LOUIS XI, KING OF FRANCE
BACKGROUND
Born 3 July 1423 at Bourges, and sent to the Chateau of Loches to
spend his childhood in greater safety with his mother and sisters.
One brother, Charles, Duc de Berry. Parents were Charles VII
(Joan of Arc’s “gentil Dauphin”) and Marie of Anjou. The house of
Valois was a junior branch of the House of Capet. Louis was a
rebellious son who despised his father, and regarded him as a
weakling. He took up arms against his father in 1440 (aged 17) in
a revolt known as the “Praguerie” after a similar contemporary
event in Prague. But the uprising failed, and the King forgave him.
Relations did not improve, and Louis continued feuding with his
father. He retired to the Dauphine, where he lived as a virtual
monarch, and set in train the types of administrative reforms
which would characterise his reign proper. In 1436 (aged 13), he
married Margaret of Scotland, daughter of James I of Scotland.
The marriage was a diplomatic affair, not happy, and there were
no children. Margaret died aged 20 in 1445. Louis was named
Dauphin (heir apparent) in 1436. In 1451, against his father’s
wishes, he married Charlotte of Savoy (aged 12); the marriage
was finally consummated after Louis’s accession. There were
three living children (including his heir, Charles). Louis also had
two illegitimate daughters. Louis’s continued antagonism
provoked his father to invade the Dauphine in1456; Louis then
took refuge with the Duke of Burgundy, Philip the Good. Charles
VII died in 1461. Louis immediately had himself crowned in
Rheims to forestall any attempt by his brother, the Duke of Berry,
to assume the throne. His ambition was to unify the country under
his kingship. At the time of his accession, the territory effectively
ruled by the King of France was concentrated in the centre of the
country; large tracts of present-day France were owned and ruled
by the Dukes of Burgundy, Brittany and Normandy, who were
nominally vassals of the King of France, but in fact virtually
autonomous. The King of England was also a nominal vassal of the
King of France, as well as claiming supremacy over France, so
provoking the Hundred Years War.
Upon his accession, Louis set about reorganising the
administration of the country to secure his standing. This entailed
attempting to put the powerful nobility under his control and
creating his own civil service. The nobility naturally opposed his
policy of reducing their powers and influence. In 1465, the nobles,
led by Duke Charles of Burgundy, established the League of the
Public Weal. Louis did not win this armed conflict, and the nobles
retired to their respective provinces. But at least Louis had
identified his enemies, and eventually picked them off one by one.
His reign was dominated by other armed conflicts, with varying
success. He made peace with the King of England (Edward IV) at
the Treaty of Picquigny in 1475, effectively bringing to an end the
Hundred Years’ War.
His health was not good (he suffered badly from haemorroids with
serious complications). He also suffered two cerebral
haemorrhages, the second of which proved fatal. He died in
August 1483, aged 60. His son (Charles VIII, aged 13) succeeded
him. His eldest daughter, Anne de Beaujeu, regarded as her
father’s equal in intelligence, acted as Regent until Charles’s
coming of age. Louis’s wife, Charlotte, died four months after her
husband.
HIS ACHIEVEMENTS
His main objective was to bring the whole of the territory of
France under the control of the monarch, and to centralise
administrative control to himself by crushing the power and
influence of the nobility. He largely succeeded; the last remaining
portion (Brittany) came under the protection of the King when
Louis’s son (Charles VIII) married Anne, daughter of the Duke of
Brittany. He also determined to rid himself of the English incubus
and real threat to his security. He developed a sound treasury, an
effective army (which also acted as tax-collectors), a solid
commercial base, and raised France’s reputation as a serious
player in European affairs.
His administration was highly personal: he himself selected his
officers. They were mostly from the ranks of the merchant middle
classes and the minor nobility. He worked them hard, keeping
them on their toes through a stream of communications (delivered
on an efficient system of couriers); and, while he rewarded them
generously for their work, he effectively barred them from
enjoying their success as they were constantly in demand. Louis
did not spare himself: he worked the hardest of all, and was to be
seen working even while hunting, his great passion. Only illness
appeared to dampen his energies, and then only temporarily. He
established an efficient espionage service: it was he who, no
doubt with great glee, informed Edward IV that the Duke of
Clarence’s real objective in wishing to marry Mary of Burgundy
was to move against him for the Crown of England, something
which he himself had encouraged. His chronicler Philippe de
Commynes heaped great praise on his military and administrative
abilities.
He succeeded in his objectives by dint of cunning and charm. He
was nicknamed “The Prudent”. But he is best -known as “Louis
the (Universal) Spider”, being an accomplished intriguer. This
name was apparently given to him by Duke Charles of Burgundy.
But Louis’s father had not failed to acknowledge his brilliance, and
told Duke Philip of Burgundy, when Louis took refuge there, that
he was “giving shelter to a fox who will eat his chickens”. Louis
was completely unscrupulous in pursuit of his objective: he lied,
cheated, bribed (although he always paid the bribe and was
generous with it).
His charm was legendary: he did not stand on ceremony and,
when with the object of his attention, would familiarly take them
by the arm and bring them to sit by him. He studied his
opponent’s weaknesses and used them to his advantage. The
prime example of this is his handling of Edward IV and his
delegation at the Treaty of Picquigny. He effectively bribed them
with generous pensions, gifts of money, plate and lavish
entertainment. He even urged Edward (known for his
womanising) to visit Paris where he could be assured of a “good
time”. On reflection, however, he thought better of this, and
deputed one of his agents to discourage Edward from prolonging
his stay. The English were apparently known as “great eaters”;
Louis ensured that the English soldiers were well supplied with
food and copious drafts of wine and so happy to leave. He said
that, while his father had had to fight the English with arms, he
had succeeded in defeating them with venison pies and flagons of
wine.
Apart from some of the merchant and middle classes, the people
as a whole, namely the peasant class, did not benefit from Louis’s
reign, something which endured until the French Revolution, some
300 years later.
Louis was not a patron of the arts nor of academic pursuits. The
poet Francois Villon was the main literary exemplar, with Philippe
de Commynes the significant chronicler; the beautifully illustrated
Book of Hours of the Duke of Berry (Louis’s brother) was the
other notable artistic achievement.
FOREIGN POLICY
He set out to develop close relations with his neighbours, and
especially admired Lodovico Sforza, Duke of Milan. He learned
Italian particularly to be able to correspond with him, and to
discuss matters in private with his Ambassador.
His determination to rid himself of the English threat was greatly
assisted by his relationship with Warwick, and the fact that Queen
Margaret was living under his protection. He handled Warwick
with great skill, offering him French titles and lands, money and
troops. It must have been most gratifying to link this with his
ambition to quash Burgundy. In both, he succeeded, although the
intellectual competition from both Dukes of Burgundy was not
significant; and Edward IV became less active towards the end of
his life. He would have faced a tougher opponent in Henry VII.
HIS PERSONALITY
A withdrawn, solitary man, single-minded in his pursuit of his
objective. Towards the end of his life, he became increasingly
paranoid. He was feared rather than loved. In his final days, he
locked himself in the castle of Plessis-lez-Tours where he died,
and allowed no one to enter without stringent checks; this even
extended to his much-trusted daughter, Anne, and her husband.
He was religious in the tradition of the era, ie in observance but
not the reality of his faith, which was largely based on
superstition.
On the lighter side, he delighted in practical jokes: one bewildered
envoy was treated to a charade where Louis arranged that one of
his officers , dressed similarly to him, but with his hat shading his
face, pretended to be the King, Louis only appearing after two
such interviews. He adored hunting, and was especially fond of
dogs. He also surrounded himself with a large menagerie of birds
and other animals. His unfortunate hosts had to tolerate animal
noises and bird droppings.
He was a contemporary of Edward IV. While they both had similar
difficulties with rebellious nobles and subjects, Louis possibly had
the greater problems, and the greater success. And he was a
different animal: short, dark, not handsome, sparing in his dress
(he always wore cheap cloth) and eating habits, impatient of
ceremony, a very hands-on administrator, faithful to his wife.
SUMMARY
An impressive administrator and general. An early, and
successful, proponent of Realpoliitik (Machiavelli’s only criticism
of him was on one aspect of his military policy). Sir Walter Scott’s
novel “Quentin Durward”, however, describes Louis as an utter
villain, who fatally undermined “the knightly code of chivalry”,
and “did his utmost to corrupt our ideas of honour at the very
source”.
But let us leave the last word to his faithful chronicler and
counsellor, Philippe de Commynes:
“Among all those whom I have known, the most subtle in getting
himself out of difficulty in hard times was King Louis XI, our
master, and also the most modest in words and dress, and one
who took the most trouble in winning over anyone who could
serve him or do him harm..he held no grudges..He was by
inclination drawn to those of modest standing, and opposed to all
the great ones who did not need him. .He knew all those of any
weight and importance in England, Spain, Portugal, Italy, the
estates of the Duke of Burgundy, and Brittany, as well as among
his own subjects. .His early experiences of hardship, when he took
refuge with Duke Philip of Burgundy... were very instructive as he
had to learn how to please those of whom he had need, an d this
was no small advantage”.