Royal Absolutism: Louis XIII

ROYAL ABSOLUTISM
1610 ­ 1643
Louis XIII & Richelieu…read more

PEOPLE
· Cardinal Richelieu - Louis XIII chief minister
· Catholic devots - Loyal/Devout Catholics at court
· Cinq Mars - Young man who was used an a prawn by the nobility
· Comte de Chalais - Lover of the Duchess de Chevreuse
· Duchess de Chevreuse ­ Abetted Gaston and conspired against
Richelieu
· Duke of Buckingham ­ English duke, helped during La Rochelle
rebellion
· Gaston d'Orleans ­ Brother of the King
· Henri IV ­ Father of Louis XIII
· Henri Montmorency - Member of the Montmorency family, lead a
rebellion with Gaston
· Louis XIII ­ Current ruler of French, dependent on the affections of
others
· Luynes - Noble, interested in hunting and helping lead Louis' rebellion
· Mademoiselle de Montpensier - Was set to marry Gaston
· Marie De Medici - Mother of Louis XIII, regent during 1610 - 14
· Marillac - Favourite of Medici, wanted to take a post of commander in
Northern Italy
· Montmorency-Boutville - Young men exiled in the past for duelling
· Rohan - Lead the Huguenot revolt at La Rochelle…read more

THE REGENCY CRISIS & RICHELIEU'S
RISE
· Henri IVs widow, Marie de Medici become regent on
behalf of 9 year old Louis XIII
· Great nobles flocked to court, demanding pensions, titles
and positions of power
· The administration of France fell in hands of those strong
enough to seize it
· At a meeting of the states general, Richelieu
· By simple flattery, he was awarded a minor post in the
royal council
· To distract the king, he was placed in the care of Luynes
· However, in 1617 Louis organised a place rebellion and took
power
· In 1619, Richelieu acted as a mediator between the king and
his mother
· In 1614, he was rewarded with a cardinals hat and chief
ministers position…read more

THE CHALAIS CONSPIRACY: 1626
· First plot to remove Richelieu from power
· Arose from Gaston's refusal to marry mademoiselle de
Montpensier
· The match was urged by Louis, but Gaston disliked her
· Gaston had hoped to free himself from the arrangement by
conspiring to destroy Richelieu
· He was helped by the Duchess de Chevreuse and one of
her lovers, the comte de Chalais
· Louis was no easily impressed, Gaston was required to go
ahead with the marriage
· Louis affirmed his commitment to Richelieu and made it
clear that those who dared to intrigue did so at their peril…read more

THE MONTMORENCY-BOUTVILLE
AFFAIR:1627
· Louis revived the laws against duelling
· A young braggart, Montmorency-Boutville had been
exiled for duelling
· He retuned and chose to fight under Richelieu's window
· Despite the change in law, Louis insisted that the affront to
his authority be punished by death
· The incident impressed the nobility with the king's
determination to uphold dignity…read more

DEALING WITH THE
HUGUENOTS: 1625 +
`So long as they have a foothold in France, the king will not be a
maser in his own household and will be unable to undertake any
great enterprise abroad' ­ Richelieu
·The Huguenots were still a powerful group of people despite
the Treaty of Montpellier which removed some of their
strongholds
·They had become worried about the influence of the catholic
devots at court
·The rebellion was a desperate attempt to display their
strength
·In 1625, Rohan organised a revolt in Languedoc
·His colleague, Soubise raised a naval squadron and destroyed
the royal fleet…read more