France

Louis as King

Louis had an unhappy youth. His father neglected him and Louis spent his childhood in a rather isolated castle. When he grew into his teens, the young prince tried to take part in government affairs, but his father rebuffed him at every turn. Sensitive to insult, Louis came to regard Charles VII as an enemy. Indeed, there were times when Louis had to flee or hide from Charles' authority.

Louis was hardly blameless, though. He joined in more than one revolt against Charles. The fact that he was frequently betrayed only contributed to his general cynicism. He became self-centered and trusted only those men he could judge himself and whom he could make and break at will, and so came to rely on members of the bourgeoisie.

We can get a glimpse into the style of Louis' rule by looking at a couple of examples. Upon his accession Louis was faced immediately with a delicate problem: both Yorkists and Lancastrians were pressing him for support. Louis vacillated and would not commit. Instead, he continued to receive gifts from both sides and to give in return hints and occasional protection to refugees.

He also faced a problem in Spain: a battle between Aragon and Catalonia, between John II of Aragon and Gaston IV of audio gifFoix. Louis negotiated a compromise whereby Gaston became the heir of John for Catalan-Navarre. The treaty was signed in 1462. Catalan rebelled and Louis helped try to quell it. When audio gifRoussillon rebelled behind Gaston's back, Louis moved in. Claiming that the people had thrown over their proper lord, he declared that he was annexing them to the crown. The treaty was never implemented and royal control was extended to Foix.