Louis VI of France
Encyclopedia
Louis VI called the Fat , was King of France from 1108 until his death (1137). Chronicles called him "roi de Saint-Denis".
The first member of the House of Capet
to make a lasting contribution to the centralising institutions of royal power, Louis was born in Paris, the son of Philip I
and his first wife, Bertha of Holland
. Almost all of his twenty-nine-year reign was spent fighting either the "robber baron
s" who plagued Paris or the Norman kings of England for their continental possession of Normandy. Nonetheless, Louis VI managed to reinforce his power considerably and became one of the first strong kings of France since the division of the Carolingian Empire
. His biography by his constant advisor Abbot Suger
of Saint Denis renders him a fully rounded character to the historian, unlike most of his predecessors.
In his youth, Louis fought the Duke of Normandy
, Robert Curthose, and the lords of the royal demesne
, the Île de France
. He became close to Suger, who became his adviser. He succeeded his father on Philip's death on 29 July 1108. Louis's half-brother prevented him from reaching Rheims and so he was crowned on 3 August in the cathedral of Orléans
by Daimbert, Archbishop of Sens
. The archbishop of Reims
, Ralph the Green, sent envoys to challenge the validity of the coronation and anointing, but to no avail.
On Palm Sunday
1115, Louis was present in Amiens
to support the bishop and inhabitants of the city in their conflict with Enguerrand I of Coucy, one of his vassals, who refused to recognise the granting of a charter of communal privileges. Louis came with an army to help the citizens to besiege Castillon (the fortress dominating the city, from which Enguerrand was making punitive expeditions). At the siege, the king took an arrow to his hauberk
, but the castle, considered impregnable, fell after two years.
Just before his death in 1137, William X, Duke of Aquitaine appointed Louis guardian of his daughter and heir, the young Eleanor of Aquitaine
, and expressed his wish for her to marry Louis' son. The prospect of adding the Aquitaine
to his son's domains made him so happy he could hardly speak.
Louis VI died on 1 August 1137, at the castle of Béthisy-Saint-Pierre
, nearby Senlis
and Compiègne
, of dysentery
. He was interred in Saint Denis Basilica
. He was succeeded on the throne by his son Louis VII
, called "the Younger," who had originally wanted to be a monk.
— the marriage was annulled on 23 May 1107 at the Council of Troyes by Pope Paschal II.
He married in 1115: 2) Adélaide de Maurienne
(1092–1154)
With Marie de Breuillet, daughter of Renaud de Breuillet de Dourdan, Louis VI was the father of a daughter:
Reign
House of Capet
The House of Capet, or The Direct Capetian Dynasty, , also called The House of France , or simply the Capets, which ruled the Kingdom of France from 987 to 1328, was the most senior line of the Capetian dynasty – itself a derivative dynasty from the Robertians. As rulers of France, the dynasty...
to make a lasting contribution to the centralising institutions of royal power, Louis was born in Paris, the son of Philip I
Philip I of France
Philip I , called the Amorous, was King of France from 1060 to his death. His reign, like that of most of the early Direct Capetians, was extraordinarily long for the time...
and his first wife, Bertha of Holland
Bertha of Holland
Bertha of Holland was the first wife of Philip I of France, the King of France.-Biography:She was the daughter of Floris I, Count of Holland, by his wife Gertrude of Saxony. After her father died in 1061, her mother remarried to Robert I, Count of Flanders. In 1072 her stepfather concluded a...
. Almost all of his twenty-nine-year reign was spent fighting either the "robber baron
Robber baron
A robber baron or robber knight was an unscrupulous and despotic nobility of the medieval period in Europe, for example, Berlichingen. It has slightly different meanings in different countries. In modern US parlance, the term is also used to describe unscrupulous industrialists...
s" who plagued Paris or the Norman kings of England for their continental possession of Normandy. Nonetheless, Louis VI managed to reinforce his power considerably and became one of the first strong kings of France since the division of the Carolingian Empire
Carolingian Empire
Carolingian Empire is a historiographical term which has been used to refer to the realm of the Franks under the Carolingian dynasty in the Early Middle Ages. This dynasty is seen as the founders of France and Germany, and its beginning date is based on the crowning of Charlemagne, or Charles the...
. His biography by his constant advisor Abbot Suger
Abbot Suger
Suger was one of the last Frankish abbot-statesmen, an historian, and the influential first patron of Gothic architecture....
of Saint Denis renders him a fully rounded character to the historian, unlike most of his predecessors.
In his youth, Louis fought the Duke of Normandy
Duke of Normandy
The Duke of Normandy is the title of the reigning monarch of the British Crown Dependancies of the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey. The title traces its roots to the Duchy of Normandy . Whether the reigning sovereign is a male or female, they are always titled as the "Duke of...
, Robert Curthose, and the lords of the royal demesne
Crown lands of France
The crown lands, crown estate, royal domain or domaine royal of France refers to the lands, fiefs and rights directly possessed by the kings of France...
, the Île de France
Île-de-France (province)
The province of Île-de-France or Isle de France is an historical province of France, and the one at the centre of power during most of French history...
. He became close to Suger, who became his adviser. He succeeded his father on Philip's death on 29 July 1108. Louis's half-brother prevented him from reaching Rheims and so he was crowned on 3 August in the cathedral of Orléans
Orléans
-Prehistory and Roman:Cenabum was a Gallic stronghold, one of the principal towns of the Carnutes tribe where the Druids held their annual assembly. It was conquered and destroyed by Julius Caesar in 52 BC, then rebuilt under the Roman Empire...
by Daimbert, Archbishop of Sens
Daimbert, archbishop of Sens
Daimbert was Archbishop of Sens from 1098 to 1122. He was consecrated to that office in 1097 in Rome, only after having been given assurance that he recognised Lyons's primacy over Sens. He consecrated Louis VI of France at Orléans in 1108, one of the few royal consecrations not to occur at Reims....
. The archbishop of Reims
Archbishop of Reims
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Reims is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. Erected as a diocese around 250 by St. Sixtus, the diocese was elevated to an archdiocese around 750...
, Ralph the Green, sent envoys to challenge the validity of the coronation and anointing, but to no avail.
On Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in all four Canonical Gospels. ....
1115, Louis was present in Amiens
Amiens
Amiens is a city and commune in northern France, north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardy...
to support the bishop and inhabitants of the city in their conflict with Enguerrand I of Coucy, one of his vassals, who refused to recognise the granting of a charter of communal privileges. Louis came with an army to help the citizens to besiege Castillon (the fortress dominating the city, from which Enguerrand was making punitive expeditions). At the siege, the king took an arrow to his hauberk
Hauberk
A hauberk is a shirt of chainmail. The term is usually used to describe a shirt reaching at least to mid-thigh and including sleeves. Haubergeon generally refers to a shorter variant with partial sleeves, but the terms are often used interchangeably.- History :The word hauberk is derived from the...
, but the castle, considered impregnable, fell after two years.
Just before his death in 1137, William X, Duke of Aquitaine appointed Louis guardian of his daughter and heir, the young Eleanor of Aquitaine
Eleanor of Aquitaine
Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in Western Europe during the High Middle Ages. As well as being Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right, she was queen consort of France and of England...
, and expressed his wish for her to marry Louis' son. The prospect of adding the Aquitaine
Aquitaine
Aquitaine , archaic Guyenne/Guienne , is one of the 27 regions of France, in the south-western part of metropolitan France, along the Atlantic Ocean and the Pyrenees mountain range on the border with Spain. It comprises the 5 departments of Dordogne, :Lot et Garonne, :Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Landes...
to his son's domains made him so happy he could hardly speak.
Louis VI died on 1 August 1137, at the castle of Béthisy-Saint-Pierre
Béthisy-Saint-Pierre
Béthisy-Saint-Pierre is a town in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune within the département of Oise.-References:*...
, nearby Senlis
Senlis, Oise
Senlis is a French commune located in the Oise department near Paris. It has a long and rich heritage, having traversed centuries of history. This medieval town has welcomed some of the most renowned figures in French history, including Hugh Capet, Louis IX, the Marshall of France, Anne of Kiev and...
and Compiègne
Compiègne
Compiègne is a city in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune within the département of Oise.The city is located along the Oise River...
, of dysentery
Dysentery
Dysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the faeces with fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal.There are differences between dysentery and normal bloody diarrhoea...
. He was interred in Saint Denis Basilica
Saint Denis Basilica
The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Denis is a large medieval abbey church in the commune of Saint-Denis, now a northern suburb of Paris. The abbey church was created a cathedral in 1966 and is the seat of the Bishop of Saint-Denis, Pascal Michel Ghislain Delannoy...
. He was succeeded on the throne by his son Louis VII
Louis VII of France
Louis VII was King of France, the son and successor of Louis VI . He ruled from 1137 until his death. He was a member of the House of Capet. His reign was dominated by feudal struggles , and saw the beginning of the long rivalry between France and England...
, called "the Younger," who had originally wanted to be a monk.
Marriages and children
He married in 1104: 1) Lucienne de RochefortLucienne de Rochefort
Lucienne de Rochefort was a French crown princess, the first wife of Louis VI of France from 1104-1107. The daughter of Guy de Montlhery and Elizabeth, dame de Crecy, she married Louis in 1104. Lucienne and Louis did not have any children, though, and he repudiated her in 1107, a year before he...
— the marriage was annulled on 23 May 1107 at the Council of Troyes by Pope Paschal II.
He married in 1115: 2) Adélaide de Maurienne
Adélaide de Maurienne
Adelaide of Savoy was the second spouse but first Queen consort of Louis VI of France.-Biography:...
(1092–1154)
- Their children:
-
- PhilipPhilip of France (1116-1131)Philip of France was the first son of Louis VI of France and his second wife Adélaide de Maurienne.The favourite son of his father as a child, Philip was enthroned alongside Louis VI as joint king in 1129...
(1116 – 13 October 1131), King of France (1129–31), not to be confused with his brother of the same name; died from a fall from a horse. - Louis VIILouis VII of FranceLouis VII was King of France, the son and successor of Louis VI . He ruled from 1137 until his death. He was a member of the House of Capet. His reign was dominated by feudal struggles , and saw the beginning of the long rivalry between France and England...
(1120 – 18 September 1180), King of France - HenryHenry of France (1121-1175)Henry of France , Bishop of Beauvais , then Archbishop of Reims , was the third son of Louis the Fat, King of France and his second wife Adélaide de Maurienne....
(1121–75), archbishop of ReimsArchbishop of ReimsThe Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Reims is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. Erected as a diocese around 250 by St. Sixtus, the diocese was elevated to an archdiocese around 750... - Hugues (born ca 1122)
- RobertRobert I of DreuxRobert I of Dreux, nicknamed the Great , was the fifth son of Louis VI of France and Adélaide de Maurienne. Through his mother he was related to the Carolingians and to the Marquess William V of Montferrat.In 1137 he received the County of Dreux as an appanage from his father...
(ca 1123 – 11 October 1188), count of Dreux - Constance (ca 1124 – 16 August 1176), married first Eustace IVEustace IV of BoulogneEustace IV was a Count of Boulogne and the son and heir of King Stephen of England. He became the Heir Apparent to his father's lands by the death of an elder brother before 1135, and inherited Boulogne through his mother, Matilda of Boulogne.In 1137, he did homage for Normandy to Louis VII of...
, count of BoulogneCount of BoulogneThe county of Boulogne was a historical region in the Low Countries. It consisted of a part of the present-day French département of the Pas-de-Calais , in parts of which there is still a Dutch-speaking minority....
and then Raymond V of ToulouseRaymond V of ToulouseRaymond V was count of Toulouse from 1148 until his death in 1194.He was the son of Alphonse-Jordan. When Alphonse died in the Holy Land in 1148, the county of Toulouse passed to his son Raymond, at the time 14 years old....
. - PhilipPhilip of France (1125-1161)Philip of France , Archdeacon of Paris, was a son of Louis the Fat, King of France and his second wife Adélaide de Maurienne....
(1125–61), bishop of Paris. not to be confused with his elder brother. - Peter of France (ca 1125–83), married Elizabeth, lady of CourtenayHouse of CourtenayThe House of Courtenay was an important dynasty in medieval France originating from the castle of Courtenay in the Gâtinais , going back to the 10th century. The dynasty descended from Athon, the first lord of Courtenay, apparently himself a descendant of the Counts of Sens and from Pharamond,...
- Philip
-
With Marie de Breuillet, daughter of Renaud de Breuillet de Dourdan, Louis VI was the father of a daughter:
- Isabelle (ca 1105 – before 1175), married (ca 1119) Guillaume I of Chaumont.