Matthew Paris assisted Louis IX in his attempt to recruit Haakon IV and wrote of the Crusade in his Chronica Majora but did not travel to the Holy Land. Financing the Crusade Louis’ expenses on the Crusade came to over 1.5 million livres tournois (l.t.), six times his annual revenues, with the bill for troops running at 1000 l.t. a day. Louis was largely able to cover this from sources other than his ordinary revenues. From 1248, Jewish moneylenders were expelled from the kingdom, their property confiscated, representing the king’s anti-Jewish policies and prejudices. Some 80 towns from across France raised over 70,000 l.t. in 1248, a figure matched by contributions from Normandy. Louis’ taxation of towns was not unprecedented, as royal towns had helped pay for the Second Crusade led by his great-grandfather, Louis VII of France. The bulk of Louis’ funding was money derived primarily from vow redemptions and clerical taxation. Redemptions were systematically being offered and collected. The pope expressed concerns the conditions for redemption were too lax and the rates accepted too low, with the potential for speculation and fraud, causing him to impose an audit. As to clerical taxation, a tax of a twentieth was authorized and the French clergy offered a tenth over five years. The distraction of the anti-Hohenstaufen crusade (against Frederick II) and the view of the Holy Land venture as a French crusade reduced international contributions, the English and German churches remaining on the sidelines. Individual commanders, including the king’s brothers, received grants, and also raised funds from their own lands. However, the bulk of crusade funds and clerical taxes probably found their way into the royal coffers. With the increased income for the king’s own demesne, this centralized system of financing the expedition gave Louis unprecedented control over his main followers. Jean de Joinville In October 1245, Louis gathered his barons to receive their agreement and support for the Crusade. The next year, he held another such gathering in Paris of noblemen to swear fealty to his children in the event of his not returning from the Crusade. One of those summoned was Jean de Joinville-sur-Marne, seneschal of Champagne, whose account the most detailed personal description of any crusade. Joinville was from a crusading family. His grandfather had died on the Third Crusade, two uncles had joined the Fourth Crusade, one dying, and his father Simon of Joinville had fought