Introduction to Louis
Louis, the name of 18 kings of France. The first five belonged to the Carolingian dynasty. Louis VI through Louis X were Capetians. Louis XI and XII belonged to the House of Valois. The remaining six were Bourbons.
The Carolingians
Louis I(778-840), known as “The Pious” and Le Débonnaire (“The Gracious”), was son and successor of Emperor Charlemagne. As head of the Frankish Empire he ruled the areas that later became France and Germany. Charlemagne crowned Louis king of Aquitaine when he was only three years old. He succeeded his father as emperor in 814. Louis was twice deposed by his sons but in both cases was restored shortly afterward. He was called Ludwig by his German subjects.
Louis II(846-879), called “The Stammerer,” was the son of Charles the Bald and grandson of Louis I. He reigned 877-79.
Louis III(863?-882) ruled France jointly with his brother Carloman from 879 until his death. He and his brother opposed secession by Burgundy and Provence and repulsed an invasion by Norsemen in the battle at Saucourt, 881.
Louis IV(912?-954) was called d'Outremer (“from beyond the sea”) because he spent his youth in England. Hugh the Great, count of Paris, was his principal supporter when he became king in 936, but they had a falling out. Louis was Hugh's prisoner in 944, being released only after he gave up Laon to Hugh. Eventually, with the aid of his brother-in-law Otto I of Germany, Louis was able to force Hugh to submit to his authority.
Louis V(966-987), called “The Sluggard,” reigned 986-87.
The Capetians
Louis VI(1081-1137), called “The Fat,” added to the prestige and power of the throne. During most of his reign, 1108-37, Louis acted vigorously against nobles who engaged in robbery, especially near Paris. By harshly punishing them and seizing or destroying their castles, Louis brought a large degree of law and order to the kingdom. An able military leader, he kept the English from expanding their holdings in Normandy. When invaders under Henry V of Germany threatened France in 1124, Louis forced them to retreat.
Louis VII(1121?-1180), known as“The Young,”became king on the death of his father, Louis VI, in 1137. He quarreled with Pope Innocent II and was placed under interdict (denial of sacraments). After the dispute was settled, Louis joined the Second Crusade in 1147 and was defeated by Saladin. Louis had his marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine annulled in 1152 and she then married Henry of Anjou. When Henry became Henry II of England, he laid claim to the provinces of Poitou and Guienne, which had belonged to Eleanor. In the resulting struggle between Louis and Henry, the English occupied parts of France.
Louis VIII(1187-1226), known as“The Lion,”succeeded his father, Philip II, in 1223. As a prince, Louis led an attack in 1215 on the Albigenses, members of a religious sect in the south of France who denied basic teachings of the church concerning Jesus. In 1216 English barons who opposed King John offered Louis the English crown and Louis led an expedition to England. When John died, however, so many English barons deserted Louis for Henry III that Louis, who was defeated at Lincoln, left England.
After he became king of France, Louis forced the English out of the province of Poitou. In the last year of his life Louis wiped out the Albigensian stronghold of Languedoc and captured the city of Avignon.
Louis IX(1214-1270) was canonized as Saint Louis in 1297. He became king in 1226 at the age of 12 on the death of his father, Louis VIII. His mother, Blanche of Castile, was regent until he came of age. Louis' long reign was marked by improvement of the administration of justice for the common people. A territorial settlement with Henry III of England brought peace and strengthened France. Louis IX was a patron of education and of architecture, and helped found the Sorbonne.
Louis' religious nature prompted him to lead the Seventh Crusade into Egypt in 1248. Mismanagement and indecisiveness by Louis caused his defeat and capture by Saracens in 1250. France paid a heavy ransom for his release in 1254. Louis died in Tunis, North Africa, leading another crusade.
Louis X(1289-1316), called“The Quarreler,”was the son of Philip IV. He reigned 1314-16.
House of Valois
Louis XI(1423-1483) laid the foundation for the later absolute monarchy. While heir to the throne, he conspired several times against his father, Charles VII. Louis was living in exile when he became king upon his father's death in 1461. As king, Louis permanently broke the power of the nobles by the use of wily diplomacy and by crushing a series of revolts. Burgundy, Anjou, Maine, Provence, and other domains became integral parts of the vastly strengthened kingdom under him. Louis did much to rebuild France after the destruction caused by the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453) with England. Although he heavily taxed France, he spent wisely, using the money to build such improvements as roads and canals. Highly religious, he built many churches.
Louis XII(1462-1515) was called“father of the people,”mainly because he reduced taxes and punished dishonest officials. As Duke of Orléans, Louis became king on the death of his cousin, Charles VIII, in 1498. He then had his marriage to the daughter of Louis XI annulled so that he could marry Charles's widow, Anne of Brittany. Louis XII fought in Italy to win the cities of Genoa, Milan, Naples, and Venice. His armies were successful at first but eventually were driven out of Italy by a coalition called the Holy League.
The Bourbons
Louis XIII(1601-1643) was the son of Henry IV and Marie de' Medici. He became king in 1610, his mother acting as regent until 1617. Conflict between Louis and his mother nearly led to civil war. For most of his reign the real ruler was Cardinal Richelieu, his chief adviser. Richelieu strengthened the crown by crushing the political power of the Huguenots (French Protestants), but then involved France in the Thirty Years' War on the Protestant side. It was during Louis XIII's reign that the French Academy was established.
Louis XIV(1638-1715), known as“the Great,”“the Grand Monarch”and“the Sun King,”had the most magnificent court in Europe. He built the lavish palace of Versailles. It was in his reign—the longest in European history—that France had a golden age of literature and art.
Louis became king in 1643, at the age of five. His mother, Anne of Austria, and Cardinal Mazarin ruled for him during his minority. A major event during this period was the Peace of Westphalia (1648), ending the Thirty Years' War.
After Mazarin's death in 1661, Louis ruled as an autocrat in accord with the famous statement attributed to him: “L'éeat c'est moi” (“I am the state”). Under him France for a time was the strongest military power in Europe. His armies took a part of the Spanish Netherlands and other areas, including Franche-Comté, at that time a Spanish possession bordering on Switzerland. He also made war on the Dutch. Only after the other leading nations, including England, combined against him to form the Grand Alliance did he cease his aggressions. He suffered his greatest military defeats in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-14).
In 1685 the Edict of Nantes, which had protected the Huguenots, was revoked and Louis cruelly persecuted this group. Because many of them left France, the French economy suffered. Although Louis sponsored reforms in administration and commercial policy that strengthened the country for a time, France went into an economic decline during his last years.
Louis XV(1710-1774) succeeded his greatgrandfather Louis XIV in 1715. He was a weak king who was more interested in pleasure than in governing. He was dominated by his mistresses, especially Madame de Pompadour and Madame du Barry.
France was involved in three major wars during Louis XV's reign: the War of the Polish Succession (1733-35), the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-48), and the Seven Years' War (1756-63). The first war added Lorraine to France, but the other two were disastrous in cost and in loss of territory. As a result of the Seven Years' War (of which the French and Indian War was a part), France lost Quebec and other American territory to England. France was also forced to give England a free hand in India.
The government was nearly bankrupt at the end of Louis's reign. His extravagances and immorality, together with the corrupt and inefficient government that he tolerated, caused widespread dissatisfaction among all classes. This discontent helped set the stage for the French Revolution.
Louis XVI(1754-1793) was deposed and beheaded in the French Revolution. Unlike his grandfather, Louis XV, whom he succeeded in 1774, Louis XVI shunned the immorality of the court. Shy and dull, he preferred tinkering with locks and other mechanical devices to directing the affairs of state. Louis was concerned for the welfare of the middle and lower classes, but accepted bad advice on policies and appointments. Some of this advice came from his extravagant queen, Marie Antoinette. Even his successful support of the revolution in America against Great Britain proved to be unwise, for the cost of that support placed a heavy strain upon the already overburdened treasury.
After the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789, Louis agreed to accept a constitution limiting his powers (1790). The following year he was arrested while trying to flee the country, but was allowed to remain king when he reaffirmed his support of the constitution.
In 1792 came war with Austria and Prussia. The Prussian commander threatened to destroy Paris if Louis, a virtual prisoner of the revolutionaries, were harmed. This threat convinced the Paris mob that Louis—who was related by marriage to the ruler of Austria—was a traitor. He was cenvicted of treason and in January, 1793, was guillotined. Marie Antoinette was beheaded nine months later.
Louis XVII(1785-1795?), the son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, never ruled. He was imprisoned with his family in 1792. After his father was beheaded, young Louis was called Louis XVII by his uncle, the count of Provence (later Louis XVIII). According to legend, another boy was substituted for him in prison and he escaped, but disappeared, becoming known as “the Lost Dauphin.” Most historians, however, agree that he died while imprisoned.
Louis XVIII(1755-1824) was a brother of Louis XVI. He escaped from France during the Revolution. When Napoleon was defeated in 1814, the Allies helped Louis to become king. He fled when Napoleon returned in 1815. Restored to the throne after Napoleon's final defeat at Waterloo three months later, Louis XVIII was at first moderately liberal. By the end of his reign in 1824 he had become repressive.