King St. Louis IX. Painted by Emile Signol in 1839 and preserved at Versailles, Musée national du château and Trianon.
When Saint Louis IX disembarked at the castle of Hyères, the Abbot of Cluny offered the king a gift of horses with which to continue his journey and said he would return on the morrow to discuss the monastery’s interests. On the following day, the king listened to the Abbot’s long narration with great attention. Once the prelate had left, the Seneschal de Joinville addressed the king, saying:
— “I would like to know if Your Majesty listened so complacently to what the Abbot was saying today because of the gift of two horses he made yesterday.”
Jean de Joinville
After thinking for a long while, the king replied:
— “Indeed, it is as you say.”
— “If Your Majesty permits, I recommend that you forbid your counselors to accept gifts from those who have business with them. Your Majesty can be certain that they will listen more willingly to the requests of those who make gifts, just as Your Majesty did.”
The king called together his counselors and told them everything that had occurred, declaring that the Seneschal had given him good counsel.
Marius Sepet, Saint Louis (Paris: Victor Lecoffre, 1913), p. 56. (Nobility.org translation.)
Short Stories on Honor, Chivalry, and the World of Nobility—no. 246
