Louis XIII of France
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Louis XIII
King of France and Navarre,
Reign 14 May 1610 14 May 1643
Coronation 17 October 1610
Predecessor Henry IV
Successor Louis XIV
Spouse Anne of Austria
Issue
Louis XIV
Philip, Duke of Orléans
Father Henry IV
Mother Marie de' Medici
Born 27 September 1601(1601-09-27)
Château de Fontainebleau, France
Died 14 May 1643 (aged 41)
Paris, France
Burial Saint Denis Basilica, France
For the cognac, see Louis XIII de Rémy Martin.
Louis XIII (27 September 1601 14 May 1643) reigned as King of France and Navarre from 1610 to 1643.
Contents [hide]
1 Early life, 16011610
2 Rule of Marie de' Medici, 16101617
3 Asendancy of Charles de Luynes, 16171621
4 Rule by Council, 16221624
5 Ministry of Cardinal Richelieu, 16241643
6 Relationships and issue
6.1 Marriage
6.2 Issue
6.3 Sexuality
7 Louis XIII in fiction and film
8 Bibliography
9 See also
10 External links
11 Ancestors
12 References
[edit] Early life, 16011610
Born at the Château de Fontainebleau, Louis XIII was the eldest child of Henry IV of France (15891610) and Marie de' Medici. As the eldest son of the king, he was a Fils de France. His father was the first Bourbon King of France, having succeeded his ninth cousin, Henry III of France (157489), in application of Salic law. Louis XIII's paternal grandparents were Antoine de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme and Jeanne d'Albret, Queen of Navarre; his maternal grandparents were Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Johanna, archduchess of Austria, and Eleonora de' Medici, his maternal aunt, was his godmother[1]
[edit] Rule of Marie de' Medici, 16101617
Coin of Louis XIII, struck 1612
Obverse: (French) LOYS XIII, R[OY] DE FRAN[CE] ET NAVA[RRE], or in English, "Louis XIII, King of France and Navarre." Reverse: (French) DOVBLE TOVRNOIS, 1612, or in English, "Double Tournois, 1612."
Louis XIII ascended to the throne in 1610, at the age of eight and a half, upon the assassination of his father. His mother, Marie de' Medici, acted as Regent until Louis XIII came of age at thirteen. Marie maintained most of her husband's ministers, with the exception of Maximilien de Béthune, duc de Sully, who was unpopular in the country. She mainly relied on Nicolas de Neufville, seigneur de Villeroy, Noël Brûlart de Sillery, and Pierre Jeannin. Marie pursued a moderate policy, confirming the Edict of Nantes. She was not, however, able to prevent rebellion by nobles like Henry II de Bourbon, prince de Condé, the next-in-line to the throne. Condé did squable with Marie in 1614, briefly raising an army, but he received little public support and Marie was able to raise her own army. Nevertheless, Marie agreed to call an Estates General to address Condé's grievances.
Louis in 1616.This Estates General was delayed until Louis XIII formally came of age on his 13th birthday. Although Louis's coming of age formally ended Marie's regency, she remained the de facto ruler of France. This Estates General accomplished little, spending its time discussing the relationship of France to the Papacy and the venality of offices, but not reaching any resolutions.
Beginning in 1615, Marie came to rely increasingly on Concino Concini, who now assumed the role of her favourite. This further antagonized Condé, who launched another rebellion in 1616. Huguenot leaders supported Condé's rebellion, which led the young Louis XIII to conclude that they would never be loyal subjects. Soon, however, the bishop of Luçon joined this rebellion.
In the meantime, Charles d'Albert, the Grand Falconer of France, convinced Louis XIII that he should break with his mother and support the rebels. As a result, Concino Concini was assassinated (24 April 1617) and Marie was removed to power and sent to exile in Blois. Louis created Charles d'Albret the first duke of Luynes, and Luynes now became Louis's favourite.
[edit] Asendancy of Charles de Luynes, 16171621
Charles de Luynes (1578-1621), royal favourite, 1617-1621.Luynes was soon as unpopular as Concini had been. Other nobles resented what they saw as Luynes's monopolization of the king. At the same time, Luynes was seen as not as competent as Henri IV's old ministers, who had surrounded Marie de' Medici, and who were now dying off.
The Thirty Years' War in 1618. The French court was initially unsure what side to support. On the one hand, France's traditional rivalry with the House of Habsburg argued in favour of intervening on behalf of the Protestant powers. On the other hand, Louis XIII had had a heavily religious Catholic upbringing, and his natural inclination was therefore to support the Catholic Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand II.
The French nobles were further antagonized against Luynes by the 1618 revocation of the paulette and by the sale of offices in 1620. Marie de' Medici, exiled in Blois, became the obvious rallying point for this discontent, and the bishop of Luçon was allowed to act as her chief adviser, serving as a go-between as Marie and the government.
French nobles launched a rebellion in 1620, but their forces were easily routed by royal forces at Les Ponts-de-Cé in August 1620. Louis then launched an expedition against the Huguenots of Béarn, who had defied a number of royal decisions. This expedition managed to re-establish Catholicism in Béarn. However, the Béarn expedition drove Huguenots in other provinces into a rebellion led by Henri, duc de Rohan.
In 1621, Louis XIII formally reconciled with his mother. Luynes was created Constable of France and Louis and Luynes set out to quell the Huguenot rebellion. A siege at the Huguenot stronghold of Montauban had to be abandoned after three months, owing to the large number of royal troops who had succumbed to camp fever. One of the victims of camp fever was Luynes, who died in December 1621.
[edit] Rule by Council, 16221624
A young Louis XIII.Following the death of Luynes, Louis determined that he would rule by council. His mother returned from exile and entered this council in early 1622. In the council, Henry II de Bourbon, prince de Condé recommended violent suppression of the Huguenots. The 1622 campaign, however, followed the pattern of the previous year: royal forces won some early victories, but were unable to complete a siege, this time at the fortress of Montpellier.
The rebellion was ended by the Treaty of Montpellier, signed by Louis XIII and Henri, duc de Rohan in October 1622. This treaty confirmed the tenets of the Edict of Nantes: several Huguenot fortresses were to be razed, but the Huguenots retained control of Montauban and La Rochelle.
Louis ultimately dismissed Noël Brûlart de Sillery and Pierre Brulart, vicomte de Puisieux in 1624 because of his displeasure with how they handled the diplomatic situation over the Valtellina with Spain. Valtellina was an area with Catholic inhabitants under the suzerainty of the Protestant Grisons. It served as an important route to Italy for France. Spain was constantly interfering in the Valtellina, which angered Louis.
[edit] Ministry of Cardinal Richelieu, 16241643
Louis XIII on horseback, with Cardinal Richelieu.Cardinal Richelieu played a major role in Louis XIII's administration from 1624, decisively shaping the destiny of France for the next eighteen years. As a result of Richelieu's work, Louis XIII became one of the first examples of an absolute monarch. Under Louis and Richelieu, the crown successfully intervened in the Thirty Years' War against the Habsburgs, managed to keep the French nobility in line, and retracted the political and military privileges granted to the Huguenots by Henry IV (while maintaining their religious freedoms). In addition, Louis had the port of Le Havre modernized and built a powerful navy.
Unfortunately time and circumstances never permitted King and Cardinal to attend to the administrative reforms (particularly of France's tax system) which were urgently needed.
Louis also worked to reverse the trend of promising French artists leaving for Italy to work and study. He commissioned the artists Nicolas Poussin and Philippe de Champaigne to decorate the Louvre. In foreign matters, Louis organized the development and administration of New France, expanding its settlements westward along the Saint Lawrence River from Quebec City to Montreal.
Royal styles of
King Louis XIII
Par la grâce de Dieu, Roi de France et de Navarre
Reference style His Most Christian Majesty
Spoken style Your Most Christian Majesty
Alternative style Monsieur Le Roi
House of Bourbon
Henri IV
Sister
Catherine, Duchess of Lorraine
Children included
Louis XIII
Elisabeth, Queen of Spain
Christine Marie, Duchess of Savoy
Nicholas Henri, duc d'Orléans
Gaston, duc d'Orléans
Henrietta Maria, Queen of England
Louis XIII
Children
Louis XIV
Philippe, duc d'Orléans
Louis XIV
Children included
Louis, Dauphin
Marie-Anne
Marie-Therèse
Philippe-Charles, duc d'Anjou
Grandchildren included
Louis, Dauphin
King Felipe V of Spain
Charles, duc de Berry
Great Grandchildren included
Louis, Dauphin
Louis XV
Louis XV
Children included
Louise-Elisabeth, duchesse de Parme
Madame Henriette
Louis, Dauphin
Madame Adélaïde
Madame Victoire
Madame Sophie
Madame Louise
Grandchildren included
Marie Clotilde, Queen of Sardinia
Louis XVI
Louis XVIII
Charles X
Madame Élisabeth
Louis XVI
Children included
Marie-Thérèse, duchesse d'Angouleme
Louis-Joseph, Dauphin
Louis XVII
Sophie-Beatrix
Louis XVII
Louis XVIII
Charles X
Children
Louis XIX
Charles, duc de Berry
Grandchildren included
Henri V
Louise, duchesse de Parme
French monarchy, 8431870
v Ø d Ø e
[edit] Relationships and issue
[edit] Marriage
On 24 November 1615, Louis XIII married Anne of Austria, daughter of Philip III of Spain. This marriage followed a tradition of cementing military and political alliances between the Catholic powers of France and Spain with royal marriages. The tradition went back to the marriage of Philip II of Spain with the French princess, Elisabeth of Valois. The marriage, like many Bourbon-Habsburg relationships, was only briefly happy, and the king's duties often kept them apart. After 23 years of marriage and four miscarriages, Anne finally gave birth to a son in 1638, the future Louis XIV.
Many regarded this birth as a divine miracle and, in show of gratitude to God for the long-awaited birth of an heir, his parents named him Louis-Dieudonné (God-given). As another sign of gratitude, according to several interpretations, seven months before his birth, France was dedicated by Louis XIII to the Virgin Mary, who, many believed, had interceded for the perceived miracle.[2][3][4] However, the text of the dedication does not mention the royal pregnancy and birth as one of its reasons. Also, Louis XIII himself is said to have expressed his skepticism with regards to the miracle after his son's birth.[5]
[edit] Issue
The couple had the following children:
Name Lifespan Notes
stillborn child December 1619
stillborn child 14 March 1622
stillborn child 1626
stillborn child April 1631
Louis XIV, King of France 5 September 1638 - 1 September 1715 Married Maria Theresa of Spain (1638 - 1683) in 1660. Had issue.
Philippe I, Duke of Orléans 21 September 1640 - 8 June 1701 married (1) Henrietta Anne, Princess of England (1644 - 1670) in 1661. Had issue. Married (2) Elizabeth Charlotte, Princess Palatine (1652 - 1722) in 1671. Had issue.
[edit] Sexuality
There is no evidence that Louis had mistresses (consequently earning the title of 'Louis the Chaste'), but persistent rumours insinuated that he may have been homosexual or at least bisexual. Tallemant des Réaux, in his Historiettes, explicitly speculated what happened in the king's bed.[6] A liaison with an equerry, Francois de Baradas, ended when the latter lost favour fighting a duel after duelling had been forbidden by royal decree.[7] He was also allegedly captivated by Marquis de Cinq-Mars; who was later executed for conspiring with the Spanish enemy in time of war. Tallemant described how on a royal journey, the king "sent M. le Grand to undress, who returned, adorned like a bride. 'To bed, to bed' he said to him impatiently... and the mignon was not in before the king was already kissing his hands."[8]
[edit] Louis XIII in fiction and film
Louis XIII as painted by Justus van Egmont in the 1670s.Louis XIII, his wife Anne, and Cardinal Richelieu all became central figures in Alexandre Dumas, père's novel, The Three Musketeers and subsequent film adaptations. The book depicts Louis as a man willing to have Richelieu as a powerful advisor but aware of his scheming; he is depicted as a bored and sour man, dwarfed by Richelieu's competence and intellect. Films such as George Sidney's or Richard Lester's tend to treat Louis XIII as comical character by depicting him as bumbling and incompetent.
Louis XIII, his wife Anne, Cardinal Richelieu, Cardinal Mazarin and members of the royal family are mentioned throughout the course of the 1632 Series.
Louis XIII also appears in novels of Robert Merle's Fortune de France series.
Ken Russell directed the film The Devils, in which Louis XIII is a significant character, albeit one with no resemblance to the real man. Louis XIII is portrayed as an effeminate homosexual who amuses himself by shooting Protestants dressed up as birds. The film was based on Aldous Huxley's book The Devils of Loudun.
Louis XIII also appears in the Doctor Who audio drama The Church and the Crown.
[edit] Bibliography
^ James, Ralph N. (1897). Painters and Their Works. Michigan: University of Michigan. pp. 421. http://books.google.com/books?id=LoSQhHjfwpoC&printsec=titlepage&dq=#PPP1,M1.
^ Our Lady of Graces and the birth of Louis XIV The website of the Sanctuary of Our Lady at Cotignac, Provence. Retrieved on 2008-01-24
^ Henri Bremond. La Provence mystique au XVIIe siècle. Paris: Plon-Nourrit, 1908. p. 381. "Sans l'assurance d'avoir un fils, Louis XIII n'aurait pas fait le voeu de 1638." Translation: "Without the assurance of having a son, Louis XIII would not have made the vow of 1638."
^ "Louis XIV". MSN Encata. 2008. http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761572792/Louis_XIV.html. Retrieved on 2008-01-20.
^ Claude Dulong. Anne dAutriche. Paris: Hachette, 1980. "Irrité de voir tant de courtisans parler de "miracle", Louis XIII aurait répliqué que "ce n'était point là si grand miracle qu'un mari couchât avec sa femme et lui fasse un enfant." Translation: "Irritated to see so many courtiers speak of a miracle, Louis XIII is said to have replied: it was not such a great miracle that a husband slept with his wife and made her a child."
^ "The King gave his first sign of affection for anybody in the person of his coachman, Saint-Amour. After that he showed feelings for Haran, the keeper of his dogs."
^ Louis Cromption, Homosexuality and Civilization, London, 1991. The grandson of Henry III, Saint-Luc, penned the irreverent rhyme: 'Become a bugger, Baradas / if you are not already one / like Maugiron my grandfather / and La Valette'.
^ Louis Cromption, Homosexuality and Civilization, London, 1991.
Moote, A. Lloyd. Louis XIII, the Just. Berkeley, CA; Los Angeles; London: University of California Press, 1991 (paperback, ISBN 0-520-07546-3).
Willis, Daniel A. (comp). The Descendants of Louis XIII. Clearfield, 1999.
Huxley, Aldous. "The Devils of Loudun". The 1952 book tells the story of the trial of Urbain Grandier, priest of the town who was tortured and burned at the stake in 1634.
James Howell "Louis XIII" English historiographer Royal 1661-1666
[edit] See also
Absolute monarchy in France
French monarchs family tree
Charles II of Guise-Lorraine, Duke of Elbeuf
[edit] External links
The Three Musketeers at Project Gutenberg
The French Army 1600-1900
[edit] Ancestors
Ancestors of Louis XIII of France[1][show]
16. François de Bourbon, Count of Vendôme
8. Charles de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme
17. Marie de Luxembourg
4. Antoine of Navarre
18. René of Alençon
9. Françoise of Alençon
19. Marguerite de Lorraine
2. Henry IV of France
20. John III of Navarre
10. Henry II of Navarre
21. Catherine of Navarre
5. Jeanne III of Navarre
22. Charles, Count of Angoulême
11. Marguerite de Navarre
23. Louise of Savoy
1. Louis XIII of France
24. Giovanni dalle Bande Nere
12. Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tusca
25. Maria Salviati
6. Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tusca
26. Pedro Álvarez de Toledo
13. Eleonora di Toledo
27. Maria Osorio
3. Marie de' Medici
28. Philip I of Castile
14. Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
29. Joanna of Castile
7. Johanna of Austria
30. Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary
15. Anna of Bohemia and Hungary
31. Anna of Foix-Candale
Louis XIII of France
House of Bourbon
Cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty
Born: 27 September 1601 Died: 14 May 1643
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Henri IV King of France
14 May 1610 20 October 1620 Titles unified
King of Navarre
as Louis II
14 May 1610 20 October 1620
Co-Prince of Andorra
14 May 1610 20 October 1620 Title merged into French crown
New title
former Titles unified King of France and Navarre
20 October 1620 14 May 1643 Succeeded by
Louis XIV
Preceded by
Felipe IV of Spain Count of Barcelona
as Lluís I
1641 14 May 1643
French royalty
Preceded by
François II Dauphin of France
27 September 1601 14 May 1610 Succeeded by
Louis XIV
Preceded by
Henri IV Dauphin of Viennois
as Louis IV
27 September 1601 14 May 1610
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