Holiness of the court, the Capetians and their holy women.

From the Battle of Bouvines in 1214 to the death of Philip the Fair a century later, Capetian power experienced an irresistible rise, supported by an ideology inspired by Christianity: the "most Christian" king of France was presented as the privileged beneficiary of divine favor, France as the Holy Land, and the French as the chosen people. From the crusades of the holy King Louis to the conflict with Pope Boniface VIII, the narrative of this period, when the Church and royal power intertwined and clashed, is traditionally dominated by a very masculine point of view.

Yet, during this long ^13th century, holy women were linked, willingly or by force, to the Capetian dynasty, which did not hesitate to use them to establish its legitimacy by reinforcing its sacredness and its predestination to holiness. Sean L. Field traces the splendors and setbacks of these mulieres sanctae who knew how to inspire a fear tinged with fascination: Isabelle of France, Douceline of Digne, Elisabeth of Spalbeek, Paupertas of Metz, Margueronne de Bellevillette, and Marguerite Porete. The analysis of their actions, recounted by themselves or by others, reveals a model of French royal sanctity, while revealing the ambivalent relationship that the court had with the sacred and its feminine incarnations.