Throughout the medieval period, there were many good kings;, however, Louis IX was more than a good king,; he was a great king. As He was the son of King Louis VIII and Blanche of Castile, he was born into royalty being the and the oldest among twelve others siblings. He was born into royalty on August 25, 1215. HHowever, his father died when he was only twelve12 years old, which left him leaving him as king of France at a very young age. His mother became took over as regent until he was ready to rule by himself. He became the King of France at the age of twenty-one and ruled from 1226-1270. James J. Walsh said in his The Thirteenth, Greatest of Centuries,“Louis must be considered as probably the greatest monarch who ever occupied an important …show more content…
Louis is what occurred after mass under the oak of Vincennes. During the summer, he would go sit under the oak of Vincennes along with all the people who owned a business, no matter how big or small it was. People would go meet with him to solve disputes that they had. There, Louis, the ninth served as a mediator. He would allow his people to try to solve their disputes among themselves in a peaceful and orderly way. If he noticed that one of the men was being unfair, he would step in and offer his perspective and a solution that would benefit both parties. He was a respected arbitrator, not only by his people but also by high ranking officials. Foreign princes would often come to him in seek of help solving their disputes. He was devoted to the happiness of his people and for that reason, many loved him. (Cyrille, "The Life of St Louis …show more content…
He banned things he considered unholy and that were considered mortal sins such as prostitution, gambling, blasphemy, and judicial combat (Gibson, "St. Louis"). His first Edict was: “ All sheriff's, provosts, and mayors must take an oath stating that they would do justice to every man with no exception if they were rich, poor, stranger, or friend” (Wedgwood, "the memoirs of the lord of Joinville”). This was done to ensure that everyone was treated fairly and equally. To do this, he also made several more edicts that had to do with not making or accepting bribes. All oaths made were taken publicly. He also extended justice in the civil administration in order for there to be more justice in France. His regulations for royal officers became one of the first series of reformed law. Moreover, he encouraged people to use written records in court so that everything was documented (Miller, "Saint Louis of France"). He also changed the tax system so that everyone was taxed fairly depending on their income. He made many smart decisions such as building the first French navy and he also encouraged the use of Roman law in order to create a more organized and fair system (Jordan, "Louis
The Edict of Nantes had given Protestants, or Huguenots, in France the ability to practice their religion without fear of violence or persecution. Enacted in the late 1500s in an effort to resemble France after the destruction of the French Wars of Religion, the Edict of Nantes served as a means to unite the French population and end the violence that often accompanied religious persecution. Louis’ decision to revoke such a peace-promoting edict, in an effort to homogenize his country and align his subjects with his own beliefs, clearly illustrates his giving of priority to his own agenda, as opposed to that which would best benefit his country. However, while the claim that the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes was detrimental to French society, seems to be disproven by Doc 6, which essentially asserts that the king’s revocation has resulted in the rapid conversion of “whole towns” and describes the king as “the invincible hero destined to… destroy the terrible monster of heresy”, the author’s inherently biased point of view must be addressed. This description, which could be used as evidence to support the fact that Louis did act in interest of the state, must be taken with a grain of salt as the author himself, a member of the Assembly of the Clergy, does not even have the best interest of the state in mind; rather, he is
He moved his court because he did not feel safe in Paris and could watch over his court officials due to living so close to one another. This piece certainly provides evidence of what Louis himself valued, but perhaps these attributes are needed to effectively rule with absolutism. Throughout this entire document, the author is implying how great Louis is as a person and an effective ruler. He even goes to list his issues: “All his faults were produced by his surroundings...soon found out his weak point, namely, his love of hearing his own praises” (Saint-Simon). Louis cared deeply regarding his personal image and these weaknesses do not seem that drastic, but according to him, “It was this love of praise which made it easy for Louvois to engage him in serious wars” (Saint-Simon). The text gives historians information about Louis’ love-affair with Mademoiselle de la Valliere, compelling his courtiers to spend more than they earned creating a dependency, and other interesting details regarding his life that are excluded in textbooks. Overall, this document provides a deeper insight to King Louis XIV personality and justifications for why he chose the actions he did. Duc de Saint-Simon, someone that resided at the Palace of Versailles, can provide information about a man that ruled with an iron fist over his
Louis XIV was an absolute monarch in France from 1643 to 1715. His father died when he was just four years old, making Louis XIV the throne’s successor at a very young age. Because of this, he ruled for seventy-two years, which made him “the longest monarch to rule a major country in European history” (Eggert). But it was when he was twenty-three years old when he decided to rule without a prime minister, believing it was his divine right. Translated by Louis de Rouvroy, Duc de Saint-Simon, the author of the book The Memoirs of Louis XIV:
To conclude my paper I would like to highlight Louis’s life. He was just a poor
Louis XIV exemplified absolutism, and his ruling set the example for other monarchs throughout Europe. The aims for absolute monarchy was to provide ‘stability, prosperity, and order’ for your territories (458). The way Louis XIV set forth to accomplish this was to claim complete sovereignty to make laws, sanction justice, declare wars, and implement taxes on its subjects. This was all done without the approval of any government or Parliament, as monarchs were to govern ‘by divine right, just as fathers ruled their households’ (458). In Bishop Jacques-Benigne Bossuet’s Politics Drawn from the Very Words of Holy Scripture, he described that absolution was one of the four characteristics imperative to royal authority, “Without this absolute authority, he can do neither good nor suppress evil; his power must be such that no one can hope to escape him” (460). This was epitomized when Louis XIV sought to control the legal system as well as the funding of the financial resources through a centralized bureaucracy for the monarchy. The church was also brought under control, and Louis sought to do away with all other religions by revoking the Edict of Nantes. Political power was given to noblemen, who were seen as ...
Louis XIV is considered the “perfect absolutist” and he has been said to have been one of the greatest rulers in France’s history. He came up with several different strategic plans to gain absolute
He was a man who made French stronger, provided his own legacy and impression that will most
Louis drew much of his political authority from his divine connections, yet he weakened that same authority through his choices. While he certainly presented himself as a divine idol to the people of France, he failed to publicly follow christian morals, inadvertently undermining his own authority and revealing himself to be a false idol. Principally, Louis’ adulterous behavior in his personal life caused many to question the sincerity of his piety. Even his court preacher Bossuet who actively supported Louis and his political absolutism censured him in 1675 for his adultery with his mistress Madame de Montespan. In a letter to Louis, Bousset expresses that Louis’ “heart will never belong peacefully to God as long as this violent love, which has separated you from Him for so long, still rules.”
In order to gain the power he desired as an absolute monarch, Louis used a few key techniques that were very successful. His first and most necessary step to get all control was to take all of the nobles’ power, and make it so they were completely under his control. He first did this by taking the nobles’ positions of power, and either getting rid of them by doing it himself, or giving the jobs to loyal middleclass or some nobles who were completely loyal and under his control. Louis had very simple reasoning for doing this, which was that if the nobles had any power or control, they would have a better chance of overthrowing him, and that since there can only be so much total power, the more they had, the less ...
Although Louis went through many ups and downs, he always seemed dig himself out of the ditch he was in. As a delinquent, he turned into an Olympian. As a stranded airman, he survived until rescue. As a POW, he pulled through the harsh conditions until the completion of the war. As a man suffering from flashbacks and a drinking problem, he became an inspirational and religious person. All of these things amount to display just how amazing of a person this man was.
... then a noble. These governors were required to spend a large amount of time at Louis’ extensive palace of Versailles, which allowed Louis to monitor the generalités very closely. Religiously, Louis revoked the Edict of Nantes and declared France a Catholic state. Louis hoped that religious unity and centralization would lead to stronger unity in the country as a whole. He expelled or executed any Protestants who refused to convert, and the Catholics supported most of his actions. Although he delegated most of the power in France to himself, Louis did acknowledge the power and authority of the Parlement of Paris, which helped to regulate local administration and taxes, but overall, Louis stripped the nobles and aristocracy of most of their powers. Louis XIV long rule gave France the time it needed to transform from a divided nation to a centralized and powerful one.
King Louis XIV's 72 year reign was incredibly influential in shaping French history. King Louis XIV’s childhood was traumatic because of “La Fronde” which was a noble rebellion against the monarchy. This experience taught King Louis XIV to distrust the nobles. It was for this reason that he eventually excluded nobility from the council and surrounded himself with loyal ministers whom he could control. He also separated the aristocracy from the people of France by moving the court to the Palace of Versailles. One of the most notable of King Louis XIV’s decisions was that he refused to appoint another Prime Minister after the death of Prime Minister Mazarin. Every decision, from the declaration of war to the approval of a passport, went through him personally. During his reign as king, France participated in several wars including the War of Devolution, in Anglo-Dutch War, and the War of the Spanish Succession. Another major action he took was the proclamation of the Edict of Fontainebleau, which revoked the Edict of Nantes, imposing religious uniformity through Catholi...
As Louis waited for the decision of the Convention, he prepared his Testament. His Testament explained his position on the trial, his innocence before the law, and conveyed the tone of a martyr, rather than
Politically, Louis was corrupt because of his greed. He fought costly wars--in the high numbers of casualties and monetary encouragement--at the drop of a hat. His country was the most powerful, and was very populous. His armies were large in size at peacetime, and even larger in wartime. Their strength, though, was no match for the failure Louis faced in wars. His wars left France almost bankrupt. He wanted larger borders, went to any extent to get them, but lost all of the three times he tried.