WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.379 OK, let's unpack this. We are diving into a reign 00:00:02.379 --> 00:00:04.400 that's so short it almost feels like a historical 00:00:04.400 --> 00:00:07.120 footnote. Right. Less than two years. Yet it 00:00:07.120 --> 00:00:10.480 was absolutely packed with, I mean, royal sex 00:00:10.480 --> 00:00:12.939 scandals that changed a dynasty, the very public 00:00:12.939 --> 00:00:15.679 execution of a powerful minister. And a truly 00:00:15.679 --> 00:00:19.699 bizarre sports -related death that ended up rewriting 00:00:19.699 --> 00:00:22.440 French constitutional law forever. We are talking 00:00:22.440 --> 00:00:25.280 about Louis X of France, known to history as 00:00:25.280 --> 00:00:28.280 Louis the Quarrelsome or Louis X. It's really 00:00:28.280 --> 00:00:31.260 remarkable how much institutional upheaval one 00:00:31.260 --> 00:00:33.960 monarch can generate in, what, less than two 00:00:33.960 --> 00:00:36.140 full years on the French throne. It's unbelievable. 00:00:36.259 --> 00:00:38.840 Our sources today are focused on synthesizing 00:00:38.840 --> 00:00:41.799 a detailed historical overview of Louis X's life 00:00:41.799 --> 00:00:45.479 and his very fleeting reign. We're covering the 00:00:45.479 --> 00:00:49.420 period from 1289 to 1316. And our mission for 00:00:49.420 --> 00:00:51.700 you is to pull out the truly crucial insights 00:00:51.700 --> 00:00:54.740 from this incredibly intense period. We aren't 00:00:54.740 --> 00:00:56.740 just reading a timeline here. Not at all. We 00:00:56.740 --> 00:00:59.140 want to understand the why. Why that ominous 00:00:59.140 --> 00:01:01.479 nickname? How did his desperate need for cash 00:01:01.479 --> 00:01:03.859 drive what looked on the surface, at least, like 00:01:03.859 --> 00:01:06.260 profound social progress? And of course, the 00:01:06.260 --> 00:01:10.359 big one, how his untimely death. which, yes, 00:01:10.459 --> 00:01:12.739 it does involve an early form of tennis, triggered 00:01:12.739 --> 00:01:15.480 one of the most severe succession crises the 00:01:15.480 --> 00:01:18.260 Capetian dynasty ever faced. It's a huge constitutional 00:01:18.260 --> 00:01:22.280 moment. It is. So to set the stage, we need to 00:01:22.280 --> 00:01:24.840 anchor Louis X in the context of the late Capetian 00:01:24.840 --> 00:01:27.549 era. Right. He was king of France for... Just 00:01:27.549 --> 00:01:31.150 about 18 months, from 1314 to 1316. But, and 00:01:31.150 --> 00:01:33.310 this is important, he had a much longer tenure 00:01:33.310 --> 00:01:36.109 as king of Navarre. As Louis I. Exactly, as Louis 00:01:36.109 --> 00:01:39.870 I. He ruled there for 11 years, starting in 1305. 00:01:40.569 --> 00:01:44.230 So that dual kingship is fundamental to understanding 00:01:44.230 --> 00:01:47.069 his politics. And he died so young. Just 26 years 00:01:47.069 --> 00:01:49.650 old. It makes his time as the king of France 00:01:49.650 --> 00:01:52.209 a sprint that demanded immediate and often pretty 00:01:52.209 --> 00:01:54.469 drastic decision making. A sprint is the right 00:01:54.469 --> 00:01:57.280 word. He inherited a mountain of problems, but 00:01:57.280 --> 00:02:00.519 first he inherited a crown and, well, a catastrophic 00:02:00.519 --> 00:02:02.900 family crisis. So Louis was born in Paris in 00:02:02.900 --> 00:02:05.519 1289. He's the eldest son of two immense figures, 00:02:05.859 --> 00:02:08.120 Philip IV, often called Philip the Fair, and 00:02:08.120 --> 00:02:10.580 Joan I of Navarre. And Philip IV, he was maybe 00:02:10.580 --> 00:02:13.080 the most ruthless centralizer in French history 00:02:13.080 --> 00:02:15.699 up to that point. Absolutely. Yeah. And Joan 00:02:15.699 --> 00:02:19.650 gave Louis that crucial dual inheritance. When 00:02:19.650 --> 00:02:23.169 Joan died in 1305, Louis immediately became king 00:02:23.169 --> 00:02:25.710 of Navarre. He was even crowned there in 1307. 00:02:25.870 --> 00:02:28.150 So he was actually an experienced ruler by the 00:02:28.150 --> 00:02:30.689 time he took the French throne in 1314. He was. 00:02:30.969 --> 00:02:33.569 Yet almost immediately he saddled with this moniker, 00:02:33.729 --> 00:02:37.069 the quarrelsome, or le hutin. Help us understand 00:02:37.069 --> 00:02:38.990 what that actually means in practice. Was he 00:02:38.990 --> 00:02:41.270 just bad -tempered? That's a great question because 00:02:41.270 --> 00:02:43.409 it really wasn't just Louis' personal disposition. 00:02:43.889 --> 00:02:47.710 Le hutin reflects the incredible period of political 00:02:47.710 --> 00:02:50.379 tension. that defined his ascent. Okay, so it's 00:02:50.379 --> 00:02:53.580 contextual. It's totally contextual. He inherited 00:02:53.580 --> 00:02:56.319 a kingdom that was just seething with resentment. 00:02:56.520 --> 00:02:59.479 His father, Philip IV, had been incredibly aggressive 00:02:59.479 --> 00:03:02.039 in centralizing royal power. Right, he was manipulating 00:03:02.039 --> 00:03:04.740 the currency, imposing new taxes. All of it. 00:03:04.780 --> 00:03:07.020 And when Philip IV died, all that resentment 00:03:07.020 --> 00:03:09.389 just... boiled over. So the nickname is less 00:03:09.389 --> 00:03:11.930 about Louis causing the conflict and more about 00:03:11.930 --> 00:03:16.009 him being this maybe weaker figurehead who inherits 00:03:16.009 --> 00:03:18.210 a kingdom that's already full of conflict. You've 00:03:18.210 --> 00:03:21.110 hit it exactly. It set a tone of volatility from 00:03:21.110 --> 00:03:23.530 the moment he came to power. And that volatility 00:03:23.530 --> 00:03:26.430 was immediately compounded by a personal disaster. 00:03:26.729 --> 00:03:29.729 A huge one. The infamous Tour de Nesse affair. 00:03:29.909 --> 00:03:33.009 This wasn't just court gossip. This was a cataclysmic 00:03:33.009 --> 00:03:36.139 breach of royal decorum. It destroyed the reputations 00:03:36.139 --> 00:03:38.900 of three royal women and deeply complicated the 00:03:38.900 --> 00:03:41.780 Capetian line of succession. It's hard to overstate. 00:03:41.939 --> 00:03:44.340 It really is. The implication of the scandal 00:03:44.340 --> 00:03:47.099 was just devastating. It involved not only Louis' 00:03:47.240 --> 00:03:49.879 first wife, Margaret of Burgundy. But also the 00:03:49.879 --> 00:03:52.060 wives of his two younger brothers, Blanche and 00:03:52.060 --> 00:03:55.460 Joan. All three were arrested in 1314 on charges 00:03:55.460 --> 00:03:58.620 of infidelity, right at the end of Philip V's 00:03:58.620 --> 00:04:02.580 reign. The fallout was swift and brutal. Especially 00:04:02.580 --> 00:04:04.879 for Margaret, Louis' wife. What happened to her 00:04:04.879 --> 00:04:07.080 specifically? She was tried by the French parliament, 00:04:07.259 --> 00:04:09.620 found guilty of adultery, had her hair shorn 00:04:09.620 --> 00:04:12.060 as a sign of penance and disgrace. Wow. And was 00:04:12.060 --> 00:04:14.139 sentenced to life imprisonment at the Grim Chateau 00:04:14.139 --> 00:04:16.199 Gaillard in Normandy. And her alleged lovers? 00:04:16.620 --> 00:04:18.600 They were tortured, mutilated, and executed. 00:04:18.899 --> 00:04:21.360 The message was crystal clear. Royal scandal 00:04:21.360 --> 00:04:24.120 would not be tolerated. And here is where the 00:04:24.120 --> 00:04:27.000 personal becomes this massive political deadlock. 00:04:27.220 --> 00:04:29.399 Because when Louis became king of France in late 00:04:29.399 --> 00:04:33.519 1314, Margaret... his wife, who is now imprisoned 00:04:33.519 --> 00:04:37.180 for adultery, she technically became queen of 00:04:37.180 --> 00:04:40.160 France. She did. And he desperately needed a 00:04:40.160 --> 00:04:44.379 new heir. A clear, legitimate, untainted male 00:04:44.379 --> 00:04:46.980 heir. But the legal situation was impossible 00:04:46.980 --> 00:04:50.079 at the time. Totally insurmountable. Louis needed 00:04:50.079 --> 00:04:52.139 a papal annulment to dissolve his marriage to 00:04:52.139 --> 00:04:54.779 Margaret so he could remarry. But the curia was 00:04:54.779 --> 00:04:57.740 vacant. No pope. No pope. Pope Clement V had 00:04:57.740 --> 00:05:00.579 died in 1314, and the French cardinals were taking 00:05:00.579 --> 00:05:02.800 their sweet time electing a successor. Which 00:05:02.800 --> 00:05:05.519 was probably a deliberate strategy to keep political 00:05:05.519 --> 00:05:08.199 leverage. Of course it was. So he was stuck. 00:05:08.439 --> 00:05:10.860 He's in this devastating legal and religious 00:05:10.860 --> 00:05:13.199 bottleneck. His wife is disgraced, imprisoned, 00:05:13.480 --> 00:05:15.199 she can't produce an heir, and he can't get rid 00:05:15.199 --> 00:05:17.560 of her. It's a complete paralysis that undermined 00:05:17.560 --> 00:05:19.600 the most essential function of any medieval king. 00:05:20.180 --> 00:05:22.420 Dynastic security. It just highlights the intense 00:05:22.420 --> 00:05:24.500 pressure he was under. He's got a kingdom in 00:05:24.500 --> 00:05:27.480 revolt, a powerful uncle demanding concessions. 00:05:27.480 --> 00:05:29.879 And the line of succession is hanging on his 00:05:29.879 --> 00:05:32.959 disgraced wife's existence. And to make it worse, 00:05:33.079 --> 00:05:36.459 his daughter by Margaret. Joan II of Navarre, 00:05:36.600 --> 00:05:39.639 her legitimacy was now permanently tainted by 00:05:39.639 --> 00:05:42.439 this very public scandal. So how did this get 00:05:42.439 --> 00:05:45.259 resolved? Well, Margaret died in prison on August 00:05:45.259 --> 00:05:48.939 1st, 1315, likely from sickness made worse by 00:05:48.939 --> 00:05:50.980 her conditions. Though, as the source mentions, 00:05:51.160 --> 00:05:52.879 there were persistent rumors that she had been 00:05:52.879 --> 00:05:54.879 deliberately strangled to clear the path for 00:05:54.879 --> 00:05:56.860 Louis. We'll never know for sure, but regardless 00:05:56.860 --> 00:05:59.480 of the cause. The path was cleared. And the speed 00:05:59.480 --> 00:06:02.040 of what Louis did next just underscores his desperation. 00:06:02.420 --> 00:06:04.620 Absolutely. Just five days after Margaret's death, 00:06:04.759 --> 00:06:08.279 on August 19, 1315, Louis married Clemenceau 00:06:08.279 --> 00:06:11.360 of Hungary. Five days. Talk about prioritizing 00:06:11.360 --> 00:06:13.680 dynastic stability. And Clemenceau was a very 00:06:13.680 --> 00:06:15.939 savvy political choice, wasn't she? A brilliant 00:06:15.939 --> 00:06:18.860 choice. She was the niece of Louis's key and 00:06:18.860 --> 00:06:22.100 increasingly powerful advisor, his uncle, Charles 00:06:22.100 --> 00:06:24.829 of Valois. So that marriage instantly solidified 00:06:24.829 --> 00:06:26.990 his relationship with his uncle. Right. And they 00:06:26.990 --> 00:06:29.129 were crowned at Reims that same month. A clear 00:06:29.129 --> 00:06:31.670 show of intent. So when we look at his children. 00:06:32.240 --> 00:06:35.060 The issue summary paints this picture of complexity 00:06:35.060 --> 00:06:38.779 and ultimately failure to secure the line. It 00:06:38.779 --> 00:06:41.860 does. With Margaret, he had Joan II of Navarre, 00:06:42.019 --> 00:06:44.459 the daughter whose legitimacy was suspect. And 00:06:44.459 --> 00:06:46.740 with Clémence, there was the famous posthumous 00:06:46.740 --> 00:06:49.439 son, John I of France. We also can't forget the 00:06:49.439 --> 00:06:51.939 illegitimate daughter mentioned, Eudeline, who 00:06:51.939 --> 00:06:53.920 later entered the church and became an abbess. 00:06:54.199 --> 00:06:58.040 So three children, but not one secure adult male 00:06:58.040 --> 00:07:01.160 heir when he died. This vulnerability, stemming 00:07:01.160 --> 00:07:03.319 directly from the Tour de Nesla scandal and the 00:07:03.319 --> 00:07:06.019 legal mess of the annulment, it just hung like 00:07:06.019 --> 00:07:08.899 a shadow over every single political move he 00:07:08.899 --> 00:07:11.540 made. He was perpetually insecure. And if that 00:07:11.540 --> 00:07:14.639 scandal defined his private life? Political conflict 00:07:14.639 --> 00:07:17.279 absolutely defined his public one. As we touched 00:07:17.279 --> 00:07:19.480 on, Louis X's short French reign was fundamentally 00:07:19.480 --> 00:07:22.000 dominated by this continual feuding with powerful 00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:23.959 noble factions. It was basically a period of 00:07:23.959 --> 00:07:26.519 sustained internal revolt. It was. I want to 00:07:26.519 --> 00:07:29.060 focus on why this revolt was so immediate and 00:07:29.060 --> 00:07:32.560 so intense. We know Philip V was a centralizer, 00:07:32.600 --> 00:07:36.060 but what specific... policies did Louis X inherit 00:07:36.060 --> 00:07:38.699 that made the nobles all across France, from 00:07:38.699 --> 00:07:42.199 Burgundy to Brittany, form these organized regional 00:07:42.199 --> 00:07:45.420 leagues? Well, Phyllis V was an absolute innovator 00:07:45.420 --> 00:07:48.240 in extraction and centralization, and the nobles 00:07:48.240 --> 00:07:51.259 just hated it. What did he do? He used royal 00:07:51.259 --> 00:07:53.420 enquêtes, these are commissioners, to interfere 00:07:53.420 --> 00:07:56.040 with local governance. He challenged the coinage, 00:07:56.199 --> 00:07:58.399 manipulating the value of money, which of course 00:07:58.399 --> 00:08:01.060 hurt local noble economies. I see. And critically, 00:08:01.199 --> 00:08:03.579 he expanded the jurisdiction of the royal courts. 00:08:03.879 --> 00:08:06.420 That stripped local lords of their judicial power 00:08:06.420 --> 00:08:08.779 and maybe more importantly, the lucrative fines 00:08:08.779 --> 00:08:10.959 that came with it. So essentially, Philip V was 00:08:10.959 --> 00:08:13.220 trying to move France from this loose collection 00:08:13.220 --> 00:08:15.339 of feudal territories to something more like 00:08:15.339 --> 00:08:18.560 a modern state run by a royal bureaucracy. Precisely. 00:08:18.560 --> 00:08:21.300 And the nobles felt their ancient rights, which 00:08:21.300 --> 00:08:24.339 they saw as divinely ordained, were being usurped 00:08:24.339 --> 00:08:27.300 for paperwork and taxation. So the moment Philip 00:08:27.300 --> 00:08:30.319 V died, the opposition just explodes into open 00:08:30.319 --> 00:08:33.899 revolt. Immediately. Historians note that these 00:08:33.899 --> 00:08:37.320 regional noble leagues were well organized. They 00:08:37.320 --> 00:08:39.779 were demanding the reversal of Capetian centralization 00:08:39.779 --> 00:08:42.879 and the immediate issuing of new charters of 00:08:42.879 --> 00:08:46.000 rights. And they saw Louis X, the 25 -year -old 00:08:46.000 --> 00:08:49.259 inheritor, as a weak point to be exploited. He 00:08:49.259 --> 00:08:51.559 was the perfect target. This political chaos 00:08:51.559 --> 00:08:54.159 must have given immense leverage to his uncle, 00:08:54.320 --> 00:08:57.759 Charles of Valois. It absolutely did. Fawa had 00:08:57.759 --> 00:09:00.580 always opposed Philip IV's methods, and he saw 00:09:00.580 --> 00:09:03.379 this as his opportunity to strike, not just against 00:09:03.379 --> 00:09:05.240 the policies, but against the chief architect 00:09:05.240 --> 00:09:08.090 of those policies. And go on to marry me. Exactly. 00:09:08.210 --> 00:09:10.289 The Grand Chamberlain, en grande marini. He was 00:09:10.289 --> 00:09:12.289 the face of the previous regime. And he wasn't 00:09:12.289 --> 00:09:14.169 even a noble himself, right? He was a bureaucrat. 00:09:14.250 --> 00:09:16.970 A non -noble bureaucrat who had risen astonishingly 00:09:16.970 --> 00:09:19.309 high under Phil IV, essentially running the kingdom's 00:09:19.309 --> 00:09:22.389 finances and administration. So Charles of Valois 00:09:22.389 --> 00:09:25.029 leveraged all this widespread noble opposition 00:09:25.029 --> 00:09:28.259 to target his old enemy. And Charles successfully 00:09:28.259 --> 00:09:30.759 convinced Louis to bring corruption charges against 00:09:30.759 --> 00:09:33.799 de Marigny. I'm fascinated by the legal maneuvering 00:09:33.799 --> 00:09:36.980 here. Why, when the initial charges failed, did 00:09:36.980 --> 00:09:39.759 Charles pivot to sorcery? Ah, that is the core 00:09:39.759 --> 00:09:42.340 political calculation of the era. The corruption 00:09:42.340 --> 00:09:44.659 charges were based on finance. They required 00:09:44.659 --> 00:09:48.539 proof witnesses, ledgers, complicated legal arguments, 00:09:48.779 --> 00:09:51.960 which de Marigny, as a master bureaucrat, was 00:09:51.960 --> 00:09:53.940 adept at defending. He knew the system inside 00:09:53.940 --> 00:09:56.620 and out. He built the system. So when the corruption 00:09:56.620 --> 00:09:59.000 charges didn't stick, Charles de Valois switched 00:09:59.000 --> 00:10:01.659 tactics. He went for the charge of sorcery. And 00:10:01.659 --> 00:10:03.980 sorcery, of course, is a direct appeal to religious 00:10:03.980 --> 00:10:06.340 and public fear. It's instantaneous political 00:10:06.340 --> 00:10:09.139 destruction because it requires no material evidence. 00:10:09.419 --> 00:10:12.179 None. Only public suspicion and fear of black 00:10:12.179 --> 00:10:15.330 magic. It's the ultimate political charge. It 00:10:15.330 --> 00:10:18.110 bypasses due process and appeals directly to 00:10:18.110 --> 00:10:20.330 the king's piety and the public's deep -seated 00:10:20.330 --> 00:10:22.750 anxieties. And Louis X went along with it. He 00:10:22.750 --> 00:10:25.289 did. Perhaps he was overwhelmed by the political 00:10:25.289 --> 00:10:28.029 debt he owed his uncle. Or maybe he was just 00:10:28.029 --> 00:10:30.309 keen to remove a potent symbol of his father's 00:10:30.309 --> 00:10:32.990 unpopular rule. Whatever the reason, he allowed 00:10:32.990 --> 00:10:35.639 the execution to proceed. Demarini was hanged 00:10:35.639 --> 00:10:38.639 at Vincennes in April 1315. It was a political 00:10:38.639 --> 00:10:41.059 sacrifice of the highest order. It eliminated 00:10:41.059 --> 00:10:43.700 the most visible symbol of his father's detested 00:10:43.700 --> 00:10:46.740 policies and immediately placated the most powerful 00:10:46.740 --> 00:10:49.419 opposition, which was led by his uncle. Other 00:10:49.419 --> 00:10:52.100 former ministers were also prosecuted and exiled, 00:10:52.100 --> 00:10:53.899 right? It was a full purge. It was a complete 00:10:53.899 --> 00:10:56.419 purge of the old guard. But that sacrifice came 00:10:56.419 --> 00:10:59.340 at a tremendous cost to royal authority. A huge 00:10:59.340 --> 00:11:02.759 cost. To quell this massive countrywide revolt 00:11:02.759 --> 00:11:05.139 from the regional leagues, Louis had to completely 00:11:05.139 --> 00:11:08.980 pivot. He halted Philip V's reforms. He issued 00:11:08.980 --> 00:11:11.519 numerous charters of rights, which gave power 00:11:11.519 --> 00:11:14.559 back to local, often noble authorities. And he 00:11:14.559 --> 00:11:17.019 reverted to a more traditional rule style. So 00:11:17.019 --> 00:11:20.159 he essentially unpicked years of Capetian centralization, 00:11:20.220 --> 00:11:22.639 just buying political peace with these constitutional 00:11:22.639 --> 00:11:25.519 concessions. He did. This shows Louis X not as 00:11:25.519 --> 00:11:27.980 a strong, assertive monarch, but as a crisis 00:11:27.980 --> 00:11:31.309 manager. He's desperate for stability, and he 00:11:31.309 --> 00:11:33.990 seems willing to pay any price to keep his fragile 00:11:33.990 --> 00:11:36.710 throne intact. And that's the paradox we have 00:11:36.710 --> 00:11:39.629 to recognize. Because by conceding power and 00:11:39.629 --> 00:11:42.490 halting his father's fiscal reforms, Louis effectively 00:11:42.490 --> 00:11:45.750 cut off his major traditional sources of royal 00:11:45.750 --> 00:11:48.830 revenue. Right. The very charters he issued prevented 00:11:48.830 --> 00:11:51.009 him from raising the kinds of taxes he needed 00:11:51.009 --> 00:11:53.529 for statecraft and, critically, for military 00:11:53.529 --> 00:11:56.190 campaigns. Exactly. Which means the stage is 00:11:56.190 --> 00:11:59.169 set for a desperate financial scramble. He needs 00:11:59.169 --> 00:12:03.110 money quickly, and the nobles have just ensured 00:12:03.110 --> 00:12:05.909 he can't get it the usual way, so he has to innovate. 00:12:06.230 --> 00:12:08.970 Which leads us directly to his next set of incredibly 00:12:08.970 --> 00:12:13.120 pragmatic and often misunderstood. So this necessity 00:12:13.120 --> 00:12:15.659 of revenue generation becomes the central driving 00:12:15.659 --> 00:12:18.419 force behind all of Louis X's remaining policy 00:12:18.419 --> 00:12:21.419 decisions. He has this immediate financial need, 00:12:21.480 --> 00:12:23.960 particularly to fund the ongoing military campaign 00:12:23.960 --> 00:12:26.259 against Flanders. Which we will definitely get 00:12:26.259 --> 00:12:28.559 to. Right. And that military imperative dictated 00:12:28.559 --> 00:12:31.120 two major policy shifts that, if you view them 00:12:31.120 --> 00:12:34.159 out of context, look genuinely progressive. The 00:12:34.159 --> 00:12:36.299 freeing of serfs and the readmittance of the 00:12:36.299 --> 00:12:38.980 Jewish community? Exactly. But as the sources 00:12:38.980 --> 00:12:42.600 reveal, the motivation was strictly, ruthlessly 00:12:42.600 --> 00:12:46.259 fiscal. This was Louis X monetizing social change. 00:12:46.559 --> 00:12:49.120 Let's start with the edict freeing serfs issued 00:12:49.120 --> 00:12:52.940 in July 1315. Louis X abolished serfdom within 00:12:52.940 --> 00:12:55.039 the royal domain, which was significant territory. 00:12:55.419 --> 00:12:57.740 This sounds like an astonishing leap forward 00:12:57.740 --> 00:13:00.240 for human rights in the 14th century. But what 00:13:00.240 --> 00:13:02.909 was the catch? The catch was that freedom came 00:13:02.909 --> 00:13:06.210 with a price tag. This was not a gift of emancipation. 00:13:06.230 --> 00:13:09.509 It was a mandatory buyout scheme tied directly 00:13:09.509 --> 00:13:11.750 to the war budget. You had to buy your own freedom. 00:13:11.970 --> 00:13:14.669 Every single serf was required to purchase their 00:13:14.669 --> 00:13:17.570 freedom. It was mandatory freedom for cash. And 00:13:17.570 --> 00:13:19.809 Louis framed it in the name of liberty and tradition, 00:13:19.990 --> 00:13:22.090 stating that France is the land of the free. 00:13:22.210 --> 00:13:25.200 It's the ultimate paradox. exploiting their desire 00:13:25.200 --> 00:13:27.539 for freedom to fund a state conflict. How did 00:13:27.539 --> 00:13:29.799 he ensure this scheme was efficient and profitable? 00:13:30.080 --> 00:13:32.039 The source material outlines this fascinating 00:13:32.039 --> 00:13:34.700 administrative structure. A specialized body 00:13:34.700 --> 00:13:37.220 of commissioners was established with one singular 00:13:37.220 --> 00:13:40.779 task to determine the peculium. The peculium? 00:13:40.820 --> 00:13:43.659 It's the established monetary value or ransom 00:13:43.659 --> 00:13:46.980 price of each serf. This wasn't flat tax. It 00:13:46.980 --> 00:13:49.580 was individualized. Based on what? Based on factors 00:13:49.580 --> 00:13:53.860 like the serf's skills, age. health and the value 00:13:53.860 --> 00:13:56.500 of their labor or their land tenure to their 00:13:56.500 --> 00:13:58.600 lord or to the crown. That makes the process 00:13:58.600 --> 00:14:01.519 sound more like selling a productive asset than 00:14:01.519 --> 00:14:03.919 granting liberty. It was precisely that. And 00:14:03.919 --> 00:14:06.840 the crown ensured it maximized its returns through 00:14:06.840 --> 00:14:08.840 a revenue split mechanism. How did that work? 00:14:09.039 --> 00:14:11.259 For serfs owned directly by the king, those on 00:14:11.259 --> 00:14:14.000 the royal domains, the crown received the entirety 00:14:14.000 --> 00:14:17.809 of the That was pure, unadulterated income flowing 00:14:17.809 --> 00:14:20.250 straight into the war chest. And for serfs owned 00:14:20.250 --> 00:14:22.870 by subjects of the king, like local nobles or 00:14:22.870 --> 00:14:25.090 church institutions. In that case, the amount 00:14:25.090 --> 00:14:26.889 was divided between the crown and the noble owner. 00:14:27.009 --> 00:14:29.929 This was an ingenious political move. Why? Because 00:14:29.929 --> 00:14:32.850 by giving local lords a financial stake, a partial 00:14:32.850 --> 00:14:36.049 payout, Louis X gave them a financial incentive 00:14:36.049 --> 00:14:38.509 not to oppose the Emancipation Edict too fiercely. 00:14:39.179 --> 00:14:41.440 It turned a potentially explosive social reform 00:14:41.440 --> 00:14:44.379 into a practical, profitable transaction for 00:14:44.379 --> 00:14:46.600 all involved parties. Assuming, of course, the 00:14:46.600 --> 00:14:48.779 serf could afford the price of their own freedom. 00:14:49.019 --> 00:14:51.559 That's the key. The immediate reaction from the 00:14:51.559 --> 00:14:54.279 peasantry must have been very mixed. Those who 00:14:54.279 --> 00:14:56.799 could afford the peculium gained liberty, but 00:14:56.799 --> 00:14:59.879 many, particularly the poorest, probably remained 00:14:59.879 --> 00:15:02.559 tied to the land simply because the price of 00:15:02.559 --> 00:15:04.860 freedom was beyond their reach. It created a 00:15:04.860 --> 00:15:07.399 two -tiered system of liberation. And critically, 00:15:07.870 --> 00:15:10.470 This edict established a cold business model 00:15:10.470 --> 00:15:13.769 for social change. The crown valued revenue over 00:15:13.769 --> 00:15:17.409 universal emancipation. Louis X was capitalizing 00:15:17.409 --> 00:15:20.250 on the desperation of the serfs to fund his political 00:15:20.250 --> 00:15:22.929 and military objectives. OK, so let's move to 00:15:22.929 --> 00:15:25.210 the second policy, the readmittance of the Jews 00:15:25.210 --> 00:15:28.289 in 1315. This is the reversal of one of his father's 00:15:28.289 --> 00:15:31.690 most famous acts. It is. We have to briefly recall 00:15:31.690 --> 00:15:34.750 that Philip IV had executed this shattering expulsion 00:15:34.750 --> 00:15:37.809 of the Jewish minority from France in 1306, seizing 00:15:37.809 --> 00:15:39.950 their property and assets. And less than a decade 00:15:39.950 --> 00:15:42.809 later, Louis X is welcoming them back. And the 00:15:42.809 --> 00:15:44.769 motivation, once again, is purely financial. 00:15:45.129 --> 00:15:47.830 An exiled community, especially one skilled in 00:15:47.830 --> 00:15:50.110 finance and commerce, represents a tremendous 00:15:50.110 --> 00:15:52.950 loss in potential tax revenue. He saw them not 00:15:52.950 --> 00:15:55.789 as a religious minority, but as a missed revenue 00:15:55.789 --> 00:15:58.639 opportunity. That's a cynical but accurate way 00:15:58.639 --> 00:16:01.299 to put it. It was a necessary move, given his 00:16:01.299 --> 00:16:04.419 empty coffers. However, he didn't just invite 00:16:04.419 --> 00:16:07.919 them back unconditionally. The charter he issued 00:16:07.919 --> 00:16:10.899 included incredibly strict and restrictive terms. 00:16:11.120 --> 00:16:13.759 Terms that really highlight the tenuousness of 00:16:13.759 --> 00:16:16.399 their position. Absolutely. They were terms designed 00:16:16.399 --> 00:16:18.980 to ensure maximum royal control and financial 00:16:18.980 --> 00:16:22.379 extraction. The sources detail four main restrictions. 00:16:22.799 --> 00:16:26.080 First, the agreement was temporary. a residency 00:16:26.080 --> 00:16:29.379 lease of only 12 years. Wow. After which the 00:16:29.379 --> 00:16:31.259 agreement could be terminated by the king at 00:16:31.259 --> 00:16:33.659 will. So a sort of Damocles is hanging over their 00:16:33.659 --> 00:16:36.720 heads for the entire duration. Constantly. Second, 00:16:36.840 --> 00:16:38.980 they were required to wear an identifying armband 00:16:38.980 --> 00:16:41.440 at all times, marking them visibly within the 00:16:41.440 --> 00:16:43.500 population, a highly restrictive measure. And 00:16:43.500 --> 00:16:45.779 third. Third, they were limited geographically. 00:16:45.860 --> 00:16:47.740 They could only reside in areas where Jewish 00:16:47.740 --> 00:16:50.059 communities had previously existed, which limited 00:16:50.059 --> 00:16:52.299 their movement and their potential economic expansion. 00:16:52.799 --> 00:16:54.580 And the final condition addressed the financial 00:16:54.580 --> 00:16:57.700 activities that so often made them targets. Right. 00:16:57.799 --> 00:16:59.960 They were initially forbidden from practicing 00:16:59.960 --> 00:17:02.840 usury or lending money at interest, though that 00:17:02.840 --> 00:17:05.019 rule probably softened pretty quickly due to 00:17:05.019 --> 00:17:08.400 economic need. Louis was also clever about his 00:17:08.400 --> 00:17:10.700 political spin on this, wasn't he? Very clever. 00:17:10.839 --> 00:17:14.119 He went to great lengths to legitimize this reversal 00:17:14.119 --> 00:17:17.180 of his father's policy. He cited the policies 00:17:17.180 --> 00:17:20.279 of his much revered predecessor, St. Louis IX, 00:17:20.640 --> 00:17:23.359 the Crusader King. That's a brilliant PR move 00:17:23.359 --> 00:17:26.019 -wrapping, a purely fiscal decision in the cloak 00:17:26.019 --> 00:17:29.240 of pious, respectable tradition. He also referenced 00:17:29.240 --> 00:17:32.180 Pope Clement V, but perhaps the most cynical 00:17:32.180 --> 00:17:34.380 justification was his claim that the people of 00:17:34.380 --> 00:17:36.339 France had actually demanded the return of the 00:17:36.339 --> 00:17:39.519 Jews. Which seems unlikely. Very. The consequence 00:17:39.519 --> 00:17:42.440 of these restrictions was profound. The readmitted 00:17:42.440 --> 00:17:44.539 Jewish community was significantly weakened. 00:17:44.940 --> 00:17:47.539 heavily controlled, and depended directly and 00:17:47.539 --> 00:17:49.839 entirely upon the king for their right of abode 00:17:49.839 --> 00:17:52.640 and protection. Their presence was a royal privilege, 00:17:52.700 --> 00:17:55.500 not a right. And that privilege came with a hefty 00:17:55.500 --> 00:17:58.039 financial price tag. He raised capital by selling 00:17:58.039 --> 00:18:00.240 freedom and by selling temporary protection. 00:18:00.539 --> 00:18:02.940 This whole section just reinforces the theme. 00:18:03.420 --> 00:18:06.259 Louis X was a king constantly operating in emergency 00:18:06.259 --> 00:18:09.779 mode. He was forced to undo his father's constitutional 00:18:09.779 --> 00:18:13.240 centralization to appease the nobles. Which in 00:18:13.240 --> 00:18:15.519 turn forced him into these innovative, pragmatic, 00:18:15.819 --> 00:18:18.920 and highly cynical revenue schemes to fund the 00:18:18.920 --> 00:18:21.859 next immediate challenge, the unresolved war 00:18:21.859 --> 00:18:25.759 against Flanders. So the long -standing vexing 00:18:25.759 --> 00:18:28.519 problem of Flanders was the military and foreign 00:18:28.519 --> 00:18:31.450 policy headache Louis X inherited. and it quickly 00:18:31.450 --> 00:18:33.650 became the central financial drain on his short 00:18:33.650 --> 00:18:35.630 reign. It just swallowed all the funds he was 00:18:35.630 --> 00:18:37.529 generating from the serf emancipation and the 00:18:37.529 --> 00:18:39.450 Jewish readmittance. All of it. Flanders was 00:18:39.450 --> 00:18:41.470 immensely wealthy. It was an international hub 00:18:41.470 --> 00:18:43.750 for the lucrative wool and textile trade. But 00:18:43.750 --> 00:18:46.390 despite French kings claiming suzerainty, the 00:18:46.390 --> 00:18:48.849 state enjoyed this highly autonomous existence. 00:18:49.089 --> 00:18:51.710 It functioned essentially as a quasi -independent 00:18:51.710 --> 00:18:54.329 power right on France's margins. It was an inherited 00:18:54.329 --> 00:18:57.170 failure. Philip IV had failed to assert royal 00:18:57.170 --> 00:19:00.170 overlordship. He notably suffered that humiliating 00:19:00.170 --> 00:19:02.869 defeat at the Battle of Curtrai in 1302. Where 00:19:02.869 --> 00:19:05.789 French heavy cavalry were just decimated by Flemish 00:19:05.789 --> 00:19:09.089 infantry. They were. And while Philip later secured 00:19:09.089 --> 00:19:11.809 a victory, the relationship remained, let's say, 00:19:12.009 --> 00:19:15.609 testy and unsettled. Louis inherited an expensive, 00:19:15.890 --> 00:19:18.849 unresolved conflict. And Louis X, needing to 00:19:18.849 --> 00:19:20.950 assert his authority and perhaps prove he wasn't 00:19:20.950 --> 00:19:23.549 weak after the de Meurigny execution, decided 00:19:23.549 --> 00:19:26.609 a military solution was necessary. He mobilized 00:19:26.609 --> 00:19:28.630 a significant army along the Slemish border. 00:19:29.009 --> 00:19:32.150 But maintaining a large army requires massive, 00:19:32.190 --> 00:19:35.450 sustained resources. Resources Louis simply didn't 00:19:35.450 --> 00:19:37.789 possess organically. Not after the concessions 00:19:37.789 --> 00:19:40.769 he made. And that financial strain directly explains 00:19:40.769 --> 00:19:43.619 his next foreign policy move. the embargo. In 00:19:43.619 --> 00:19:47.259 1315, Louis prohibited the export of grain, essential 00:19:47.259 --> 00:19:49.640 foodstuffs, and other critical war material to 00:19:49.640 --> 00:19:52.559 Flanders. The strategic goal was clear. Starve 00:19:52.559 --> 00:19:54.559 the wealthy mercantile region into submission 00:19:54.559 --> 00:19:56.880 and force a settlement without the staggering 00:19:56.880 --> 00:19:59.720 costs of a full -scale siege or a pitched battle. 00:19:59.920 --> 00:20:02.880 It's economic warfare, 14th century style. But 00:20:02.880 --> 00:20:04.559 the source indicates that the embargo proved 00:20:04.559 --> 00:20:07.319 incredibly challenging to enforce. Why was a 00:20:07.319 --> 00:20:09.740 medieval economic blockade so difficult? For 00:20:09.740 --> 00:20:12.470 a couple of reasons. Firstly, The border was 00:20:12.470 --> 00:20:15.509 massive and porous, with complex jurisdictional 00:20:15.509 --> 00:20:18.529 lines often held by semi -independent lords or 00:20:18.529 --> 00:20:21.369 church officials. Right. Secondly, staple goods 00:20:21.369 --> 00:20:24.289 like grain are impossible to monitor fully across 00:20:24.289 --> 00:20:26.910 large territories, and the profits for successful 00:20:26.910 --> 00:20:30.250 smuggling were immense. So Louis had to apply 00:20:30.250 --> 00:20:32.529 immense diplomatic and political pressure across 00:20:32.529 --> 00:20:35.650 the region just to try and make this policy stick. 00:20:35.890 --> 00:20:38.630 Absolutely. The enforcement efforts really illustrate 00:20:38.630 --> 00:20:41.650 the scale of the logistical nightmare. Louis 00:20:41.650 --> 00:20:43.890 was forced to pressure powerful church officials 00:20:43.890 --> 00:20:47.559 in the borderlands. clerics, who often held significant 00:20:47.559 --> 00:20:50.640 local power, to actively comply with the trade 00:20:50.640 --> 00:20:52.640 restrictions. And he had to go international, 00:20:52.920 --> 00:20:55.700 demanding cooperation from other European powers. 00:20:55.819 --> 00:20:58.359 He did. The source specifically mentions him 00:20:58.359 --> 00:21:01.279 pressuring Edward II of England to prevent Spanish 00:21:01.279 --> 00:21:03.420 merchant vessels from trading with the embargoed 00:21:03.420 --> 00:21:05.460 Flemings. Which shows the blockade's weak points. 00:21:05.680 --> 00:21:08.000 These trade routes were resilient, and global 00:21:08.000 --> 00:21:10.359 partners like the English and Spanish were more 00:21:10.359 --> 00:21:12.680 than willing to profit from the French ban by 00:21:12.680 --> 00:21:15.309 facilitating black market trade. And this leads 00:21:15.309 --> 00:21:17.829 directly to the unintended economic results. 00:21:18.089 --> 00:21:21.089 The embargo led to a huge surge in smuggling 00:21:21.089 --> 00:21:23.390 activities. Right. The black market. And these 00:21:23.390 --> 00:21:26.470 smugglers operating outside the royal tax structure 00:21:26.470 --> 00:21:29.190 reduced the overall effectiveness of the policy. 00:21:29.230 --> 00:21:31.690 And critically, they reduced the amount of compliant 00:21:31.690 --> 00:21:35.170 tax trade in the border region. So Lou is losing 00:21:35.170 --> 00:21:37.809 out on customs and duties he desperately needed 00:21:37.809 --> 00:21:40.450 because his own policy had incentivized the black 00:21:40.450 --> 00:21:43.619 market. It backfired financially. And the policy 00:21:43.619 --> 00:21:46.259 created a massive internal logistical problem 00:21:46.259 --> 00:21:49.240 for his own army. Oh, so? Since the local economy 00:21:49.240 --> 00:21:51.440 was strained by the embargo and the infrastructure 00:21:51.440 --> 00:21:53.700 couldn't handle the supply needs of the mobilized 00:21:53.700 --> 00:21:57.019 troops, Lutie was forced into direct requisitioning 00:21:57.019 --> 00:21:59.400 of food and supplies from the surrounding French 00:21:59.400 --> 00:22:01.740 areas. Which means basically confiscating supplies 00:22:01.740 --> 00:22:05.319 from local lords and peasants. Exactly. And this 00:22:05.319 --> 00:22:08.019 generated a series of complaints from local lords 00:22:08.019 --> 00:22:10.059 and the church. And think about the political 00:22:10.059 --> 00:22:13.069 irony here. Louis had just executed his father's 00:22:13.069 --> 00:22:15.990 minister and issued charters of rights to appease 00:22:15.990 --> 00:22:19.009 the nobility, promising them a return to decentralized 00:22:19.009 --> 00:22:22.670 traditional governance. And now his war effort 00:22:22.670 --> 00:22:25.349 immediately requires him to violate those principles 00:22:25.349 --> 00:22:28.210 by confiscating their property to sustain his 00:22:28.210 --> 00:22:30.650 army. It's a perfect illustration of the vicious 00:22:30.650 --> 00:22:33.710 circle Louis X was caught in. He needed money 00:22:33.710 --> 00:22:35.970 to fight Flanders, which forced him into these 00:22:35.970 --> 00:22:38.869 unpopular policies. And the military effort against 00:22:38.869 --> 00:22:41.980 Flanders immediately alienated the very nobles 00:22:41.980 --> 00:22:44.180 he had just gone to great lengths to appease. 00:22:44.400 --> 00:22:47.579 The logistical and financial strain of this unresolved 00:22:47.579 --> 00:22:50.500 conflict just hung over his entire short reign. 00:22:50.809 --> 00:22:52.950 It crippled his ability to govern effectively. 00:22:53.049 --> 00:22:55.410 He was a king, constantly juggling, competing, 00:22:55.650 --> 00:22:58.549 often contradictory interests, always short of 00:22:58.549 --> 00:23:01.289 cash, and always facing internal opposition ready 00:23:01.289 --> 00:23:03.869 to exploit any weakness. And he inherited the 00:23:03.869 --> 00:23:05.950 conflict with Flanders and died before he could 00:23:05.950 --> 00:23:08.349 resolve it, leaving it as a financial and military 00:23:08.349 --> 00:23:11.049 burden for his successor. If Louis X's short 00:23:11.049 --> 00:23:13.230 reign was defined by internal quarreling and 00:23:13.230 --> 00:23:15.910 financial pragmatism, his death is defined by 00:23:15.910 --> 00:23:19.089 one singular, highly unusual detail. His connection 00:23:19.089 --> 00:23:22.089 to a racket sport. Exactly. He is, according 00:23:22.089 --> 00:23:24.549 to historical consensus, history's first tennis 00:23:24.549 --> 00:23:27.410 player known by name. It's a fantastic anecdote 00:23:27.410 --> 00:23:29.990 that just grounds him in the human reality of 00:23:29.990 --> 00:23:33.670 the 14th century. Louis X was a keen player of 00:23:33.670 --> 00:23:36.480 jeu de pomme, literally. Game of the Palm. The 00:23:36.480 --> 00:23:39.759 medieval precursor to modern tennis. Right. An 00:23:39.759 --> 00:23:42.220 immensely popular game initially played with 00:23:42.220 --> 00:23:44.960 the hand and later with crude rackets. And he 00:23:44.960 --> 00:23:47.839 wasn't just a casual player. He left a physical 00:23:47.839 --> 00:23:51.099 architectural legacy. The source highlights that 00:23:51.099 --> 00:23:53.380 Louis X was the first person known to construct 00:23:53.380 --> 00:23:56.660 indoor enclosed tennis courts in the modern style. 00:23:57.130 --> 00:23:58.950 Sometime around the end of the 13th century, 00:23:59.069 --> 00:24:01.410 this wasn't just a shed. It was a dedicated structure. 00:24:01.730 --> 00:24:04.190 This tells us two things about the king and the 00:24:04.190 --> 00:24:07.349 sport. It does. First, Louis was passionate enough 00:24:07.349 --> 00:24:09.869 to invest royal treasury into changing the built 00:24:09.869 --> 00:24:12.430 environment just to play. And second, the enclosed 00:24:12.430 --> 00:24:14.849 design with its high walls, netted galleries, 00:24:14.990 --> 00:24:17.549 and internal architecture, it quickly became 00:24:17.549 --> 00:24:20.230 the blueprint that spread across royal palaces 00:24:20.230 --> 00:24:22.690 throughout Europe. It allowed play in all weather, 00:24:22.829 --> 00:24:25.130 ensuring the king could pursue his hobby year 00:24:25.130 --> 00:24:27.640 -round. But his love for the game, tragically, 00:24:27.740 --> 00:24:31.220 led directly to his demise. Let's describe the 00:24:31.220 --> 00:24:35.480 fatal circumstances. On June 5, 1316, at Vincennes, 00:24:35.900 --> 00:24:39.140 Louis X finished what the source calls a particularly 00:24:39.140 --> 00:24:42.640 exhausting game. Following this extremely strenuous 00:24:42.640 --> 00:24:45.339 activity, Louis made what we now understand as 00:24:45.339 --> 00:24:48.059 the classic medieval physiological mistake. He 00:24:48.059 --> 00:24:50.660 drank a massive quantity of cooled wine. And 00:24:50.660 --> 00:24:53.480 shortly thereafter, he fell gravely ill. and 00:24:53.480 --> 00:24:55.940 died likely within hours or days the official 00:24:55.940 --> 00:24:58.579 cause of death was listed as pneumonia or pleurisy 00:24:58.579 --> 00:25:01.000 this is medically plausible given the medieval 00:25:01.000 --> 00:25:03.599 understanding of humoral theory right the belief 00:25:03.599 --> 00:25:05.359 that rapid changes in temperature especially 00:25:05.359 --> 00:25:08.299 cold liquids after extreme heat could cause the 00:25:08.299 --> 00:25:10.579 body's humerus to become imbalanced leading to 00:25:10.579 --> 00:25:13.640 a sudden fatal internal illness however the source 00:25:13.640 --> 00:25:15.920 also confirms that contemporary suspicion of 00:25:15.920 --> 00:25:18.279 poisoning surrounded his death which was a standard 00:25:18.279 --> 00:25:20.579 accusation leveled when a king died unexpectedly 00:25:21.309 --> 00:25:23.890 especially a king who had just executed his father's 00:25:23.890 --> 00:25:26.490 most powerful minister and was engaged in bitter 00:25:26.490 --> 00:25:28.569 conflicts with his own powerful uncle, Charles 00:25:28.569 --> 00:25:31.170 of Valois. So regardless of whether it was poisoning 00:25:31.170 --> 00:25:34.150 or massive thermal shock causing illness, the 00:25:34.150 --> 00:25:36.849 game of jus de pomme and that chilled drink were 00:25:36.849 --> 00:25:39.369 the direct, precipitating events that ended his 00:25:39.369 --> 00:25:42.609 life at age 26. History remembers the quarrelsome 00:25:42.609 --> 00:25:45.269 king, but we also remember the first tennis player 00:25:45.269 --> 00:25:48.619 known by name. And that... Sudden premature death 00:25:48.619 --> 00:25:51.339 plunged France into a complete constitutional 00:25:51.339 --> 00:25:54.940 vacuum. It directly led to a crisis that defined 00:25:54.940 --> 00:25:57.460 the next crucial decade of Capetian history. 00:25:57.700 --> 00:26:00.539 When Louis died, his second wife, Queen Clémence, 00:26:00.700 --> 00:26:03.720 was heavily pregnant. The entire stability of 00:26:03.720 --> 00:26:05.920 the Capetian line, one of the longest, most successful 00:26:05.920 --> 00:26:09.119 dynasties in Europe, rested entirely on the sex 00:26:09.119 --> 00:26:11.940 and survival of this unborn child. The dilemma 00:26:11.940 --> 00:26:14.680 was agonizing. If the child was a boy, he would 00:26:14.680 --> 00:26:16.920 inherit the throne immediately, solving the crisis. 00:26:17.160 --> 00:26:19.140 But if the Snow was a girl, she would have a 00:26:19.140 --> 00:26:21.420 much weaker claim and would have to compete directly 00:26:21.420 --> 00:26:23.880 with Louis' daughter from his first disgraced 00:26:23.880 --> 00:26:26.440 marriage, Joan of Navarre. And given the taint 00:26:26.440 --> 00:26:28.799 of the Tour de Nessel scandal, Joan was a highly 00:26:28.799 --> 00:26:30.779 undesirable candidate for the French throne. 00:26:30.980 --> 00:26:33.460 So this power vacuum was immediately filled by 00:26:33.460 --> 00:26:35.700 Louis' powerful brother, Philip, Count of Poitiers. 00:26:35.900 --> 00:26:38.640 He was appointed regent for the five months until 00:26:38.640 --> 00:26:41.720 the birth. This was the immediate political advantage 00:26:41.720 --> 00:26:44.539 for Philip, placing the ultimate power in his 00:26:44.539 --> 00:26:46.680 hands. He was ready to seize the throne if the 00:26:46.680 --> 00:26:49.119 queen delivered a girl or if a male heir failed 00:26:49.119 --> 00:26:52.599 to survive. The birth arrived in November 1316, 00:26:52.779 --> 00:26:55.500 and initially it seemed the crisis was averted. 00:26:56.039 --> 00:26:59.440 Clemence gave birth to a boy, John I. And he 00:26:59.440 --> 00:27:02.140 was immediately proclaimed king of France. But 00:27:02.140 --> 00:27:04.980 the drama was far from over. It was not. The 00:27:04.980 --> 00:27:07.460 infant king, John IV, lived for only five days. 00:27:07.700 --> 00:27:10.000 He remains such a poignant historical figure 00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:12.240 known as John the Posthumous, the king who reigned 00:27:12.240 --> 00:27:14.880 for less than a week. His rapid death extinguished 00:27:14.880 --> 00:27:17.200 the direct male line of Louis the X, leaving 00:27:17.200 --> 00:27:19.319 the regency in the hands of Philip, Count of 00:27:19.319 --> 00:27:22.599 Poitiers. So with the male line of Louis the 00:27:22.599 --> 00:27:25.319 X now completely extinguished, Philip successfully 00:27:25.319 --> 00:27:28.420 pressed his claim. He became Philip V of France, 00:27:28.700 --> 00:27:31.579 ushering in the next phase of the dynasty. But 00:27:31.579 --> 00:27:34.400 this was not a simple transition. Philip V had 00:27:34.400 --> 00:27:37.180 a powerful niece, Joan of Navarre, whose supporters 00:27:37.180 --> 00:27:39.420 argued she had a legitimate claim to the throne. 00:27:39.579 --> 00:27:41.819 Because women had inherited the kingdom of Navarre 00:27:41.819 --> 00:27:44.380 before. Exactly. So we have a regency period, 00:27:44.559 --> 00:27:47.059 a five -day king, and then a crisis of succession 00:27:47.059 --> 00:27:49.940 between the king's brother, Philip, and the king's 00:27:49.940 --> 00:27:53.480 daughter, Joan. What specific legal argument 00:27:53.480 --> 00:27:56.339 did Philip V use to justify taking the throne 00:27:56.339 --> 00:27:58.619 over his niece? That's the key question. Philip 00:27:58.619 --> 00:28:01.039 V and his supporters successfully invoked a precedent 00:28:01.039 --> 00:28:03.259 that a woman could not inherit the French throne. 00:28:03.599 --> 00:28:06.740 And crucially, at this moment, there was no formal 00:28:06.740 --> 00:28:10.140 Salic law. So it wasn't written constitutional 00:28:10.140 --> 00:28:13.180 law yet? Not at all. The concept was a matter 00:28:13.180 --> 00:28:16.569 of political convenience and precedent. Philip's 00:28:16.569 --> 00:28:19.269 party argued that since Joan's mother was disgraced 00:28:19.269 --> 00:28:21.609 and since the dignity of the crown was too great 00:28:21.609 --> 00:28:23.990 to pass through the female line, the claim must 00:28:23.990 --> 00:28:26.630 pass to the closest adult male relative, Philip 00:28:26.630 --> 00:28:28.950 himself. This is the pivotal moment in French 00:28:28.950 --> 00:28:31.710 constitutional history. Louis X's failure to 00:28:31.710 --> 00:28:34.430 secure an adult male heir led directly to the 00:28:34.430 --> 00:28:36.930 invention, or at least the crucial assertion, 00:28:36.930 --> 00:28:38.990 of a constitutional rule that would govern French 00:28:38.990 --> 00:28:42.430 succession for centuries. Absolutely. The need 00:28:42.430 --> 00:28:45.460 for stability. following the death of John, allowed 00:28:45.460 --> 00:28:47.640 Philip V to enforce this principle successfully. 00:28:48.339 --> 00:28:50.680 While the actual codification of the Salic law, 00:28:50.940 --> 00:28:52.759 referencing the ancient Frankish law, didn't 00:28:52.759 --> 00:28:55.099 happen until decades later, historians agree 00:28:55.099 --> 00:28:58.480 that the crisis of 1316 was the genesis. So Louis 00:28:58.480 --> 00:29:00.720 the Pax, the tennis -playing king, changed the 00:29:00.720 --> 00:29:03.160 fundamental structure of French succession simply 00:29:03.160 --> 00:29:05.759 by providing a vacuum that allowed this controversial 00:29:05.759 --> 00:29:08.119 principle to take root. And that constitutional 00:29:08.119 --> 00:29:10.759 innovation profoundly shaped the future of the 00:29:10.759 --> 00:29:13.529 French monarchy. It led directly to future conflicts 00:29:13.529 --> 00:29:15.650 like the Hundred Years' War, which was famously 00:29:15.650 --> 00:29:18.410 fought over a disputed female claim. And it challenged 00:29:18.410 --> 00:29:20.490 the claims of French princesses for generations. 00:29:21.109 --> 00:29:23.349 It's astounding. A king who reigned for less 00:29:23.349 --> 00:29:25.950 than two years, whose entire administration was 00:29:25.950 --> 00:29:27.990 characterized by political concessions and financial 00:29:27.990 --> 00:29:31.710 desperation, left behind a legacy that was, paradoxically, 00:29:31.869 --> 00:29:34.170 one of the most powerful constitutional shifts 00:29:34.170 --> 00:29:36.319 in French history. So let's bring it all back 00:29:36.319 --> 00:29:38.200 together and look at the sheer density of this 00:29:38.200 --> 00:29:41.319 reign. In less than two years, as king of France, 00:29:41.559 --> 00:29:44.299 Louis this, the quarrelsome, executed a powerful 00:29:44.299 --> 00:29:47.359 minister, overturned his father's centralizing 00:29:47.359 --> 00:29:50.619 policies to appease powerful nobles. He pioneered 00:29:50.619 --> 00:29:54.059 forced emancipation for serfs and temporary readmittance 00:29:54.059 --> 00:29:56.740 for Jews purely for desperately needed fiscal 00:29:56.740 --> 00:29:59.660 gain. And then died prematurely after a vigorous 00:29:59.660 --> 00:30:02.099 sporting event and a glass of chilled wine. It's 00:30:02.099 --> 00:30:04.519 almost unbelievable. His actions were large. 00:30:12.690 --> 00:30:18.490 It just illustrates that medieval progress often 00:30:18.490 --> 00:30:20.890 wore a crown of pragmatic necessity. And was 00:30:20.890 --> 00:30:23.170 paid for with the serfs' own ransom. And yet, 00:30:23.250 --> 00:30:25.730 his dynastic legacy is surprisingly enduring 00:30:25.730 --> 00:30:28.650 outside of France. Although his son, John I, 00:30:28.789 --> 00:30:32.150 died in infancy, his daughter, Joan II of Navarre, 00:30:32.250 --> 00:30:35.000 continued the Navarrese line. That's right. All 00:30:35.000 --> 00:30:37.359 subsequent monarchs of Navarre descended from 00:30:37.359 --> 00:30:40.299 Louis through Joan, including the crucial figure 00:30:40.299 --> 00:30:42.759 of Jeanne d 'Albray, the mother of the famous 00:30:42.759 --> 00:30:45.460 Henry IV of France. This means that the entire 00:30:45.460 --> 00:30:47.859 subsequent royal house of Bourbon, which would 00:30:47.859 --> 00:30:50.039 eventually rule France, is ultimately descended 00:30:50.039 --> 00:30:53.019 from Louis the Tex. It is. But his greatest, 00:30:53.099 --> 00:30:56.160 most fundamental impact on France itself was 00:30:56.160 --> 00:30:58.599 the negative space he left behind, the failure 00:30:58.599 --> 00:31:01.799 to secure an adult male heir. And this vacuum 00:31:01.799 --> 00:31:04.259 allowed his brother, Philip V, to successfully 00:31:04.259 --> 00:31:06.720 invoke and establish the controversial principle 00:31:06.720 --> 00:31:09.440 that women could not inherit the French throne. 00:31:09.660 --> 00:31:13.039 It was the political pressure of 1316 that created 00:31:13.039 --> 00:31:15.279 the constitutional tool future kings would use. 00:31:15.480 --> 00:31:18.779 Indeed, Louis the X left behind a massive, long 00:31:18.779 --> 00:31:20.859 -lasting constitutional headache that changed 00:31:20.859 --> 00:31:23.990 the fabric of French law forever. He packed more 00:31:23.990 --> 00:31:26.349 drama and constitutional change into 18 months 00:31:26.349 --> 00:31:29.289 than some monarchs manage in 50 years. What stands 00:31:29.289 --> 00:31:31.910 out to you, the listener, about this short, tumultuous 00:31:31.910 --> 00:31:34.390 reign? It raises an important question. What 00:31:34.390 --> 00:31:36.269 other short -lived rulers throughout history 00:31:36.269 --> 00:31:38.910 have caused such a massive, long -lasting constitutional 00:31:38.910 --> 00:31:41.829 shift simply by failing to provide the expected 00:31:41.829 --> 00:31:44.849 successor? How quickly can a single life or a 00:31:44.849 --> 00:31:47.210 single game of tennis fundamentally alter the 00:31:47.210 --> 00:31:50.140 political trajectory of a nation? Food for thought 00:31:50.140 --> 00:31:52.859 indeed as you mull over the strange, deadly consequences 00:31:52.859 --> 00:31:55.160 of a quick game of real tennis and a cold glass 00:31:55.160 --> 00:31:55.559 of wine.