Louis VII of France
Louis VII (1120 – 18 September 1180), called the Younger, or the Young (French: le Jeune), was King of France from 1137 to 1180. He was the son and successor of King Louis VI (hence the epithet "the Young") and married Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in western Europe. The marriage temporarily extended the Capetian lands to the Pyrenees.
For other uses, see Louis VII (disambiguation).Louis VII
1 August 1137 – 18 September 1180
25 July 1137 – 21 March 1152
Eleanor
Eleanor
1120
18 September 1180 (aged 59–60)
Paris
Louis married Eleanor in 1137, and shortly thereafter became king following his father's death. During his march, as part of the Second Crusade in 1147, Louis stayed at the court of King Géza II of Hungary on the way to Jerusalem. During his stay in the Holy Land, disagreements with Eleanor led to a deterioration in their marriage. She persuaded him to stay in Antioch but Louis instead wanted to fulfil his vows of pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He was later involved in the failed siege of Damascus and eventually returned to France in 1149. Louis' reign saw the founding of the University of Paris. He and his counsellor, Abbot Suger, pushed for greater centralisation of the state and favoured the development of French Gothic architecture, notably the construction of Notre-Dame de Paris.
Louis' marriage to Eleanor was annulled in 1152 after the couple had produced two daughters, but no male heir. Immediately after their annulment, Eleanor married Henry, Duke of Normandy and Count of Anjou, to whom she conveyed Aquitaine, which following Henry's ascension to the English throne created an Angevin Empire. Later, Louis supported Henry and Eleanor's sons in their rebellion against their father to foment further disunity in the Angevin realms. Louis married a second time to his second cousin, Constance of Castile, but still failed to produce a male heir. Constance died in childbirth with their second daughter. His third marriage to Adela of Champagne, five weeks after Constance's death, was finally able to give him a son, Philip Augustus. Louis died in 1180 and was succeeded by his son Philip II.
Early life and education[edit]
Louis was born in 1120,[1] the second son of Louis VI of France and Adelaide of Maurienne.[2] The early education of the young Louis anticipated an ecclesiastical career. As a result, he became well learned and exceptionally devout, but his life course changed decisively after the accidental death of his older brother Philip in 1131, when Louis unexpectedly became the heir to the throne of France.[1] In October 1131, his father had him anointed and crowned by Pope Innocent II in Reims Cathedral.[3][4] He spent much of his youth in Saint-Denis, where he built a friendship with the abbot Suger, an advisor to his father who also served Louis during his early years as king.
Louis' children by his three marriages:
With Eleanor of Aquitaine:[19]
With Constance of Castile:[13]
With Adela of Champagne:[21]
Fictional portrayals[edit]
Louis is a character in Jean Anouilh's 1959 play Becket. In the 1964 film adaptation, he was portrayed by John Gielgud, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He was also portrayed by Charles Kay in the 1978 BBC TV drama series The Devil's Crown. He has a role in Sharon Kay Penman's novels When Christ and His Saints Slept and Devil's Brood. The early part of Norah Lofts' biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine deals considerably with Louis, seen through Eleanor's eyes and giving her side in their problematic relationship. Louis is one of the main characters in Elizabeth Chadwick's novel The Summer Queen.