Louis XIII

Louis XIII
1601-43, king of France 1610-43 (son of Henry IV of Navarre).

* * *

born Sept. 27, 1601, Fontainebleau, France
died May 14, 1643, Saint-Germain-en-Laye

King of France (1610–43).

He was the son of Henry IV and Marie de Médicis. His mother was regent until 1614 but continued to govern until 1617; she arranged Louis's marriage to the Spanish Anne of Austria in 1615. Resentful of his mother's power, Louis exiled her, but Cardinal de Richelieu, her principal adviser, reconciled them in 1620. In 1624 Louis made Richelieu his principal minister, and the two cooperated closely to make France a leading European power, consolidating royal authority in France and fighting to break the dominant rule of the Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs in the Thirty Years' War. Pro-Spanish Catholic zealots led by Marie de Médicis appealed to Louis to reject Richelieu's policy of supporting the Protestant states, but Louis stood by his minister and his mother withdrew into exile. France declared war on Spain in 1635 and had won substantial victories by the time Richelieu died in 1642. Louis was succeeded by his son Louis XIV.

* * *

▪ king of France
byname  Louis the Just,  French  Louis le Juste 
born September 27, 1601, Fontainebleau, France
died May 14, 1643, Saint-Germain-en-Laye
 king of France from 1610 to 1643, who cooperated closely with his chief minister, the Cardinal de Richelieu (Richelieu, Armand-Jean du Plessis, cardinal et duc de), to make France a leading European power.

      The eldest son of King Henry IV and Marie De Médicis, Louis succeeded to the throne upon the assassination of his father in May 1610. The queen mother was regent until Louis came of age in 1614, but she continued to govern for three years thereafter. As part of her policy of allying France with Spain, she arranged the marriage (November 1615) between Louis and Anne of Austria, daughter of the Spanish king Philip III. By 1617 the king, resentful at being excluded from power, had taken as his favourite the ambitious Charles d'Albert de Luynes, who soon became the dominant figure in the government. Louis exiled his mother to Blois, and in 1619–20 she raised two unsuccessful rebellions. Although Richelieu (not yet a cardinal), her principal adviser, reconciled her to Louis in August 1620, the relationship between the king and his mother remained one of thinly disguised hostility.

      At the time of Luynes's death (December 1621) Louis was faced with a Huguenot rebellion in southern France. He took to the field in the spring of 1622 and captured several Huguenot strongholds before concluding a truce with the insurgents in October. Meanwhile, in September Richelieu had become a cardinal. Louis still distrusted Richelieu for his past association with Marie de Médicis, but he began to rely on the cardinal's political judgment. In 1624 he made Richelieu his principal minister.

      Although Louis had displayed courage on the battlefield, his mental instability and chronic ill health undermined his capacity for sustained concentration on affairs of state. Hence Richelieu quickly became the dominant influence in the government, seeking to consolidate royal authority in France and break the hegemony of the Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs. Immediately after the capture of the Huguenot rebel stronghold of La Rochelle in October 1628, Richelieu convinced the king to lead an army into Italy (1629); but his campaign increased tensions between France and the Habsburgs, who were fighting the Protestant powers in the Thirty Years' War. Soon the pro-Spanish Catholic zealots led by Marie de Médicis began appealing to Louis to reject Richelieu's policy of supporting the Protestant states. During the dramatic episode known as the Day of the Dupes (November 10–12, 1630), the queen mother demanded that Louis dismiss Richelieu. After some hesitation, the king decided to stand by his minister; Marie de Médicis and Gaston, duc d'Orléans, Louis's rebellious brother, withdrew into exile. Thereafter Louis adopted the cardinal's merciless methods in dealing with dissident nobles.

      In May 1635 France declared war on Spain; and by August 1636 Spanish forces were advancing on Paris. Richelieu recommended evacuation of the city; but Louis, in a surprising display of boldness, overruled him. The king rallied his troops and drove back the invaders. Late in 1638 he suffered a crisis of conscience over his alliances with the Protestant powers, but Richelieu managed to overcome his doubts. Meanwhile, Anne of Austria, who had long been treated with disdain by her husband, had given birth (September 1638) to their first child, the dauphin Louis (the future Louis XIV).

 In 1642 Louis's young favourite, the marquis de Cinq-Mars (Cinq-Mars, Henri Coiffier de Ruzé, marquis de), instigated the last major conspiracy of the reign by plotting with the Spanish court to overthrow Richelieu; revelation of Cinq-Mars's treason made Louis more dependent than ever on the cardinal. By the time Richelieu died in December 1642, substantial victories had been won in the war against the Spaniards, and Louis was respected as one of the most powerful monarchs in Europe. The king succumbed to tuberculosis five months later. He was succeeded by his son Louis XIV.
 

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Louis XIII — de France Louis XIII Roi de France …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Louis xiii — de France Louis XIII Roi de France …   Wikipédia en Français

  • LOUIS XIII — (1601 1643) roi de France (1610 1643) Fils de Henri IV et de Marie de Médicis, Louis XIII est l’une des figures les plus énigmatiques de la royauté française. Son personnage, cette singulière et si efficace alliance politique qu’il a constituée… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Louis XIII — (1601 1643)    king of France    Born in Fontainebleau, the son of henry iv, first of the Bourbon kings, and marie de medici, Louis, who reigned from 1610 to 1643, became king at nine years of age. During his minority (1610 17), his mother served …   France. A reference guide from Renaissance to the Present

  • Louis XIII De France — Louis XIII Roi de France …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Louis XIII de France — Louis XIII Portrait de Louis XIII par Rubens Titre Roi de France et de Navarre …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Louis xiii de france — Louis XIII Roi de France …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Louis XIII de Rémy Martin — is a cognac produced by Rémy Martin. Production The cognac is manufactured using grapes from the Grande Champagne terroir of Cognac. It is blended from eau de vie, some more than a century in age, then it is aged in tiercons, barrels that are… …   Wikipedia

  • Louis XIII de Rémy Martin — Louis XIII est un cognac d’exception produit par la maison Rémy Martin. Production Le cognac Louis XIII est un assemblage de 1 200 eaux de vie, issues de Grande Champagne et vieillies en tierçons dans des fûts centenaires en chêne. 4… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Louis XIII le Juste — (1601 1643) fils d Henri IV et de Marie de Médicis, roi (1610 1643). Gouvernèrent d abord Marie de Médicis et Concini (1610 1617), puis, après l assassinat de ce dernier, le favori Luynes (1617 1621), qui imposa le pouvoir royal et combattit les… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Louis XIII of France — For the cognac, see Louis XIII de Rémy Martin. Infobox French Royalty|monarch name=Louis XIII title=King of France and Navarre caption=Louis XIII, by Philippe de Champaigne reign=14 May 1610 ndash; 14 May 1643 coronation=17 October 1610… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”