LUIGI X, called le Hutin (= brawler), king of FRANCIA. — Son of Filippo IV il Bello, b. in Paris on 4 October 1289, d. at Vincennes on 5 June 1316. The repeated alteration of the currency rate, the heavy tax burden, and the arbitrary form of government, contrary to feudal privileges, had led, under the reign of Filippo IV il Bello, to the formation of provincial leagues, in which certain members of the clergy and, above all, the barons took part; they were jealous of the influence acquired at the king’s court, to their detriment, by the royal jurists.
As soon as he ascended the throne (29 November 1314), disturbances broke out in Burgundy and Champagne. The young monarch did not even attempt to combat the opposition by force, encouraged as it was by his uncle, Carlo di Valois. Prodigal, weak-willed, devoted to pleasures and gambling, he sacrificed Enguerrand de Marigny, the all-powerful minister under the reign of Filippo il Bello, detested by the people, and had him put to death. He sought an agreement with the feudal leagues and agreed to grant the “Charters” to the inhabitants of Picardy, Burgundy, Champagne, Normandy, Languedoc, etc. In reality, however, these “Charters” were surrounded by so many restrictions and qualifications that their practical value was for the most part illusory. When Roberto, count of Flanders, refused to pay him personal homage, L. X took up arms. But instead of beginning the campaign at a favorable time, in spring, he waited until autumn, the season of rain. His troops became bogged down in the mud of Flanders, and consequently he was forced into a humiliating retreat (1315). The chronicler Jean de Saint-Victor attributes the sudden death of L. X to an excessive intake of cold water.