Louis IX of France

About Louis IX of France

Louis IX, who reigned as King of France from 1226 until his death in 1270, is a figure of considerable historical weight, securing the #807 spot in MIT's Historical Popularity Index. A deeply religious man, he was known for spearheading two major Crusades (the Seventh and Eighth) and was crucial in the development of medieval French governance, overseeing the establishment of royal courts and fostering an era of relative peace and justice. His influence is further solidified by his canonization as a saint by the Catholic Church, marking him as Louis the Saint.

Despite this significant impact—being ranked near the top 1000 most influential figures globally—Louis IX registers a modest 491K annualized Wikipedia views in 2025. This places his modern digital attention at an 'Attention Gap' of approximately 1x, meaning his online presence aligns closely with what might be expected given his historical ranking, unlike other figures who wildly over- or underperform. For context, figures with a similar importance rank, such as Reinhard Heydrich (#949), capture significantly more attention at 1.5M views.

Interestingly, the interest in this medieval monarch is not waning; his pageviews show a positive year-over-year change of +13.4%, alongside a +5% momentum gain from Q1 to Q3 in 2025, suggesting a recent, albeit modest, resurgence in online curiosity about the French king.