Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was
King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and
King of Navarre
This is a list of the kings and queens of Pamplona, later Navarre. Pamplona was the primary name of the kingdom until its union with Aragon (1076–1134). However, the territorial designation Navarre came into use as an alternative name in the ...
(as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown.
Shortly before his ninth birthday, Louis became king of France and Navarre after his father
Henry IV was assassinated. His mother,
Marie de' Medici, acted as regent during his minority. Mismanagement of the kingdom and ceaseless political intrigues by Marie and her Italian
favourite
A favourite (British English) or favorite (American English) was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In post-classical and early-modern Europe, among other times and places, the term was used of individuals delegated s ...
s led the young king to take power in 1617 by exiling his mother and executing her followers, including
Concino Concini
Concino Concini, 1st Marquis d'Ancre (23 November 1569 – 24 April 1617), was an Italian politician, best known for being a minister of Louis XIII of France, as the favourite of Louis's mother, Marie de Medici, Queen of France. In 1617 he was ki ...
, the most influential Italian at the French court.
Louis XIII, taciturn and suspicious, relied heavily on his chief ministers, first
Charles d'Albert, duc de Luynes and then
Cardinal Richelieu, to govern the
Kingdom of France
The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period ...
. The King and the Cardinal are remembered for establishing the ''
Académie française'', and ending the revolt of the
French nobility. They systematically destroyed the castles of defiant lords, and denounced the use of private violence (
dueling, carrying weapons, and maintaining private armies). By the end of the 1620s, Richelieu had established "the royal monopoly of force" as the ruling doctrine. His reign was also marked by the struggles against the
Huguenots
The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
and
Habsburg Spain.
Early life, 1601–1610
Born at the
Palace of Fontainebleau, Louis XIII was the eldest child of King
Henry IV of France
Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarch ...
and his second wife
Marie de' Medici. As son of the king, he was a
Fils de France ("son of France"), and as the eldest son,
Dauphin of France. His father Henry IV was the first French king of the
House of Bourbon, having succeeded his second cousin,
Henry III (1574–1589), in application of
Salic law. Louis XIII's paternal grandparents were
Antoine de Bourbon, duc de Vendôme, and
Jeanne d'Albret
Jeanne d'Albret ( Basque: ''Joana Albretekoa''; Occitan: ''Joana de Labrit''; 16 November 1528 – 9 June 1572), also known as Jeanne III, was Queen of Navarre from 1555 to 1572.
Jeanne was the daughter of Henry II of Navarre and Margar ...
, Queen of Navarre. His maternal grandparents were
Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Francesco I (25 March 1541 – 19 October 1587) was the second Grand Duke of Tuscany, ruling from 1574 until his death in 1587. He was a member of the House of Medici.
Biography
Born in Florence, Francesco was the son of Cosimo I de' Medici ...
, and
Joanna of Austria, Grand Duchess of Tuscany
Joanna of Austria (German ''Johanna von Österreich'', Italian ''Giovanna d'Austria'') (24 January 1547 – 11 April 1578) was an Archduchess of Austria. By marriage to Francesco I de' Medici, she was the Grand Princess of Tuscany and later the ...
.
Eleonora de' Medici, his maternal aunt, was his
godmother. As a child, he was raised under the supervision of the royal governess
Françoise de Montglat.
The ambassador of King
James I of England
James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...
to the court of France,
Sir Edward Herbert, who presented his credentials to Louis XIII in 1619, remarked on Louis’s extreme congenital speech impediment and his double teeth:
Regency of Marie de' Medici, 1610–1617
![Louis Dreizehn France](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Louis_Dreizehn_France.jpg)
Louis XIII ascended the throne in 1610 upon the assassination of his father, and his mother Marie de' Medici acted as his
Regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
. Although Louis XIII came of age at thirteen (1614), his mother did not give up her position as Regent until 1617, when he was 16. Marie maintained most of her husband's ministers, with the exception of
Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully, who was unpopular in the country. She mainly relied on
Nicolas de Neufville, seigneur de Villeroy
Nicolas IV de Neufville, seigneur de Villeroy (1543 – 12 November 1617) was a secretary of state under four kings of France: Charles IX, Henry III, Henry IV, and Louis XIII. The most distinguished of all sixteenth-century French secretaries, ...
,
, and
Pierre Jeannin for political advice. Marie pursued a moderate policy, confirming the
Edict of Nantes
The Edict of Nantes () was signed in April 1598 by King Henry IV and granted the Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was in essence completely Catholic. In the edict, Henry aimed pr ...
. She was not, however, able to prevent rebellion by nobles such as
Henri, Prince of Condé (1588–1646)
Henri II de Bourbon, Prince of Condé (1 September 1588 – 26 December 1646) was the head of the senior-most cadet branch of the House of Bourbon for nearly all his life and heir presumptive to the King of France for the first few years of his li ...
, second in line to the throne after Marie's second surviving son
Gaston, Duke of Orléans. Condé squabbled with Marie in 1614, and briefly raised an army, but he found little support in the country, and Marie was able to raise her own army. Nevertheless, Marie agreed to call an
Estates General assembly to address Condé's grievances.
The assembly of this Estates General was delayed until Louis XIII formally came of age on his thirteenth birthday. Although his coming-of-age formally ended Marie's Regency, she remained the ''de facto'' ruler of France. The Estates General accomplished little, spending its time discussing the relationship of France to the
Papacy
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
and the
venality of offices, but reaching no resolutions.
![France 1643-A Half Louis d'Or](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/France_1643-A_Half_Louis_d%27Or.jpg)
Beginning in 1615, Marie came to rely increasingly on
Concino Concini
Concino Concini, 1st Marquis d'Ancre (23 November 1569 – 24 April 1617), was an Italian politician, best known for being a minister of Louis XIII of France, as the favourite of Louis's mother, Marie de Medici, Queen of France. In 1617 he was ki ...
, an Italian who assumed the role of her favourite, and was widely unpopular because he was a foreigner. This further antagonised Condé, who launched another rebellion in the early months of 1616.
Huguenot
The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
leaders supported Condé's rebellion, which led the young Louis XIII to conclude that they would never be loyal subjects. Eventually, Condé and Queen Marie made peace with the ratification on 3 May of the
Treaty of Loudun
The Treaty of Loudun was signed on 3 May 1616 in Loudun, France, and ended the war that originally began as a power struggle between queen mother Marie de Medici's favorite Concino Concini (recently made Marquis d'Ancre) and Henry II de Condé, ...
, which allowed Condé great power in government but did not remove Concini. However, on 1 September, after growing dissatisfaction from nobles due to Concini's position, Queen Marie, with Louis's help, imprisoned Condé to protect Concini, leading to renewed revolts against the Queen and Concini.
In the meantime, Louis XIII decided, with the encouragement of
Charles d'Albert
Charles d'Albert, Duke of Luynes (, 5 August 1578 – 15 December 1621) was a French courtier and a favourite of Louis XIII. In 1619, the king made him Duke of Luynes and a Peer of France, and in 1621, Constable of France. Luynes died of scar ...
(the
Grand Falconer of France) and other advisers, to break with his mother and to arrest Concini. On 24 April 1617, during the attempted arrest, Concini was killed. His widow
Leonora Dori Galigaï was tried for witchcraft, condemned, beheaded, and burned on 8 July 1617, and Marie was sent into exile in
Blois
Blois ( ; ) is a commune and the capital city of Loir-et-Cher department, in Centre-Val de Loire, France, on the banks of the lower Loire river between Orléans and Tours.
With 45,898 inhabitants by 2019, Blois is the most populated city of the ...
. Later, Louis conferred the title of
Duke of Luynes The Duke of Luynes (french: duc de Luynes ) is a territorial name belonging to the noble French house d'Albert. Luynes is, today, a commune of the Indre-et-Loire ''département'' in France. The family of Albert, which sprang from Thomas Alberti ( ...
on Charles d'Albert.
Ascendancy of Charles de Luynes, 1617–1621
Luynes soon became as unpopular as Concini had been. Other nobles resented his monopolisation of the King. Luynes was seen as less competent than Henry IV's ministers, many now elderly or deceased, who had surrounded Marie de' Medici.
The
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...
broke out in 1618. The French court was initially unsure of which side to support. On the one hand, France's traditional rivalry with the
House of Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
argued in favour of intervening on behalf of the Protestant powers (and Louis's father Henry IV of France had once been a Huguenot leader). On the other hand, Louis XIII had a strict Catholic upbringing, and his natural inclination was to support the
Holy Roman Emperor, the Habsburg
Ferdinand II.
The French nobles were further antagonised against Luynes by the 1618 revocation of the ''
paulette tax'' and by the sale of offices in 1620. From her exile in Blois, Marie de' Medici became the obvious rallying point for this discontent, and the Bishop of Luçon (who became
Cardinal Richelieu in 1622) was allowed to act as her chief adviser, serving as a go-between Marie and the King.
French nobles launched a rebellion on 2 July 1620, but their forces were easily routed by royal forces at the
Battle of Ponts-de-Cé
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and forc ...
on 7 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 as the official religion of Béarn. However, the Béarn expedition drove Huguenots in other provinces into a rebellion led by
Henri, Duke of Rohan.
In 1621 Louis XIII was formally reconciled with his mother. Luynes was appointed
Constable of France, after which he and Louis set out to quell the Huguenot rebellion. The 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.
Rule by Council, 1622–1624
![Louis-XIII by-Franz-II-Pourbus](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Louis-XIII_by-Franz-II-Pourbus.jpg)
Following the death of Luynes, Louis determined that he would rule by council. His mother returned from exile and, in 1622, entered this council, where 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
The Treaty of Montpellier (or the Peace of Montpellier) was signed in Montpellier on 18 October 1622 between King Louis XIII of France and Duke Henry II of Rohan. The treaty followed the siege of Montpellier and ended hostilities between French r ...
, signed by Louis XIII and the Duke of Rohan in October 1622. The 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
La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. Wi ...
.
Louis ultimately dismissed Noël Brûlart de Sillery and Pierre Brûlart in 1624 because of his displeasure with how they handled the diplomatic situation over the
Valtellina with
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. Valtellina was an area with Catholic inhabitants under the
suzerainty of the Protestant
Three Leagues
The Three Leagues, sometimes referred to as Raetia, was the alliance of 1471 of the League of God's House, the League of the Ten Jurisdictions, and the Grey League, leading eventually to the formation of the Swiss canton of Graubünden (Grison ...
. It served as an important route to Italy for France and it provided an easy connection between the Spanish and the Holy Roman empires, especially in helping each other with armies if necessary. Spain was constantly interfering in the Valtellina, which angered Louis, as he wanted to hold possession of this strategically important passageway. He therefore found a better servitor in his
Superintendent of Finances Charles de La Vieuville, who held similar views of Spain as the king, and who advised Louis to side with
the Dutch via the
Treaty of Compiègne.
However, La Vieuville was dismissed by the middle of 1624, partly due to his bad behaviour (during his tenure as superintendent he was arrogant and incompetent) and because of a well-organized pamphlet campaign by
Cardinal Richelieu against his council rival. Louis needed a new chief advisor; Cardinal Richelieu would be that counsellor.
Ministry of Cardinal Richelieu, 1624–1642
![Louis XIII (crowned by victory)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/Louis_XIII_%28crowned_by_victory%29.jpg)
Cardinal Richelieu played a major role in Louis XIII's reign from 1624, determining France's direction over the course of the next eighteen years. As a result of Richelieu's work, Louis XIII became one of the first examples of an
absolute monarch
Absolute monarchy (or Absolutism as a doctrine) is a form of monarchy in which the monarch rules in their own right or power. In an absolute monarchy, the king or queen is by no means limited and has absolute power, though a limited constituti ...
. Under Louis and Richelieu, the crown
successfully intervened in the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...
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). Louis XIII successfully led the important
Siege of La Rochelle
The siege of La Rochelle (, or sometimes ) was a result of a war between the French royal forces of Louis XIII of France and the Huguenots of La Rochelle in 1627–28. The siege marked the height of the struggle between the Catholics and the Pr ...
. In addition, Louis had the port of
Le Havre
Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...
modernised, and he built a powerful navy.
Louis also worked to reverse the trend of promising French artists leaving for Italy to work and study. He commissioned the painters
Nicolas Poussin and
Philippe de Champaigne
Philippe de Champaigne (; 26 May 1602 – 12 August 1674) was a Brabançon-born French Baroque era painter, a major exponent of the French school. He was a founding member of the Académie de peinture et de sculpture in Paris, the premier art ...
to decorate the
Louvre Palace. In foreign matters, Louis organised the development and administration of
New France
New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spa ...
, expanding its settlements westward along the
Saint Lawrence River
The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connectin ...
from
Quebec City
Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...
to
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
.
Expansion overseas under Louis XIII
Morocco
![Louis XIII](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Louis_XIII.jpg)
In order to continue the exploration efforts of his predecessor Henry IV, Louis XIII considered a colonial venture in
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
, and sent a fleet under
Isaac de Razilly in 1619. Razilly was able to explore the coast as far as
Mogador. In 1624 he was given charge of an embassy to the pirate harbour of
Salé
Salé ( ar, سلا, salā, ; ber, ⵙⵍⴰ, sla) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the right bank of the Bou Regreg river, opposite the national capital Rabat, for which it serves as a commuter town. Founded in about 1030 by the Banu Ifran, ...
in Morocco, in order to solve the affair of the
Zaydani Library of
Mulay Zidan.
In 1630, Razilly was able to negotiate the purchase of French slaves from the Moroccans. He visited Morocco again in 1631, and helped negotiate the
Franco-Moroccan Treaty (1631). The Treaty gave France preferential treatment, known as
Capitulations: preferential tariffs, the establishment of a Consulate, and freedom of religion for French subjects.
Americas
Unlike other colonial powers, France, under the guidance of Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu, encouraged a peaceful coexistence in
New France
New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spa ...
between the Natives and the Colonists. Indians, converted to Catholicism, were considered as "natural Frenchmen" by the
Ordonnance
In French politics, an ''ordonnance'' (, "order") is a statutory instrument issued by the Council of Ministers in an area of law normally reserved for primary legislation enacted by the French Parliament. They function as temporary statutes pend ...
of 1627:
Acadia
Acadia (french: link=no, Acadie) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the The Maritimes, Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. During much of the 17t ...
was also developed under Louis XIII. In 1632, Isaac de Razilly became involved, at the request of Cardinal Richelieu, in the colonization of Acadia, by taking possession of the
Habitation at Port-Royal
Habitation may refer to:
* Human settlement, a community in which people live
* Dwelling, a self-contained unit of accommodation used as a home
* Habitation (India), an administrative division in India
* Habitation at Port-Royal, France's first s ...
(now
Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia) and developing it into a French colony. The King gave Razilly the official title of
lieutenant-general for New France. He took on military tasks such as taking control of
Fort Pentagouet
Fort Pentagouët (Fort Pentagoet, Fort Castine, Fort Penobscot, Fort Saint-Pierre) was a French fort established in present-day Castine, Maine, which was the capital of Acadia (1670–1674). It is the oldest permanent settlement in New England.
I ...
at
Majabigwaduce on the
Penobscot Bay, which had been given to France in an earlier Treaty, and to inform the English they were to vacate all lands north of Pemaquid. This resulted in all the French interests in Acadia being restored.
In
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, the colony of
Equinoctial France was established in 1612, but only lasted 4 years until it was eliminated by the Portuguese.
Asia
France-Japan relations started under Louis XIII in 1615 when
Hasekura Tsunenaga
was a kirishitan Japanese samurai and retainer of Date Masamune, the daimyō of Sendai. He was of Japanese imperial descent with ancestral ties to Emperor Kanmu. Other names include Philip Francis Faxicura, Felipe Francisco Faxicura, and Phi ...
, a Japanese samurai and ambassador, sent to Rome by
Date Masamune, landed at
Saint-Tropez for a few days. In 1636,
Guillaume Courtet
Guillaume Courtet, OP (1589–1637) was a French Dominican priest who has been described as the first Frenchman to have visited Japan. He was martyred in 1637 and canonized in 1987.
Career
Courtet was born in Sérignan, near Béziers, in 1589 o ...
, a French
Dominican priest, reciprocated when he set foot in Japan.
Also in 1615, Marie de' Medici incorporated the merchants of Dieppe and other harbours to found the
Company of the Moluccas. In 1619, an armed expedition composed of three ships (275 crew, 106 cannon) and called the "Fleet of Montmorency" under General
Augustin de Beaulieu was sent from Honfleur, to fight
the Dutch in the
Far East
The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.
The ter ...
. In 1624, with the
Treaty of Compiègne, Cardinal Richelieu obtained an agreement to halt the Dutch–French warfare in the Far East.
Antipathy with brother
Twice the king's younger brother, Gaston, Duke of Orléans, had to leave France for conspiring against his government and for attempting to undermine the influence of his mother and Cardinal Richelieu. After waging an unsuccessful war in
Languedoc
The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France.
Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...
, he took refuge in
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...
. In 1643, on the death of Louis XIII, Gaston became Lieutenant-General of the kingdom and fought against Spain on the northern frontiers of France.
Marriage
![Anna of Austria by Rubens (1622-1625, Norton Simon Museum)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Anna_of_Austria_by_Rubens_%281622-1625%2C_Norton_Simon_Museum%29.jpg)
On 24 November 1615, Louis XIII married
Anne of Austria
Anne of Austria (french: Anne d'Autriche, italic=no, es, Ana María Mauricia, italic=no; 22 September 1601 – 20 January 1666) was an infanta of Spain who became Queen of France as the wife of King Louis XIII from their marriage in 1615 un ...
, daughter of
Philip III of Spain
Philip III ( es, Felipe III; 14 April 1578 – 31 March 1621) was King of Spain. As Philip II, he was also King of Portugal, Naples, Sicily and Sardinia and Duke of Milan from 1598 until his death in 1621.
A member of the House of Habsburg, Phi ...
. The couple were second cousins, by mutual descent from
Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand I ( es, Fernando I; 10 March 1503 – 25 July 1564) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1556, King of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia from 1526, and Archduke of Austria from 1521 until his death in 1564.Milan Kruhek: Cetin, grad izbornog sabor ...
. 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
Louis VII of France and
Constance of Castile
Constance of Castile (1136 or 1140 – 4 October 1160) was Queen of France as the second wife of Louis VII, who married her following the annulment of his marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine. She was a daughter of Alfonso VII of León and Berengari ...
. The marriage was only briefly happy, and the King's duties often kept them apart. After 23 years of marriage and four stillbirths, Anne finally gave birth to a son on 5 September 1638, the future
Louis XIV
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Ver ...
.
Many people regarded this birth as a 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
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
, who, many believed, had interceded for the perceived miracle. But the text of the dedication does not mention the royal pregnancy and birth as one of its reasons, and Louis XIII himself is said to have expressed his scepticism with regard to the miracle after his son's birth. In gratitude for having successfully given birth, the queen founded the
Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
abbey of the
Val-de-Grâce
The (' or ') was a military hospital located at in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was closed as a hospital in 2016.
History
The church of the was built by order of Queen Anne of Austria, wife of Louis XIII. After the birth of h ...
, for which Louis XIV laid the cornerstone of its
church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* C ...
, an early masterpiece of French Baroque architecture.
Issue
The couple had the following offspring:
}; french: Marie-Thérèse d'Autriche) (1638–83) in 1660. Had issue.
, -
,
Philippe of France, Duke of Anjou (later Duke of Orléans) , ,
![A young King Louis XIV of France (wearing Fleur-de-lis) sitting on a throne with his brother Philippe, Duke of Orléans](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/A_young_King_Louis_XIV_of_France_%28wearing_Fleur-de-lis%29_sitting_on_a_throne_with_his_brother_Philippe%2C_Duke_of_Orl%C3%A9ans.jpg)
, , 21 Sep 1640 – 8 Jun 1701 , , married (1)
Princess Henrietta of England
Henrietta Anne of England (16 June 1644 O.S. N.S.">New_Style.html" ;"title="6 June 1644 New Style">N.S.– 30 June 1670) was the youngest daughter of King Charles I of England and Queen Henrietta Maria.
Fleeing England with her mother and ...
(1644–70) in 1661. Had issue. Married (2)
Elisabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate
Princess Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate (german: Prinzessin Elisabeth Charlotte von der Pfalz), (french: Princesse Élisabeth-Charlotte du Palatinat); known as Liselotte von der Pfalz, 27 May 1652 – 8 December 1722) was a German m ...
(1652–1722) in 1671. Had issue.
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...
claimed in the second edition of ''Questions sur l'Encyclopédie'' (1771) that before Louis XIV was born, Louis XIII had an illegitimate son, who was jailed and his face hidden beneath an iron mask (see the
Man in the Iron Mask
The Man in the Iron Mask (French ; died 19 November 1703) was an unidentified prisoner of state during the reign of King Louis XIV of France (1643–1715). Warranted for arrest on 28 July 1669 under the pseudonym of "Eustache Dauger", he wa ...
).
Sexuality
![LouisXIII](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/LouisXIII.jpg)
There is no evidence that Louis kept mistresses (a distinction that earned him the title "Louis the
Chaste
Chaste refers to practicing chastity.
Chaste may also refer to:
* Aymar Chaste (1514–1603), Catholic French admiral
* Chaste (Marvel Comics), a fictional Marvel Comics martial arts enclave
* Chaste (canton) - see List of townships in Quebec
T ...
"), but several reports suggest that he may have been homosexual. The prolonged temporal gap between the queen's pregnancies may have been a result of Louis XIII's aversion to heterosexual activity, a matter of great political consequence, since it took the couple more than 20 years of marriage before Louis XIV's birth. His interests as a teenager were focused on male courtiers and he developed an intense emotional attachment to his favourite,
Charles d'Albert
Charles d'Albert, Duke of Luynes (, 5 August 1578 – 15 December 1621) was a French courtier and a favourite of Louis XIII. In 1619, the king made him Duke of Luynes and a Peer of France, and in 1621, Constable of France. Luynes died of scar ...
, although some say there is no clear evidence of a sexual relationship.
Gédéon Tallemant des Réaux
Gédéon Tallemant, Sieur des Réaux (7 November 1619 – 6 November 1692) was a French writer known for his ''Historiettes'', a collection of short biographies.
Biography
Born at La Rochelle, he belonged to a wealthy middle-class Huguenot fa ...
, drawing from rumours told to him by a critic of the King (the
Marquise de Rambouillet), explicitly speculated in his ''Historiettes'' about what happened in the king's bed.
A further
liaison
Liaison means communication between two or more groups, or co-operation or working together.
Liaison or liaisons may refer to:
General usage
* Affair, an unfaithful sexual relationship
* Collaboration
* Co-operation
Arts and entertainment
* Li ...
with an
equerry
An equerry (; from French ' stable', and related to 'squire') is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attendant, usually up ...
, François de Baradas, ended when the latter lost favour fighting a duel after duelling had been forbidden by royal decree.
Louis was also captivated by
Henri Coiffier de Ruzé, Marquis of Cinq-Mars
Henri Coiffier de Ruzé, Marquis of Cinq-Mars (1620 – 12 September 1642) was a favourite of King Louis XIII of France, who led the last and most nearly successful of many conspiracies against the Cardinal Richelieu, the king's powerful f ...
, 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
e Cinq-Mars
E, or e, is the fifth letter and the second vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''e'' (pronounced ); plura ...
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."
Death
Louis XIII was unwell during the winter of 1642–1643. He managed a few hunting trips to Versailles, but by the middle of February was mostly bedridden. From contemporary descriptions, modern historians have surmised that he suffered from
intestinal tuberculosis. On 13 April his chief physician informed him that his illness would be fatal. He died in Paris on 14 May 1643, the 33rd anniversary of his father's death. According to his biographer A. Lloyd Moote,
"his intestines were inflamed and ulcerated, making digestion virtually impossible; tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
had spread to his lungs, accompanied by habitual cough. Either of these major ailments, or the accumulation of minor problems, may have killed him, not to mention physiological weaknesses that made him prone to disease or his doctors' remedies of enemas
An enema, also known as a clyster, is an injection of fluid into the lower bowel by way of the rectum.Cullingworth, ''A Manual of Nursing, Medical and Surgical'':155 The word enema can also refer to the liquid injected, as well as to a device ...
and bleedings, which continued right to his death."
Composer and lute player
Louis XIII shared his mother's love of the
lute
A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted.
More specifically, the term "lute" can ref ...
, developed in her childhood in Florence. One of his first toys was a lute and his personal doctor, Jean Héroard, reports him playing it for his mother in 1604, at the age of three. In 1635, Louis XIII composed the music, wrote the libretto and designed the costumes for the "
Ballet de la Merlaison
The ''Ballet de la Merlaison'' is a ballet de cour first performed on 15 March 1635 at the Château de Chantilly, during the reign of – and commonly attributed to – Louis XIII of France, Louis XIII.McGowan 2001. It is the most popular ballet ...
." The king himself danced in two performances of the ballet the same year at Chantilly and Royaumont.
Influence on men's fashion
In the sphere of
men's fashion
Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...
, Louis helped introduce the wearing of
wig
A wig is a head or hair accessory made from human hair, animal hair, or synthetic fiber. The word wig is short for periwig, which makes its earliest known appearance in the English language in William Shakespeare's ''The Two Gentlemen of Verona' ...
s among men in 1624. This fashion spread in Europe and European-influenced countries
in the 1660s and was a dominant style among men for about 140 years, until the change of dress
in the 1790s affected by the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
.
In fiction and film
* Louis XIII, his wife Anne, and Cardinal Richelieu became central figures in
Alexandre Dumas, ''père'''s 1844 novel ''
The Three Musketeers
''The Three Musketeers'' (french: Les Trois Mousquetaires, links=no, ) is a French historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight ...
'' and subsequent television and
film adaptations. The book depicts Louis as a man willing to have Richelieu as a powerful advisor but aware of his scheming; he is portrayed as bored and sour, dwarfed by Richelieu's intellect. Films such as
the 1948,
the 1973 or
the 2011 versions tend to treat Louis XIII as a comic character, depicting him as bumbling and incompetent. In the
1993 film, he is depicted as willing to stand up to Richelieu when necessary but still strongly influenced by him. He is also depicted as in love with his wife, Anne, but very nervous and unsure around her.
* The 2014 BBC TV series, ''
The Musketeers
''The Musketeers'' is a British period action drama programme based on the characters from Alexandre Dumas's 1844 novel ''The Three Musketeers'' and co-produced by BBC America and BBC Worldwide. The series follows the musketeers Athos, Aramis ...
'', merging the historical with the fictional, portrayed the King as both incompetent and strong, whose alliance with Spain is ever faltering. He is portrayed by
Ryan Gage
Ryan Gage (born 17 January 1983) is an English actor who has worked in theatre, television, films, and video games.
On television, he is best known for his roles as King Louis XIII in the BBC series ''The Musketeers'' and Ted Bundy in the TV f ...
.
*
Arthur Lubin
Arthur Lubin (July 25, 1898 – May 11, 1995) was an American film director and producer who directed several ''Abbott & Costello'' films, ''Phantom of the Opera'' (1943), the ''Francis the Talking Mule'' series and created the talking-horse TV se ...
portrayed him in the 1926 film ''
Bardelys the Magnificent
''Bardelys the Magnificent'' is a 1926 American silent romantic film directed by King Vidor and starring John Gilbert and Eleanor Boardman. The film is based on the 1906 novel of the same title by Rafael Sabatini. It was the second film of the ...
''.
* Louis XIII, his wife Anne, his younger brother Gaston, Cardinal Richelieu, Cardinal Mazarin and members of the Royal family are mentioned throughout the course of the ''
1632 series'' of novels and other writings by
Eric Flint
Eric Flint (February 6, 1947 – July 17, 2022) was an American author, editor, and e-publisher. The majority of his main works are Alternate history (fiction), alternate history science fiction, but he also wrote humorous fantasy adventures. ...
''et al.'', especially ''1636: The Cardinal Virtues''.
* Louis XIII appears in novels of
Robert Merle
Robert Merle (; 28 August 1908 – 27 March 2004) was a French novelist.
Early life
Merle was born in 1908 in Tébessa, French Algeria. His father Félix, who was an interpreter "with a perfect knowledge of literary and spoken Arabic", was kille ...
's ''
Fortune de France'' series (1977–2003).
* Louis XIII was portrayed by
Edward Arnold in the 1935 film
''Cardinal Richelieu'', with
George Arliss
George Arliss (born Augustus George Andrews; 10 April 1868 – 5 February 1946) was an English actor, author, playwright, and filmmaker who found success in the United States. He was the first British actor to win an Academy Award – which he ...
portraying the Cardinal.
*
Ken Russell
Henry Kenneth Alfred Russell (3 July 1927 – 27 November 2011) was a British film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. His films in the main were liberal adaptation ...
directed the 1971 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
gay man
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
who amuses himself by shooting Protestants dressed up as birds. The film was based on
Aldous Huxley
Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He wrote nearly 50 books, both novels and non-fiction works, as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems.
Born into the prominent Huxley ...
's 1952 book ''
The Devils of Loudun
''The Devils of Loudun'' is a 1952 non-fiction novel by Aldous Huxley.
Premise
It is a historical narrative of supposed demonic possession, religious fanaticism, sexual repression, and mass hysteria that occurred in 17th-century France surroun ...
''.
* Louis XIII appears in the 2002 ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'' audio drama ''
The Church and the Crown
''Doctor Who: The Monthly Adventures'', formerly titled the ''Main Range'', is a series that consists of full-cast audio dramas based on the British science fiction television programme '' Doctor Who'', produced by Nicholas Briggs and Big Finis ...
''.
Ancestors
See also
*
Absolute monarchy in France
Absolute monarchy in France slowly emerged in the 16th century and became firmly established during the 17th century. Absolute monarchy is a variation of the governmental form of monarchy in which the monarch holds supreme authority and where tha ...
*
Charles de Lorme
Charles de Lorme, Delorme, d'lorm, or De l'Orme (1584 – 24 June 1678), , personal medical doctor to Louis XIII
*
French monarchs family tree
Below are the family trees of all French monarchs, from Childeric I to Louis Philippe I.
For a more simplified view, see Family tree of French monarchs (simplified)
Key
Unlike in some other family trees, siblings here are not listed in birth order ...
Notes
Explanatory footnotes
References
*
*
*
*
Dulong, Claude, ''Anne d’Autriche''. Paris: Hachette, 1980
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
Blanchard, Jean-Vincent, ''Éminence: Cardinal Richelieu and the Rise of France'' (2011) New York: Walker & Company.
*
Howell, James "Louis XIII" English historiographer Royal 1661–1666
*Huxley, Aldous. "The Devils of Loudun" (1952). The trial of
Urbain Grandier
Urbain Grandier (1590 – 18 August 1634) was a French Catholic priest who was burned at the stake after being convicted of witchcraft, following the events of the so-called "Loudun possessions". Most modern commentators have concluded that Gra ...
, priest of the town who was
torture
Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...
d and burned at the stake in 1634
*
Knecht, Robert, ''Renaissance France, genealogies'', Baumgartner, genealogical tables
*Willis, Daniel A. (comp). ''The Descendants of Louis XIII'' (1999). Clearfield
External links
A complete portrait gallery of Louis XIII and Anna of Austria*
ttp://napoleonistyka.atspace.com/FRENCH_ARMY.htm The French Army 1600–1900*
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Louis 13 of France
1601 births
1643 deaths
17th-century kings of France
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17th-century Navarrese monarchs
17th-century deaths from tuberculosis
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Burials at the Basilica of Saint-Denis
Dauphins of France
Early Modern France
French people of Italian descent
LGBT royalty
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Modern child rulers
People from Fontainebleau
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1600s in France
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Tuberculosis deaths in France
Children of Henry IV of France