The Battle of Taillebourg

This illustration attributed to Paul Lehugeur, titled “The Battle of Taillebourg,” depicts the Battle of Taillebourg in 1242, during which King Louis IX, known as Saint Louis, fought the allied forces of Hugh X of Lusignan and King Henry III of England. The scene shows a cavalry charge in the heart of the melee, with Saint Louis prominently featured among the knights, in a dynamic composition that emphasizes the violence of the clash and the heroic portrayal of the Capetian king. The image belongs to the tradition of nineteenth-century historical iconography, which sought to give dramatic visual form to the great victories of the French past and to celebrate the major monarchical figures of national history.