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4 - The Commonwealth under Siege

Louis XI

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 May 2022

James B. Collins
Affiliation:
Georgetown University, Washington DC
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Summary

Charles VII revived his grandfather’s system, but the monarchical commonwealth inherited by Louis XI in 1461 came under immediate attack. Louis violated all the norms of the commonwealth in seeking enhanced personal power. His assault led to a coalition of princes against him, in defense of the “bien public.” The selfish goals of these princes notwithstanding, Louis’ contemporaries were appalled at his attack on accepted norms, as they would make clear in the debates of the Estates General of 1484. Louis XI rescinded some of his most unpopular actions after the War of the Public Good. He even called an Estates General in 1468, the last such body to which specific individuals received letters of invitation. This chapter presents both the system elaborated by Charles VII – based on the principle of election – and the one Louis XI tried to put in its place. One key innovation of Charles VII was the Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges (1438), which restored to cathedral chapters the right to elect their bishop. Louis XI would often insist on his own right to name prelates and episodically suspended the Pragmatic, foreshadowing Francis I’s abandonment of it in 1516.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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  • The Commonwealth under Siege
  • James B. Collins, Georgetown University, Washington DC
  • Book: The French Monarchical Commonwealth, 1356–1560
  • Online publication: 05 May 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108593045.006
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  • The Commonwealth under Siege
  • James B. Collins, Georgetown University, Washington DC
  • Book: The French Monarchical Commonwealth, 1356–1560
  • Online publication: 05 May 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108593045.006
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The Commonwealth under Siege
  • James B. Collins, Georgetown University, Washington DC
  • Book: The French Monarchical Commonwealth, 1356–1560
  • Online publication: 05 May 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108593045.006
Available formats
×