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{{Short description|King of France from 1461 to 1483}}

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| [[image:Louis11-1.jpg|thumb|170px|Louis XI]]

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| image = Louis XI (1423-1483).jpg

'''Louis XI the Prudent''' ([[French language|French]]: ''Louis XI le Prudent'') ([[July 3]], [[1423]] &ndash; [[August 30]], [[1483]]), also informally nicknamed ''l'universelle aragne<!--this is the correct Old French name, please do not write modern French araignée-->'' (old French for "universal spider"), or the "Spider King," was King of [[France]] ([[1461]]&ndash;[[1483]]). He was the son of [[Charles VII of France]] and [[Mary of Anjou]], a member of the [[Valois Dynasty]], grandson of [[Charles VI of France|Charles VI]] and [[Isabeau de Bavière]] and one of the most successful kings of France in terms of uniting the country. His 22-year reign was marked by political machinations, which earned him his nickname.

| caption = Louis XI wearing his [[Collar of the Order of Saint Michael|Collar]] of the

[[Order of Saint Michael]], {{circa|1469}}

| reign = 22 July 1461 − 30 August 1483

| coronation = 15 August 1461, [[Reims]]

| cor-type = france

| succession = [[King of France]]

| moretext = ([[Style of the French sovereign|more...]])

| predecessor = [[Charles VII of France|Charles VII]]

| successor = [[Charles VIII of France|Charles VIII]]

| spouses = {{plainlist|

* {{marriage|[[Margaret Stewart, Dauphine of France|Margaret of Scotland]]|25 June 1436|16 August 1445|end=d.}}

* {{marriage|[[Charlotte of Savoy]]|14 February 1451}}

}}

| issue = {{plainlist|

*[[Anne, Duchess of Bourbon]]

*[[Joan of France, Duchess of Berry|Joan, Queen of France]]

*[[Charles VIII of France]]

}}

| issue-link = #Children

| house = [[House of Valois|Valois]]

| father = [[Charles VII of France]]

| mother = [[Marie of Anjou]]

| birth_date = 3 July 1423

| birth_place = [[Bourges]], Berry, France

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1483|8|30|1423|7|3|df=y}}

| death_place = [[Château de Plessis-lez-Tours]], France

| burial_date = 6 September 1483

| burial_place = Notre-Dame de Cléry Basilica, [[Cléry-Saint-André]]

| signature = Louis XI signature.svg

}}

'''Louis XI''' (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "'''Louis the Prudent'''" ({{langx|fr|link=no|le Prudent}}), was [[King of France]] from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, [[Charles VII of France|Charles VII]]. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revolt known as the [[Praguerie]] in 1440. The king forgave his rebellious vassals, including Louis, to whom he entrusted the management of the [[Dauphiné]], then a province in southeastern France. Louis's ceaseless intrigues, however, led his father to banish him from court. From the Dauphiné, Louis led his own political establishment and married [[Charlotte of Savoy]], daughter of [[Louis, Duke of Savoy]], against the will of his father. Charles VII sent an army to compel his son to his will, but Louis fled to [[Duchy of Burgundy|Burgundy]], where he was hosted by [[Philip the Good]], the [[Duke of Burgundy]], Charles's greatest enemy.

His scheming and love for intrigue made him many enemies, in particular those who bore the name "Charles":

When Charles VII died in 1461, Louis left the Burgundian court to take possession of his kingdom. His taste for intrigue and his intense diplomatic activity earned him the nicknames "'''the Cunning'''" ({{langx|frm|le rusé}}) and "'''the Universal Spider'''" ({{langx|frm|l'universelle aragne|links=no}}<!--this is the correct Middle French spelling, please do not write modern French araignée-->), as his enemies accused him of spinning webs of plots and conspiracies.

*[[Charles VII of France|Charles VII]], his own father,

*[[Charles de Valois, Duc de Berry]], his brother, and

*[[Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy]], who was to be his greatest foe.

In 1472, the subsequent Duke of Burgundy, [[Charles the Bold]], [[Burgundian Wars|took up arms]] against his rival Louis. However, Louis was able to isolate Charles from his English allies by signing the [[Treaty of Picquigny]] (1475) with [[Edward IV of England]]. The treaty formally ended the [[Hundred Years' War]]. With the death of Charles the Bold at the [[Battle of Nancy]] in 1477, the dynasty of the dukes of Burgundy died out. Louis took advantage of the situation to seize numerous Burgundian territories, including [[Burgundy]] itself and [[Picardy]].

Louis is known to have been shrewd and often vicious. But, in curbing the power of the dukes, he re-established the power of the monarchy, and ensured the survival of the French nation itself. For all his diabolical qualities, he used them to create tremendous good for his country.

Without direct foreign threats, Louis was able to eliminate his rebellious vassals, expand royal power, and strengthen the economic development of his country. He died in 1483, and was succeeded by his only surviving son [[Charles VIII of France|Charles VIII]], who was then still in his minority.

==Early life==

He was born at [[Bourges]], [[Cher (département)|Cher]] in [[1423]], during the period when the English held northern France. His father Charles the Dauphin (or "crown prince") held only the centre and south. Louis was the grandson of the strong-willed [[Yolande of Aragon]], the princess who was the driving force in saving France from the English. Louis despised his father, regarding him as a weakling. His marriage on [[June 24]] [[1436]] to [[Margaret of Scotland (Dauphine of France)|Margaret of Scotland]], daughter of King [[James I of Scotland]] was forced upon him and did not help their relationship.

==Childhood==

In [[1440]] Louis was part of the uprising known as [[the Praguerie]], which sought to submit Charles and install Louis as [[Regent]]. The uprising failed and Louis was forced to submit to the King, who forgave him. Louis continued soldiering. In [[1444]] he fought the [[Swiss]] at the [[Battle of Brise]] and was impressed by their military might.

Louis was born in [[Bourges]] on 3 July 1423, the son of King [[Charles VII of France]] and [[Marie of Anjou]].{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=33}} At the time of the [[Hundred Years War]], the English held northern France, including the city of Paris, and Charles VII was restricted to the centre and south of the country.{{sfn|Guérard|1959|p=552}} Louis was the grandson of [[Yolande of Aragon]], who was a force in the royal family for driving the English out of France, which was at a low point in its struggles. Just a few weeks after Louis's christening at the [[Bourges Cathedral|Cathedral of St. Étienne]] on 4 July 1423, the French army suffered a crushing defeat by the English [[Battle of Cravant|at Cravant]].{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=34}} Shortly thereafter, a combined Anglo-Burgundian army briefly raided Bourges itself.{{sfn|Sumption|2023|p=60}}

[[File:L'Adoration des mages, Heures d'Étienne Chevalier.jpg|thumb|left|In this painting by [[Jean Fouquet]], Louis's father Charles VII is depicted as one of the [[Adoration of the Magi|three magi]], and it is assumed that Louis, then dauphin, is one of the other two.]]

Louis still loathed Charles however and on the [[27 September]] [[1446]] he was ordered out of court and sent to his own province of [[Dauphiné]], where he was ordered to establish order. Despite frequent summons by the King, the two would never to meet again. In Dauphiné, Louis ruled as King in all but name, continuing his intrigues against his father. On [[February 14]] [[1451]], Louis, 27, married again, without Charles' consent. It was a strategic marriage to the eight-year-old '''[[Charlotte of Savoy]]''' ([[1443]]- [[December 1]], [[1483]]). It would not be consummated until she was fourteen and their children included:

During the reign of Louis's grandfather [[Charles VI of France|Charles VI]] (1380–1422), the Duchy of Burgundy was very much connected with the French throne, but because the central government lacked any real power, all the duchies of France tended to act independently.{{sfn|Guérard|1959|p=105}} In its position of independence from the French throne, Burgundy had grown in size and power. By the reign of Louis's father Charles VII, [[Philip the Good]] was reigning as duke of Burgundy, and the duchy had expanded its borders to include all the territory in France from the [[North Sea]] in the north to the [[Jura Mountains]] in the south and from the [[Somme River]] in the west to the [[Moselle River]] in the east.{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=84}} During the Hundred Years War, the Burgundians allied themselves with England against the French crown.{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=42}}

* [[Anne of France]], (April, 1461 &ndash; [[November 14]], [[1522]]), who became Duchess of Bourbon,

* [[Jeanne of France (1464-1505)|Jeanne]] ([[April 23]], [[1464]] &ndash; [[February 4]], [[1505]]), who became Duchess of Orleans,

* [[Charles VIII of France]] ([[June 30]], [[1470]] &ndash; [[April 8]], [[1498]])

In 1429, young Louis found himself at [[Loches]] in the presence of [[Joan of Arc]], fresh from her first victory over the English at the [[Siege of Orléans]],{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=34}} which initiated a turning point for the French in the Hundred Years War. Joan later led troops in other victories at the [[Battle of Jargeau]] and the [[Battle of Patay]].{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=42}} Paris was recaptured after her death, and Louis and his father were able to ride in triumph into the city on 12 November 1437.{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=46}} Nevertheless, Louis grew up aware of the continuing weakness of France. He regarded his father as a weakling, and despised him for this.

Finally in [[August]] [[1456]], Charles sent an army to Dauphiné. Louis fled to [[Burgundy]] where he was granted refuge by Duke [[Philip the Good]] and his son [[Charles the Bold]] and settled in the castle of [[Genappe]]. King Charles was furious when Philip refused to hand Louis over; he knew the man and warned that the Duke was "giving shelter to a fox who will eat his chickens".

==Marriages==

In [[1461]] Louis learned that his father was dying. He thus hurried to [[Reims]] to be crowned in case his brother, [[Charles de Valois, Duc de Berry|Charles, Duke de Berry]], beat him to it.

{{more citations needed section|date=November 2024}}

[[File:Margaret Stuart Dauphine of France.jpg|thumb|[[Margaret Stewart, Dauphine of France|Margaret of Scotland]]{{sfn|Châtelet|Paviot|2007|pp=401, 410}}]]

On 24 June 1436, Louis met [[Margaret Stewart, Dauphine of France|Margaret]], daughter of King [[James I of Scotland]], the bride his father had chosen for diplomatic reasons.{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=43}} There are no direct accounts from Louis or his young bride of their first impressions of each other, and it is mere speculation whether they actually had negative feelings for each other. Several historians{{which?|date=November 2024}} think that Louis had a predetermined attitude to hate his wife, but it is universally agreed that Louis entered the ceremony and the marriage itself dutifully, as evidenced by his formal embrace of Margaret upon their first meeting.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

[[Image:The Entry of Louis XI into Paris Fac simile of a Miniature in the Chroniques of Monstrelet Manuscript of the Fifteenth Century Imperial Library of Paris.png|thumb|left|170px|The Entry of Louis XI. into Paris.--Facsimile of a Miniature in the "Chroniques" of Monstrelet, Manuscript of the Fifteenth Century (Imperial Library of Paris).]]

Louis's marriage with Margaret resulted from the nature of medieval royal diplomacy and the precarious position of the French monarchy at the time. The wedding ceremony—very plain by the standards of the time—took place in the chapel of the [[Chateau de Tours|castle of Tours]] on the afternoon of 25 June 1436, and was presided over by Renaud of Chartres, the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Reims|Archbishop of Reims]].{{sfn|Cleugh|1970|p={{page needed|date=November 2024}}}} The 12-year-old Louis clearly looked more mature than his 11-year-old bride, who was said to resemble a beautiful doll and was treated as such by her in-laws.{{sfn|Cleugh|1970|p={{page needed|date=November 2024}}}} Charles wore "grey riding pants" and "did not even bother to remove his spurs".{{sfn|Cleugh|1970|p={{page needed|date=November 2024}}}} The Scottish guests were quickly hustled out after the wedding reception, as the French royal court was quite impoverished at this time. They simply could not afford an extravagant ceremony or to host their Scottish guests for any longer than they did. The Scots, however, saw this behaviour as an insult to their small but proud country.{{sfn|Tyrell|1980|p={{page needed|date=November 2024}}}}

==Louis as King==

Ironically, after being such a thorn in his father's side, Louis pursued many of the same interests as he had done less successfully: submitting the powers of the Dukes and Barons of France. He justified this as sheer ''[[Realpolitik]]'': it was now in his best interests, since he was now the king. He suppressed many of his former co-conspirators, who had thought him their friend. He became extremely fiscally prudent, whereas he had previously been lavish and extravagant. He wore rough and simple clothes and mixed with ordinary people and merchants.

[[File:Charlotte de Savoie.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Charlotte of Savoy]]]]

A candid account of some of Louis' activities is given by the courtier, [[Philippe de Commines]], in his [[memoir]]s of the period.

Following the ceremony, "doctors advised against consummation" because of the relative immaturity of the bride and bridegroom. Margaret continued her studies, and Louis went on tour with Charles to loyal areas of the kingdom. Even at this time, Charles was taken aback by the intelligence and temper of his son. During this tour, Louis was named [[Dauphin of France]] by Charles, as was traditional for the eldest son of the king.{{sfn|Tyrell|1980|p={{page needed|date=November 2024}}}} The beautiful and cultured Margaret was popular at the court of France, but her marriage to Louis was not a happy one, in part because of his strained relations with her father-in-law, who was very attached to her. She died childless at the age of 20 in 1445.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

==The Feud with Charles the Bold==

Philip the Good was keen to start a [[Crusade]] and Louis gave him money in exchange for a number of territories including [[Picardie]] and [[Amiens]]. But Philip's son, Charles, was angry, feeling that he was being deprived of his inheritance. He joined a rebellion called the [[League of the Public Weal]], led by Louis' brother Charles. Although the rebels were largely unsuccessful in battle, Louis was forced to grant an unfavourable peace as a matter of political expediency.

In 1440, Louis, aged 16, took part in an uprising known as [[the Praguerie]], which sought to neutralize Charles and install Louis as regent of France. The uprising failed, and Louis was forced to submit to the king, who chose to forgive him.{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=50}} In this revolt, Louis came under the influence of [[Charles I, Duke of Bourbon]],{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=48}} whose troops were in no condition to mount such a serious threat to royal authority. Louis was forced to retreat to Paris, but was "by no means trounced".{{sfn|Le Roy Ladurie|1987|p={{page needed|date=November 2024}}}} In fact, before his final defeat, "[Louis's]...military strength, combined with antipathy of the masses for great lords, won him the support of the citizens of Paris."{{sfn|Le Roy Ladurie|1987|p={{page needed|date=November 2024}}}} This was a great learning experience for Louis. James Cleugh notes:

Upon becoming Duke in [[1467]], Charles seriously considered having an independent Kingdom of his own. But he had many problems with his territories, especially with the people of [[Liège (city)|Liege]] who were constantly rising against him. Louis was their ally.

{{Blockquote|Like other strong-minded boys, he had found at last he could not carry all before him by mere bluster. Neither as prince nor as king did he ever forget his lesson. He never acted on pure impulse, without reflection, though to his life’s end he was constantly tempted to take such a risk.{{sfn|Cleugh|1970|p={{page needed|date=November 2024}}}}}}

In [[1468]] Louis and Charles met in [[Péronne, Somme|Peronne]], but in the course of the negotiations they learned that the Liegois had again risen up and killed the Burgundian governor. Charles was furious. Commines and the Duke's other advisors had to calm him down for fear that he might hit the King. Louis was forced into a humiliating treaty, giving up many of the lands he had acquired and witnessing the siege of Liege in which hundreds were massacred.

[[File:Louis XI Dauphin 1444-12-30 k.jpg|thumb|Letter by Louis XI as Dauphin to the Bishop of Grenoble; Montbeliard, 30 December 1444]]

But once out of Charles' reach, Louis declared the treaty invalid and set about building up his forces. His aim was to destroy Burgundy once and for all. War broke out in [[1472]], but Charles' siege of [[Beauvais]] and other towns were unsuccessful and he finally sued for peace. Commines rallied to the King's side and was made welcome.

In 1444, Louis led an army of "[[écorcheurs]]" (bands of mercenary soldiers) against the Swiss at the [[Battle of St. Jakob an der Birs]] where he sought to reconquer territories of his future brother-in-law, Sigismund of Austria-Tyrol.{{sfn|Hardy|2012|p={{page needed|date=November 2024}}}} He won only one victory before suing for peace. He failed to achieve his original objective.{{sfn|Hardy|2012|p={{page needed|date=November 2024}}}}

He still quarreled with his father. His objectionable scheming, which included disrespectful behavior directed against his father's beloved mistress [[Agnès Sorel]],{{sfn|Kendall|1971|pp=65–67}} caused him to be ordered out of court on 27 September 1446 and sent to his own province of [[Dauphiné]]. He lived mainly in [[Grenoble]], in the ''tour de la Trésorerie''.{{sfn|Moreau|2010|p={{page needed|date=November 2024}}}} Despite frequent summons by the king, the two would never meet again. In Dauphiné, Louis ruled as king in all but name,{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=69}} continuing his intrigues against his father. On 14 February 1451, Louis, who had been widowed for six years, made a strategic marriage to the eight-year-old [[Charlotte of Savoy]], without Charles's consent.{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=75}} This marriage was to have long-ranging effects on foreign policy as the beginning of French involvement in the affairs of the Italian peninsula.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

Finally, in August 1456, Charles sent an army to Dauphiné under the command of [[Antoine de Chabannes]]. Louis fled to [[Duchy of Burgundy|Burgundy]], where he was granted refuge by Duke Philip the Good and settled in the castle of [[Genappe]].{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=86}} King Charles was furious when Philip refused to hand over Louis and warned the duke that he was "giving shelter to a fox who will eat his chickens."{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

==Accession==

{{more citations needed section|date=November 2024}}

[[File:The Entry of Louis XI into Paris Fac simile of a Miniature in the Chroniques of Monstrelet Manuscript of the Fifteenth Century Imperial Library of Paris.png|thumb|The Entry of Louis XI into Paris. – Facsimile of a Miniature in the "Chroniques" of Monstrelet, Manuscript of the Fifteenth Century (Imperial Library of Paris).]]

In 1461, Louis learned that his father was dying. He hurried to [[Reims]] to be crowned, in case his brother, [[Charles de Valois, Duc de Berry|Charles, Duke of Berry]], should try to do the same. Louis XI became King of France on 22 July 1461.{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=107}}

Louis pursued many of the same goals that his father had, such as limiting the powers of the dukes and barons of France, with consistently greater success. Among other initiatives, Louis instituted reforms to make the tax system more efficient.{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=116}} He suppressed many of his former co-conspirators, who had thought him their friend, and he appointed to government service many men of no rank, but who had shown promising talent. He particularly favored the associates of the great French merchant [[Jacques Coeur]].{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=116}} He also allowed enterprising nobles to engage in trade without losing their privileges of nobility.{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=116}} He eliminated offices within the government bureaucracy, and increased the demand on other offices within the government in order to promote efficiency.{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=116}} Louis spent a large part of his kingship on the road.{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=115}} Travelling from town to town in his kingdom, Louis would surprise local officials, investigate local governments, establish fairs, and promote trade regulations.{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=118}} Perhaps the most significant contribution of Louis XI to the organization of the modern state of France was his development of the system of royal postal roads in 1464.{{sfn|Thompson|1995|p=64}} In this system, relays at instant service to the king operated on all the high roads of France; this communications network spread all across France and led to the king acquiring his nickname "Universal Spider".{{sfn|Guérard|1959|p=116}}

As king, Louis became extremely prudent fiscally, whereas he had previously been lavish and extravagant. He wore rough and simple clothes and mixed with ordinary people and merchants. A candid account of some of his activities is recorded by the courtier [[Philippe de Commines]] in his [[memoir]]s of the period. Louis made a habit of surrounding himself with valuable advisers of humble origins, such as Commines himself, [[Olivier Le Daim]], [[Louis Tristan L'Hermite]], and [[Jean Balue]]. Louis was anxious to speed up everything, transform everything, and build his own new world.{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=116}} In recognition of all the changes that Louis XI made to the government of France, he has the reputation of a leading "civil reformer" in French history, and his reforms were in the interests of the rising trading and mercantile classes that would later become the bourgeoisie of France.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

Louis XI also involved himself in the affairs of the Church in France. In October 1461, Louis abolished the [[Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges|Pragmatic Sanction]] that his father had instituted in 1438 to establish a French [[Catholic Church in France|Gallican Church]] free of the controls of the [[pope]]s in Rome.{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=117}}

==Feud with Charles the Bold==

{{more citations needed section|date=November 2024}}

Philip III was the Duke of Burgundy at the time that Louis came to the throne, and was keen to initiate a [[Crusade]] against the [[Ottoman Empire]]. However, he needed funds to organize such an enterprise. Louis XI gave him 400,000 gold crowns for the Crusade in exchange for a number of territories, including [[Picardy]] and [[Amiens]].{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=121}} However, Philip's son, the future [[Charles I, Duke of Burgundy]] (known as the Count of Charolais at the time of Louis's accession) was angry about this transaction, feeling that he was being deprived of his inheritance. He joined a rebellion called the [[League of the Public Weal]], led by Louis's brother [[Charles, Duke of Berry (1446-1472)|Charles, the Duke of Berry]].{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=142}} Although the rebels were largely unsuccessful in battle, Louis had no better luck. Louis XI fought an indecisive battle against the rebels at [[Battle of Montlhéry|Montlhéry]]{{sfn|Kendall|1971|pp=158–168}} and was forced to grant an unfavourable peace as a matter of political expediency.{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=169}}

When the Count of Charolais became Duke of Burgundy in 1467 as Charles I ("the Bold"), he seriously considered declaring an independent kingdom of his own. However, Louis's progress toward a strong centralized government had advanced to the point where the dukes of Burgundy could no longer act as independently as they had in the past. The duchy now faced many problems and revolts in its territories, especially from the people of [[Liège]], who conducted the [[Liège Wars]] against the Duke of Burgundy. In the Liège Wars, Louis XI allied himself at first with the people of Liège.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

In 1468, Louis and Charles met at [[Péronne, Somme|Péronne]], but during the course of negotiations, they learned that the citizens of Liège had again risen up against Charles and killed the Burgundian governor.{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=214}} Charles was furious. Philippe de Commines, at that time in the service of the duke of Burgundy, had to calm him down with the help of the duke's other advisors for fear that he might hit the king. Louis was forced into a humiliating treaty. He gave up many of the lands he had acquired from Philip the Good, turned on his erstwhile allies in Liège and swore to help Charles put down the uprising in Liège. Louis then witnessed a siege of Liège in which hundreds were massacred.{{sfn|Kendall|1971|pp=222–223}}

However, once out of Charles's reach, Louis declared the treaty invalid, and set about building up his forces. His aim was to destroy Burgundy once and for all. Nothing was more odious to Louis' dream of a centralized monarchy than the existence of an over-mighty vassal such as the Duke of Burgundy. War broke out in 1472. Duke Charles laid siege to [[Beauvais]] and other towns. However, these sieges proved unsuccessful; the [[Siege of Beauvais]] was lifted on 22 July 1472,{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=250}} and Charles finally sued for peace. Philippe de Commines was then welcomed into the service of King Louis.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

In 1469, Louis founded the [[Order of St. Michael]], probably in imitation of the prestigious Burgundian [[Order of the Golden Fleece]], founded by Charles's father Philip the Good, just as King [[John II of France]] had founded the now defunct [[Order of the Star (France)|Order of the Star]] in imitation of the [[Order of the Garter]] of King [[Edward III of England]].{{citation needed|date=November 2024}} In both cases, a French king appears to have been motivated to found an [[order of chivalry]] to increase the prestige of the French royal court by the example of his chief political adversary.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

==Dealings with England==

{{more citations needed section|date=November 2024}}

Meanwhile [[England]] was going through its own civil conflict known as the [[Wars of the Roses]]. Louis had an interest in this conflict since Charles the Bold was allied with the [[Yorkists]] who opposed King [[Henry VI of England|Henry VI]]. When the [[Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick|Earl of Warwick]] fell out with [[Edward IV of England|Edward IV]], whom he had placed on the throne, Louis granted him refuge in France. He then encouraged Warwick to form an alliance with his bitter enemy, [[Margaret of Anjou]], in order to restore her husband Henry VI to the throne. The plan worked and Edward was forced into exile, but he later returned and [[Warwick the Kingmaker]] was killed at the [[Battle of Barnet]] in [[1471]].

{{Coin image box 1 double

| header = Coin of Louis XI, struck ca. 1470

| image = Image:Coin_of_Louis_XI.jpg

| caption_left = <SMALL>Obverse: Medieval image of Louis XI</SMALL>

|caption_right = <SMALL>Reverse: Fleurs-de-lis</SMALL>

|width = 220

|position = right

|margin = 0

}}

At the same time that France and Burgundy were fighting each other, England was experiencing a bitter civil conflict now known as the [[Wars of the Roses]]. Louis had an interest in this war, for the Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold, was allied with the [[House of York|Yorkists]] who opposed King [[Henry VI of England|Henry VI]]. When the [[Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick|Earl of Warwick]] fell out with the Yorkist King [[Edward IV of England|Edward IV]], after helping Edward attain his throne, Louis granted Warwick refuge in France. Through Louis's diplomacy, Warwick then formed an alliance with his bitter enemy [[Margaret of Anjou]] in order to restore her husband Henry VI to the throne. The plan worked, and Edward was forced into exile in 1470, but he later returned to England in 1471. Warwick was then killed at the [[Battle of Barnet]] in 1471.{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=241}} King Henry VI was soon murdered afterwards.{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=241}}

Now the undisputed master of England, Edward invaded France in [[1475]],{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=276}} but Louis was able to negotiate the [[Treaty of Picquigny]], by which the English gavearmy upleft theirFrance claimin toreturn thefor Frencha thronelarge oncesum andof for allmoney. Louis bragged that although his father had driven theThe English outrenounced bytheir forceclaim ofto arms,French he'dlands drivensuch them out by force ofas [[pâtéNormandy]], and the [[venisonHundred Years' War]] andcould goodbe [[wine]]said to be finally over.{{fact|date=March 2025}}

==SettlingOutcome of rivalry with Charles the Bold==

{{more citations needed section|date=November 2024}}

Louis still had to take care of the Duke of Burgundy and for this he employed the Swiss, whose military might was renown and which he had admired at Brise.

[[File:Map France 1477-en.svg|thumb|Burgundian territories (orange/yellow) and limits of France (red) after the Burgundian War.]]

Just as his father had done, Louis spent most of his reign dealing with political disputes with the reigning Duke of Burgundy,{{sfn|Guérard|1959|p=116}} and for this purpose he employed the Swiss,{{sfn|Guérard|1959|p=117}} whose military might was renowned. He had admired it himself at the [[Battle of St. Jakob an der Birs]].{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

War broke out between Charles and the Swiss after he invaded Switzerland.{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=298}} The invasion proved to be a tremendous mistake. On 2 March 1476, the Swiss attacked and defeated the Burgundians first at [[Battle of Grandson|Grandson]]{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=300}} and then again a few months later, on 22 June that year, at [[Battle of Morat|Murten]].{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=305}} The duke was killed at the [[Battle of Nancy]] on 5 January 1477, an event that marked the end of the [[Burgundian Wars]].{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=314}}

War broke out between Charles and the Swiss, but it was a disastrous campaign for the Duke and he was finally killed at the [[Battle of Nancy]] on [[January 5]] [[1477]].

Louis hadwas wonthus overable to see the destruction of his sworn enemy. OtherThose lords who still favouredfavored the [[Feudalfeudal system]] gave in to his authority. Others, likesuch as [[Jacques d'Armagnac, Duke of Nemours]], were executed. The lands belonging to the Duchy of Burgundy as constituted by Louis's great-great-grandfather John II for the benefit of his son [[Philip the Bold]] reverted to the crown of France.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

==Italian connections==

==Legacy==

The marriage on 14 February 1451 between 28-year-old Louis and the 8-year-old Charlotte of Savoy was the true beginning of French involvement in the affairs of Italy. The Italian peninsula was a compact and politically competitive space dominated by five powers: [[Venice]], [[Milan]], [[Florence]], the [[The Papacy|Papacy]], and the [[Kingdom of Naples]].{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=333}} Beside these five great regional powers, there were about a dozen smaller states in Italy that were constantly changing policies and shifting alliances between and towards the various regional powers. The city/state of [[Genoa]] and the rising state of [[Savoy]], which centered on the city of [[Turin]], were examples of these lesser powers in northern Italy. Even the [[Italic League]]—the combination of the five major powers of Italy that had been born out of the [[Treaty of Lodi]] of 1454—was constantly undergoing internal realignments.{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=334}}

Louis then started developing the Kingdom. He encouraged trade fairs and the building and maintenance of roads. He is seen as one of the first modern Kings of France, taking it out of the [[Middle Ages]].

Both Louis XI and his father Charles VII had been too busy with their struggles with Burgundy to pay much attention to political affairs smoldering in Italy. Additionally, Louis had his attention drawn away from Italy by disagreements with the rulers of England and his struggles with [[Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor|Maximilian of Austria]], who married the heir of Charles the Bold, [[Mary of Burgundy]], and wanted to keep her territorial inheritance intact. However, the death of the Duke of Burgundy in 1477,{{sfn|Guérard|1959|pp=117–118}} which conclusively settled the issue of Burgundy's position under the French throne, the conclusion of the Treaty of Picquigny with England in 1475 and the peaceful resolution in 1482 of the disposition of the "Burgundian inheritance" left to Mary of Burgundy finally allowed Louis XI to turn his attention to Italy.{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=323}}

Louis XI was very superstitious. He surrounded himself with [[astrology|astrologers]]. Interested in science, he once pardoned a man sentenced to death on condition that he serve as a [[guinea pig]] in a gallstone operation.

Viewed from the Italian states, the death of the Duke of Burgundy in 1477 and the resultant downfall of his duchy as a threat to the French throne signalled vast changes in the states' relationships with the kingdom of France.[[File:Louis XI 1466-07-31 k.jpg|thumb|Letter by Louis XI to the Dowager Duchess and Duke of Milan; 31 July 1466]]Despite his connection by marriage to the royal house of Savoy, Louis XI continuously courted a strong relationship with [[Francesco I Sforza]], the Duke of Milan, who was a traditional enemy of Savoy. As a confirmation of the close relationship between Milan and the king of France, Sforza sent his son [[Galeazzo Maria Sforza]] to aid Louis XI in his war against the League of Public Weal in 1465 at the head of a large army.{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=147}} Later, differences arose between France and Milan that caused Milan to seek ways of separating itself from dependence on the French. However, with the downfall of Burgundy in 1477, France was seen in a new light by Milan, which now hurriedly repaired its relationship with Louis XI.{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=334}} Likewise, France's old enemy King [[Ferdinand I of Naples]] began to seek a marriage alliance between the Kingdom of Naples and France.{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=334}} Louis XI also opened new friendly relations with the Papal States, forgetting the past devotion of the popes for the Duke of Burgundy.{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=334}} In January 1478, he signed a favorable treaty with the [[Republic of Venice]].{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

By war, by cunning and with sheer guile, Louis XI overcame France's feudal lords, and at the time of his death in the chateau at [[Plessis-lez-Tours]], he had united France and laid the foundations of a strong monarchy. He was however a secretive, isolated and reclusive man and few mourned his passing.

French involvement in the affairs of Italy would be carried to new levels by Louis XI's son [[Charles VIII of France|Charles VIII]] in 1493, when he answered an appeal for help from [[Ludovico Sforza]], the younger son of Francesco Sforza, that led to an invasion of Italy. This would become a significant turning point in Italian political history.{{sfn|Hoyt|Chodorow|1976|p=619}}

Louis XI died in August of 1483 and was interred in the [[Notre-Dame de Cléry Basilica]] [http://www.clery-saint-andre.com/basilique.html] in [[Cléry-Sant-André]] in the [[Arrondissement of Orléans]]. His wife Charlotte died a few months later and is interred with him. Louis XI was succeeded by his son, [[Charles VIII of France|Charles VIII]], who was thirteen, and his eldest daughter [[Anne of France]] became Regent.

==Death==

==Walter Scott's posthumous attack on Louis XI==

[[File:Cléry-Saint-André (Loiret) - Basilique Notre-Dame - Cénotaphe de Louis XI - 49603380406 (cropped) (cropped).jpg|thumb|1622 effigy in [[Basilica of Our Lady of Cléry|Cléry-Saint-André]]]]

Louis XI, having suffered from bouts of [[apoplexy]] and years of illness, died on 30 August, 1483,{{sfn|Bakos|1997|p=9}} and was interred in the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Cléry{{sfn|Brine|2015|p=68}} in [[Cléry-Saint-André]] in the [[Arrondissement of Orléans]]. His widow, Charlotte, died a few months later, and is interred with him. Louis XI was succeeded by his son Charles VIII, who was thirteen years of age. Louis' eldest daughter, [[Anne of France|Anne]], became regent on Charles's behalf.

===Legacy===

Louis XI's undermining of the Feudal system and of the knightly code of [[Chivalry]] rooted in that system earned him the uncompromising posthumous enmity of the Nineteenth Century [[Romantic]] writer [[Sir Walter Scott]].

{{more citations needed section|date=November 2024}}

Eager to obtain information about his enemies, Louis created, from 1464, a net of postal relays all over France,{{sfn|Thompson|1995|p=64}} which was a precursor to the modern [[La Poste (France)|French postal service]].

Louis developed his kingdom by encouraging trade fairs and the building and maintenance of roads. Louis XI pursued the organization of the kingdom of France with the assistance of bourgeois officials.{{sfn|Guérard|1959|p=116}} In some respects, Louis XI perfected the framework of the modern French Government which was to last until the French Revolution.{{sfn|Guérard|1959|p=116}} Thus, Louis XI is one of the first modern kings of France who helped take it out of the [[Middle Ages]].{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

Scott's foreword to the novel "[[Quentin Durward]]" constitutes a bitter attack on the French king, three and a half centuries dead at the time of writing ([[1831]]). Scott wrote that "(...) Among those who were the first to ridicule and abandon the self-denying principles in which the young knight was instructed, and to which he was so carefully trained up, Louis XI was the chief. That Sovereign was of a character so purely selfish - go guiltless of entertaining any purpose unconnected with his ambition, covetousness and desire of selfish enjoyment - that he seems almost an incarnation of the devil himself, permitted to do his utmost to corrupt our ideas of honour at the very source."

Louis XI was very superstitious{{sfn|Bowersock|2009|p=64}} and surrounded himself with [[astrology|astrologers]]. Interested in science, he once pardoned a man sentenced to death on condition that he serve as a [[Human subject research|test subject]] for a gallstone operation.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

Later in the same essay, Scott compared Louis XI to [[Goethe]]'s [[Mephistopheles]].

Through wars and guile, Louis XI overcame France's mostly independent feudal lords, and at the time of his death in the [[Château de Plessis-lez-Tours]], he had united France and laid the foundations of a strong monarchy. He was, however, a secretive, reclusive man, and few mourned his death.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

{{start box}}

{{succession box|title=[[King of France]]|before=[[Charles VII of France|Charles VII]]|after=[[Charles VIII of France|Charles VIII]]|years=[[July 22]], [[1461]]&ndash;[[August 30]], [[1483]]}}

{{end box}}

Despite Louis XI's political acumen and overall policy of ''Realpolitik'', [[Niccolò Machiavelli]] criticized him harshly in Chapter 13 of ''[[The Prince]]'', calling him shortsighted and imprudent for abolishing his own infantry in favor of [[Swiss mercenaries]].

[[Category:1423 births|Louis 11]]

[[Category:1483 deaths|Louis 11]]

[[Category:French monarchs|Louis 11]]

[[Category:House of Valois]]

[[Category:Historical figures portrayed by Shakespeare]]

==Children==

[[br:Loeiz XI a Vro-C'hall]]

Louis and Charlotte of Savoy had:

[[ca:Lluís XI de França]]

[[cy:Louis XI o Ffrainc]]

* Louis (18 October 1458{{spaced ndash}}1460)

[[da:Ludvig 11. af Frankrig]]

* Joachim (15 July 1459{{spaced ndash}}29 November 1459)

[[de:Ludwig XI. (Frankreich)]]

* Louise (born and died in 1460)

[[es:Luis XI de Francia]]

* [[Anne of France|Anne]] (3 April 1461 − 14 November 1522), in 1473 married [[Peter II, Duke of Bourbon|Peter of Beaujeu]]{{sfn|Hand|2013|p=26}}

[[eo:Ludoviko la 11-a (Francio)]]

* [[Joan of France, Duchess of Berry|Joan]] (23 April 1464 – 4 February 1505), married Louis XII, King of France{{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=385}}

[[fr:Louis XI de France]]

* Louis (born and died on 4 December 1466)

[[hr:Luj XI., kralj Francuske]]

* [[Charles VIII of France]] (30 June 1470 – 8 April 1498){{sfn|Kendall|1971|p=385}}

[[io:Louis 11ma]]

* Francis, [[Duke of Berry]] (3 September 1472 – November 1473)

[[it:Luigi XI di Francia]]

[[he:לואי האחד עשר מלך צרפת]]

==Ancestry==

[[ka:ლუი XI (საფრანგეთი)]]

{{ahnentafel

[[nl:Lodewijk XI van Frankrijk]]

|collapsed=yes |align=center

[[ja:ルイ11世 (フランス王)]]

|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;

[[no:Ludvig XI av Frankrike]]

|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;

[[pl:Ludwik XI Walezjusz]]

|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;

[[pt:Luís XI de França]]

|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;

[[ru:Людовик XI (король Франции)]]

| 1 = 1. '''Louis XI of France'''

[[scn:Luiggi XI]]

| 2 = 2. [[Charles VII of France]]

[[sk:Ľudovít XI.]]

| 3 = 3. [[Marie of Anjou]]

[[sr:Луј XI]]

| 4 = 4. [[Charles VI of France]]

[[fi:Ludvig XI]]

| 5 = 5. [[Isabeau of Bavaria]]

[[sv:Ludvig XI av Frankrike]]

| 6 = 6. [[Louis II of Anjou|Louis II, Duke of Anjou]]

[[uk:Людовік XI (король Франції)]]

| 7 = 7. [[Yolande of Aragon]]

[[zh:路易十一]]

| 8 = 8. [[Charles V of France]]{{Sfn|Anselm|1726|pp=109–110}}

| 9 = 9. [[Joanna of Bourbon]]{{Sfn|Anselm|1726|pp=109–110}}

| 10= 10. [[Stephen III, Duke of Bavaria]]{{Sfn|Anselm|1726|pp=111–114}}

| 11= 11. [[Taddea Visconti]]{{Sfn|Anselm|1726|pp=111–114}}

| 12= 12. [[Louis I of Anjou|Louis I, Duke of Anjou]]

| 13= 13. [[Marie of Blois, Duchess of Anjou|Marie of Blois]]

| 14= 14. [[John I of Aragon]]

| 15= 15. [[Violant of Bar]]

}}

==References==

{{Reflist|3}}

==Sources==

{{Refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}

* {{Cite book |last=Bakos |first=Adrianna E. |title=Images of Kingship in Early Modern France: Louis XI in Political Thought, 1560–1789 |publisher=Routledge |date=1997 |isbn=978-0-4151-5478-9}}

* {{Cite book |last=Bowersock |first=G W |title=From Gibbon to Auden : Essays on the Classical Tradition |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=2009 |isbn=978-0-1997-0407-1 |___location=Oxford, UK}}

* {{Cite book |last=Brine |first=Douglas |title=Pious Memories: The Wall-Mounted Memorial in the Burgundian Netherlands |publisher=Brill |date=2015 |isbn=978-9-0042-8832-4}}

* {{Cite book |last1=Châtelet |first1=Albert |title=Visages d'antan : le Recueil d'Arras (XIVe–XVIe siècle) |last2=Paviot |first2=Jacques |publisher=Éditions du Gui |date=2007 |isbn=978-2-9517-4176-8}}

* {{Cite book |last=Cleugh |first=James |title=Chant Royal The Life of King Louis XI of France (1423–1483) |publisher=Doubleday & Company, Inc. |date=1970 |asin=B000NX3VVY}}

* {{Cite book |last=de Gibours, Anselm |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n9lEAAAAcAAJ |title=Histoire généalogique et chronologique de la maison royale de France |publisher=La compagnie des libraires |date=1726 |edition=3rd |volume=1 |___location=Paris |language=fr |trans-title=Genealogical and chronological history of the royal house of France |ref={{harvid|Anselm|1726}} |author-link=Anselm de Guibours}}

* {{Cite book |last=Guérard |first=Albert |title=France: A Modern History |publisher=University of Michigan Press |date=1959 |asin=B00G0N283I}}

* {{Cite book |last=Hand |first=Joni M. |title=Women, Manuscripts and Identity in Northern Europe, 1350–1550 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing |date=2013}}

* {{Cite journal |last=Hardy |first=Duncan |date=2012 |title=The 1444–5 expedition of the Dauphin Louis to the Upper Rhine in geopolitical perspective |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03044181.2012.697051 |journal=Journal of Medieval History |language=en |volume=38 |issue=3 |pages=358–387 |doi=10.1080/03044181.2012.697051 |s2cid=154109619 |issn=0304-4181|url-access=subscription }}

* {{Cite book |last1=Hoyt |first1=Robert S. |title=Europe in the Middle Ages |last2=Chodorow |first2=Stanley |publisher=Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, Inc. |date=1976 |isbn=978-0-1552-4713-0}}

* {{Cite book |last=Kendall |first=Paul Murray |title=Louis XI: The Universal Spider |publisher=W.W. Norton & Company Inc. |date=1971 |isbn=978-1-8421-2411-6 |author-link=Paul Murray Kendall}}

* {{Cite book |last=Le Roy Ladurie |first=Emmanuel |title=The Royal French State 1460–1610 |publisher=Blackwell Publishers |date=1987 |isbn=978-0-6311-7027-3}}

* {{Cite book |last=Moreau |first=Gilles-Marie |title=Le Saint-Denis des Dauphins: histoire de la collégiale Saint-André de Grenoble |publisher=L'Harmattan |date=2010 |isbn=978-2-2961-3062-3 |language=French}}

* {{cite journal|last=Saenger|first=Paul|date=1977|title=Burgundy and the Inalienability of Appanages in the Reign of Louis XI|journal=French Historical Studies|volume=10|issue=1|pages=1–26|doi=10.2307/286114 |jstor=286114}}

* {{cite journal|last=Slattery|first=Maureen|title=King Louis XI-Chivalry's Villain or Anti-Hero: the Contrasting Historiography of Chastellain and Commynes|journal=Fifteenth Century Studies|volume=23|date=1997|pages=49–73}}

* {{cite book |title= The Hundred Years War |volume=5: Triumph and Illusion |first=Jonathan |last=Sumption |publisher=Faber & Faber |year=2023}}

* {{Cite book |last=Thompson |first=John B. |title=The Media and Modernity: A Social Theory of the Media |publisher=Stanford University Press |date=1995 |isbn=978-0-7456-5674-8}}

* {{Cite book |last=Tyrell |first=Joseph M. |title=Louis XI |publisher=Twayne Publishers |date=1980 |isbn=978-0-8057-7728-4}}

{{Refend}}

{{S-start}}

{{S-hou|[[House of Valois]]|3 July|1423|30 August|1483|[[Capetian dynasty]]}}

|-

{{S-reg|}}

{{S-bef|rows=2|before=[[Charles VII of France|Charles VII]]}}

{{S-ttl|title=[[King of France]]|years=1461–1483}}

{{S-aft|after=[[Charles VIII of France|Charles VIII]]}}

|-

{{S-ttl|title=[[Dauphin of Viennois]]|years=1423–1461}}

{{S-non|reason=Annexation by France}}

{{S-end}}

{{Monarchs of France}}

{{Dauphins of France}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Louis 11 Of France}}

[[Category:1423 births]]

[[Category:1483 deaths]]

[[Category:15th-century kings of France]]

[[Category:15th-century rebels]]

[[Category:Ancien Régime]]

[[Category:House of Valois]]

[[Category:Dauphins of Viennois]]

[[Category:Dauphins of France]]

[[Category:People of the Hundred Years' War]]

[[Category:People from Bourges]]

[[Category:Sons of kings]]

[[Category:Rebel princes]]