Louis XI

Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), nicknamed the Prudent (), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. His father was Charles VII. and his mother was Marie of Anjou.

Born in Bourges, France, Louis was married to Margaret Stewart, daughter of James I of Scotland.

Louis rebelled against his father in 1440 as head of the Praguerie but was forgiven. Louis gave him the management of an area of south-eastern France known as the Dauphiné. There, Louis led his own political establishment and married Charlotte of Savoy, the daughter of Louis, Duke of Savoy. His father did not approve of the marriage and sent an army, but Louis fled to Burgundy, where he was hosted by Charles' biggest enemy Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy.

When Charles VII died in 1461, Louis became King of France. He earned the nicknames "the Cunning" (Middle French: le rusé) and "the Universal Spider" (Middle French: l'universelle aragne), as his enemies accused him of spinning webs of plots and conspiracies.

In 1472, the next Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold, fought against Louis in the Burgundian Wars. However, Louis separated Charles from his English allies by signing the Treaty of Picquigny (1475) with Edward IV of England, which officially 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 ended. Louis took advantage of the situation to seize numerous Burgundian territories, including Burgundy itself and Picardy.

Without direct foreign threats, Louis got rid of his rebellious vassals, expanded royal power and strengthened the economic development of France. He died on 30 August 1483 and was succeeded by his son Charles VIII.

Category:Kings of France
Category:1423 births
Category:1483 deaths
Category:House of Valois
Category:Hundred Years' War
Category:People from Bourges