LUIGI VI, called the Fat, king of FRANCIA. — Son of King Filippo I of France, b. in Paris probably in 1081, d. on 1 August 1137. According to Capetian custom, he had been associated with the crown while his father, Filippo I, was still alive, around 1098. Nicknamed “the Fat” on account of his obesity, he was also called “the Fighter” by the feudal vassals, upon whom he wished to impose respect for his authority as sovereign and lord.
The efforts of L. VI, however, heralded “the awakening of the kingdom” (Luchaire). He availed himself of the advice of his friend Suger, abbot of St-Denis, and freed himself from the tutelage of the great officers (seneschal, chancellor), removing the ambitious from their offices. L. VI had at his disposal a pacified and well-administered domain. The officials in charge of his lands recruited soldiers and administered justice. L. VI punished the great lords devoted to brigandage, such as the sire of Coucy and the sire of Puiset, with the cooperation and assistance of the peasants.
The King also secured the confidence of the burghers of the towns within and outside his domain, supporting, for example, the communal movement at Laon against Bishop Gaudry, and confirming the charters of enfranchisement, for example, at Beauvais (1115). The King could also count on the support of the clergy, whose reform he encouraged, and of the Pontiff, whom he supported in his struggle against the Empire. The prestige and authority of L. VI were manifested in 1124, when all the barons rallied around him to resist the invasion of the kingdom by the emperor Enrico V. BIBLICA.: A. Luchaire, Louis VI le Gros, Parigi 1890; E. Lavisse, Hist. de France, II, 1, ibid. 1901, pp. 311-31; A. Longnon, La formation de l'unité française, ibid. 1922; H. Waquet, La vie de Louis VI le Gros par Suger, ibid. 1929; Ch. Petit-Dutailis, La Monarchie féodale, ibid. 1933; id., Les Communes françaises, ibid. 1947; R. Fawtier, Les Capétiens et la France, ibid. 1942. Guglielmo Mollat