Louis, Duke of Burgundy
This article has an unclear citation style. (February 2017) |
Louis | |||||
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Basilica of St Denis , France | |||||
Spouse |
Princess Marie Adélaïde of Savoy (m. 1697; died 1712) | ||||
Issue Among others | |||||
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Louis, Grand Dauphin | |||||
Mother | Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria | ||||
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Louis, Dauphin of France, Duke of Burgundy (6 August 1682 – 18 February 1712), was the eldest son of
Childhood
Louis was born in the
Louis grew up with his younger brothers Philip, Duke of Anjou (who became King Philip V of Spain), and Charles, Duke of Berry, under the supervision of the royal governess Louise de Prie. He lost his mother when he was eight. His father, viewed as lazy and dull, never played a major role in politics.
Marriage
Military career and politics
In 1702, at the age of 20, Louis was admitted by his grandfather King Louis XIV to the Conseil d'en haut (High Council), which was in charge of state secrets regarding religion, diplomacy and war. His father had been admitted only at the age of 30.
In 1708, during the War of the Spanish Succession, Louis was given command of the army in Flanders, with the experienced soldier Louis Joseph, Duke of Vendôme, serving under him. The uncertainty as to which of the two should truly command the army led to delays and the need to refer decisions to Louis XIV. Continued indecision led to French inactivity as messages travelled between the front and Versailles; the Allies were then able to take the initiative. The culmination of this was the Battle of Oudenarde, where Louis's mistaken choices and reluctance to support Vendôme led to a decisive defeat for the French. In the aftermath of the defeat, his hesitation to relieve the Siege of Lille led to the loss of the city and thereby allowed the Allies to make their first incursions onto French soil.
Louis was influenced by the
These high-ranking aristocrats sought a return to a monarchy less
Death and legacy
Louis became Dauphin of France upon the death of his father in 1711. In February 1712, his wife contracted
As it was thought that the chances of survival of this frail child, now heir apparent to his seventy-three-year-old great grandfather, were minimal, a potential succession crisis loomed.
Moreover, overnight the broad hopes of the faction de Bourgogne were destroyed and its members would soon die of natural deaths. Nonetheless, some of their ideas were put into practice when the Duke of Orléans, as regent during Louis XV's minority, created a form of government known as polysynody, in which each ministry was replaced by a council composed of aristocrats. However, the absenteeism, ineptitude and squabbling of the aristocrats caused this system to fail, and it was soon abandoned in 1718 in favour of a return to absolute monarchy.
Issue
- Louis, Duke of Brittany (25 June 1704 – 13 April 1705) died of convulsions;[1]: 179–180
- Louis, Duke of Brittany (8 January 1707 – 8 March 1712) died of measles;
- Louis XV of France (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774) first engaged to Mariana Victoria of Spain; married Marie Leszczyńska and had issue; died of smallpox.
Ancestry
Ancestors of Louis of France | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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References
- ^ a b c d e f g Anselm de Guibours (1726). Histoire généalogique et chronologique de la maison royale de France [Genealogical and chronological history of the royal house of France] (in French). Vol. 1 (3rd ed.). Paris: La compagnie des libraires.
- ^ a b c Scherer, Herbert (1961), "Ferdinand Maria", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 5, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 86–87; (full text online)
- ^ von Oefele, Edmund (1877), "Ferdinand Maria", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 6, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 677–679
- ^ a b Strobl, Else (1953), "Adelheid (Henriette Maria Adelaide)", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 1, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 58–59; (full text online)
Bibliography
- Erlanger, Philippe, Louis XIV, translated from the French by Stephen Cox, Praeger Publisher, New York & Washington, 1970. (First published in French by Fayard in 1965).
- Wolf, John B. Louis XIV (1968).
- Mansfield, Andrew, "The Burgundy Circle's plans to undermine Louis XIV's “absolute” state through polysynody and the high nobility", 'Intellectual History Review', Vol.27, Issue 2 (2017), pp. 223–45 - http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17496977.2016.1156346
In French
- Achaintre, Nicolas Louis, Histoire généalogique et chronologique de la maison royale de Bourbon, Vol. 2, Publisher Mansut Fils, 4 Rue de l'École de Médecine, Paris, 1825.
- Antoine, Michel, Louis XV, Fayard, Paris, 1989 (French).
- Dufresne, Claude, les Orléans, CRITERION, Paris, 1991 (French).