Louis XIII

Lore & Background

Louis XIII was born at the Palace of Fontainebleau, the eldest child of King Henry IV of France and his second wife Marie de' Medici. As a child, he was raised under the supervision of the royal governess Françoise de Montglat and his physician Jean Héroard. The English ambassador Sir Edward Herbert, who presented his credentials to Louis in 1619, noted the king's extreme congenital speech impediment and double teeth: '...his words were never many, as being so extream a stutterer that he would sometimes hold his tongue out of his mouth a good while before he could speak so much as one word; he had besides a double row of teeth.' After his father's assassination in 1610, his mother acted as regent. She relied on Concino Concini, an Italian favourite, whose unpopularity and political intrigues led Louis to break with her. On 24 April 1617, during the attempted arrest, Concini was killed. His widow Leonora Dori Galigaï was tried for witchcraft, condemned, beheaded, and burned on 8 July 1617, and Marie was sent into exile in Blois.

Reader's Guide

Louis XIII's significance lies in his role in centralizing royal authority in France. With Cardinal Richelieu, he established the Académie française, ended the revolt of the French nobility, and systematically destroyed the castles of defiant lords, denouncing the use of private violence (dueling, carrying weapons, and maintaining private armies). By the end of the 1620s, Richelieu had established 'the royal monopoly of force' as the ruling doctrine. The king's reign was also marked by struggles against the Huguenots and Habsburg Spain. Taciturn and suspicious, Louis relied heavily on his chief ministers—first Charles d'Albert, duc de Luynes, and then Cardinal Richelieu—to govern. After Luynes died of camp fever in December 1621 during the siege of Montauban, Louis determined to rule by council. His mother returned from exile and entered this council in 1622. The Huguenot rebellion was ended by the Treaty of Montpellier in October 1622, which confirmed the tenets of the Edict of Nantes but required several Huguenot fortresses to be razed, though the Huguenots retained control of Montauban and La Rochelle.

Did You Know?

• Louis XIII became king shortly before his ninth birthday after his father Henry IV was assassinated.
• He had an extreme congenital speech impediment and a double row of teeth, as noted by English ambassador Sir Edward Herbert in 1619.
• On 24 April 1617, during the attempted arrest of Concino Concini, Concini was killed; his widow was later tried for witchcraft, condemned, beheaded, and burned on 8 July 1617.
• The Treaty of Montpellier, signed in October 1622, ended a Huguenot rebellion and confirmed the Edict of Nantes, but required several Huguenot fortresses to be razed.
• Cardinal Richelieu established 'the royal monopoly of force' as the ruling doctrine by the end of the 1620s.