Discussion On Whether Louis Vi And Louis Vii Strengthened The French Monarchy

The Capetians had been noticeably growing in power from Hugh Capet in 987 with each king doing slightly better than the last, by the time Philip I finished his rule in 1108 France was becoming quite sturdy and the monarchy was relatively stable. From this point followed two Louis who managed to boost the success of the French monarchy even more significant than the one they preceded in the 72 combined years they were in power.   Abbot Suger described Louis VI as a man who ‘defended churches, protected needy and the poor and worked ceaselessly for peace and the defense of his realm. This positive description from Louis VI’s principle advisor portrays the king as pious, strong and a competent king.

While he did work for peace his methods might have been inefficient and his results surprisingly weak. In reality Louis VI was on the bad side of the pope, and therefore church, his first wife Lucienne of Rochefort was divorced from Louis by the pope in 1107 because it was seen as not fitting to the royal dignity, in many ways he was unpromising for such a role, his interests were directed more towards the battlefield than the cloister. His fight against unruly castellans such as Thomas of Marle and Hugh of Le Puiset was successful in some regards, his royal campaign against a recalcitrant vassal, which succeeded in taking Hugh, prisoner and in destroying the castle was also successful campaign. Maybe Louis VI’s eagerness towards the battlefield was a strength, Both Suger and Ivo of Chartres portray him as a man of a simple, open nature, rarely perfidious, often kindly. And while quarrelling with the church on some occasions, he was also a generous patron of monks. This vigorous warrior’s achievements were of great importance to his royal office, for he managed to tame the royal principality via the constant warfare against the castellans, he helped to develop the royal administration there and, with the help of the church, to set the monarchy on a firm footing. Although Louis’ work was not completed by 1137 it made the Capetian monarchy safer and augmented the ability of the crown to make use of its resources; safety also attracted more and more intelligent people to France further strengthening the monarchy.

Furthermore, by summoning vassals to his court and then, if they did not appear, mounting campaigns against them and often confiscating their lands, Louis emphasized his power as overlord and tightened the ties of vassalage. The greater security, increased royal power and the confiscated resources were all of the vital importance as well as the new royal castles that Louis constructed at important strategic points, as they increased the Kings’ ability to defend and strengthen his country.  While Louis did do a lot to strengthen France, he did have issues with the duchy of Normandy. In 1106 Henry I of England captured Normandy, and while at first agreed with Louis that neutral castellans should occupy the castles, Henry soon seized it, and Louis called on him to account for his actions which were met with refusal and war. In 1109 Louis overran part of the Norman Vexin. However, Theobald of Blois switched his support to Henry, and the English King also had the support of other castellans who together pushed back Louis and defeated him. These events may seem like it caused the French Monarchy to weaken and while it did, England was also struggling after the death of Henry’s son William who was his sole male heir to the English throne forcing Henry to pass on his inheritance to his daughter Matilda. Louis did however successful defend France however from the people attacking; he was able to summon a far more extensive group of vassals for aid than his father and, more importantly, they tended in general to obey his commands.

In his lands, Louis VI was still the territorial prince fighting for control, striving to establish his ascendancy. In the rest of France, he was increasingly exercising his royal powers, defending the church and operating within and outside his sphere of influence. While his presence was still not felt in many parts of France, his reputation and the reputation of the monarchy was growing.  From 1137 Louis VII took hold of France and his job in strengthening the French Monarchy was completed better than Louis VI, Stephen of Paris wrote of Louis VII “He was so pious, so just, so catholic and benign, that if you were to see his simplicity of behavior and dress, you would think, unless you knew him already, that he was not king, but a man or religion. He was a lover of justice, a defender of the weak”. I can infer from this that he must have treated the church well or at least be seen as right in the eyes of the church which would have been useful when trying to strengthen the French Monarchy bearing in mind that the Catholic church was mighty. Louis was fortunate when he came to power, the great rivals of the previous French kings, the counts of Blois-Champagne and the Anglo-Norman royal house, posed little immediate threat. It appeared that they had their sights set on other targets such as the English crown. His marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine also gave him an advantage as she was one of the wealthiest women in Europe at the time giving Louis access to lands he didn’t have before such as the Pyrenees and therefore strengthening France, however the subjects of these areas were only loyal to Eleanor which made controlling them difficult for Louis.

Louis continued his father’s pacification program by building the prestige of the kingship through a central government based on trustworthy men of humble origin and by consolidating his rule over his royal domains rather than by adding new acquisitions. From 1141 to 1143 he was involved in a fruitless conflict with count Thibaut of Champagne and the papacy, but after that his relations with the popes were good.  In 1164 Louis VII gained a useful ecclesiastical refugee in his lands. Archbishop Thomas Becket fled to France from the wrath of Henry II and sought protection from Louis, when he was later killed in England it appeared to the population that he had been safe whilst inside French lands, however shortly after leaving he was murdered which left a good impression on France and the protective power of Louis VII and he was marked out as an ally of the church. Louis went into the last decade of his reign in a much strengthened moral position, and his opposition to Henry and his sons also became more useful, even though the royal principality was still overshadowed by the Plantagenet lands.  

In conclusion, both Louis VI and Louis VII strengthened the French monarchy significantly compared to the previous kings of France, he proved his strength in defending the lands from attacks by Henry II and Henry I and set up the first university in the world in Paris.