Biography of King Louis VI of France 1081-1137

Paternal Family Tree: Capet

Maternal Family Tree: Eilika Schweinfurt Duchess Saxony

1108 King Philip of France Dies Accession of Louis VI

1119 Battle of Bures-en-Bray

1119 Battle of Bremule

1124 Battle of Bourgtheroulde

1129 Papal Schism

1137 Marriage of Prince Louis and Eleanor of Aquitaine

In 1072 [his father] King Philip I of France (age 19) and [his mother] Bertha Gerulfing Queen Consort France (age 17) were married. She by marriage Queen Consort of France. She the daughter of [his grandfather] Floris Gerulfing I Count Holland and [his grandmother] Gertrude Billung Countess Holland (age 42). He the son of [his grandfather] King Henry I of France and [his grandmother] Anne Rurik Queen Consort France (age 42).

On 01 Dec 1081 King Louis VI of France was born to King Philip I of France (age 29) and Bertha Gerulfing Queen Consort France (age 26).

On 15 May 1092 [his father] King Philip I of France (age 39) and [his step-mother] Bertrade Montfort Queen Consort France (age 22) were married. She by marriage Queen Consort of France. They were married despite their both having living spouses: [his mother] Bertha Gerulfing Queen Consort France (age 37) and Fulk "Réchin" Anjou 4th Count Anjou (age 49) respectively. He the son of [his grandfather] King Henry I of France and [his grandmother] Anne Rurik Queen Consort France.

In 1094 [his mother] Bertha Gerulfing Queen Consort France (age 39) died.

In 1104 King Louis VI of France (age 22) and Lucienne Rochefort (age 16) were married. He the son of King Philip I of France (age 51) and Bertha Gerulfing Queen Consort France.

On 23 May 1107 King Louis VI of France (age 25) and Lucienne Rochefort (age 19) were divorced.

King Philip of France Dies Accession of Louis VI

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 1108. In this year was the King Henry (age 40) on the Nativity at Westminster, and at Easter at Winchester, and by Pentecost at Westminster again. After this, before August, he went into Normandy. And [his father] Philip, the King of France (age 55), died on the nones of August, and his son Louis (age 26) succeeded to the kingdom. And there were afterwards many struggles between the King of France and the King of England, while the latter remained in Normandy.

On 30 Jul 1108 [his father] King Philip I of France (age 56) died. His son King Louis VI of France (age 26) succeeded VI King France: Capet.

In 1115 King Louis VI of France (age 33) and Adelaide Savoy Queen Consort France were married. She by marriage Queen Consort of France. She the daughter of Humbert "Fat" Savoy II Count Savoy and Gisela Ivrea Countess Savoy (age 45). He the son of King Philip I of France and Bertha Gerulfing Queen Consort France.

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 1116. And the king (age 48) soon after Easter went over sea into Normandy. And there were many conspiracies and robberies, and castles taken betwixt France and Normandy. Most of this disturbance was because the King Henry assisted his nephew, Theobald de Blois (age 26), who was engaged in a war against his lord, Louis, the King of France (age 34). This was a very vexatious and destructive year with respect to the fruits of the earth, through the immoderate rains that fell soon after the beginning of August, harassing and perplexing men till Candlemas-day. This year also was so deficient in mast, that there was never heard such in all this land or in Wales. This land and nation were also this year oft and sorely swincked by the guilds which the king took both within the boroughs and without. In this same year was consumed by fire the whole monastery of Peterborough, and all the buildings, except the chapter-house and the dormitory, and therewith also all the greater part of the town. All this happened on a Friday, which was the second day before the nones of August.

On 29 Aug 1116 [his son] Philip Capet was born to King Louis VI of France (age 34) and [his wife] Adelaide Savoy Queen Consort France.

Battle of Bures-en-Bray

On or before 17 Jul 1119 at the Battle of Bures-en-Bray King Henry I "Beauclerc" England (age 51) fought against the army of King Louis VI of France (age 37).

Baldwin VII Count Flanders (age 26) who was killed. His first cousin Charles Estrigen I Count Flanders (age 35) succeeded I Count Flanders. Marguerite Clermont Countess Flanders (age 14) by marriage Countess Flanders.

Battle of Bremule

On 20 Aug 1119 at the Battle of Bremule at Gaillardbois Cressenville King Henry I "Beauclerc" England (age 51) and his son William Adelin Normandy Duke Normandy (age 16) defeated the army of King Louis VI of France (age 37) who had invaded Normandy in support of William Clito Normandy Count Flanders (age 16) who claimed the Duchy of Normandy.

In 1120 [his son] Louis VII King Franks was born to King Louis VI of France (age 38) and [his wife] Adelaide Savoy Queen Consort France at Paris [Map].

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 1120. This year were reconciled the King of England (age 52) and the King of France (age 38); and after their reconciliation all the King Henry's own men accorded with him in Normandy, as well as the Earl of Flanders (age 36) and the Earl of Ponthieu (age 27). From this time forward the King Henry settled his castles and his land in Normandy [Map] after his will; and so before Advent came to this land.

Around Aug 1120 William Adelin Normandy Duke Normandy (age 16) paid homage to King Louis VI of France (age 38) for Normandy.

In 1121 [his son] Henry Capet Archbishop of Reims was born to King Louis VI of France (age 39) and [his wife] Adelaide Savoy Queen Consort France.

Around 1123 [his son] Robert "Great" Capet I Count Dreux was born to King Louis VI of France (age 41) and [his wife] Adelaide Savoy Queen Consort France.

In 1123 [his brother-in-law] Amadeus Savoy III Count Savoy (age 28) and Mahaut Albon Countess Savoy were married. She by marriage Countess Savoy. He the son of Humbert "Fat" Savoy II Count Savoy and [his mother-in-law] Gisela Ivrea Countess Savoy (age 53).

1124 Battle of Bourgtheroulde

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 26 Mar 1124. All this year was the King Henry (age 56) in Normandy. That was for the great hostility that he had with the King Louis of France (age 42), and with the Earl of Anjou (age 35), and most of all with his own men. Then it happened, on the day of the Annunciation of St. Mary, that the Earl Waleram of Mellent (age 20) went from one of his castles called Belmont to another called Watteville. With him went the steward of the King of France, Amalric, and Hugh (age 26) the son of Gervase (age 54), and Hugh of Montfort (age 49), and many other good knights. Then came against them the king's knights from all the castles that were thereabout, and fought with them, and put them to flight, and took the Earl Waleram, and Hugh, the son of Gervase, and Hugh of Montfort, and five and twenty other knights, and brought them to the king. And the king committed the Earl Waleram, and Hugh, the son of Gervase, to close custody in the castle at Rouen; but Hugh of Montfort he sent to England, and ordered him to be secured with strong bonds in the castle at Glocester [Map]. And of the others as many as he chose he sent north and south to his castles in captivity.

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. After 26 Mar 1124. After this went the king (age 56), and won all the castles of the Earl Waleram (age 20) that were in Normandy, and all the others that his enemies held against him. All this hostility was on account of the son of the Earl Robert (age 73) of Normandy, named William (age 21). This same William had taken to wife the younger daughter (age 12) of Fulke, Earl of Anjou (age 35): and for this reason the King of France (age 42) and all the earls held with him, and all the rich men; and said that the king held his brother Robert wrongfully in captivity, and drove his son William unjustly out of Normandy.

In Sep 1126 [his son] Peter Courtenay was born to King Louis VI of France (age 44) and [his wife] Adelaide Savoy Queen Consort France.

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 1127. And the King of France (age 45) brought William (age 24), the son of the Earl of Normandy (age 76), and gave him the earldom; and the people of that land accepted him. This same William had before taken to wife the daughter (age 15) of the Earl of Anjou; but they were afterwards divorced on the plea of consanguinity. This was all through the King Henry (age 59) of England. Afterwards took he to wife the [his sister-in-law] sister¹ of the king's [his wife] wife of France; and for this reason the king gave him the earldom of Flanders.

Note. Maternal half-sister; their mother [his mother-in-law] Gisela Ivrea Countess Savoy (age 57).

In 1127 William Clito Normandy Count Flanders (age 24) and [his sister-in-law] Joanna Monferrat Countess Essex were married. She by marriage Countess Essex. She the daughter of Rainier Aleramici Marquis of Monferrat (age 43) and [his mother-in-law] Gisela Ivrea Countess Savoy (age 57). He the son of Robert Curthose III Duke Normandy (age 76) and Sybilla Conversano Duchess Normandy. They were third cousins. He a grandson of King William "Conqueror" I of England.

Around 1128 [his daughter] Constance Capet Countess Boulogne and Toulose was born to King Louis VI of France (age 46) and [his wife] Adelaide Savoy Queen Consort France.

In 1128 [his sister-in-law] Joanna Monferrat Countess Essex died.

1129 Papal Schism

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 1129. This same year died Pope Honorius. Ere he was well dead, there were chosen two popes. The one was named Peter, who was monk of Clugny, and was born of the richest men of Rome; and with him held those of Rome, and the Duke of Sicily. The other was Gregory: he was a clerk, and was driven out of Rome by the other pope, and by his kinsmen. With him held the Emperor of Saxony, and the King of France (age 47), and the King Henry (age 61) of England, and all those on this side of the Alps. Now was there such division in Christendom as never was before. May Christ consult for his wretched folk.

Around 1133 [his son] Philip Capet was born to King Louis VI of France (age 51) and [his wife] Adelaide Savoy Queen Consort France.

After 06 May 1137 [his former wife] Lucienne Rochefort (deceased) died.

Marriage of Prince Louis and Eleanor of Aquitaine

On 25 Jul 1137 [his son] Louis VII King Franks (age 17) and [his daughter-in-law] Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England (age 15) were married at the by Archbishop Geoffrey of Loroux. Her father William "Saint" Poitiers X Duke Aquitaine had died some three months previously leaving Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England as a ward of Louis's father King Louis VI of France (age 55) who quickly married her to his son Louis with a view to the Duchy of Aquitaine becoming joined with the Kingdom of France. A week later King Louis VI of France died and his son Louis and Eleanor became King and Queen of France. She the daughter of William "Saint" Poitiers X Duke Aquitaine and Aenor Chatellerault Duchess Aquitaine. He the son of King Louis VI of France and [his wife] Adelaide Savoy Queen Consort France. They were fourth cousins.

Eleanor gave Louis a rock-crystal vase as a wedding gift which he subsequently gave to Abbot Suger of Saint-Denis. The vase is no in the Louvre.

Crystal vase, 'of Eleanor'. Crystal: Iran (?), 6th-7th century (?). Mounting: Saint-Denis, before 1147; 13th and 14th centuries. Rock crystal, nielloed and gilded silver, precious stones, pearls, champlevé enamels on silver. Originating from the treasury of the Abbey of Saint-Denis. Inscription: "+ HOC VAS SPONSA DEDIT A(ie)NOR-REGI LUDOVICO MITADOL(us) AVO MIHI REX S(an)C(tis)Q(ue) SUGER(ius)" (This vase, Eleanor, his spouse, gave it to King Louis, Mitadolus to his ancestor, the king to me, Suger, who have offered it to the saints).

Vase de cristal, "d’Aliénor". Cristal: Iran (?), VI-VII siécle (?). Monture: Saint-Denis, avant 1147; XIII et XIV siécles. Cristal de roche, argent niellé et doré, pierres pécieuses, perles, émaux champlevés sur argent Provient du trésor de I'abbaye de Saint-Denis. Inscription: "+ HOC VAS SPONSA DEDIT A(ie)NOR-REGI LUDOVICO MITADOL(us) AVO MIHI REX S(an)C(tis)Q(ue) SUGER(ius)". (ce vase, Aliénor, son épouse, l'a donné au roi Lous, Mitadolus a son aïeul, le roi à moi, Suger, qui l'ai offert aux saints).

Archbishop Geoffrey of Loroux: In 1137 he was appointed Archibishop of Bordeaux. On 18 Jul 1155 he died.

William "Saint" Poitiers X Duke Aquitaine: William "Saint" Poitiers X Duke Aquitaine and Aenor Chatellerault Duchess Aquitaine were married. She by marriage Duchess Aquitaine. He the son of William "Troubadour" Poitiers IX Duke Aquitaine and Philippa Rouerge Duchess Aquitaine. In 1099 he was born to William "Troubadour" Poitiers IX Duke Aquitaine and Philippa Rouerge Duchess Aquitaine at Toulose. On 10 Feb 1127 William "Troubadour" Poitiers IX Duke Aquitaine died. His son William "Saint" Poitiers X Duke Aquitaine succeeded X Duke Aquitaine. On 09 Apr 1137 William "Saint" Poitiers X Duke Aquitaine died. His daughter Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England succeeded XI Duchess Aquitaine.

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On 01 Aug 1137 King Louis VI of France (age 55) died of dysentery. His son [his son] Louis VII King Franks (age 17) succeeded VII King of the Franks. [his daughter-in-law] Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England (age 15) by marriage Queen Consort Franks.

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 1140. And the earl stole out, and went after Robert, Earl of Glocester (age 41), and brought him thither with a large army. And they fought strenuously on Candlemas day against their lord, and took him; for his men forsook him and fled. And they led him to Bristol, and there put him into prison in close quarters. Then was all England stirred more than ere was, and all evil was in the land. Afterwards came the daughter of King Henry, who had been Empress of Germany (age 37), and now was Countess of Anjou. She came to London; but the people of London attempted to take her, and she fled, losing many of her followers. After this the Bishop of Winchester, Henry (age 42), the brother of King Stephen (age 46), spake with Earl Robert, and with the empress, and swore them oaths, "that he never more would hold with the king, his brother," and cursed all the men that held with him, and told them, that he would give them up Winchester; and he caused them to come thither. When they were therein, then came the king's queen with all her strength, and beset them, so that there was great hunger therein. When they could no longer hold out, then stole they out, and fled; but those without were aware, and followed them, and took Robert, Earl of Glocester, and led him to Rochester, and put him there into prison; but the empress fled into a monastery. Then went the wise men between the king's friends and the earl's friends; and settled so that they should let the king out of prison for the earl, and the earl for the king; and so they did. After this settled the king and Earl Randolph at Stamford, and swore oaths, and plighted their troth, that neither should betray the other. But it availed nothing. For the king afterwards took him at Northampton, through wicked counsel, and put him into prison; and soon after he let him out again, through worse counsel, on the condition that he swore by the crucifix, and found hostages, that he would give up all his castles. Some he gave up, and some gave he not up; and did then worse than he otherwise would. Then was England very much divided. Some held with the king, and some with the empress; for when the king was in prison, the earls and the rich men supposed that he never more would come out: and they settled with the empress, and brought her into Oxford, and gave her the borough. When the king was out, he heard of this, and took his force, and beset her in the tower.¹⁶⁵ And they let her down in the night from the tower by ropes. And she stole out, and fled, and went on foot to Wallingford [Map]. Afterwards she went over sea; and those of Normandy turned all from the king to the Earl of Anjou (age 26); some willingly, and some against their will; for he beset them till they gave up their castles, and they had no help of the king. Then went Eustace, the king's son, to France, and took to wife the sister of the King of France. He thought to obtain Normandy thereby; but he sped little, and by good right; for he was an evil man. Wherever he was, he did more evil than good; he robbed the lands, and levied heavy guilds upon them. He brought his wife to England, and put her into the castle at…¹⁶⁶ Good woman she was; but she had little bliss with him; and Christ would not that he should long reign. He therefore soon died, and his mother also. And the Earl of Anjou died; and his son Henry took to the earldom. And the Queen of France parted from the king; and she came to the young Earl Henry; and he took her to wife, and all Poitou with her. Then went he with a large force into England, and won some castles; and the king went against him with a much larger force. Nevertheless, fought they not; but the archbishop and the wise men went between them, and made this settlement: That the king should be lord and king while he lived, and after his day Henry should be king: that Henry should take him for a father; and he him for a son: that peace and union should be betwixt them, and in all England. This and the other provisions that they made, swore the king and the earl to observe; and all the bishops, and the earls, and the rich men. Then was the earl received at Winchester, and at London, with great worship; and all did him homage, and swore to keep the peace. And there was soon so good a peace as never was there before. Then was the king stronger than he ever was before. And the earl went over sea; and all people loved him; for he did good justice, and made peace.