Louis XIII of France
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the cognac, see Louis XIII de Rémy Martin.
Louis XIII (September 27, 1601 – May 14, 1643), called the Just (French: le Juste), was King of France from 1610 to 1643.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
Born at the Château de Fontainebleau, Louis XIII was the eldest child of Henry IV of France (1589–1610) and Marie de' Medici. His father was the first Bourbon King of France, having succeeded his ninth cousin, Henry III of France (1574–89), in application of the Salic law. Louis XIII's paternal grandparents were Antoine de Bourbon, Duke of Vendome and Jeanne d'Albret, Queen of Navarre; his maternal grandparents were Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Johanna, archduchess of Austria.
| ||||||||||
Louis XIII ascended to the throne of France in 1610, at the age of eight and a half, upon the assassination of his father. His mother acted as Regent until Louis XIII came of age at thirteen, but she clung to power unofficially until in frustration he took the reins of government into his own hands at the age of fifteen. The assassination of Concino Concini (April 24, 1617), who had greatly influenced Marie's policymaking, effectively removed the Queen Mother's favorites from positions of power. Louis then came into his own as ruler of France. He immediately instated his own advisors to the crown, Jean-Louck Tromblin and Christoph Charleaux, in order to maintain his power. He filled his court with loyal friends and executed those who remained loyal to his mother. Under Louis XIII's rule, the Bourbon Dynasty sustained itself effectively on the throne that Henry IV had recently secured; but the question of freedom of religion continued to haunt the country.
The brilliant and energetic Cardinal Richelieu played a major role in Louis XIII's administration from 1624, decisively shaping the destiny of France for the next 18 years and dying only months before the King himself. As a result of Richelieu's work, Louis XIII became one of the first exemplars of an absolute monarch. Under Louis XIII the Habsburgs were humiliated, the French nobility was firmly kept in line behind their King, and the special privileges granted to the Huguenots by his father were retracted. Furthermore, Louis XIII had the port of Le Havre modernized and built up a powerful navy.
The King also did everything to reverse the trend for the promising artists of France to work and study in Italy. Louis XIII commissioned the great artists Nicolas Poussin and Philippe de Champaigne to decorate the Luxembourg Palace. In foreign matters, Louis XIII organized the development and administration of New France, expanding the settlement of Quebec westward along the Saint Lawrence River from Quebec City to Montreal.
 |
On November 9, 1615, aged only 14, Louis XIII was married to a Habsburg Princess, Anne of Austria (1601–66), daughter of King Philip III of Spain (1598–1621). Their marriage was not consummated until 1619 (when he was 18) and his most intense emotional ties were with a series of handsome men. The marriage, like many Bourbon-Habsburg relationships, was only briefly a happy one, 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.
Though Richelieu was firmly in charge of French policies, the King's favorites left their mark on the reign. The first was the duc de Luynes, 23 years his senior, who was the boy's closest adult friend and adviser at the outset of his reign. The last of the King's favorites (1639–42) was the much younger marquis de Cinq-Mars, who was executed for conspiring with the Spanish enemy in time of war.
After Louis XIII's death in 1643, his wife Anne acted as regent for their four-year-old son, Louis XIV of France (1643–1715).
[edit] Marriage and issue
On November 24 1615, Louis XIII married Anne of Austria (September 22 1601 – January 20 1666). They had the following children:
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louis XIV, King of France | September 5 1638 | September 1 1715 | Married Maria Theresa of Spain (1638 - 1683) in 1660. Had issue. |
| Philip I, Duke of Orleans | September 21, 1640 | June 8, 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] Further reading
<references/>
- Moote, A. Lloyd. Louis XIII, the Just. Berkeley, CA; Los Angeles; London: University of California Press, 1991 (paperback, ISBN 0520075463).
- 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.
[edit] Louis XIII in fiction and film
- Louis XIII, his wife Anne, and Cardinal Richelieu all became central figures in Alexandre Dumas' novel, The Three Musketeers.
- 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. The film was based on Huxley's book "The Devils of Loudun".
- Louis' childhood exposure to sexuality has long been the subject of much humor and ridicule. Influences of this fact and vestiges of its lore have contributed in small part to some facets of modern culture--for example, the music video "Stacey's Mom" was believed to have been inspired by Louis XIII's childhood
[edit] See also
- Absolute monarchy in France
- French monarchs family tree
- Charles II of Guise-Lorraine, Duke of Elbeuf
[edit] External link
- The Three Musketeers, available freely at Project Gutenberg
| Preceded by: Henry IV | King of Navarre 1610–1620 (1643) | Succeeded by: incorporated into France |
| King of France May 14, 1610–May 14, 1643 | Succeeded by: Louis XIV |
cy:Louis XIII o Ffrainc da:Ludvig 13. af Frankrig de:Ludwig XIII. (Frankreich) et:Louis XIII es:Luis XIII de Francia eo:Ludoviko la 13-a (Francio) fa:لویی سیزدهم fr:Louis XIII de France ga:Laoiseach XIII na Fraince ko:루이 13세 hr:Luj XIII., kralj Francuske io:Louis 13ma it:Luigi XIII di Francia he:לואי השלושה עשר מלך צרפת ka:ლუი XIII (საფრანგეთი) la:Ludovicus XIII lb:Louis XIII. vu Frankräich nl:Lodewijk XIII van Frankrijk ja:ルイ13世 (フランス王) no:Ludvig XIII av Frankrike pl:Ludwik XIII Burbon pt:Luís XIII de França ro:Ludovic al XIII-lea al Franţei ru:Людовик XIII (король Франции) simple:Louis XIII of France sk:Ľudovít XIII. sr:Луј XIII fi:Ludvig XIII sv:Ludvig XIII av Frankrike uk:Людовік XIII (король Франції) zh:路易十三
