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LEFT LOUIS 15 LOUIS a crusade against Raymond, Count of Toulouse, and the Albigenses, and died in Auvergne in November of the same year. He had married, in 1200, Blanche of Castile, by whom he had seven sons and one daughter, Louis IX., or Saint Louis, King of France; born in Poissy, France, April 25, 1214. He succeeded his father, Louis VIIL, in 1226. In 1243 Louis defeated the English in several engagements, and a truce for five years was concluded. Having made a vow, in the event of re- covering from a dangerous disease, to march against the infidels in the Holy Land, he made preparations for doing so, and in 1248 embarked at Aigues- Mortes with an army of 50,000 men, accompanied by his queen, his brothers, and almost all the chivalry of France. The expedition failed and Louis was taken prisoner. He was ransomed and embarked with about 6,000 men, the sole remains of his fine army, for Acre and spent four years more in Palestine. On his return to France he applied himself to the government of his kingdom with exemplary diligence, and ruled with impartiality and moder- ation. He undertook a second crusade, and died of the plague while besieging Tunis in 1270. Louis was canonized by Boniface VIII. in 1297, and his life was written by his friend, the Sire de Join- ville. Louis X., surnamed Rutin (an old French term for quarrelsome), King of France; born in Paris in 1289. He suc- ceeded Philip the Fair, his father, in 1314, being King of Navarre before, in right of his mother. Died in Vincennes, in 1316. Louis XL, King of France; born in Bourges, France, July 3, 1425. He was the son of Charles VII. Active, bold, and cunning, he was in all respects unlike his father. He engaged in several con- spiracies against his father and was obliged to live in exile for many years. On the death of his father, in 1461, he dismissed the former ministers, and filled their places with obscure men with- out character or talents to recommend them. Insurrections broke out in various parts of his dominions; but they were soon quelled, and followed by _ many executions. In everything he did, his crooked policy and sinister views were evident. He became involved in a war with Charles the Bold, Duke of Bur- gundy, which lasted 1465-1472. A peace was concluded on favorable terms for Charles and his allies: but when Louis returned to Paris he used every artifice to evade its fulfillment. The great object of Louis was the establishment of the royal power and the overthrow of the feudal aristocracy; but it is almost im- possible to convey a just idea of his character, so contradictory were its qual- ities. He was at once confiding and suspicious, avaricious and lavish, auda- cious and timid, mild and cruel. He died in Plessis-les-Tours, near Tours, France, Aug. 30, 1483. Louis XII., surnamed the Father of his People, King of France; born in Blois, France, June 27, 1462. He was the son of Charles, Duke of Orleans. On ascending the throne in 1498 he par- doned the wrongs he had suffered before his accession. He conquered the Mila- nese, Genoa, and Naples; but after ravaging Italy for 15 years the French were expelled in 1513. The Emperor Maximilian, Henry VIII. of England, and the Swiss, attacking Louis in his own dominions, he was obliged to sue for peace. About three months before his death he had married the young Princess Mary, sister of Henry VIII. Louis XII. possessed many of the qualities of a good ruler; he was honest, kind-hearted, and magnanimous; he was also a friend to science, and France enjoyed under him a high degree of prosperity and security. He died Jan. 1, 1515. Loms XIII., King of France; born in Fontainebleau, France, Sept. 27, 1601. He was the son of Henry IV. Being only nine years old at the death of his father, the care of him and the king- dom were intrusted to his mother, Marie de Medici. After the king, in 1615, married a Spanish princess, the Hugue- nots rose in arms, with Rohan and Sou- bise at their head; and a great part of the kingdom rebelled against the king, who now delivered himself up to the guidance of Cardinal Richelieu. After victory had inclined, sometimes to one side and sometimes to the other, peace was concluded in 1623. But it was of no long duration. La Rochelle, the head- quarters of the Huguenots, revolted, and was supported by England. The king drove the English to the sea, conquered the island of Rhe, and at last took La Rochelle, which had sustained all the horrors of a siege for 12 months. In 1632 Gaston of Orleans, only brother of the king, revolted, out of dislike to Richelieu, and was assisted by the Duke of Montmorency, who being wounded and taken prisoner at the battle of Castel- naudary in 1632 was beheaded at Tou- louse. Louis and the cardinal were attacked by a mortal disease nearly at the same time; the latter died in Decem- ber, 1642, and the king in May following.