LOUIS VI, called the Fat, King of France. - Son of King Philip I of France, born in Paris probably in 1081, died on 1 August 1137. According to the custom of the Capetians, he had been associated with the crown while his father, Philip I, was still alive, around 1098. Nicknamed "the Fat" because of his obesity, he was also called "the Battler" by the feudal vassals, upon whom he wished to impose respect for his authority as sovereign and lord.

The efforts of L. VI, however, announce "the awakening of the kingdom" (Luchaire). He avails himself of the counsels of his friend Suger, abbot of St-Denis, and frees himself from the tutelage of the great officers (seneschal, chancellor), stripping the ambitious of their functions. L. VI had at his disposal a pacified and well-administered domain. The provosts of his lands recruit soldiers and administer justice. L. VI punished the great lords given over to brigandage, such as the sire of Coucy and the sire of Puiset, with the cooperation and help of the peasants.

The King also secured the trust of the burghers of the cities within his domain and outside it, supporting, for example, the communal movement at Laon against Bishop Gaudry, and confirming charters of franchise, 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 gathered around him to resist the invasion of the kingdom by the emperor Henry V.

Bibliography7 works

BIBL.: A. Luchaire, Louis VI le Gros, Paris 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

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Louis VI, called the Fat, King of France

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