Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 12.djvu/532

* LOUIS XI. 474 LOUIS XIII. He seized the Dudiy of Burgundy, conquered Artois, and subjugated Franche-C'omto. War was waged with Ma.imilian until 1482, wlien the Treaty of Arras was eoncliuled. by which the daughter of Jla.xiniilian was betrothed to the Dauphin, afterwards Cliarks VIII., and Louis was allowed to retain his conquests. In 1480-81 Anjou, JIaine. and Provence were united with the Cro«-n. By his warfare against the feudal lords Louis XL rid France of the anarchical conditions which had prevailed, and made the central jiower paramount. He died August 30. 1483. He was a patron of learning, and caused Lcs cent iwuvelles vouvelles, an imitation of Boccaccio's Pccdmcrone. to be written by a group of autliors, between 1457 and 1461. He also materially advanced civilization in France by encouraging manufac- tures, commerce, and mining. He improved the public roads and canals, established several print- ing-presses, and founded three universities. His chief counselor during a large part of his reign was the great historian Philip of Comines. Con- sult: Jliehclet, Bisloire de France vol. vi. ; See, Louis XL et lcs ui'Hes ( Paris, 1803) ; Kitchen, Eistory of France, vol. i. (O.xford, 1885). LOUIS XII. (1402-1515). King of France from 14118 to 1515. He was the son of Charles, Duke of Orleans, and was born at Blois, June 27, 14G2. During the reign of Charles VIIL he set himself up in opposition to the Court and was imprisoned for three years (1487-00). Upon the death of Charles Vlll. without issue, Louis suc- ceeded to the throne, and in 1409 married Anne of Brittany, the widow of his jjredecessor, thus assuring the permanent union of Brittany with France. His reign was marked by widespread refiu'ms in the finances and the administration of justice, carried out under the direction of his Chancellor, the astute Cardinal d'Amboise (q.v. ), and the mildness of his rule and the prosperity which France enjoyed under him gave him the title of Ptrc du pctiplc. In 1400 Louis, as grandson of Valentina Visconti, daughter of the famous (iian Galeazzo, Duke of Milan, laid claim to that State, and in August of the same year a French army of some 20,000 men invaded the country, overthrew Ludovico Sforza, and in October took the city of Milan. By the Treaty of Granada, in November, 1500, Louis and Ferdinand of Aragon agreed upon the con- quest and partition of the Kingdom of Xaples. The victors quarreled over the siMiils, and in 1503 the French were driven from Soutlicrn Italy by Gonsalvo de Cordova. In Dcccnilier. 150S. Louis joined the League of Cambrai. formed by the Pope against Venice, and including in addition Ferdinand of Aragon and the Emperor Maxi- milian. In May of the following year Louis wou the battle of Agnadello. which etfectiially crushed the power of Venice. The jealousy of his allies led to the conclusion of the Holy T^agiie (l.ill), in which the Pope, Venice. Ferdinand, and Henry VIIL of England imited against France. After a victory at Ravenna (April, 1512), where their heroic general, Gaston de Foi.x, fell, the French were driven out of Lombardy. At the same time Louis was hard pressed by Henry ^^III., who landed in France with a strong army and won the Battle of the Spurs in August, 1513. As a part of the peace settlement, concluded in 1514 with the Emperor (who had joined the allies), Eng- land. Spain, and the Pope. Louis took (1514) for his third wife ^larv Tudor, sister of the English King. He died January 1, 1515. leaving two daughters by Anne of Brittany. He was succeed- ed by his son-in-law, Francis I. of AngoulOme. Consult: Jehan d'Authon (140G-1527), Chro- niqucs de Louis XIL, a contemporary account (Paris, 1889-95); Clavi&re, Histoire de Louif: XIL (ib., 1890 et seq.) ; Lacroix, Louis XU. t( Aiinc lie JSntiigiie (ib.. 1882). LOUIS XIII. (1001-43). King of France from 1010 to 1043. He was the son of Henry IV. and Maria de' Medici, and was born at Fon- taineldeau, September 27, 1001. He succeeded to the throne on the death of his father. May 14, 1010, his mother becoming Eegcnt. Louis XIII. took little personal share in the Governmenl. though formally declared of age in 1614. In the following year he married Anne of Austrin. daughter of Philip III. of Spain. The Govern ment remained in the hands of the (Jueen mother and her favorite, Concini, until April. 1017, when the latter was murdered at the instance of tlie Duke de Luynes, a courtier who had succeeded in establishing a cimiplete ascendency over the mind of the King. The (Jueen mother was banished to Blois. and for a time there was danger of civil war between the King's party and the adherents of ilaria de' iledici. The Duke de Luynes died in 1021, and for a time the chief power was in the hands of La Vieuville. thnnigh whose in- fluence Eichelieu (q.v.) entered the King's coun- cil in 1024. Richelieu speedily became tlib chief minister of Louis. His jiowerful mind olitained complete control over that of the King, and his policy etTected that increase of monarchical power at the expense of Protestants, noldcs. and iiarlia- nients, which reached its consummation in tlie reign of Louis XIV. The Huguenots, during the early years of Louis XIII. 's I'cign, had shown a restlessness which, combined with their efheii'ii) organization, seemed to menace the power of tli^ monarchy. Their influence, which was especially strong in Beam and Xavarre, was weakened by the annexation of those two little States to France. In 1021 this resulted in a formidable rising of the Huguenots in the south, who were led by Rohan and Soubise. After desultory fight- ing, peace was concluded at Montpellier. which left to the adherents of the Reformed religion, of all their fortified places, only La Eochelle and Montauban. The reinession of the Huguenots was carried on bv Richelieu. The last of their strongholds. La Rochelle. was taken in October, 1028, and the political power of the Huguenots' was gone forever. In foreign politics Richelieu continued the anti-IIapsburg policy of Henry IV. In 1030 the War of the Mantuan Succession was terminated in favor of Richelieu's candidate. Charles of Xevei-s; but it was the Thirty Yeais' War (q.v.) which supplied Richelieu with the great opportunity of humiliating the power of the Hapsburgs. Gustavns Adolphus was an ally of France, and after his death the Swedish forces continued to be subsidized by the French King, while the able Protestant general, Bernhnrd of Weimar, was maintained in the field with French money. The policy of Richelieu resulted in the acquisition of Alsace. In the south, Roussillon was annexed in 1041. Richelieu maintained his ascendency over the King in spite of intrigue and conspiracies on the part of the Court. In 1032 Gaston of Orleans, brother of the King, led a- Spanish army into France for the overthrow of the hated minister, but he was defeated at Castel-