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University of California Press

About the Book

In this fascinating biography, A. Lloyd Moote provides the first authoritative account of one of the most enigmatic figures of seventeenth-century Europe. Contrary of popular portrayals of the monarch as a hapless kind, Moote argues that Louis XIII was a ruler who powerfully shaped his people's destiny.

Table of Contents

List of Plates
Preface
Introduction: Interpreting Louis XIII

PART I THE FORMATION OF A KING, 1601-15
1 A Dauphin's World
2 The Boy King
3 King, Estates, and State

PART II LOUIS THE JUST COMES OF AGE, 1615-24
4 Royal Marriage and Coup d'Etat
5 Seeking an Effective Mode of Governance
6 Fighting for Just Causes
7 Growing Up in Public

PART III FRENCH ABSOLUTISM IN THE MAKING, 1624-35
8 Partnership of King and Cardinal 
9 Ordering Priorities 
10 Alais, Mantua, and the Day of Dupes 
11 Governmental Revolution 

PART IV THE LEGACY OF LOUIS XIII, 1635-43
12 Warfare King, State, and Society 
13 King and Culture 
14 The Intimate Louis 

Conclusion: Louis XIII Beyond the Grave 
Appendix 
Notes 
Bibliography