Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume X.djvu/661

LOUIS XIII. (FRANCE) LOUIS XIV. (FRANCE) 655 the Garigliano (1503), finally expelling them from southern Italy. In 1504 Anne of Brit- tany, availing herself of Louis's illness, con- cluded with Maximilian a treaty at Blois, by which she engaged to give her daughter Claude to the emperor's grandson (afterward Charles V.), with a dower consisting of not only the claims of the French king to Milan and Naples, hut the two rich provinces of Brittany and Bur- gundy. Louis on his recovery broke off this treaty, and, yielding to the wishes of the states general at Tours, betrothed Claude in 1506 to her cousin Francis of Angouleme, heir appa- rent to the crown. In 1507 he severely chas- tised the city of Genoa, which had asserted its freedom, and in 1508 formed an alliance with Maximilian, Ferdinand of Aragon, and Pope Julius II., known as the "league of Cambrai," to crush the republic of Venice. The Vene- tians, conquered by him at Agnadello (1509), were on the verge of ruin, when the pope sud- denly went over to their side, and brought about the "holy league," to which Maximilian, Henry VIII. of England, and Ferdinand ad- hered, in order to expel the French from Italy. The latter, under the command of Gaston de Foix, were at first successful, Gaston gaining three victories in three months ; but his death at Eavenna in 1512 arrested their success, and being finally defeated at Novara in 1513, they lost all they still held in Italy. Louis had se- duced the Venetians from their allies ; but the other confederates made a league at Mechlin, and invaded France; the English routed the French gendarmerie at Guinegate (1513) ; and Louis, being moreover threatened by the Swiss and the Spaniards, offered terms to his ene- mies, and the pacification was settled at Orleans (1514). The king, to secure his arrangements with England, consented to pay a pension of 100,000 crowns to Henry VIII., and to marry that Sing's sister Mary. A few months later he breathed his last, amid the universal sorrow of his nation, by whom he was styled the "father of the people." LOUIS XIII., king of France, the second of the house of Bourbon, born at Fontainebleau, Sept. 27, 1601, died at St. Germain-en-Laye, May 14, 1643. He was the eldest son of Henry IV. by Maria de' Medici, and succeeded his father in 1610 when in his ninth year, his mother exercising the regency during his minority. A weak woman and a tool in the hands of her Italian favorites, she was unable to preside over the education of the young king, whose time was spent in useless occupa- tions. In 1615 he married Anne of Austria, daughter of Philip III. of Spain. In 1617 he tired of his mother's favorite Concini, and re- solved upon shaking off his yoke. He gave orders for his arrest alive or dead, and Concini was murdered. (See ANCEE.) He intrusted the affairs of state to his own favorite Albert de Luynes, whom he promoted to the rank of great constable. Louis XIII. possessed great personal bravery, which he evinced in 1620 at 509 VOL. x. 42 the battle of the Pont-de-Ce, where he routed his mother's troops, and in 1621 at the siege of Montauban, which he endeavored to take from the Protestants. He concluded peace with the latter on the death of De Luynes, but was un- able to check the disorder which prevailed all over the kingdom. In 1624 he became recon- ciled to his mother, and appointed as his prime minister her chief adviser, Cardinal Eichelieu, behind whom thenceforth the king nearly dis- appeared; and Richelieu for 18 years con- trolled the destinies not only of France but of Europe. (See RICHELIEU.) Louis had a sin- cere appreciation of Richelieu ; in spite of all intrigues, and notwithstanding his own dislike of the man, he retained him in power until his death. He more than once placed himself at the head of his armies to support the policy of his minister, and on such occasions deserved general admiration by his valor and sometimes by his military talents ; he distinguished him- self during the siege of La Rochelle, 1627-'8; in the following year he devised and conduct- ed a most brilliant attack at the Pas de Suze (Susa), against the duke of Savoy ; and finally, in 1636, his self-possession and firmness saved France from invasion ; he advanced toward the allied army, which had already taken Cor- bie in Picardy, retook that town, and obliged the enemy to retreat. He liked seclusion, and contented himself with the society of a few friends. Some ladies attracted his attention, Mile, de Lafayette and Mme. de Hautefort among the number ; but such was his reputa- tion that their virtue was never questioned. Music, drawing, and mechanical arts filled such of his hours as were not devoted to hunting and pious reading. LOUIS XIV., called the Great, king of France, born at St. Germain-en-Laye, Sept. 16, 1638, died in Versailles, Sept. 1, 1715. He was the eldest son of Louis XIII. and of Anne of Aus- tria. His mother had been married and child- less for 22 years, and was an object of aversion to her husband. A temporary reconciliation took place toward the end of 1637, and the birth of Louis XIV. in the succeeding year occasioned the greatest demonstrations of joy among the people, who gave to him the appel- lation of Licu-donne or God-given. He was five years old when his father died, and his mother became regent, with Cardinal Mazarin for prime minister. At the time of his acces- sion France was in a very distracted condition. Laws and jurisdictions were unsettled ; many cities and fortresses were held by individuals almost independent of the crown; detached portions of other countries interrupted the natural limits of France and broke its geo- graphical unity; war existed with Spain and Germany, and every part of the frontier was menaced by powerful armies; the finances were scanty and ill regulated, and a general grossness of manners and depravity of morals pervaded all classes. The infant king's amuse- ments were all of a military kind. He de-