After acquiring the crown of thorns from Emperor Baldwin II of Constantinople, Louis IX of France sent two Dominican friars to bring the relic from Venice. In August that year, the friars arrived at Paris. On orders from Louis IX, the Sainte Chapelle was constructed for the relic's reception in the centre of French capital where the Dominican Order fulfilled a key role in its custody. See Benedicta Ward, 'Relics and the medieval mind' in International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church, 10/4 (2010), 274–86.