Ludovick XI King of France (1461-1483) Date of Birth: 03.07.1423 Country: France

1. Biography of Louis XI
2. Ascend to the Throne
3. Centralizing Policies and Diplomatic Skill
4. Reputation and Legacy

Biography of Louis XI

Louis XI, born in 1423, was the son of French King Charles VII and Marie of Anjou. Even as a dauphin, he participated in a rebellion against his father. After seeking forgiveness, Louis retreated to his province of Dauphiné. In 1444, Louis and his father participated in a campaign against mercenaries in Switzerland and Alsace. After the death of his first wife, Marguerite of Scotland, in 1445, Louis married Charlotte, the daughter of the Duke of Savoy, against the wishes of the king. After a fierce argument, Louis left the court, vowing to return only after his father's death.

Ascend to the Throne

In 1461, Louis received news of his father's death while he was staying with his uncle in the province of Aeno. Without waiting for his new wife, Charlotte of Savoy, to accompany him, he immediately set off for Reims, where his coronation was planned. After his coronation, surrounded by fourteen thousand horsemen, Louis XI entered Paris, where grand celebrations were held.

Centralizing Policies and Diplomatic Skill

Unlike his father, Louis intended to rule independently. In order to have a true understanding of the state of the country, Louis traveled extensively. He walked the streets of cities and engaged in conversations with people of all classes, dressed simply and without a retinue. He despised luxury and lavish celebrations. No other king before Louis XI disregarded knightly military fame as he did. The French king did not trust military luck, fearing that any unsuccessful battle would undo years of effort. Under Louis XI, the unification of France was mostly completed, but not without facing numerous obstacles. After the end of the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453), diplomatic tactics began to be used more frequently alongside military force. Louis XI is often referred to as the progenitor of modern diplomatic art. He was an unrivaled diplomat not only for his time. In his struggle for expanding his territories, Louis often resorted to negotiations and employed various cunning and intrigue, not shying away from bribery, deceit, and treachery.

Reputation and Legacy

Louis XI was known for his captivating and charming personality. He could deceive and charm people with his crafty pretenses. He was described as a "siren" by the Burgundian chronicler Molinze, and the Milanese ambassador Maletta, who observed Louis' diplomatic game, said of him, "It seems as if the king has always lived and been educated in Italy." Maletta was not far from the truth. Even as a dauphin, Louis engaged in secret negotiations with Venice, Florence, and Milan. Through constant interaction with Italians, especially Francesco Sforza, whom Louis regarded as a skilled diplomat, he mastered the manners and methods of Italian diplomats, particularly their flexibility, adaptability to circumstances, propensity for intricate intrigue, cunning, and deceit.

Louis XI ascended the French throne at the age of 38. One of the most challenging tests of his diplomatic talents in the early years of his reign was the struggle against the large coalition of feudal nobility known as the League of Public Weal (1465). The Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold, was the soul of the League and the most influential of the Valois family's vassals. The true goal of the League was to solidify the fragmentation of the country into fiefs by any means necessary. To overcome this danger, Louis conceded Genoa to Francesco Sforza and gained a cunning and valuable ally. This experienced condottiero gave Louis advice that the king followed in his struggle against the League: "Divide your enemies," Francesco Sforza told him, "temporarily satisfy the demands of each of them, and then defeat them individually, preventing them from uniting." In October 1465, Louis made peace with the Duke of Burgundy in Conflans and concluded a separate agreement with the remaining allies in Saint-Maurice. In these agreements, the League of Public Weal was exposed: during the peace negotiations, each of the rebellious vassals, forgetting about the common good, only cared about securing a large share of the spoils. "The common good," bitterly noted Commynes, "turned into private gain."

Using gold, bribery, espionage, and an endless network of intrigues, which the chronicler called him a "world spider," Louis employed the same methods in his struggle against other enemies. He soon managed to sow discord between the Duke of Berry and the Duke of Brittany. Then, the king invaded Normandy and quickly gained control of the entire province. In 1468, Louis convened the Estates-General in Tours. The assembly decided that Normandy could no longer be alienated from the royal domain, and the Duke of Berry must renounce it for an annual rent of 12,000 livres. Afterward, Louis invaded Brittany and captured all of Francis' border estates. In September, he forced Francis to make a peace treaty, stripping Brittany of all the gains obtained through the Saint-Maurice agreement and placing it under the suzerainty of the French king while obliging it to sever its alliance with Burgundy.

During this time, Charles the Bold, informed of Louis' campaign, gathered an army and marched to France. On the way, he learned that the Duke of Berry had renounced his claims on Normandy, and the Duke of Brittany had accepted all of the king's demands. Louis and Charles agreed to meet in Peronne, where Charles promised the king a friendly reception and complete safety.

However, as soon as the negotiations began, news arrived that the city of Liege had revolted. The citizens captured their bishop and raised the banner of the King of France. Charles the Bold became furious. Blaming the king for everything, he ordered the gates to be closed. Louis was saved from imminent punishment by Philippe de Commines, who advised the king to accept all of the duke's despotic demands. Louis signed the proposed agreement, acknowledging that the Paris Parliament had no authority over Flanders and Picardy, and that he had no feudal rights over these territories. Louis agreed to give the city of Abbeville back to Charles the Bold, which he had recently bought from him for 400,000 gold écus. Other members of the League also received significant grants of land, rights, and profitable positions. With these agreements, the League of Public Weal was exposed to its core: during the peace negotiations, each of the rebellious vassals, forgetting about the common good, only cared about securing a large share of the spoils.

Louis continued to use gold, bribery, espionage, and an endless network of intrigues against his many opponents. He managed to sow discord between the Duke of Berry and the Duke of Brittany. Then, the king invaded Normandy and quickly gained control of the entire province. In 1470, Louis convened a meeting of notables in Tours, where he listed all the offenses he had suffered from his vassal, the Duke of Burgundy, and asked to be freed from the obligations of the Peronne agreement. The assembly granted the king's request.

Soon, Charles the Bold was summoned to the Paris Parliament. The declaration of war caught the duke off guard. The French invaded Burgundian Picardy and easily captured Amiens, Saint-Quentin, and other cities. However, Charles managed to regain the initiative, and in November 1472, Louis concluded a peace treaty with him. Prior to this, the king had also signed a peace treaty with the Duke of Brittany.

In the final years of his life, Louis XI secluded himself in his castle of Plessis-de-Tour, surrounded day and night by loyal Scots. He became so suspicious before his death that he did not dare to leave the courtyard, constantly changing and reassigning all his servants. Only a few trusted individuals were allowed to approach the king. His son, the dauphin Charles, had not seen his father for several years.

Louis XI was one of the most educated individuals of his time. He patronized the sciences and arts, particularly medicine and surgery. He reorganized the medical faculty at the University of Paris, established a printing press in the Sorbonne, and promoted the spread of printing. He also supported trade and industry. France owes him the organization of a postal service.

Louis XI's reign, which had such significant consequences for the unification of France, had a tremendous influence on the development of European diplomacy. Louis was one of the first in Europe to strive to transform temporary diplomatic missions into permanent ones. He believed that good diplomatic personnel were essential to effective governance. Information from official representatives and secret agents, whose expenses Louis spared no money on, was used to develop his political line towards various states. The French king and his advisor, Philippe de Commines, considered embassy service an important means of conducting military and political intelligence.

At the same time, Louis was extremely wary of foreign diplomatic representatives in his country, seeing them as spies and informers. He used diplomatic means to gain the upper hand against his opponents, employing gold, bribery, espionage, and an endless network of intrigues.

In his final years, Louis XI faced various challenges, but he was able to secure the Burgundian inheritance for his family and consolidate his power over most of the feudal territories in France. He passed away in 1483, leaving behind a legacy as a shrewd and cunning ruler who united and expanded the French kingdom through both military and diplomatic strategies.