King St. Louis IX. Painted by Emile Signol in 1839 and preserved at Versailles, Musée national du château and Trianon.
Saint Louis tried to avoid waging war against Christians every way possible, only resorting to war when every peaceful means to solve the dispute had been exhausted.
He recommended the same, in writing, to his son: “Dear son, I encourage you to avoid waging war on Christians by every means possible. If you suffer some loss at their hands, try various approaches, searching for a way that will permit you to recover what is yours by right, without resort to war.”
Marius Sepet, Saint Louis (Paris: Victor Lecoffre, 1913), p. 207 (Nobility.org translation.)
Short Stories on Honor, Chivalry, and the World of Nobility—no. 21
