The ceremony publicly confirmed his rule and helped establish his authority early in his reign.
On March 31, 1146, Bernard of Clairvaux preached at Vézelay to promote a new crusade. Louis VII and Eleanor of Aquitaine publicly took the cross, turning the crusade into a major royal project.
In 1147, Louis VII left France for the Second Crusade and entrusted governance at home to Abbot Suger of Saint-Denis. This regency helped keep the kingdom stable while the king and many nobles were away.
On January 6, 1148, Louis VII’s forces were ambushed and defeated by Seljuk troops near Mount Cadmus in Anatolia. The loss weakened the French contingent and showed how dangerous the overland journey to the Holy Land could be.
On June 24, 1148, a major council met near Acre with the rulers and nobles of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and newly arrived crusaders. They decided to attack Damascus, a choice that shaped the final, decisive phase of the Second Crusade.
From July 23 to July 28, 1148, Louis VII and Conrad III joined King Baldwin III to besiege Damascus. The siege collapsed within days, and the failure became the clearest military turning point showing the Second Crusade would not meet its main aims.
By 1149, the main crusading forces had returned to Europe after the Damascus failure. For Louis VII, the costly expedition damaged his prestige and contributed to growing strain in his marriage and politics at home.
On March 21, 1152, Louis VII’s marriage to Eleanor was annulled on grounds of consanguinity (being too closely related under Church law). The decision ended a major political partnership and set the stage for a new balance of power in western France.
On May 19, 1163, Pope Alexander III convened a major church council at Tours. The meeting reaffirmed his legitimacy during a papal schism (a disputed papal election) and condemned heresy movements in southern France, issues that mattered directly to Louis VII’s realm.
Philip, the long-awaited son of Louis VII, was born on August 21, 1165. His birth stabilized the Capetian succession and reduced the risk of a dynastic crisis after decades without a male heir.
Louis VII died on September 18, 1180, ending a reign shaped by crusading failure abroad and rivalry with the Angevin rulers of England at home. His son Philip II succeeded him, inheriting a monarchy with clearer succession and the groundwork for stronger royal power.
Reign of Louis VII and the Second Crusade (1137–1180)