On December 1, 1081, King Louis VI of France was born

Louis VI, nicknamed Louis The Fat (French for Louis le Gros, 1081-1137). King of France (1108-1137). Appointed successor by his father Philip I in 1098, he was de facto ruler long before Philip's death in 1108. He soon realized that the first priority was to bring the unruly nobles who owned the royal domains to heel. Much of his reign was spent fighting the nobles. He practiced appeasement and maintained good relations with the church and priests.

life

Louis VI dedicated his life to the consolidation of the French monarchy. From 1109 to 1112, he fought against King Henry I of England. In France, he successfully fought against the independent-leaning princes. Louis VI granted the city dwellers autonomy, enabling them to side with him in his struggles against the nobles. Relying on the support of the citizens and the church, Louis demolished the princes' castles one by one and forced the stationing of loyal guards on their territories. By the time of Louis VI's death, the rule of the Capetian dynasty in France had been relatively stable.

Starting in 1130, Syge, the Abbot of Saint-Denis, became Louis VI's main adviser. Syge was very effective in expanding the kingship and wrote a biography of Louis. The body of Louis VI was also buried in the Monastery of Saint-Denis.

merit

The strengthening of the French monarchy began with Louis VI in the 12th century. He decided to settle in Paris and make it the capital of France. He flattened the feudal separatist forces north of the Loire and expanded the royal territory; supported the urban commune movement, which combined the interests of the royal family and the middle class; began to set up "royal councils" with administrative significance in the royal court, convened by the king, attracting the participation of dignitaries, royal vassals and court officials, with advisory, legislative and judicial functions