The Apple of His Eye Revisited

In revisiting the study of Louis IX’s project to convert Muslims to Christianity and resettle them in France, a number of issues emerged that have benefitted from a new appraisal. These include the context for the phrase ‘the apple of his eye’ to describe the king’s solicitude for his subjects and the extent of the latter’s awareness before the crusade of 1248-1254 that the expedition had Muslim conversion as a major focus. Two other topics have profited from further analysis: the characterization of the conversions as voluntary and the nature and extent of the resentment Christians in the Near East and in France felt toward the converts.